Cooking Lesson: Seasoning Cast Iron Like the Pros

I bought my first cast iron skillet @ the Army Base in S.F. almost 47 yrs. ago and it's still my favorite pan in the kitchen. My pineapple upside down cake, coffee cake, fried chicken, was the bomb then, and it's still the bomb 47 yrs. later.:-) It's also my favorite pan for camping. I do my bacon and papas, flip it over and cook my pancakes all with the same pan.;-)And it still looks brand new, but cured. Votes: +0

I love my cast Iron skillets. my mother used the when we were growing up and she or daddy would put it in the wood stove and leave it when we had a hot fire going. came out clean, then reseason on stove and oven. I love to cook cornbread in my cast iron skillet then just take a paper towel and wipe it out good and it is ready for the next pan of cornbread. And fried taters are the best cooked in cast iron. Votes: +1

What temperature do you "bake" the cast iron pan? For the first 15 minutes and then for the remaining 2 hrs. Did not see this in the article. Also, should you use grease when actually cooking in pan, or can cooking oil be used at that time? Thank you Votes: +0

My daughter was given a cast iron skillet that was rusted (heart failure) and I cant get it off. Do you have a hint for removing this. Votes: +0

I was wondering if, after you cook in it, can you use detergent on it? I have heard people tell me to just scrap the stuff out of it with a credit card clean with just warm water and rub lard back on the inside. I haven't done much with the outside. I may have to start shopping for a big (4-6 qt) pot with lid as I use that size a lot. Thanks for the input. Votes: +0

I HAVE SOME OF MY GRANDMOTHERS CAST IRON, SOME FROM FRIENDS, AND AUCTIONS, I REMEMBER HOW MY GRADMOTHER CLEANED THEM SHE USED SAND (DIRT) TO CLEAN THEM OUT AND THEN THREW THEM INTO A PIT OF FIRE, IF THEY HAD SOMETHING STUCK IN THEM. THEN SHE WOULD RUB OIL ON THEM AFTER THEY COOLED AND PLACE ON A WOOD STOVE. IF NOTHING WAS STUCK, SHE ONLY WIPED THEM WITH A LINT FREE TOWEL AND PUT THEM IN THE OVEN. THIS WAS BACK IN THE 40'S @ 50'S. I STILL USE THE METHOD, I JUST WIPE OUT, AND PUT IN THE OVEN THEY ARE READY TO USE THE NEXT TIME. HOPE THIS HELPS THE ONES WITH RUST AS A PROBLEM.
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Growing up, my dad would use a blowtorch to remove build-up from the cast iron skillets and dutch oven; of course, sometimes because the heat was unevenly applied the item would split into pieces. These days, I place skillets with build-up in my electric oven and run the auto-clean cycle. After the cycle has ended and the items have cooled enough to handle, I wipe them out with paper towels that have been slightly saturated with lard. Once they've cooled completely, I then spread lard over both inside and outside surfaces and "bake" for 2 hours at 300. After they've cooled, I use a lint-free cloth to remove the excess and I'm good to go. That method also removed any rust. To reduce rust build-up, I rinse and wipe out the skillet as soon as I've used it and then place it in the oven (where I've usually just been cooking) and leave it. My mom always stored her ironware in the oven when not in use; of course, it was gas and the pilot light kept the oven dry, so no rust formed. Votes: +0

May I point out a conflict in the instructions in the article:

"1. Wash the cookware thoroughly with a steel wool pad (doing this while the pan is warm and still safe to touch is best)." . . . "Remember the creed of every enthusiast of cast iron - no soap and no steel wool." Steel wool and soap are Never necessary. Votes: -1

I have 11 cast iron skillets = and use them every day. We heated with wood in Alaska so when a pan needed to be really cleaned we'd put it eother downstairs in the furnace or upstairs in the wood stove for an hour or two. Then re-seasoned as others described. Do not try this with other metals; I put a poker right thru a cast aluminum skillet, fortunately they had starting warning about alum, toxicity just about then. Votes: +0

My skillet has rust on it and it seems that I can't get it off. I have seasoned it but the food tastes like rust. Any suggestion, or is it ruined? Votes: +0

i have used cast iron skillets when i start cooking age 12,and still useing them . they cook the best, as soon as done cooking i wash my pans
no soap, dry them with paper towl and put on stove to cool.i have bout cast iron pans from garage sales,and to cleam them i sprayed them with easey off and put in a plastic bag in the sun for a few houres ,then clean.
dry ,and oil pan and put in oven low heat, first time to use i cook potatoes with peeling in oil when doon toss them. now ready to use Votes: +0

My Mom used iron skillets and they are my favorite, too. They are great for bacon, eggs, fried potatoes (I only use for fried potatoes), and any meats. It's also the only thing I use for my corn bread! It's the only thing I use camping, too. Just scrub out with some sand or dirt, toss in the fire for a while, then coat with some of your bacon grease. Voila!
Once I scrambled eggs in one and for some reason, they stuck. No problem, I did what my Mom showed me. I dumped salt into the pan and used a paper towel to "scrub" the pan. Re-coated with bacon grease and it was ready to go. When we were kids, one of my sisters burned something in the pan and my Mom cleaned it by putting water in it and bringing it to a boil. She let the water boil and every few minutes, she would us a spatula to loosen the stuck on food. She then emptied out the water, used a nylon scrubber and warm water to get anything left out of the pan and re-seasoned. It turned out my sister washed the pan in soap and water before she used it.
Yepper, if you treat your ironware well, it will treat you well and last for decades!!! Votes: +0