Back to cast iron skillets

[Brokenhandle]

I have used my 12" skillet 6 times now. I have cleaned with hot water, Kosher salt, and the Lodge plastic scraper each time. No soap. I have seasoned after all six uses. Wiped with vegetable oiled paper towel and baked for an hour at 400 degrees. After each seasoning it becomes a little easier to clean.

It''s not that hard to season the skillet. I am wondering how many more times I need to season it.

There are many schools of thought on cleaning cat iron, but a friend of mine that buys , cleans up and restores cast iron and sells it told me this...what does salt on roadways do to cars during winter months... rusts them. Not saying it's bad but does make sense to me.

Use your pan, fry bacon, fry potatoes, fry whatever you want in it. Rinse it out with hot water, use your plastic scraper, if things really stuck on it, boil some water in it first then scrape clean. Dry it well, light coat of oil with paper towel... then I always heat it up on stove. It's been seasoned enough I would say.

Here's my $1 garage find from a year or so ago, wished I had the before picture.

We mainly use it for making toast on it while camping. I bet I could chase an egg over the edge easy enough.

Ryan

 

[SmokyMose]

I have used my 12" skillet 6 times now. I have cleaned with hot water, Kosher salt, and the Lodge plastic scraper each time. No soap. I have seasoned after all six uses. Wiped with vegetable oiled paper towel and baked for an hour at 400 degrees. After each seasoning it becomes a little easier to clean.

It''s not that hard to season the skillet. I am wondering how many more times I need to season it.

Once you've cooked in it a few times you won't have to season. Just clean it and give it a wipe of oil. Good for the next time.

 

[xbubblehead]

I have used my 12" skillet 6 times now. I have cleaned with hot water, Kosher salt, and the Lodge plastic scraper each time. No soap. I have seasoned after all six uses. Wiped with vegetable oiled paper towel and baked for an hour at 400 degrees. After each seasoning it becomes a little easier to clean.

It''s not that hard to season the skillet. I am wondering how many more times I need to season it.

Lodge usually does a good job at factory seasoning; just cooking and not over scouring, even with a stiff brush, will allow a coating to build with each use. As for soap; if I cook something very oily like pork shoulder or very aromatic I'll use a little dish soap, wipe the inside down and rinse, never had a problem damaging the coating.

 

[whistlepig]

Wet Kosher salt seems like a mild abrasive. Not like sand, metal, or Scotchbrite. And agree that salt on metal could be the worst possible thing. But I immediatly wash off the salt, dry the skillet, and oil it with a vegetable oil soaked paper towel. There is no way to keep salt away from my skillet. We have a water softener and there's already plenty salt enough in the water.

 

[fftwarren]

Not sure if it had been mentioned, but do yourself a favor and buy a chainmail scrubber. Never need soap or anything. Has drastically changed my cast iron life. Cleans like a breeze and can cook just about anything with sticking now. It is a must have for cast iron cooking

 

[whistlepig]

Not sure if it had been mentioned, but do yourself a favor and buy a chainmail scrubber. Never need soap or anything. Has drastically changed my cast iron life. Cleans like a breeze and can cook just about anything with sticking now. It is a must have for cast iron cooking

I do have a chain mail scrubber. Still new in the package. It seems cast iron needs the seasoning preserved. No soap, no metal cleaning, Soft scrubbing agents. And I am still learning. But at least I have passed the point of throwing cast iron skillets away.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Ok, I’ll wade in here. What I’m about to say is non traditional, so take it as my experience and nothing more. Maybe it will work for you, maybe not.

Im not going to go into seasoning the iron, but maintenance. I’ve cooked on cast iron for the better part of 40 years. So much so, that many of my pans have had to be taken to the shop and torch the built up grease off the bottom, because cast iron is porous and the grease will eventually permeate the pan and need to be cleaned on exterior. That all said.
To clean my seasoned CI pans, I first scrape out the oil and grease best I can. Then pour maybe 1/2” water into the pan and on to high heat. Let this come to a simmer. With a Metal spachula scrape and dredge the bottom of the simmering pan. Metal on metal here is just fine. Scrape up all the stuff off the bottom of the pan and even the sides. Off heat once the spachula glides smoothly all over. I take this outside and toss the contents of the pan( probably not doable in a city environment, but ya never know) then back to the kitchen and rub the pan out with a paper towel. The grease that was in the pan will rise up in the simmering water and stick to the sides. While wiping the pan out, you rub that thin layer of grease down onto the floor of the pan. It’s light but just enough to prep it for storage. Long winded, but this absolutely is the easiest and best way to keep cast iron clean.

