I HAD a nicely seasoned cast iron skillet until a house guest decided to "help out" this weekend and scour the holy hell out of the skillet with a steel wool pad, essentially removing any and all coating I had. So now I'm starting anew...what can I do to speed the process up a little?

I would kick some serious ass if that happened in my kitchen.

Cook up some fried chicken or chicken fried steak to get things going again.

Hope this helps...

http://www.howtodothings.com/food-and-drink/a3371-how-to-season-a-cast-iron-skillet.html

reminds me of the time we went camping with friends. Me in the kids went for a walk after breakfast and came back to find my prized iron skillet soaking in dish water. People just don't know.

Back in school, my roommate's girlfriend ran mine through the dishwasher.

Yeah, my wife is VERY aware that she does not touch my cast iron skillet or dutch oven...EVER. Unfortunately, her friend was not on the same mental wave length. But, I guess this gives me a reason to cook up a nice batch of chicken fried steak to get start things rolling with the skillet.

Layer of crisco (the old really bad kind that is like lard) and put it in the oven forget what temp probably not too high. What I did on a new skillet.

Put a thin layer of oil or crisco all over, then turn it upside down in the oven. Set the oven to 350 for a couple hours. Then turn off the oven and leave it in there until it's cool. Easy as pie.

What AC said.

I have a great big ol' cast-iron skillet that I had to re-season recently. I had tried cooking something and it scorched the pan to where I had to scour the hell out of it to get the residue off. And it left a bare spot that had been "un-seasoned." Just took a handful of Crisco and rubbed it all over the pan and stuck it upside down in the oven for an hour at 350.

Every once in a while my parents just start over with their cast iron. Dad builds a fire and set it in there and burns off all the gunk that builds up over time. Then they re-season by using the method AC uses. Works like a charm.

I've got one with some rust that I need to clean and re-season. How can I remove the rust?

Throw it in a fire.

Check out camp-cook.com. It's a dutch oven/cast iron cooking web site that has info on rust removal, seasoning, etc.

just cook a couple of strips of bacon in it for breakfast. Its not a big deal.

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How can I remove the rust?

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If it is just surface rust, use steel wool or a wire brush. Clean it up and re-season it.

what are you supposed to do to clean it after using it?

yes AgBrad has a good question. I run mine through the dish washer each time I use it and then reseason it. I don't use it too often, but how do you clean it?

Iron oxide is not harmful to you.

Fill it with water and boil some hay in it. Preferably alfalfa. Let it boil for about a half an hour or so. Dump out the water and hay and dry by putting it back on the heat. Let it cool, then coat it in oil or shortening. You can then use it, or bake it and re-apply a little more oil and shortening.

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what are you supposed to do to clean it after using it?

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I just use water and a paper towel. For the really hard to get stuff just use a stiff bristled brush (not steel) and DO NOT USE SOAP!!!

Whoop coo ca choo

If you use the correct amount of heat when cooking w/ cast iron, you won't have as many problems w/ food sticking, compared to teflon skillets. I have an electric range, and have found that I have to cook on medium, or slightly lower heat in order to avoid food sticking. when frying steaks, eggs, etc., sometimes food sticks anyway (garlic, onions, potatoes etc.) As soon as my food is cooked and removed from skillet, I slowly add water (so as not to warp skillet) and then bring it to a boil for a bit. This will boil off most of the stuck food so all you have to do is wipe it down and dry it off on the stove. Hope this helps.

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slightly lower heat in order to avoid food sticking......when frying steaks,

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Anyone else catch this [/torbush]


My cast iron is seasoned to the point it is as smooth as teflon, however I find it is higher heat (300+ df or when a drop of water dances on the surface) in addition to a bit fat/oil that keeps food from sticking.





[This message has been edited by fido98 (edited 1/28/2009 9:37p).]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiQ0VOJmCbg&feature=related

Key in on the first minute and a half for seasoning.

See section from 4:19 through 4:55 for oil temperature cooking guidelines. Personally, I like to use bacon grease for seasoning the pan as well as some cooking.

Pan cleaning details at 8:55 in the clip.

hth

After you pre-season, keep the pan greased for the next year or so.

After you are done, just apply a coat of lard to the pan with a paper towel, and store it in the oven.

My grandmother always cleaned her iron cookware with vegetable oil, salt and a dish towel. It takes a little work sometimes, but usually gets the job done. Her rule was never to clean with either soap or water.

Finally, do not cook tomamtos in your skillet unless it is well seasoned (for example, no marinara). Tomatos eat away at the seasoning for some reason.

Frying up a pound of bacon will season your pan sufficiently. I do the crisco trick first, then the bacon. Then, if you want, you can redo the oven thing with the dried bacon grease the next day.

It's the acids in the tomatoes that eat away at the seasoning. At least that's my understanding. I went through a spell of cooking a lot of Mexican style soups and stew out of a new cook book. The recipes were tomato based, and I can still see areas where my original seasoning coats were eaten away. Anything highly acidic will eat the seasoning if left in contact w/ the iron too long.