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How To: Seasoning Cast Iron
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Jörg



Joined: 31 Dec 2005
Posts: 51

PostPosted: Fri Jan 20, 2006 3:31 pm    Post subject: How To: Seasoning Cast Iron Reply with quote

I noticed that we don't have a post here about seasoning cast iron, so I thought I'd add one in case anyone ever needs it. This was originally posted in my blog, but I'll duplicate it here for convenience.

-----

I got a cast iron dutch oven in a couple of days ago from Amazon (from the order I mentioned in a recent post). First order of business was to clean and season the pot. You need to season cast iron for two reasons. First, it protects the iron. Cast iron rusts like crazy if it's not seasoned well. Second, it prevents food from sticking. Well-seasoned cast iron is extremely non-stick, rivaling teflon. (These same rules apply to carbon-steel cookware and even low-chromium stainless steel cookware). For whatever reason, I tend to look online at how other people recommend seasoning cast iron every time I do this. I've come to the conclusion that most people have no idea how to season cast iron.

Basically, you rub fat all over the pot/pan and then cook it until the fat burns up, leaving a carbon residue bonded to the item.

I keeping reading directions that say to cook at temperatures like 225 and 250. What? That's ridiculous. The goal is to burn carbon onto the pan. It takes forever to burn the fat up at that temperature. I also keep reading directions that say to use only a solid fat such as lard or vegetable shortening, because liquid oils don't work correctly. "Don't use a liquid vegetable oil because it will leave a sticky surface and the pan will not be properly seasoned." If you've got a sticky surface after seasoning, you're not cooking long or hot enough. Another site recommended against polyunsaturated fats. You're burning the fat up. All that's left is carbon. You can season with any fat you'd use in the kitchen. It doesn't matter what kind of fat it is. It all burns away except the carbon atoms.

I thought I'd share my seasoning technique, in case anyone cares:

  1. Clean the pan well. It needs to be completely clean to season properly. Rinse extremely well.
  2. Rub the whole pan (inside and out) with fat. Use oil, butter, lard, shortening, bacon fat, etc. It doesn't matter. Make sure you rub it on fairly thin, though. You don't want it pooling in the bottom of the pan, and you don't want it running out into the oven. (The latter will just smoke really badly.) Personally, I use vegetable oil and a paper towel to spread.
  3. Bake in a 350 degree (F) oven for 30 to 45 minutes, or longer if desired.
  4. Optionally let cool. If skipping this step, be careful during the next.
  5. Re-grease the inside of the pan (and outside if desired) as before.
  6. Bake in a 450 degree (F) oven for another 45 minutes or so.
  7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 as many more times as desired. (Pan will continue to darken and smooth, but any additional non-stick or protective properties of additional layers are reduced.)
  8. If, after cooling, pan is at all gummy or sticky to the touch, it must be baked longer.


Random notes:

  • I season at 350 for the first layer to ensure that it bonds well with the pan. 350 is also the temperature recommended by Lodge Logic. Additional layers are baked at 450 for speed. There should be no problem with additional layers bonding to the original.
  • A single layer of seasoning may be enough, but I always do at least two, for durability reasons.
  • If the pan has a plastic or wooden handle which cannot be removed, it's possible to season on the stove. But I've never done it, so you're on your own. Try medium-high heat. Or whatever.
  • After seasoning, you typically want to slightly oil/grease the pan whenever you're going to use it. Not always necessary, but it never hurts.
  • Supposedly, you should oil your cast iron between uses. I've never found this to be useful, but do it if you want. Make sure it's a thin layer, though.
  • Don't wash with soap. Wash with water (after cooling) and a stiff plastic brush or a sponge. No scouring pads. No steel wool. Dry completely when finished.
  • Don't store in a way that promotes moisture build-up or condensation. This means don't stack them tightly, and don't stack lids directly onto the pots they go with. Space things out with paper towels or something similar if need be.
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cynicalb