Just happened to fry some bacon today.

Scraped out the bits and grease then added about 1/2” water. Bring to a simmer just long enough to scrape the bottom and sides with a metal spatula, then off heat.

Dump the water and wipe with a paper towel. Learned this from my dad when I was 8. He learned this from his grandparents.

 

[fftwarren]

I do have a chain mail scrubber. Still new in the package. It seems cast iron needs the seasoning preserved. No soap, no metal cleaning, Soft scrubbing agents. And I am still learning. But at least I have passed the point of throwing cast iron skillets away.

You preserve the seasoning using the chain. You are scrubbing with rounds edges. So it’s not scratching the seasoning. It just knock off anything stuck on. I just use the hottest water my hands can handle and the chainmail to wash. When I’m done, the oils are still seasoning the skillet, but there’s no food stuck or anything like that.

 

[whistlepig]

All the advice is greatly appeciated. Easy to see the mystery of cleaning and seasoning cast iron.

 

[JLeonard]

SmokinEdge You aint used that skillet much have you? LOL. Looks mighty slick.
Jim

 

[chopsaw]

I am still learning. But at least I have passed the point of throwing cast iron skillets away.

Do whatever works for you . If you're having success that's good . Sounds like you got it .

 

[kawboy]

Love my cast iron! I agree with most of the mentioned methods. I generally put some water in the dirty pan, turn up the heat, and simmer the crud loose. A little scaping and maybe a bit of copper scrubber to remove the stubborn stuff. Rinse good, throw back on the stove to heat dry, then a quick wipe with oil. Doesn't usually take that much though. Wife thinks I have too much cast in the kitchen, I think she is mistaken. A couple years ago I got into using an electrolysis tank for Stripping down some neglected ones I've found. Kinda fun!

 

[Torch&Tone]

Cast iron cookware is definitely one of Those Topics. Everyone who believes, tends to worship in their own, slightly different way. Thine articles of faith shall be numbered thus:
I. Sourcing of the Pan - how important is age? how important is the use of power tools to smooth it out and remove even the slightest trace of rust?
II. Seasoning of the Pan - manuf's preseasoning is sufficient or horrible; use [insert particular fat/oil/grease here] and [insert temperature range here] for [number] cycles before actually cooking with it
III. Cooking with the Pan - either no acids (especially tomato sauce or lemon juice), or just limited acidity/time, or f*ck it, we're cooking with the kitchen equivalent of a lumbering battleship/B-52, bring it on
IV. Cleaning of the Pan - how much soap is too much, whether the chainmail can "break" or scour the seasoning; boiling water, plastic scrapers, metal spatula, and/or other tools
V. Return of the Seasoning - [see II.]
I have seen no shortage of debate on each question and, interestingly, no definitive, conclusive evidence change *anyone's* mind.

 

[Brokenhandle]

Cast iron cookware is definitely one of Those Topics. Everyone who believes, tends to worship in their own, slightly different way. Thine articles of faith shall be numbered thus:
I. Sourcing of the Pan - how important is age? how important is the use of power tools to smooth it out and remove even the slightest trace of rust?
II. Seasoning of the Pan - manuf's preseasoning is sufficient or horrible; use [insert particular fat/oil/grease here] and [insert temperature range here] for [number] cycles before actually cooking with it
III. Cooking with the Pan - either no acids (especially tomato sauce or lemon juice), or just limited acidity/time, or f*ck it, we're cooking with the kitchen equivalent of a lumbering battleship/B-52, bring it on
IV. Cleaning of the Pan - how much soap is too much, whether the chainmail can "break" or scour the seasoning; boiling water, plastic scrapers, metal spatula, and/or other tools
V. Return of the Seasoning - [see II.]
I have seen no shortage of debate on each question and, interestingly, no definitive, conclusive evidence change *anyone's* mind.

