I have the cast iron pan, but haven’t wanted to invest the 18 hours for proofing.
Cast iron isn't that hard to season or use. If it takes 18 hours, you're doing something really, really wrong.
kalee wrote:
I have the cast iron pan, but haven’t wanted to invest the 18 hours for proofing.
First, if the iron is exposed or rusted in any way, use a wire brush to clean away any rust. If you want to completely clean away any previous seasoning, you can put the pan in a self cleaning oven and run it through the "clean" cycle, or put the cast iron piece directly in a fire in your fireplace or a camp fire. The old seasoning will burn off this way.
Before seasoning the first time, it doesn't hurt to wash the pan in mild soapy water. Just be sure to rinse thin thing thoroughly several times to rinse away any soap residue.
With a clean, rust free cast iron pan, apply some oil. I prefer peanut oil for seasoning, but any very fresh vegetable oil will work. The first coat should be to wet down the pan and wipe it mostly dry with paper towels or newsprint. Place it in the oven (upside down is best, with some foil under it to catch any 'drippings' of excess oil) and bake it at 350F for 30 minutes to maybe an hour. I generally do two additional thin coats of oil, and bake for 15 to 30 minutes per coating. I usually do the "baking" part during preheating the oven for other tasks. It's rare that I preheat my oven without at least one or two cast iron pieces freshly coated with oil still in the oven. That has become a part of the baking ritual with me. When I read "preheat the oven to ..." in a recipe, I instinctively grab the cast iron pan that looks like it most needs another coat of seasoning and wipe it down with peanut or coconut oil. The bonus to this is you know when the oven is hot because you can smell the seasoning cooking onto the pan. When the oven is hot, just pull them out and let them cool on the range top.
Once seasoned, do not use soap on the pan ever again. If you must scour the pan, use a scotch brite or plastic scouring pad with clear water only.
Always apply a thin coating of oil before storing the pan and heat it up on the stove for 3 to 5 minutes after cleaning. This will cook off any moisture and re-season the surface.
Overall, it takes about 30 minutes of actual work (and a couple hours of waiting for the thing to bake) to restore a cast iron pan that has been neglected. It's never a 6 our project in my experience.
Oh, and this should be obvious, but it's best not to apply cool liquids (water or oil) to a very hot cast iron pan. You can crack cast iron with cold water if the pan is too hot when you hit it with the cold water. The time this is important is after the initial "clean by fire or self cleaning oven" step. Let the thing cool down completely after that step.