Seasoning Cast Iron Skillet

[robp]

You mean you guys dont season like this:

[WadePatton]

Here's the matching part of my collection. I has more. I've reconditioned dozens and i've used all methods. The new cast iron really sucks, the "new" era starts at 1957. All the stuff in the pic is from 1906-1912, or older. What makes the new stuff suck so bad is that it's overly heavy and that they quit grinding the inside surfaces. If you don't use it much, don't worry 'bout it.

You can't get a perfect pan with one seasoning.

But also remember that every time you use it, you are seasoning (or removing seasoning).

Fastest simplest method I recommend is making cornbread. Sure, do whatever pre-treat you want to do. At least one heat/cool cycle. THEN to getter real nice. put some oil, a high smoke point oil-like peanut, in the pan and heat to 425 while you make up a double recipe of your cornbread batter.

When the oven gets to temp, remove pan an mix the oil into the batter. Fill pan with batter, return to oven, cook cornbread. When done, try to remove cornbread, it will likely stick...use metal scraper (spatula or such) to scrape off all the crust you can. Get it out best you can, feed it to your dogs, they love cornbread. Wipe out, re-oil and repeat.

Second run should be fine, might stick a little. Scrape again.

Repeat as necessary. My best blackest slickest pans develop their patina and glass smooth, non-stick (if oiled) surfaces this way.

I use cast iron daily and always have and ever will.




You want to save energy and money try this:



Where i use "by product" of what is being cooked in the smoker for oil/fat and the heat is provided by waste wood product, or otherwise naturally deceased bits of trees, that would otherwise rot into the ground. I'm also capturing "waste" heat as the main cooking is inside the smoke chamber. There are veggie alternatives i'm sure. This is just how i get it done. And smoked pineapple is 2 die 4.

FTR and the meat eaters-that's chicken fat from the skin and fat of leg-quarter trimmings*, no salt (until removed from the skillet).

*HECK no i don't remove it all.

[sonny]

...

i knew you'd likely have something to add to this discussion--great collection!

no teflon non-stick in your system eh?

[WadePatton]

i knew you'd likely have something to add to this discussion--great collection!

no teflon non-stick in your system eh?

Things taste better cooked in oil or fat, so why bother with skillets that won't last 100 years (or haven't already) ?

That's from my short stint in the antiques biz. Cast iron cookware was my specialty. Foundries used to be nearly as commonplace as post offices, but the biggest makers were Griswold, Wagner, and Lodge. As much as I'd like to love Lodge (as a TN outfit), and started out cooking in their "unmarked" stuff from the 70's (for about 40 years "S-K" was the only mark on Lodge goods), the recent "demise" of their products leaves me no interest in them. It's not the "pre-seasoning" either. It's the mass primarily and the lack of grinding second.

More massive pieces are more durable--less likely to warp or crack, but good grief Charlie Brown Biceps! I'm a cyclist!!! And also some women like to cook and don't need 4 extra pounds of skillet to wag around. It's freaking CAST IRON, just doesn't need to be that heavy. The very very old stuff was so thin it could crack from simply dropping it. And IT ALL will crack if you hit it with a big temp change, like water into a hot skillet or cooling one from the fire into cold air if you are burning one off. I've settled on the 1900-1930'ish era as the ideal balance of mass to "durability".

The earliest Griswold is marked "Erie" and I use two pieces of that regularly. it's circa 1890-1900. I don't want any lighter than that.

all of the CI wares got fatter in the fifties and Wagner bought out Griswold in '57. Even that stuff is nicer than new Lodge. And it has no real collector value, so can be bought reasonable.

Also the very old Lodge, which has their name on it (pre "SK" marking) is dandy, but hard to find. I'll locate a pic*, I gave a #4 to my Mom of the old Lodge. I use the SK lodge for camping gear...truck/boat camping that is.

Yes I do have a stainless saute pan. Rarely ever use it.

I may have gotten stuck in a beach house with no cast iron once (and been forced to use some clapped out "no stick" crapware...but have ever since packed at least on skillet to any "away" where cooking MIGHT be involved.

*

if you find Lodge of this vintage, i recommend. pic is borrowed, but this is twin to the piece i bought very reasonable a while back. Haven't shopped it lately. And speaking of shopping, there's some asshole who keeps some Griswold on ebay continuously at 2 and 3x book value collector prices. Why? i dunno, but don't think that ever paid crazy money for a skillet. That's why i'm still hunting a #10, 11, 12, 13**. (extreme rarity-will cost stupid money). I have a 14 (unmarked) and really don't care about the #1's and #2's (hard enough to use a 3 or a 4.

