Seasoning a cast iron skillet....Tips please

[General Lee]

General Lee, Morning..... the best oil to use to season Cast Iron is an oil that has a high iodine number... Flax seed oil fits that the best.... It has a low smoke point and should not be used for frying.... Put a thin layer on the pan and heat to 400-450 deg F.... It will smoke... the oil polymerizes into a very, very hard coating.... I have a new #10 DO with about 6 coatings on it... Nothing sticks to it now.... beans and hocks rinse right out... spaghetti sauce, tomato base will rinse right out.... It may need an additional coating and baking but the coating is still there... Flax Oil can be found on Amazon or your local health food store.... It is worth the price.... After coating CI for years with other oils that don't really work, I am very happy with the Flax Oil coating.... DaveView attachment 303631

Interesting Dave, I just may have to try this. I've been pretty much using my skillet daily. My dang eggs still like to stick. I like mine sunny side up so I can mop up the yoke with toast. But when they stick its hard not to break the yoke. I would be happy with this pan if I could get the eggs not to stick. The problem area seems to be in the center of the pan, which is where most of the heat is right over the burner.

 

[Chilly807]

We have three cast iron fry pans, two are Wagner 1891 (one of the last pans Wagner made), and the third is a Lodge. We've had pretty much the same results everyone else has, the Lodge has been a very poor second to the Wagner's. The Wagner has almost a mirror finish compared to the pebble finish Lodge, which makes me think that's part of the problem.

I think seasoning is something that happens as you use the pan, not a process that's "once and done". I try to avoid cooking saucy foods in them, keep them strictly for frying and baking (I've got a good cornbread recipe that's done in a skillet in the oven).

The Wagner cooked pancakes this morning, pretty much 100% no sticking with a little butter added. The Lodge cooked bacon, ended up with little bits sticking here and there. I usually use hot water and a stainless steel scrub pad to clean them with, but decided this morning to try something different. I used a couple spoonfuls of canola oil and a dry steel scrub pad. It's as clean as ever, but no hot water to remove oils. Once everything is loose, a paper towel to wipe it out with and you're done. The Wagner pan needed no scrubbing at all, I just wiped that one out. I tossed the oily scrub pad in soapy water to clean it for the next time. I'll try this for a few weeks to see if it helps the Lodge pan. If it doesn't, I may try the sanding trick.

I should mention that the Lodge isn't bad as far as non-stick goes, but it's not half as good as the Wagner.

I've heard theories that the older Wagner and Griswold pans used a better quality cast iron than the new Lodge pans, if that's true or not I have no idea. I do know that soap and water is bad news for cast iron cookware, and I think plain water isn't so good either. I need something to get residual flavours out of the pans without damaging the finish (fried fish flavour does NOTHING for pancakes !), I think the oil and scrub pad might do the trick.

First pic is the Wagner pan, the second is the Lodge. Easy to see the difference in finish.



Sean

 

[dmccarty]

Yesterday, I did some more seasoning on my cast iron bread pans. Our range has two ovens, a regular sized oven and a smaller oven. Instead of having a pan drawer, the second oven takes up the space used by the pan drawer. We use this smaller oven 90% of the times since it heats up quicker and uses less power. This smaller oven also has a toast function.

I used Canola oil on the bread pans and even used a bit of salt. After wiping down the pans with oil and salt I would toast the pans for 2-4 minutes. I think the toast function heats to 400ish degrees. So I would toast for a few minutes and then let the pans sit in the residual heat. I did this off and on all day as I cooked a pot of beans.

The bread pans are Lodge and were preseasoned and I did more season before I used them the first time. They bread stuck in the pans.

After seasoning yesterday, I made two loaves of bread, the the bread fell right out of the pans! :thumbsup:

I did use the salt which was problematic because I could not get all of the salt out of the pan and the some of the salt is now baked into the pan. Not sure I really care because the bread fell right out of the pan which is the point of the exercise. I cooked down some salt pork for the beans and I did use some of the rendered fat in the pans too.

A year or so ago, I bought some Lodge flat skillets that are really nice for pancakes or sandwiches because they have a very low lip. I seasoned those with Canola oil and they have worked just fine.

I did manage to burn myself, TWICE, yesterday moving around the cast iron, so I am going to get some new oven mitts. :shocked::laughing::laughing::laughing:

Later,
Dan

 

[caver]

I have a small camp skillet bought new from Big Lots...made in China. One night while camping I set up a pan holder my dad made years ago. I adjusted it so the heat was about 400 degrees reading with an infrared thermometer. Wiped it with Crisco and let it cook. Rotate wipe repeat as needed. I also did an older Dutch oven that night the same way.
I have some heavy off brand skillet bought at an antique mall. I just wipe out the grease with a paper towel and leave it.
Grease grease and more grease. I don't associate cast iron with healthy eating....just good flavor.
I forgot to add....I bought a Lodge camp griddle pre-seasoned a couple years ago and wasn't impressed at all. Worst food stickage I've had with cast iron.

