Cast Iron Skillet Question

[bigtrain74]

So I bought a new cast iron skillet the other day to go camping with. This thing came pre-seasoned so I did not have to do anything to it. So I used it first off to make some steak teriyaki over the open camp fire. So when everything was done I scraped everything out of it as much as I could... Went about my evening and then the next morning I put the skillet over a propane burner and just let the pan burn everything else off. I got home from camping and the put the pan away in a dry place. I took the thing out last night in preparation for this weekend and this is a slight film of rust in the center of the pan. approx 4 inches across. Is the pan still useable? When should I do to clean it up?

Thanks all,

~Tony

 

[chowderpants]

its still good. I find that the "preseasoned " pans, well, aren't. Scrub it down with soap and water, dry it with a paper towel and set it on the stove over a low flame. Let it sit until all the visable water is gone plus 5 to 10 minutes.  Then you can season it yourself properly.  I like to pick up used and abused cast iron pans and skillets from antique shops and yard sales. I season them this way

1. put pan in a preheated oven (200 degrees) for about 20 minutes

2. Get some flaxseed oil (health food store or some grocery stores)

3. pour a small amount of oil in the pan and rub it all over, top and bottom, with your hands.

4. wipe it out with a paper towel. pan should look almost dry at this point.

5. place it upside down in a cool over and then set the temperature as high as it will go (mine stops at 500 degrees)

6. once the over reaches temp, set the timer for 1 hour. when the hour is up, turn the oven off, but dont open the door. let the pan cool off in there for about 2 hours.

7. repeat at least 5 more times.

You want the pan to end up looking like semigloss paint. If the pan feel sticky during this process, you either used too much oil,  your stove wasn't hot enough or you did let the pan "cook" long enough. You want to use the highest heat possible to get the oil over its smoking point to get rid of all the free radicals (possible carcinogens). When you use your pan for cooking, its important to keep the temperature under the cooking oils smoke temperature. When you have a well seasoned pan, you should never have to scrub it. Just wipe it out with a damp rag or sponge, set it on a low burner to make sure its completely dry and then store it in a cabinet.
 

 

[eman]

You burnt out the seasoning. You need to always have water in it when you put it over a fire. Boil the stuck on stuff off the pot.

  Now you need to re-season the pot.

 You can burn off the existing seasoning and start over again.  The best way I've found to burn off the seasoning is to place the D.O. upside down on a charcoal or a propane grill over a hot fire and close the top and let the heat do it's magic. You might have to use a brass brush and knock off any carbon that's was left behind (remnants of cooked on foods). Allow the cast iron to cool down a bit and then give the cast iron a good coating of vegetable oil or vegetable shortening or lard inside and out. Place the cast iron back on the grill-again bottom side up- and close the cover. If you are using a propane grill try and keep the temps between 400-450° F. Let the oil bake into the cast iron 1 1/2 to 2 hours. It will take several seasoning sessions to obtain that glossy black no-stick surface, Your first session will leave your cast iron with a green/gray color on it-subsequent seasonings will get it to the black you're looking for. In between seasonings you can deep fry or fry bacon in it but don't use soap to clean .just wipe out and burn w/ oil or lard.

 

[LanceR]

Tony, I can feel your pain.  I have a very different take on seasoning than most folks none of which makes any of us more correct than any other.

I'm a former Lodge dealer, longtime Scoutmaster yadda, yadda, yadda and I'm a fan of not making any unnecessary work for myself.  To get rid of anything stuck on a skillet or dutch oven all I do is put some water in it to cover the stuff (if its a skillet) or put some water in it and plop the lid on on a DO and put on the heat.  When the water gets good and hot (for a skillet) set it aside and let the hot water soften everything.  For a DO I wait to see a bit of stem from under the lid and set it aside to let the steam do the work.

To dislodge any softened residue that won't wipe out I keep a bronze wool pad in my camp cook kit and one under the sink at home.  You can find them at a well stocked restaurant supply store or order them online.  They are less work that a brush, hold up longer for scrubbing  and won't harm the seasoning unless you really get carried away.

I agree that you incinerated what seasoning there was.  No biggie.  I don't mess around using an oven to season cast iron.  It it's a skillet I fry some fish or some such and baste the side as I go.  It it's a DO I deep fry something, usually donuts if youngsters are around.  That's it.  Wipe it out and use it for frying things that call for a goodly amount of oil or shortening for a few uses and it is as seasoned as any other method with a lot less work.

Your mileage may vary. 
 

If you are only going to use it occasionally be sure to dry it over a bit of heat as already described by others and then wipe it with clean oil if you cooked anything with a significant acid content or a lot of salt.  If I feel the need to oil it I wipe it out until I can see a sheen of oil but it won't take a fingerprint.  Each cast iron implement is different so you may find that these methods don't work for you.  After a while you'll figure it out.

