My mom gave me a cast iron skillet a few years ago for my birthday and right off the bat, I hated it.
Everything I cooked on it stuck like mad. Dinner was a mess and so was the skillet.
Cleaning it that night was a HUGE chore, and it only took that one dinner before I swore off cast iron altogether.
Well, almost.
Granted, it’s taken me a LONG time to figure out how to use cast iron properly, but now that I have, let’s just say this:
Cooking in cast iron rocks!
I could gush about the depth of flavor. I could go on and on about the perfect sear that it gives vegetables and meats.
And I’d love to show you how easy it is to clean up when we’re done cooking.
But first thing’s first – seasoning your cast iron skillet is a must before you cook anything.
PS – I currently have a 12″ skillet, but I’m eyeing a bread loaf pan and this 9″ skillet to add to my collection!
Seasoning Cast Iron (the Right Way)
We’re not talking about salt and pepper here. “Seasoning” cast iron is really the fancy way of getting your skillet to do all the amazing things I mentioned above (sear, flavor, easy to clean, etc.). And we make the magic happen with fat.
There are probably a dozen different ways to season a cast iron skillet, but I’m going to share with you MY way of doing. The way that I know works. This method allowed me to fall in love with my cast iron skillet.
(1) Wash
If you are using a brand-new OR a new-to-you cast iron skillet, gently scrub your cast iron skillet clean with warm soapy water. You don’t need to do this if you’ve owned your skillet for a while, and there’s even a good chance you’ll never use dish soap again.
Psst – If you’re just bringing your skillet out from the depths of the pots and pans drawer, you can skip this step.
Why Wash?
Well, I kinda have this thing about eating off pots and pans and dishes that other people have without washing them first.
And I don’t really know the entire manufacturing and packing process either, so I prefer to wash cookware fresh out of the box too.
You could live on the wild side and not wash the pot, but if you catch cooties, that’s on you.
(2) Dry
Your skillet needs to be 200% dry (<–not a typo) every time it gets wet, including this first time.
I like to put mine on top of my stove and turn the heat on medium low until I can no longer visibly see water on the surface. Turn the heat off and let it cool before handling.
Some people might use the oven, but I like the stove top because it’s quick and easy. Plus, having it in plain sight means I won’t forget about it later.
Why dry?
You’re about to season your cast iron skillet with fat, and if you recall from science class, fat and water don’t mix. If your pan isn’t dry, it won’t absorb the fat and won’t create that awesome non-stick surface we’re aiming for. Kapeesh?
Plus you don’t want the pan to rust. (It IS iron, remember?)
(3) Grease
Take one tablespoon of coconut oil, lard or tallow and thoroughly coat the entire cooking surface – bottom, sides, even the lip. Use a paper towel or an old rag and REALLY rub it in there. It’s important to not cheat here and do a half-way job otherwise your cast iron skillet will stick and drive you crazy.
Once it’s nice and shiny and coated, take another paper towel (or fold the old rag) and wipe off the excess. Yep, wipe it off! You’ll be leaving a thin coat of fat on the skillet and it should look dull at this point.
Why grease?
When you fill the pores of cast iron and coating the exterior with fat, a non-stick sealant-type layer is created when the pan is put over heat. It’s this layer that turns a normal cast iron skillet into a non-stick cooking phenomenon!
(4) Bake
Preheat the oven as high as you can (but at least 400F). Then put the pan in upside down on a rack. Set the timer for an hour and let the fat become one with the cast iron skillet. When the timer goes off, turn off the oven but leave the door closed with the pan still inside.
If the pan starts to smoke, do not call the fire department. That is the old gunk coming off (factory sealant and/or old cootie-filled food that someone else left behind!) and possibly the fat cooking. This is normal, but open windows and/or turn on fans as needed. The smoke will lessen with each subsequent bake and will eventually stop.
Wait… we’re not done yet?
(5) Bake again.
Repeat steps 3 and 4 five more times, for a total of SIX rounds of greasing and baking. Think I’m crazy? I assure you I’m not and I have a very nicely seasoned cast iron skillet to prove it!
Why bake… again?
The pores in cast iron are really, really small. Even the best greasers will miss some and only a thoroughly seasoned pan will create an awesome cooking surface.
