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I think this has been discussed before but I can't find the thread: For Christmas I got a new cast iron skillet form spoiled brat. I can't for the life of me remember how to season it before we try it out. All I know for sure is the darn thing weighs about 50 lbs. Well, maybe not quite that much. I am really happy to have a new one but I don't want to try it until I know how to get it ready and the instructions are written in brown or a brown background. I don't if anyone could read them. This is what happens when you buy the "REAL" thing from the local farm store.
I have 3 rusty cast iron pans that I can't use, so I am not the one to advise on how to season. Surely someone here is savvy concerning this topic. Good luck!
I have 3 rusty cast iron pans that I can't use, so I am not the one to advise on how to season. Surely someone here is savvy concerning this topic. Good luck!
Get some naval jelly and 0000 steel wool from the hardware store, scrub off the rust, wash & rinse well, dry with paper towels and then rub with a skim coat of oil and stick in a warm oven for an hour or so (or overnight if you used the oven at dinnertime and it's still warm inside) to make sure they're completely dry and are ready to season. Then commence to follow the seasoning instructions that you can find online.
lots and LOTS of youtube videos if you want to go that route (most are on restoration, but they all include seasoning).
Me, I use the oven method and canola oil. Light coating on the entire cold pan, in the oven on 500 till smoking, wipe any excess oil (or rather, just wipe the pan with a dry cloth). Paper-towels shed badly, so I use flour-sack towels that are ready to be/have been retired from normal use. Let pan cool, then repeat another time or two.
For care, I don't do much odd... I still wash in the sink, with soapy water and a scouring pad (one of the Scotchbrite plastic things) as needed. The only unusual thing I do is to put it back on the stove over heat to drive off moisture. Takes about 2 years before I decide to re-season the inside, and that's the trade-off I make for easy wash-up.
If you want the best of the best, then apparently Flax-oil is the current Holy Grail.
I was always skeeved out by not being able to use soap on the pan, so I never used cast iron. THEN I got a sous vide and needed to finish meat with either a cast iron pan or a home version of a blow torch. Knowing my slapdash chef skilks, the blow torch seemed like a dinner invitation to the fire squad, so I opted for cast iron.
I have 3 rusty cast iron pans that I can't use, so I am not the one to advise on how to season. Surely someone here is savvy concerning this topic. Good luck!
I had a rusty one too …… I put a wire brush round head type (sander) in an electric drill and (scrubbed.sanded) and it worked …. then season it ...a new fresh start
Last edited by mainebrokerman; 12-23-2018 at 09:30 AM..
Do NOT use too much oil. Ask me how I know. I did that on a new square skillet and spent the next few years dealing with the "too thick" coating flaking off in the corners.
I rub mine lightly with oil on the inside after every use. And never, ever, put it away the least bit damp. And just for extra measure I don't let anyone else use it.
You're right about heavy. Can hardly manage my big one anymore once it's filled. But, oh, the flavor!
I have 3 rusty cast iron pans that I can't use, so I am not the one to advise on how to season. Surely someone here is savvy concerning this topic. Good luck!
Heck I picked out all my own presents this year and spoiled brat did not wrap them, so I might as well start using them, right?
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