 

[joshuabardwell]

I did manage to burn myself, TWICE, yesterday moving around the cast iron, so I am going to get some new oven mitts. :shocked::laughing::laughing::laughing:

Consider leather fireplace gloves. Just as, or more effective, much more sturdy, and very manly.

 

[General Lee]

My eggs didn't stick today! Granted, they were the only thing cooked in it first. Usually I do bacon or sausage, etc then the eggs. Today, added some butter and all was good. I'm gonna have to find a cast iron strictly for eggs. I haven't done anything different so far from my normal seasoning routine. Clean-up and a wipe down with lard.

 

[dave1949]

My eggs didn't stick today! Granted, they were the only thing cooked in it first. Usually I do bacon or sausage, etc then the eggs. Today, added some butter and all was good. I'm gonna have to find a cast iron strictly for eggs. I haven't done anything different so far from my normal seasoning routine. Clean-up and a wipe down with lard.

I've noticed a lot of gooey crap comes out of commercially cured meats like ham, bacon, sausage. It leaves a crust even in a Teflon pan.

 

[SPIKER]

General:

We almost always use 2 pans one for the bacon/sausage and one for the eggs/pancakes as cooking times differ as well as the bacon & sausage leave bits stuck that will get MORE food stuck to them.

Even the best cast will get bits stuck to them. I leave the grease in mine as when it cools it comes right off it seems.

Mark

 

[dmccarty]

Consider leather fireplace gloves. Just as, or more effective, much more sturdy, and very manly.

I usually just fold up a dish towel which has always worked okey dokey but for some reason I got distracted twice and got burned.

I use a set of red manly man welding gloves for working around the wood stove so I was thinking about just buying a set for the kitchen.

Instead I just ordered this from Amazon:



Not JD Green but at least NH Blue or close enough. :laughing::laughing::laughing:

The welders gloves are certainly more manly manly.

Later,
Dan

 

[aczlan]

I usually just fold up a dish towel which has always worked okey dokey but for some reason I got distracted twice and got burned.
I use a set of red manly man welding gloves for working around the wood stove so I was thinking about just buying a set for the kitchen.
Instead I just ordered this from Amazon:
View attachment 303952
Not JD Green but at least NH Blue or close enough. :laughing::laughing::laughing:
The welders gloves are certainly more manly manly.

Watch that those dont split on you. Mom had a set like that, but the thumb split off of the glove.
I really like the "handle holders" (ie: Amazon.com: Lodge Striped Hot Handle Holders/Mitts, Set of 2: Kitchen & Dining ) when working with multiple pans and doing other things.

Aaron Z

 

[dmccarty]

Watch that those dont split on you. Mom had a set like that, but the thumb split off of the glove.
I really like the "handle holders" (ie: Amazon.com: Lodge Striped Hot Handle Holders/Mitts, Set of 2: Kitchen & Dining ) when working with multiple pans and doing other things.

Aaron Z

I read the reviews and best I can tell these mitts were recommended by one of the cooking magazines/shows I like. There were some complaints but none about the thumb splitting off! Yikes.

I need gloves to pull out the CI dutch oven and CI bread pans. I have not burned my self on a skillet handle. Knock on wood.

The mitts I ordered are silicon so you can reach into boiling water and not get burned. Or so they say. :laughing: I am have been doing quite a bit of canning lately and these mitts will come in handy for handling the hot jars. Hmmmm.... I need to start a thread about the nifty canning tools I bought....

I had just placed an order for the funky looking mitts place some other things. Just went and ordered what you linked, hopefully they can make the same shipment. I have wanted some of those things but never got around to buying any since a folded up towel works just fine. For the price, it is worth not tempting fate.

Later,
Dan

 

[aczlan]

I read the reviews and best I can tell these mitts were recommended by one of the cooking magazines/shows I like. There were some complaints but none about the thumb splitting off! Yikes.

Perhaps hers were a cheaper model. I am not sure where hers came from, I just remember that they were silicone mitts. Knowing my siblings, it is also possible that the gloves were abused, so just keep an eye on them.

I need gloves to pull out the CI dutch oven and CI bread pans. I have not burned my self on a skillet handle. Knock on wood.

Good point.

The mitts I ordered are silicon so you can reach into boiling water and not get burned. Or so they say. :laughing: I am have been doing quite a bit of canning lately and these mitts will come in handy for handling the hot jars. Hmmmm.... I need to start a thread about the nifty canning tools I bought....

I remember reaching into a pot of almost boiling water and pulling out the tongs that fell in (we were making corn on the cob). Was very intresting.