Yep! What ^^^^^^^ he said! If it works for ya and turns out good food it doesn't really matter!

Ryan

 

[bill1]

Mom had CI like glass and yes, wiping with paper towel, whether to dry or to add oil, worked just fine. But DON'T USE PAPER TOWELS on the newer textured stuff. It balls up in tiny clumps you can't see and then messes things up at your next cook. With the textured pans, only use cotton cloth. (Or your bare hand if oiling.)

Enough of the public service announcement...Has anyone cut the handles off their CI pans so they can get a bigger one in their cooker and then use a vice-grips for moving/lifting. I'm tempted, but just can't bring myself to defacing them. Griddles and some pans have dual little stubs that take two gloved hands to move when hot. They're worth the two-hand penalty they incur in my opinion.

 

[forktender]

This is the only soap that ever hits my C.I. if there is food burnt of stuck to your pans, use a chain maul pad or S.S scrubby on them.

Before I season up any new or old and abused C.I. I chuck up one of these into my grinder and go to town until the inside of the pan is as smooth as a babies bottom. Wash it out 2-3 times using boiling water and 2 drops of dish soap, rinse VERY WELL, then season with real lard, not that fake Crisco garbage.
I season my C.I. four times before I cook in them. They are nonstick at the point, the mistake most people make when seasoning CI is they leave way too much oil on the pan. I use one TS of lard inside the pan and one on the outside of the pan. Get the pan good and hot before you season them then rub the lard into the CI for 3-5 minutes, then with a clean cloth wipe out as much of the lard as you can before putting the pan into the oven. I season my CI and carbon pans at 325* for 2 hours each time until it has four layers of seasoning on them. Then after each use I heat up the pan on the stove then add a cap full of grapeseed oil to protect the seasoning.

I've saved some pretty gnarly looking CI pans and Dutch ovens and by using a wire wheel and the sanding wheels on my 4'' side grinder, they turn out awesome.

 

[forktender]

Mom had CI like glass and yes, wiping with paper towel, whether to dry or to add oil, worked just fine. But DON'T USE PAPER TOWELS on the newer textured stuff. It balls up in tiny clumps you can't see and then messes things up at your next cook. With the textured pans, only use cotton cloth. (Or your bare hand if oiling.)

Enough of the public service announcement...Has anyone cut the handles off their CI pans so they can get a bigger one in their cooker and then use a vice-grips for moving/lifting. I'm tempted, but just can't bring myself to defacing them. Griddles and some pans have dual little stubs that take two gloved hands to move when hot. They're worth the two-hand penalty they incur in my opinion.

I'm not sure why you just don't buy a flat bottom Dutch oven and leave the pans handles be?

 

[Nate52]

I love how everyone has their own tried and true methods for seasoning and maintenance. One person's one and only correct way of doing things can be absolute blasphemy to another. The great thing about cast iron is that you can take the time to figure out what works best for you. Screw it up? No problem. Strip it and start over. Unless it gets warped or cracked, its indestructible.

There is just one hard and fast rule I tell people. Whether its new, used, or antique, make sure its an American made product. We should be doing this with most products, but this is about health. One of the things about cooking with cast iron is that it leaches small amounts of iron into your food, which is a good thing. You can trust that American made products are going to be pure iron. But there aren't any standards for the stuff that comes out of China. Could be anything, like lead, mixed into the scrap metals that these cheap skillets are made out of. Whatever is in there, could end up in your body.

 

[chopsaw]

I use a coffee filter to oil the newer textured pans .

 

[xbubblehead]

A couple of my pans are over 60 years old, never had any special treatment, I know that because they're from family and they cook just fine. I never use anything harder than a Nylon scraper or stiff brush and I would never consider using chain-mail on my pans and I do use mild soap if I want to get rid of oils that could get rancid. Cook, wash, dry and lightly oil as needed.