How Does One Season (or Reseason) and Care for Cast Iron Skillets (Obvious Vanity)

Self | 12/20/02 | Enough_Deceit

[Enough_Deceit]

I got these wonderful skillets before my Mom passed away. I really want to use them, but do not know how to properly season/care for them. Can anyone out there give me some ideas? Thank you and Merry CHRISTmas!

[RonF]

Often you will find that newly manufactured cast-iron cookware is coated by the manufacturer with some kind of grease, etc., to keep the cookware from rusting while being shipped if it's exposed to dampness en route. New stuff should be washed and dried before seasoning.

I do agree that the cooking surfaces of Lodge DO's should be finished much more smoothly. I have been dissapointed about that. We have a number of DO's at our Scout camp that are finished properly, but they have no manufacturer's marks and they are so old no one knows where they were bought.

We had a campout at our local Scout camp where we invited a bunch of Webelos Scouts and their parents. We roasted a dozen chickens, one per DO, and had all 12 going at the same time. Lit up 40 pounds of charcoal to do it. Very impressive.

[ArrogantBustard]

I've a Lodge brand skillet that I bought at a grocery store in the mid 1980s. It has turned out reasonably well, though it doesn't heat quite as evenly as I would like. The really good stuff, IMO, is Wagners, from "Sidney, O". But they went out of business (or at least quit making cookware) years ago. My preference for seasoning is either corn oil (I don't find it to leave a sticky mess), olive oil, or bacon grease.

[BallandPowder]

Powder..Patch..Ball FIRE!

I use cast extensively in our reenactments and the many vouz's that my family attends. You've gotten good advice except for one thing... and a couple of observations.. I use Lodge exclusively and have over 150lbs of cast I carry around (I know, I know but it looks good!) and if you inspect it before buying to look for roughness, I've never had a problem with any of it.

Cleaning with salt and towels works good, boiling a little water in the pan also works very well for sticky/stuck stuff, but NEVER use soap or scratchers or you'll regret it.

Seasoning is best done with animal fat, I use unsalted lard and I can cook sausage gravy in my dutch and then wipe it out with some towels when done and it is clean and ready to use again. To make sure the outside doesn't rust I get the cast to hot to hold with bare hands and then use a beeswax candle and coat the outside and wipe it in with a towel. Will NOT rust, and once you do it a couple of times it never needs done again..

[OKSooner]

In this case, the grill of the hibachi was coated with the usual vegetable-based stuff that came off before being properly seasoned. The BASE of the Hibachi, though, was coated in the nastiest, foulest stuff that smoked like an old Chevy truck when it had fire in it. I don't know what it was, but I couldn't even tell it was there because it was the color of cast iron, and dry to the touch. I sold the damn thing in a garage sale.

I guess that's what I get for taking most of my good cast iron to the wrong hunting camp one time...

[etcetera]

" Never cook things like tomatoes or other high acid foods in cast iron. The food will come out tasting real funky, and the acid from the tomatoes (or whatever) sure won't do the cast iron any good"

Hmmm...is that why "cowboy" beef stew doesn't have tomatoes in it?

[duckln]

Eggs work great in my little vintage cast iron skillet. I put my electric burner on high and nothing sticks to it. If it does, I put back on the burner, and when hot again, pour in 1/4 cup of water. It zizzles up in steam and I wipe it dry wet paper towel.

Often I add olive oil to the butter when frying an egg, this always really shines up the skillet.

The trick is, hot and olive oil.

[S.O.S121.500]

Click on:http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=976&item=748378363&rd=1 and see a real good reason to take GOOD care of your cast iron ware.

[LasVegasMac]

Not me - I just love to cook.

- 3 dutch ovens, many other cast iron pots / pans.

- 1 very large Texas Hondo style smoker

- 1 large Charbroil gas grill

- 1 large Charbroil charcoal grill

- 2 large Big Green Egg's

- 1 Weber bullet style smoker

As the Bam Man says, I get happy with food!

