Cast Iron Seasoning

[GregS]

@GregS why Reseason?? Why not? Personally I like learning new techniques and playing with my cookware whether it's a kettle or a fry pan. I also like to know what I'm cooking on is clean and safe for my family, just like a 2nd hand kettle , I like to clean it before I cook on it. Who knows what the previous owner has used it for......

@Hogsy good points.  i just didn't know if CI "needed" to be re-seasoned. 

i can understand choices etc.  but if there was an inherent "need" is what i wanted to know. 

[JDD]

I wish I never opened this thread. I am now thinking about reseasoning all of my CI. Thanks guy's. Honestly, I'm glad I read this stuff because there is so much good info here. Well time to get cleaning.

[gunner]

This is the best video I have found on the subject.  You can skip the part about stripping if you want, but the section on seasoning is top notch, and has become the way I season and maintain mine.  The seasoning portion of the video begins at 10:10:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6Tz3HnnCFs


Winz

Thanks for the link Winz! I ended up using oven cleaner and stripped my pan and gonna start the seasoning process over this weekend and use the method in the video along with Crisco (I happen to have some on hand). I am thinking since I didn't strip it to begin with, I was just seasoning on top of old crud and that's why food still stuck...We shall see!

[Winz]

Thanks for the link Winz! I ended up using oven cleaner and stripped my pan and gonna start the seasoning process over this weekend and use the method in the video along with Crisco (I happen to have some on hand). I am thinking since I didn't strip it to begin with, I was just seasoning on top of old crud and that's why food still stuck...We shall see!

You're welcome.  With regard to food sticking, my personal experience:

• Start with a smooth pan.  I have some older cast iron that is really smooth on the bottom, and some newer "pre seasoned" pieces.  The newer pieces are somewhat rough (necessary to make the pre seasoning stick).  The newer ones will NEVER be good nonstick pans unless you are willing to grind them smooth.
• Your pan must have heat to be nonstick.  Iron is a relatively poor conductor of heat (however once heated it retains that heat very well).  Put your pan on the burner and allow it time to come up to temperature.
• Use a good amount of fat.  Butter and olive oil tend to be my fat of choice, but whatever you use, don't skimp.
• As grillers, we all know that cold protein on a hot surface will stick.  You must allow whatever you are cooking to release from the pan (or grill grate) before moving it.  The biggest mistakes I have made with scrambled eggs is trying to move them around right after dropping them in the pan.  Let them cook for a minute or two before moving.
• Use a stainless steel spatula with rounded edges.  Metal will not hurt your pan, and will give you the right tool to scrape up any portion of your food that is sticking.  Plastic will not work as well.

Just my $.02


Winz

[Winz]

Deleting double post

[ClubChapin]

This is a nice thread on Cast Iron.  I ran across this nice article on Serious Eats and thought I'd share it.
http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/11/the-truth-about-cast-iron.html

[ClubChapin]

Friday night.  Sparked a bowl.  Listening to Alice in Chains and Soundgarden.  Seasoning my Lodge 12th Man Dutch Oven.

Thanks for all of the tips, it is going well.

[Hogsy]

Great selection of music to be listening to whilst seasoning
It's been a couple of months since I seasoned my pans and I'm really happy with the results
They just keep getting better and better
I've been making sure to only wash them in warm water(no suds)
And I've been wiping them with flax seed oil after washing them
Thanks for all the advice even the missus loves using them

[GregS]

Made some killer spaghetti sauce the other day, first time in ci.  Came out awesome. 

[aguyindallas]

Maybe we are doing it wrong, but it's working for us.

We have a couple that we bought new and a couple we have rescued front use.

In the case of the new ones, we simply put them on the stove over a medium high flame to warm them up, then I drop in some vegetable oil. I use a paper towel to rub it in and rub it off. I continue with the heat right until it starts smoking. Then I toss them in the oven (turned off) as this helps control the little bit of smoke as it cools off.

With the rescues, we simply boiled some water in them and scrubbed the heck out of them until cleaned to our satisfaction. Then, to season, I repeated the process above three or four times.

Every time we use them, we wash I the sink and repeat the process. Works great for us.


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