Posted on 08/27/2017 5:07:42 PM PDT by djf
Hello!
I bought a large (12 in diameter) cast iron pan at a garage sale today.
It has been only very lightly used, the manufacturers name LODGE is plainly visible on the bottom. Little or no burned grease or discoloration evident.
So I did wash it once very lightly with mostly water but just a hint of soap and am now trying to season it.
I put in about a tablespoon of unscented coconut oil and let that melt and worked it in with a paper towel, then turned off the heat.
So I am wondering about the best approach to season it. I know that means NEVER washing it with soap again... but what else should I do? Rub it down with salt or a salt/oil mix? Heat it till it starts smoking? I guess all these years I've used good quality teflon and never had to worry about it!
TIA!
Not necessarily true. If it is well seasoned and HOT when you add the meat or cornbread batter (or butter, brown sugar, pineapple & batter for pineapple upside down cake), it won't stick & what does is negligible.
That’s my problem - small weak hands and thin wrists. I like doing long-cooking soups in cast iron, though.
Good temp control and most things won’t stick. I can fry eggs, scramble them etc and never get sticking and I use just enough oil to cook but not smother with.
http://www.lodgemfg.com/use-and-care/what-is-seasoning
What is Seasoning?
Seasoning is simply oil baked onto the iron that prevents rust and provides a natural, easy-release finish that continues to improve with use. Seasoning can refer to both the initial finish of the cookware as well as the ongoing process of maintaining that finish.
Lodge pans are great; we own several. Just go to their website and they’ll walk you through it. :)
I would NEVER (voluntarily) use anything BUT a cast iron skillet to fry eggs on the stove. And the idea that it must be swimming in grease/fat/oil is just plain wrong.
Youse guys cook in liquid soap/Lava and Quaker State motor oil? 30 weight?
As a gear head I’m intrigued ... But doesn’t it give your meal a funny taste?
I do something slightly different. I coat the pan in oil and then dump enough salt in the bottom to cover the bottom and then add more oil but only until the salt is soaked up. Bake for three hours at 350.
It’s cast iron for goodness sake. It’s an insult to baby cast iron. I have three of them (one grandma’s, one 6” grandpa used camping and one very used from a garage sale) and two garage sale) and none have ever been pampered like the myths.
The thing is they’ll rust easily. They’ll drain in a dry sink or the drain board just fine. If there is a little rust, rinse it out and go on with your cooking.
I don’t know about these multiple mentions of Flaxseed Oil. Grape-seed Oil was the high temp oil I was taught to use in Army Cook AIT 48 years ago and no, I never use soap. I use a plastic scruber and water, heat it and oil it again. I admit to salt on occasion. I wipe it with a bit of towel after it has cooled.
PIG FAT....
Put a pork shoulder in the pan. Set the oven to low, low heat and loosely cover with foil.
After many hours, you will have pork suitable for shredding and a pan with a grease all over the inside. Save the renderings and lightly coat the outside.
After the rinse and scrub with a wooden spoon to dislodge any of the cooked on meat, back to the oven to dry the oiled skillet. Cook the bacon in the pan. At first you might try baking the bacon on a rack in the pan to get some good grease for seasoning the iron.
Anyway, something like that works.
Another way is to use your gas BBQ like an oven and roast some sausage links in the skillet. Grease is grease.
???
No, I cook with peanut oil, corn oil, olive oil, and bacon fat.
YMMV.
Quaker State stays in the garage. Using fully synthetic may improve your mileage.
The trouble with eggs is that they have a very high lecithin content, which emulsifies the seasoning right off the pan. “Emulsify” is a term used to describe mixing oil and water... it’s pretty bad for the surface of a pan.
Seven dollars. Were you wearing a mask? Great find!
Don’t encourage me. I’m not that funny.
Another way to look at it—ladies, let it rust. You need more iron in your diets.
I just moved a bunch of cast iron weights. They are nice and rusty and very crusty.
Got a tetanus shot a week ago. It made me cranky. Every ten years, alla y’all.
Not if it is properly seasoned.
Or, unhydrogenated lard (must be kept refrigerated. Like you, Extremely, when I used a vegetable based oil, I did have a sticking problem. Seasoned with animal fat worked a lot better for me.
We have a couple pieces of Lodge, and it's damn fine quality. There's a Lodge outlet in Commerce, GA that we pass by every Christmas to go home to see my family, and this year I'm making firm plans in our travel itinerary to pay it a visit.
I have 4 of my grannys that are probably 60 years old & another I’ve had at least 25 years. Next one I want is the Dutch Oven.
However you decide to season it and however you decide to wash it - never let it soak in the sink, and always dry thoroughly.
Stuck on hoop? Heat up lightly in lieu of reaching for the Brillo pad.
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