SHOP PRODUCTS
Houzz Logo Print
azzalea_gw

In answer to a question--Cast Iron

azzalea
10 years ago

Sue, I've used a few methods.

Before seasoning, it's good to clean them down to the bare metal. I do that one of 2 ways. Either I put the pans in the oven while it's on the cleaning cycle. That takes the pans down to the bare metal, with no problem. Mind you, when I clean my oven, I only run it for 1 to 1.5 hours, instead of the full 3 hour cycle. I find that's enough to do the job. Alternatively, I've put cast iron in the BBQ (I've used both a propane grill or charcoal), closed the lid and let them cook until clean.

Then to season I rub the pans with solid shortening like Crisco. I don't ever cook my family's food with hydrogenated shortening, but I keep a small container of it in the freezer just for my cast iron. At that point, you can bake the pans in the oven until they've developed that dark, slick surface you want. Or, my preferred method is to do this step out back in the covered grill, as well--that keeps the mess, smoke and smell out of your kitchen (and you won't have to disable the smoke detector). Just be careful, whatever method you use, to keep an eye on things. I once went past 'perfectly seasoned', and ended up back at 'bare metal'.

For maintaining the pans, I wash them immediately when I'm done using them, then dry thoroughly either on a hot burner or in the oven. If possible, I use just hot water to wash them, but on occasion, I will use just a tiny bit of dish detergent (washing quickly and rinsing thoroughly). If something needs to be scrubbed off, a little salt usually does the trick. When the pans are dry, I sometimes rub just a tiny bit more crisco on them and let them heat a few more minutes, then I wipe well with a paper towel.

Mine seem to do pretty well with that regime. Although, I do find that now that I'm using an electric range, the outside seasoning seems to wear away more quickly, and needs a little more attention at times.

Hope that helped a bit.

Comments (8)