While we're at it, this is the particular mark (of the five or so variations) of Griswold that I collect:



both images borrowed from web.

[dang]

Thanks for all the tips. Sadly, we try to keep a vegetarian household so bacon grease isn't really an option.I have done most of them in some variation or another and have a pretty good surface - I'm about 80% there, I use it ~7 times/week so it's not for lack of use. I'm going to try it on the stove top and see what happens.

I read on some blog that there as many ways to season a cast iron skillet as there are southern grandmaws.

It's not sad -- I think you'll get a better result seasoning the pan with grape seed oil (or some other vegetable oil) first, and cooking whatever food you like second. Seems as if folks gave you basically good advice -- get the pan warm first, then oil, then heat (and enough exposure to heat, including time, for polymerization of the entire surface -- and wipe off excess oil as you go). The only thing I'd add, really, is that you shouldn't be wasting a ton of energy keeping your oven hot once you've pre-heated it (and I'm guessing, perhaps wrongly, from the way you've posted this concern that you have an electric oven rather than a gas one?) It's not nearly the burn of a "self-cleaning" overnight incineration.

[WadePatton]

Another technique (sorry if covered above but i ffwd to here mostly) is to put oil in skillet, and "deep" fry stuff a few times before trying to saute in the pan.

Also the scraping with a flat scraper--is the quick way to smooth the bottom of these unground newer skillets. It leaves enough gunk to start the filling. rinse repeat a few dozen times. Hit'll schlick right up.

I learned that trick when i was a member of a forum for cast iron collecting...Cast Iron the most Usable collectible of all.

[jdhansen63]

I know this is somewhat off topic, but does anyone use Carbon Steel Pans like de Buyer Mineral "B" series? Have you had any luck getting a nice nonstick surface and keeping it? If so, how.

I've tried seasoning with bacon and the method with flax. Both seem to work, and I get a nice dark pan with a glass like feel after multiple applications. However, when I use it to actually cook, it doesn't seem that non-stick unless I use lots of fat and when I clean it (hot water and rag only), the seasoning comes off in areas.

[Jonathan]

Wade, this is some seriously good and cool info. Vsalon never ceases to surprise.

[Jonathan]

I have two fond memories of Cast Iron pans...

When my mom died her cast iron pan that we grew up with was the only thing my siblings and I had a hard time agreeing on. I say this jokingly because we get along great and no drama was involved, but as a family heirloom, the pan was something we'd all have been proud to pass on ourselves.

The second is while in Boston last year the wife of moderator DavidS, made some really great corn bread in her pan. As a southerner I'd have never thought id have great cornbread in the pan served by a Jew in Boston. #blessedwithfriends

[jitahs]

I know this is somewhat off topic, but does anyone use Carbon Steel Pans like de Buyer Mineral "B" series? Have you had any luck getting a nice nonstick surface and keeping it? If so, how.

I've tried seasoning with bacon and the method with flax. Both seem to work, and I get a nice dark pan with a glass like feel after multiple applications. However, when I use it to actually cook, it doesn't seem that non-stick unless I use lots of fat and when I clean it (hot water and rag only), the seasoning comes off in areas.

It's not off topic at all. I have 3 DeBuyers, traditional no-beeswax. There a lot of info in this thread and it may be tough to weed through what's important.

That glassy feel is when the pan's cold; the fat solidifies but once under flame it melts a bit, so you have to add fat. It's very important to get the pan really hot to sear; it opens the surface up to receive the fat. Throwing in veggies to saute can cool the pan too much if you don't have enough horsepower, sticking veggies. IMO if you don't have enough btus it's going to be a problem whether with cast iron, French steel or stainless.

The seasoning will come off - it's delicate on the French steel and doesn't form the bond as well as with cast iron. You have to maintain it using high heat, which allows you to film the pan with less fat if you like.

Otherwise my waistline doesn't budge for an extra 1/2T of evoo in the cooking - that's the beer/carbs.

[WadePatton]

good info there for the advanced class. methinks that's the other beauty of cast iron, the simplicity of it. so easy to get a good result.

but yeah, "bare" metal pan discussion fits in here just fine.

i've had trouble with SS and this should help with that.