I hope some of this rambling helps.

Lance

 

[scubadoo97]

its still good. I find that the "preseasoned " pans, well, aren't. Scrub it down with soap and water, dry it with a paper towel and set it on the stove over a low flame. Let it sit until all the visable water is gone plus 5 to 10 minutes.  Then you can season it yourself properly.  I like to pick up used and abused cast iron pans and skillets from antique shops and yard sales. I season them this way



1. put pan in a preheated oven (200 degrees) for about 20 minutes


2. Get some flaxseed oil (health food store or some grocery stores)


3. pour a small amount of oil in the pan and rub it all over, top and bottom, with your hands.


4. wipe it out with a paper towel. pan should look almost dry at this point.


5. place it upside down in a cool over and then set the temperature as high as it will go (mine stops at 500 degrees)


6. once the over reaches temp, set the timer for 1 hour. when the hour is up, turn the oven off, but dont open the door. let the pan cool off in there for about 2 hours.


7. repeat at least 5 more times.



You want the pan to end up looking like semigloss paint. If the pan feel sticky during this process, you either used too much oil,  your stove wasn't hot enough or you did let the pan "cook" long enough. You want to use the highest heat possible to get the oil over its smoking point to get rid of all the free radicals (possible carcinogens). When you use your pan for cooking, its important to keep the temperature under the cooking oils smoke temperature. When you have a well seasoned pan, you should never have to scrub it. Just wipe it out with a damp rag or sponge, set it on a low burner to make sure its completely dry and then store it in a cabinet.
 

The Sheryl Canter method

I can vouch for this method of seasoning being excellent. It builds a tough as nails seasoning if done correctly. I reseasoned all my CI skillets this way and I'm very happy.

I know lard and bacon grease is traditional but flax works so well and at high temps too

 

[scubadoo97]

its still good. I find that the "preseasoned " pans, well, aren't. Scrub it down with soap and water, dry it with a paper towel and set it on the stove over a low flame. Let it sit until all the visable water is gone plus 5 to 10 minutes.  Then you can season it yourself properly.  I like to pick up used and abused cast iron pans and skillets from antique shops and yard sales. I season them this way



1. put pan in a preheated oven (200 degrees) for about 20 minutes


2. Get some flaxseed oil (health food store or some grocery stores)


3. pour a small amount of oil in the pan and rub it all over, top and bottom, with your hands.


4. wipe it out with a paper towel. pan should look almost dry at this point.


5. place it upside down in a cool over and then set the temperature as high as it will go (mine stops at 500 degrees)


6. once the over reaches temp, set the timer for 1 hour. when the hour is up, turn the oven off, but dont open the door. let the pan cool off in there for about 2 hours.


7. repeat at least 5 more times.



You want the pan to end up looking like semigloss paint. If the pan feel sticky during this process, you either used too much oil,  your stove wasn't hot enough or you did let the pan "cook" long enough. You want to use the highest heat possible to get the oil over its smoking point to get rid of all the free radicals (possible carcinogens). When you use your pan for cooking, its important to keep the temperature under the cooking oils smoke temperature. When you have a well seasoned pan, you should never have to scrub it. Just wipe it out with a damp rag or sponge, set it on a low burner to make sure its completely dry and then store it in a cabinet.
 

The Sheryl Canter method

I can vouch for this method of seasoning being excellent. It builds a tough as nails seasoning if done correctly. I reseasoned all my CI skillets this way and I'm very happy.

I know lard and bacon grease is traditional but flax works so well and at high temps too

 

[urbanredneck]

I've done a few different methods for skillet seasoning, what I finally settled on is pretty lazy- the long term stuff does build a pretty solid coating, but you can get a pretty decent performance by just using a good amount of oil in cooking everything- usually people under-utilize oil in cast iron cooking- don't be afraid of butter or bacon!  After cooking on the cast iron, I always get it clean with a light scrub, toss it back on the flame until it's dried, and put some oil in it and let it get pretty hot, almost to the smoke point.  Wipe it out with a paper towel until there's just a light amount of oil left, and it will store really well- keeps it from developing any rust at all, and the more you use it, the better the surface gets. 

 

[bigtrain74]

Thanks all for the tip! I will get on that ASAP! You guys are the best!

 

[chowderpants]

The Sheryl Canter method
I can vouch for this method of seasoning being excellent. It builds a tough as nails seasoning if done correctly. I reseasoned all my CI skillets this way and I'm very happy.
I know lard and bacon grease is traditional but flax works so well and at high temps too

Yep, I stumbled on her site a few years ago. I tried that method the next time I needed to restore a pan and have been hooked. Her thoughts on using a "drying oil" and about free radicals forming after reaching the smoke point of the oil made sense to me. I used to use bacon fat and I didnt like how it sometimes left the pans almost tacky. This is the only method I use now.