Joined: 12 May 2005
Posts: 33

PostPosted: Wed Jan 25, 2006 4:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

A good way to season a Dutch oven or a chicken fryer is to deep-fry in it. Easy to do and it comes out perfect. Plus, you get some tasty chicken, fish, or fries in the process.
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Smert



Joined: 31 Oct 2005
Posts: 11
Location: Gainesville, FL

PostPosted: Thu Jan 26, 2006 4:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm sure this question will elicit reactions of "Did he really just ask that?" but I'm going to ask anyway: when you say to oil the outside of cast iron, does that include the handle? I assume it does since seasoning helps prevent rust and you wouldn't want a rusty handle, but I'd rather not do something dumb to my cookware.

Thanks,
Mike
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cynicalb



Joined: 12 May 2005
Posts: 33

PostPosted: Thu Jan 26, 2006 8:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hey Smert,

Yep - I'm sure that is what Jorg means and that is what I do - exactly for the reason you state - to prevent rust. I only do the outside of the pan the first time I season it.

cb
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Jörg



Joined: 31 Dec 2005
Posts: 51

PostPosted: Fri Jan 27, 2006 2:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Smert, don't worry. It's a perfectly reasonable question. As cynicalb said, yes, you do want to season the handle to protect it.

Unless of course you have a wooden handled wok or something similar, but for solid cast iron, season it all over the first time, handles and all.
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Johneegeek



Joined: 12 May 2005
Posts: 21
Location: Kenosha, WI

PostPosted: Fri Jan 27, 2006 3:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Great info.

Also, I'd like to add that if you have a gas grill you can use it to season your cookware to reduce the smoke/smell inside your house. Wink

I have cast iron grates on my gas grill so I usually do a batch seasoning with a few items in the grill.
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Jörg



Joined: 31 Dec 2005
Posts: 51

PostPosted: Sat Jan 28, 2006 8:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Using a gas grill is actually an really good suggestion. It definitely smells when seasoning cast ron.
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chimeroid



Joined: 31 Jan 2006
Posts: 1

PostPosted: Tue Jan 31, 2006 2:12 am    Post subject: any wood handle wok seasoning tips? Reply with quote

any recommendations for seasoning carbon steel round bottom wok with wood handles?
Can't roast it in the oven.
I've tried to stovetop season, but it only seems to work for a few inches from the bottom and then it always seems to come off when I stir fry.
I don't use metal utensils.

thanks

maybe I'm wrong, but if the oil/fat is carbonized, doesn't it effectively turn to ash and come off? Isn't that why Lodge recommends 350 temp? I'm just trying to make sense of this, I've seen so many long low heat seasoning recommendations out there. I've tried various methods and have yet to find something that works for me.
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Jörg



Joined: 31 Dec 2005
Posts: 51

PostPosted: Tue Jan 31, 2006 3:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

For my carbon steel wok (ok, my roommate's), I took off the wooden handle and seasoned it in the oven. If you can get the handle off, that's your best bet. Next best is probably a gas stove. Rub oil all over the cooking surface of the wok and then tilt and turn the wok over the flame so that all the surface gets heated thoroughly. You may also be able to so this on an electric range. You might also try to do this same thing over the flame of a grill. That should also work (and keep the fumes outside).

If your seasoning is coming off when you stir-fry, I'd guess that you probably need either to cook the seasoning longer (definitely the case if it feels at all gummy) or make it thicker (i.e. more layers). I'm not an expert on this, though. My wok hasn't really gotten a lot of use since I seasoned it.

As for the fat turning to ash, it has to get quite a bit hotter to do that. My oven doesn't get hot enough to burn away the seasoning (at least, not in any reasonable amount of time). A self-cleaning oven generally will, though.
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Smert



Joined: 31 Oct 2005
Posts: 11
Location: Gainesville, FL

PostPosted: Wed Feb 01, 2006 6:47 am    Post subject: Care while cooking question Reply with quote

So I got my first piece of cast iron today (10" skillet) and one of my friends made a comment that I should get a trivet or something similar to put between my skillet and electric burner. She said it would help even out heating and prevent coil marks from appearing on the bottom of the pan.