[nrs5000]

I know this is somewhat off topic, but does anyone use Carbon Steel Pans like de Buyer Mineral "B" series? Have you had any luck getting a nice nonstick surface and keeping it? If so, how.

I've tried seasoning with bacon and the method with flax. Both seem to work, and I get a nice dark pan with a glass like feel after multiple applications. However, when I use it to actually cook, it doesn't seem that non-stick unless I use lots of fat and when I clean it (hot water and rag only), the seasoning comes off in areas.

I'm not sure a de Buyer pan is supposed to get nonstick. It is designed to brown meat by causing a Maillard reaction under high heat and not being stingy with cooking fat. This is different from carmelization. I've only used mine for meat, not for vegetables, where the aim is often to carmelize.

[jitahs]

I'm not sure a de Buyer pan is supposed to get nonstick. It is designed to brown meat by causing a Maillard reaction under high heat and not being stingy with cooking fat. This is different from carmelization. I've only used mine for meat, not for vegetables, where the aim is often to carmelize.

The de Buyer gets nonstick enough to slide omelets out.

Traditionally they're used to sear but can be used to finish one-pot dishes, bake bread, etc., same apps as cast iron. Roasted root veggies starting with a cold pan are no problem.

Tu Lan's, the famously squalid Viet place Julia Child loved, chef/owner replaced his woks a long time ago with de Buyers. He was working on a western range; substituting French steel allowed multiple pans to pre-heat on its flat surface until up to operating temp.

He had a stack of 20 or so to his right and at least as many burn scars on each arm.

[nrs5000]

The de Buyer gets nonstick enough to slide omelets out.

Traditionally they're used to sear but can be used to finish one-pot dishes, bake bread, etc., same apps as cast iron. Roasted root veggies starting with a cold pan are no problem.

Tu Lan's, the famously squalid Viet place Julia Child loved, chef/owner replaced his woks a long time ago with de Buyers. He was working on a western range; substituting French steel allowed multiple pans to pre-heat on its flat surface until up to operating temp.

He had a stack of 20 or so to his right and at least as many burn scars on each arm.

That's cool to know. My dad, whose cooking influences run traditional french, introduced me to de Buyers as a meat cooking tool, so that's what I know from so far.

[jitahs]

That's cool to know. My dad, whose cooking influences run traditional french, introduced me to de Buyers as a meat cooking tool, so that's what I know from so far.

I'll bet he knows Amazon.com: Taste of France: 25th Anniversary Edition (9781584790600): Rob Freson: Books

Don't get me wrong the pans aren't perfect for deglazing as they're reactive to acid, bits of the seasoning can/will come off and you can taste a bit of iron in the sauce.
But then again I never had a problem with Roland Passot using them this way.

[nrs5000]

I'll bet he knows Amazon.com: Taste of France: 25th Anniversary Edition (9781584790600): Rob Freson: Books

Don't get me wrong the pans aren't perfect for deglazing as they're reactive to acid, bits of the seasoning can/will come off and you can taste a bit of iron in the sauce.
But then again I never had a problem with Roland Passot using them this way.

He might know that but he lives on the other side of the pond and his French is good enough to go straight to the source.

[jitahs]

He might know that but he lives on the other side of the pond and his French is good enough to go straight to the source.

Awesome old school book. Black Oak had a copy of that years ago.

Mine's passable, just enough to get into trouble. Got a copy of this over the pond years ago, now it's in English. Just a great resource: Michel Roux Sauces: Revised and Updated Edition: Michel Roux: 9780847832903: Amazon.com: Books

[Sasha]

Anyone ever tried one of these things to scrub out cast iron, or something like it?

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1133658...lle?ref=market

Normally, I just use an SOS pad, no soap. But I cook with cast iron every night. SOS get messed up pretty quick.

[Too Tall]

Great idea it's sort of a piece of chain mail. Honestly, I've never had to scrub my cast iron unless I've made a mistake and burned it in which case I simply boil water in the pan and wipe it out.

Anyone ever tried one of these things to scrub out cast iron, or something like it?

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1133658...lle?ref=market

Normally, I just use an SOS pad, no soap. But I cook with cast iron every night. SOS get messed up pretty quick.

[jitahs]

Yeah, it's not a big deal. If your ingredients get too wet some stuff sticks - I angle an old butter knife. Have a griddle stone I don't use.