Cast iron pans are durable and versatile for cooking. Proper seasoning and care of cast iron cookware makes your pans resistant to food sticking. This guide contains solutions for seasoning cast iron pans.
I rotate my 3 cast iron skillets and Dutch Oven and bake a batch of corn bread to keep them in top shape.
Pour one tablespoon of oil in bottom of skillet and put it in oven to heat while preheating to 400 degrees F to cook the cornbread.
Mix your dry ingredients in one bowl and your liquid ingredients in another. When the oven is at temperature, take skillet out of oven and set on stove. Quickly mix ingredients until just mixed, pour into hot pan and bake for 20 minutes.
Your pan will just need crumbs wiped out and will be ready to use.
By Jeanne
To season a brand new cast iron skillet, heat skillet on stove top. When the skillet gets hot, remove from heat and thickly coat with any kind of cooking oil. The inside and outside of the skillet should be shiny. Then put your skillet in the oven at 250 to 300 degrees F and "bake" the skillet for a good hour. Let cool, then wipe down skillet with paper towels to remove any excess oil.
Now use skillet normally, after each use it should be wiped out with paper towels rather then washing. If your using a fairly new skillet that has just recently been seasoned, spray Pam over skillet inside and out and put back on hot stove until skillet is warmed back up again.
If your cooking ingredients have stuck to the skillet, wash in warm soapy water and re-season as stated above. Determining which method to use depends on the age of your skillet. If the skillet is fairly new you may want to season it in the oven several times, until you get a good amount of oil in the skillet.
By looneylulu from Ocean City, MD
When seasoning a cast iron pan, I always heat the pan on the stove pot until very hot. Using a paper towel dipped in oil, wipe the inside of the pan, the sides, and the bottom with the oil. Let cool and wipe out any residual oil. Do not wash the pan, just wipe it with a paper towel. When very dirty, wash with soap and water and re-season.
By Marty from Tell City, IN
I have a new cast iron pan that I would like to oil or season before using it? What is the best way?
How can I repair my cast iron frying pan that was washed with too harsh a detergent?
By anak
By Lilac
01/12/2011
Fry bacon in it. Do not eat the bacon. Rub the bacon greese all over the inside and place the skillet in an oven under low heat. 180 will do. You may cook something else in there too to not waste the energy. Do this for an hour. Then wipe the skillet out good and it should be fine.
I bought an old, Griswald cast iron round griddle. I cleaned all of the rust off, washed and dried it, then tried to season it several times. No matter what I use or try, it keeps coming out sticky. I can't even wipe it out with a paper towel when I take it out of the oven. And it isn't black like my other skillets; it is more of a shiny gunmetal color. When I try to season it (twice now) it turns a coppery color. Any ideas of what I can try on it?
I have tried the conventional method (2-3 hrs in a 250 degree F oven with Crisco rubbed in it, and also placing it in a 450 F oven for 30 minutes. Thanks for any advice. It does say "cast iron' on the bottom.
By Kathy
By lyonpridej
10/27/2011
If putting it in the oven doesn't work & you can't put it in a fire, you can get the sticky residue off by washing it with hot, soapy water, this is not going to hurt it, will just take the oil off. It sounds like maybe you put too much Crisco on it in the 1st place. Mine does that when I use to much oil, don't have a hot enough oven, or don't leave it in long enough. I just wash it off & do it over.
When I get a 2nd hand cast iron piece that is covered with crusty black stuff, I just send it on a Boy Scout camp out with my husband & sons. My husband sticks it in the campfire coals & lets it burn the stuff off.
To keep my cast iron skillets and pots seasoned, I wash them in hot soapy water after use and then dry them on the stove.
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