Anyone have information on this? I (perhaps foolishly) thought cast iron could go directly onto electric burners; am I wrong?

Thanks,
Mike

(figured I'd ask in the seasoning thread since it is related to proper caring.)
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Jörg



Joined: 31 Dec 2005
Posts: 51

PostPosted: Wed Feb 01, 2006 4:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Congrats on your purchase.

As for the trivet, it's unnecessary and would be less energy efficient. You can put your cast iron directly onto the heating element. The heat will be applied in the places where contact is made, but that's hardly unique to cast iron. Anything you put on a burner will be heated primarily on the contact points. Decent pans (including cast iron) will spread the heat out effectively. Even if you used a trivet, you'd just be heating where the trivet contacted the cast iron, so you'd still be in the same situation. The cast iron would still need to effectively spread the heat out.

Coil marks on the bottom of your cast iron? Not really a concern. Do you worry about coil marks on the bottom of your stainless or aluminum pans? For the record, I don't have coil marks on the bottom of my cast iron skillet, but even if I did, I'm not sure why it would matter.

I say use it proudly. Put it directly on the electric burner, and cook yourself some tasty food.
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Smert



Joined: 31 Oct 2005
Posts: 11
Location: Gainesville, FL

PostPosted: Thu Feb 02, 2006 2:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Makes sense. Thanks!
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eldy
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 09, 2006 9:37 am    Post subject: reversible griddle Reply with quote

I have recently purchased a reversible cast iron griddle. I seasoned the flat side by wiping it with vegetable oil and putting it on medium-high heat for a solid 10 minutes, letting it cool and repeating once more. Cooking eggs over easy on the pan has always been a bit tough because it sticks. Do you think that it's because I didn't season the griddle properly or because the seasoning gets fired off whenever I use the ribbed side of the griddle? Should I even bother to season the flat side since I also use the ribbed side about half of the time?
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Jörg



Joined: 31 Dec 2005
Posts: 51

PostPosted: Fri Feb 10, 2006 2:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

First question is, are you using some oil when you cook eggs on it? Without some oil, eggs will probably stick no matter how well you've seasoned it.

You asked if the seasoning is getting fired off. That's something you'll have to check. If it's flaking off or such, then it's probably being damaged. Otherwise, probalby not. If it is being damaged, or you think your seasoning is just too thin, you could try adding a few more layers to see if it improves.

I don't have a lot of experience cooking eggs on cast iron. The only time I've done it, it worked fine, but I used quite a it of oil. I don't know how well it would have worked with less oil.

Hopefully someone else will chime in with more info that'll help you.
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david.mihola



Joined: 09 Feb 2006
Posts: 13
Location: Vienna, Austria

PostPosted: Mon Feb 13, 2006 5:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hello,

I recently seasoned an old cast iron skillet following Jörg's instructions (after everything else I found on the web had failed). It produced a really nice, shiny black surface. I was even to fry eggs in the pan with only a little additional oil and no sticking.

However, now, after a few days of use, more and more of the seasoning is coming off in flakes, exposing the silver-grey cast iron underneath. Does anyone here have any ideas what could be wrong?

Could the iron surface have been too smooth in the beginning (the pan was quite rusty from years of non-use, so I had so sand it and finally smoothed it with a rotating wire brush), somehow preventing the seasoning to get a "grip" on the iron?

Jörg wrote:

Quote:
If, after cooling, pan is at all gummy or sticky to the touch, it must be baked longer.


Should the pan still feel sticky while it is still hot? (I wiped it with a paper towel to test this - it did not feel sticky while it was hot, and it did not after cooling down).

If I now try to season the skillet again: would you suggest sanding off what is left of the current seasoning, or should I rather leave it on and just apply some additional layers?

Thanks for any suggestions!

David
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