How to Season a Cast Iron Skillet
If you are going to use cast iron, then you need to know a couple of important bits of information.
1. Before you use your new cast iron, wash it with soapy water then season it.
2. Once you have seasoned your pot or pan, NEVER NEVER NEVER use soap on it again.
3. If you buy a used pot or pan and it is dirty, rusty, and gross, put the pan in the sink or a rubber tub, fill it with Coca-Cola, and leave it overnight. I'm serious - Coke will eat through rust...imagine what it does to your innards! Then get a course scrubber and soapy water to get the rust off. Now you can season your pan. I repeat, once you have seasoned your pot or pan, NEVER NEVER NEVER use soap on it again.
4. To clean your seasoned pan after you have cooked in it, boil some water in it then wipe it out or just wipe it out with a cloth or paper towel and season lightly if it needs it.
To Season Your Cast Iron
After your pot has been washed and dried, slather Crisco all over it. I'm talking the underside, the handles, the lid, the whole shebang.
Coat it good until the whole thing is slick.
Lay down a layer of foil in the bottom of your oven or put a cookie sheet with a layer of foil on it on the rack below where you will be placing your pot.
Turn the oven on low heat for 5 hours or so and place the pot on a rack above the foil.
Cut the oven off and just leave the pot in there until morning.
Wake up and cook breakfast in your newly naturally (as natural as Crisco can be) non-stick cookware.
This is Wastutesy's way of seasoning cast iron and since that is all she uses, she knows what she is talking about.
This is part of Works for Me Wednesday.
seriously, no soap? i love my iron, but i admit i use soap after every use. i don't let it soak in the water. i wash it out, put it on the stove on high heat to dry it, spray or rub oil on it and put it up.
ReplyDeletehow do i get over the "no soap, ew, that's icky" feeling?
Your Granny would smack your bottom if she knew you were using soap! :) The soap breaks down the seasoning. Plus, the more well seasoned a pan is, the more iron intake you get from it. You are right, never let your pan sit in water and surely no one would dream of putting it in the dishwasher, right?! Lord have mercy on your soul if you do! I put my iron on the stove or in the oven for a while to completely dry out as well.
ReplyDeleteAs for the icky no soap thing, I'm not sure how to get over that. I just know that my Maw-maw used her cornbread pan every day or 2 and it was as slick as greased lightening. Never once did she even put water in the thing. She would wipe it out and it would be ready for the next pan of perfectly cooked cornbread. I think the heat kills any germs (that's how I justify it anyway.)
well, then i guess from now on, no soap will touch my iron. lol
ReplyDeletei always look at them whenever i see them on a store shelf. one day i will add to my small collection. i just have one big skillet and a small sauce pan w/a skillet lid.
sadly, my cornbread gets made in a warped 8x8 aluminum pan. one day...i will have great cornbread.
Oh Ms. Becky you made me laugh. :) I have friends and family that would disown me for saying this (so don't tell them you heard it from me) but I think new cast iron works just as well as old. Great cornbread can still be yours! It could be made in your big skillet; just mix up 2 batches of batter and away you go. Your lil' ol' 8x8 aluminum pan will have to used for fudge instead...which isn't a bad purpose at all. :)
ReplyDeleteThese are the easiest instructions I've ever seen for season cast-iron. I have two pans for camping, and I love cooking in them, but I don' think I seasoned them quite right because I still get some sticking. Time to start over and do it right this time. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteGlad they could be of use to you. :) The beautiful thing about cast iron cookware is the more you use it, the slicker it gets. Good luck!
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