I had just placed an order for the funky looking mitts place some other things. Just went and ordered what you linked, hopefully they can make the same shipment. I have wanted some of those things but never got around to buying any since a folded up towel works just fine. For the price, it is worth not tempting fate.

I need to get some more, ours have all become lost.

Aaron Z

 

[SPIKER]

About 2 weeks back I made full big breakfast including fried taters. I popped the Big Skillet into the oven to keep the taters hot while I finished off the rest of the goodies. I pulled it out & told my woman stay away from it as it's HOT 2 seconds later she grabs the CI handle to hold on while scooping out the taters. Needless to say 2nd degree blister and knocked her plate full of her food off counter. It was one of our "Corning Correlle ware" plates which held up better than the omelet that was setting on top... I have to say those plates are really good (Ivy Pattern) but have not dropped a cast iron pan on one yet or onto something real hard like stone/ceramic as we have linoleum floor and mica counters.
Out Flat iron Skillet also has a real short cast handle that gets almost as hot as the pan it's self. The one that was taken from me (Imperial Ireland brand) had a real nice wood handle that stayed cool...


Mark

 

[Chilly807]

The Corelle living ware simply explodes if you drop it on tile.. take my word for it. Our kitchen floor is porcelain tile over concrete, not much give to it.

Sean

 

[TomSeller]

My eggs didn't stick today! Granted, they were the only thing cooked in it first. Usually I do bacon or sausage, etc then the eggs. Today, added some butter and all was good. I'm gonna have to find a cast iron strictly for eggs. I haven't done anything different so far from my normal seasoning routine. Clean-up and a wipe down with lard.

I have a couple of #5 Griswolds that I use for nothing but eggs, either scrambled or omlettes. The eggs never stick and I just wipe out, melt in a little coconut oil, wipe again and store. The light sticking that I experience is either with meat or right after cooking meat. So I keep special pans for eggs. When cooking sunny side up I have a griddle that I use. That griddle sometimes gets used for pancakes, and in either case I lightly oil the surface before cooking.

 

[MissouriSprayer]

General Lee, Morning..... the best oil to use to season Cast Iron is an oil that has a high iodine number... Flax seed oil fits that the best.... It has a low smoke point and should not be used for frying.... Put a thin layer on the pan and heat to 400-450 deg F.... It will smoke... the oil polymerizes into a very, very hard coating.... I have a new #10 DO with about 6 coatings on it... Nothing sticks to it now.... beans and hocks rinse right out... spaghetti sauce, tomato base will rinse right out.... It may need an additional coating and baking but the coating is still there... Flax Oil can be found on Amazon or your local health food store.... It is worth the price.... After coating CI for years with other oils that don't really work, I am very happy with the Flax Oil coating.... DaveView attachment 303631

Took a few pages to get the best answer. I have pans with 5-6 coats of Flaxseed oil seasoning and they are awesome...light coat, 500 degrees for 45 min, let cool, wipe and do again. wonderful results

 

[RobertBrown]

Yes, cast iron is much harder than mild steel.

That's why I use a cup brush on my 4" angle grinder on the last cast iron pan I "seasoned".
Actually, this pan was quite old and had been in my hunting camp for years with out use so I resurrected it. I haven't seen a new cast iron pan in many years.
You can get the steel to look like stainless if you have enough time.
I use cast iron exclusively for all sauteing and I have for 30 years. I think the secret is preheating the pan with oil every time you use it. Butter is not going to work. It has to be oil. Doesn't take much. Just as the oil begins to smoke toss in whatever...,eggs, potaotoes, ....meat. It will not stick unless you are careless and let the pan get too hot.
I only use teflon for omlettes and only because the sides are lower and curved rather than at right angles to the cooking surface.
Cast iron is the cat's *** for stove top cooking.

 

[Chilly807]

I have pretty good luck with even the Lodge pan making omelettes. I suspect the Wagner I have would be even better. Just to be clear though, I always add a bit of butter, oil, or Pam before adding food to the pan.

I'm on the second "treatment" with the Lodge now, scrubbed it out with oil and a steel pad last night after making tacos for supper and bacon for breakfast. I've got to stop reading this thread, it's making me hungry just thinking about it.. :licking:

Sean

 

[dmccarty]

About 2 weeks back I made full big breakfast including fried taters. I popped the Big Skillet into the oven to keep the taters hot while I finished off the rest of the goodies. I pulled it out & told my woman stay away from it as it's HOT 2 seconds later she grabs the CI handle to hold on while scooping out the taters. Needless to say 2nd degree blister and knocked her plate full of her food off counter. ...


Mark

I am worried that my wife or I would do the exact same thing, which is why I bought the handle covers that Aaron linked. I have been needing to buy those things for years but they never got bought until yesterday. Now they just need to get here. :laughing::laughing::laughing:

Later,
Dan

 

[wedge40]

ove glove