LVM

[OKSooner]

Thank you. Compare a real piece of cast iron like this to what you see on the shelves (LODGE) these days.

[gnarledmaw]

Excellent resources for questions on all old timey methods of everything...

http://www.homesteadingtoday.com

BTW, I always use lard. Non-salted animal fats produce a better finish faster.

[gnarledmaw]

"Never cook things like tomatoes or other high acid foods in cast iron."

If acids cause problems, your pan is just still too young. When the coating gets thick enough you can cook acids without a problem.

[Lokibob]

Bids are up to $315 and still the reserve isn't met!

I need to start going to yard sales!!!!

[RonF]

Have a look at these, from MACA. Pricy, but nice designs on the lids, smooth cooking surfaces, and you can get them personalized.

[boris]

Find a Democrat. CLAAAANG!

[RonF]

If acids cause problems, your pan is just still too young. When the coating gets thick enough you can cook acids without a problem.

I agree. One campout the kids got real lazy and decided to just make foil packs for dinner. When they got there, it turned out that the Scout buying the meal got even lazier and all he brought was ground beef, potatoes, and an onion. No pepper or salt, even. Meanwhile, yours truly brought out a DO. I built a fire, put the DO over it, then took 3 rocks, put them in a triangle, shoveled some coals within them, and put the lid over it upside down. A little olive oil in it. Then:

Cut up some celery, threw it on the lid. Smashed up some garlic, threw it on the lid. Cut up some Vidalia onions, threw it on the lid. Nope, no peppers. I don't like peppers, and I'm the cook.

Browned it all up, put it in the DO with a little more oil.

Cut up 4 chicken breasts into thumb-tip sized pieces. Browned it up on the lid, threw it in the pot.

Opened up a jar of tomato sauce, a jar of stewed tomatoes, and a can of tomato paste. Threw it in the pot. Put the lid on the pot. Opened it up once every 5 minutes to stir, threw in some Italian spices (oregano, rosemary, thyme, fennel, bay leaf).

Opened up the cooler, pulled out two gallon-sized freezer Zip-Loc bags with rotini that I'd cooked at home the day before. Put the bags in the cleaning water pot that was boiling.

About 25 minutes later, served the DO contents on top of the rotini. Looked up to see 8 kids sitting sullenly over some tasteless foil packs, staring at us. They started to complain, I replied that I'd advised them that laziness was it's own reward when they'd told me about their menu the week before. We did relent, but only after we'd eaten our fill and sat around a bit. Their meal quality was greatly improved on the next campout ....

[RobFromGa]

I was a scout (made it to Life). My son is now a Tiger Cub Scout. My girls are Brownies. SCOUTS ARE GREAT! You learn many things you don't normally get exposed to.

[RonF]

I was a Cub Scout and a Boy Scout and made it to Life myself. Camp Staff at two different camps, High Adventure trip in Maine, etc. Dropped out after I got to college. Had a son. He went to the local Pack's organizational meeting (I had a speaking engagement). She came back and told me that the Pack didn't have a Cubmaster, that she'd informed them of my Scouting background, and that I could expect a phone call. This was in September of 1992, and I've been at it ever since, as Cubmaster and then Scoutmaster. It's been fun, and we've had some success. Spent some fun days at camp. Met and worked with some fine people. Did a trip with my son up into Quetico Provincial Park out of Charles L. Sommers Northern Tier Canoe Base for 10 days; fabulous.

[NYTexan]

Try http://www.campchef.com
They have some neat stuff!

[KC Burke]

Sommers Canoe Base bump.

Twice lead high adventure and recently took the wife up to Moose Lake for a week and she loved it.

I have often thought of the animal/vegetable oil sanitation issue and thought about the idea of seasoning (or final coating after washing) with sterile mineral oil, like you use on butcher block. Has anyone tried that?

[OKSooner]

Thanks for the link. This might be a good resource for American-made quality stuff. Do you know if it's just one product or more stuff? Guess I'll have to give 'em a call.