Cooking with Cast Iron
It’s probably just me, but I prefer to add grease to my skillets before cooking. My cast iron is non-stick at this point, but the flavor of butter or bacon grease enhances whatever I’m cooking. I always add it before I cook anything anyway.
Whether you add grease before you cook is up to you, but if you followed the steps above, you should have a nicely seasoned cast iron skillet on your hands!
Cleaning Cast Iron
Whether you season the pan or not, we can be on the same page for clean up. It’s best to clean the pan as soon as it’s cool enough to handle (cool, not cold). Then you can easily remove whatever is left in the pan.
To clean a cast iron skillet, simply wipe it out with a cloth or paper towel. That’s it!
If you have any stubborn pieces of food left, you can scrub those out with a bit of warm water (no soap). If you do this, be sure you thoroughly dry the skillet on the stove top as mentioned in step 2 above.
Now, if you cooked something extra greasy, you might need a drop or two of dish soap. Some people say never to use dish soap, but I’m not one of them. Granted, you don’t want to use it EVERY time, but using it on occasion when the level of grease seems to be out of control is fine.
This last bit is entirely optional, but I like to add a wee bit of fat to the pan as it dries on the stove top. And by wee bit, I mean like 1/2 teaspoon or so. I’ll smear it over the bottom as soon as the pan is cool and let it absorb. Totally optional of course, but I always do this if I have to use the dish soap. It’s a trick I learned from my step-mom (who never steered me wrong in the kitchen).
Put the pan away when it’s completely cool and you’re done!
I have heard about how wonderful cast iron is, but I’m put-off by how high-maintenance is seems to be. I have a really hard time with the notion of not washing a pan I’ve cooked in, especially when I’ve cooked meat in it. It just seems like it would be a germ factory. Am I wrong??
It’s really not! The first round of seasoning is the most work you’ll ever do, and if you do it before you go to bed at night, you’ll wake up to a cool pan. Do this for about a week and you’re good. It sounds weird not washing, but you really don’t have to. Wiping out is ideal, but I often use warm water for a rinse. The seasoning process “seals” the pan, so when you’re cooking, nothing really gets stuck… so there’s not much to “clean” if that makes sense? There’s nothing written in stone that you can’t use soap, but it does counteract the sealing process a bit, so you’d likely have to re-season every time you cook if you use lots of soap every time.
Trust me – try warm water, a quick dry and swipe of oil and you’ll love it!!
How often do you need to season your pans?
I’m new to this whole cast iron thing. My dad just gave me a cast iron griddle and a skillet. Both the griddle and skillet are covered in rust. Any suggestions of how to clean the rust?
In theory, just once Kodi, but some circumstances warrant a new re-season. I haven’t done it myself (yet), but I’ve read that using a potato w/salt to scrub the rust works, or using a stainless steel scour pad. In either case, once the rust is gone, you reason accordingly!
There are a couple ways to clean your cast iron, for rust I use what is called a Etank (Google it) but if you are only cleaning a couple of pieces then for rusted one you can give it a bath in water and vinegar a 50-50 mix I let it soak for about 30 to 45 minutes and check if it needs more time then let it soak more. You can also use steel wool I use 000 and 0000 fine steel wool and soap and water but use cold water it will not flash rust as much.
For cast iron that has tons of crude on it you can soak it in a lye bath, I fill a 20 gal tub with water and put one pound of lye in you can get the lye at the hardware store its a drain cleaner and will say 100% lye on the bottle, when doing this make sure to wear gloves and safety glasses also put the water in first then add the lye. You can leave your piece in for as long as you need to. Also for chrome plated, nickel plated cast iron this is the way to clean these.
People will also use there oven on the clean cycle to clean cast iron but I do not because it can damage it or crack it.
After cleaning your cast iron then I wash it with cold water and steel wool and soap then I place it in my oven set at 200 to dry. Aftee its dry I will take it out and wipe it down with flaxseed oil to season it. Then wipe it off to were it looks dry I then place it but in my oven and set it to 500 after it hits 500 I will leave it for a hour. Then turn it off and let it cool down, I do this 6 times when its done, my cast iron is a nice black color smooth and non stick now. Using flaxseed oil gives it a hard coating and that nice black look.
For the paper towels I use those blue shop towels they last dont leave lint behind and soak up the oil better.
I been restoring vintage cast iron cookware now for 25 years.
I want to love my new cast iron pans but right now I have a love/ hate relationship! I seasoned them per Tiffany’s instructions but for the first few times I forgot to leave in oven to cool. (I baked them at 400.) I figured it was no big deal but maybe not. The first time I cooked on them, they were non stick but I couldn’t clean them without some food still sticking and then I needed to use some soap and a scrubbie sponge. Now they’re all sticking! It gets worse every time I cook. And black bits are coming off when I scrub. Also paper towels leave white fuzz behind in the pans. Am I cooking food too high? Do I need to reason? Are my pans still salvageable?! They are Lodge pans (I thought they were a good, made in USA brand). Please help!!!
Jennifer – your pans are salvageable!! Clean/scrub them really well, and then do the seasoning process again. Black bits are usually cooked on food (as cast iron doesn’t come off when scrubbing). Be sure to let them cool, and if necessary, do it a couple more times. I promise that once they’re seasoned, you’ll be able to cook ANYTHING on them (with a bit of oil first) and nothing will stick!
The 50/50 vinegar/water mix really works to remove rust. I did it yesterday to a pan that wasn’t well seasoned and everything stuck, so I just stuck it in the cupboard. Totally clean and now time to season!!
I clean mine with salt and a little oil. I use a paper towel to move the salt around and brush off thr excess. The salt helps get any bits off my pan and disinfects. I’m not overly worried about germs because the pan gets hot.
Now I love to use cast iron.
I started cooking with a cast iron after reading that they can transfer small amounts of iron to your food. We are slightly anemic so I thought it might help. I love mine but I get a little freaked out about not washing it after cooking on it. But I’ve had it now for a few years and so far so good! Thanks!
Yes! I’ve heard that too and have read of other people using cast iron for the same reasons. 🙂
After lots of research, I switched exclusively to cast iron and have never looked back! I have collected several pieces of Lodge and Le Creuset and love them all. Over time you will get accustomed to caring for them and it will become second nature, really not much work at all. I also use them on a glass top stove with great success. Best of all, you are investing in a piece that will last for generations.
I totally agree – I’ve done some SERIOUS scrubbing on my stainless steel pots. But them my skillet? A breeze!!
Hi Deni!
We have just purchased an Creuset cast iron skillet …… It stick like mad!!!! Do you season your Creuset skillet as well ?
Thank you
Monique
Hi Monique, Actually I have the Le Creuset dutch oven with the light enamel interior but have never had a problem with sticking. My skillets are all Lodge Cast iron. I just looked at reviews for the Le Creuset skillet on Amazon and the number one complaint was sticking due to the new black surface more than to the traditional white enamel of Le Creuset. I hope this info helps.
I have a new(-ish) light interior enamel Le Creuset, too, and I’ve never had issues with things sticking unless I let something burn to the bottom. Is it any one particular kind of food that sticks?
I love, Love, LOVE my cast iron! I have a large skillet, medium skillet, and a 5 qt. dutch oven (I love to bake bread in the dutch oven, yum!). Ever baked a pie in your cast iron? O.M.G. You can’t beat the flavor of food made in cast iron.
Ooh, I’d love to add a smaller skillet and a dutch oven to my collection. No pies yet, but you can bet I’ll be on that one soon!!
Haven’t tried a pie, but mom then the rest of us – always used the cast-iron small skillet or large one – to bake Cornbread………… (I’ve not sure I would know how to -in any other pan + I bet it would taste differently.)
— As for a pie, I don’t see why not.
By the way, if some of you haven’t done this – Add some chopped onion or onion powder to your cornbread – yummy. – shucks you could also add garlic or cheese, or……………………
Oh yea!!!! Apple pie in my cast iron is the best!!!
try pizza …..AMAZING
I use cast iron for everything and once you do the initial seasoning, you really don’t have to do anything else except make sure it is completely dry before you put it away. I will occasionally oil it, say once or twice a year maybe, but that’s about it. I do wash mine with a little dish soap because I can’t do the no wash thing and my cast iron is about sixty years old. I have never had a problem. They make the best grilled cheese sandwiches and cornbread in the world! Yummy!
I have a question. I have a cast iron skillet and a cast iron round shallow grilling skillet. My deeper skillet I got started to leach a black coating that comes off anything I cook. It was suppose to be pre-seasoned and I did clean it with a mild small amount of dish soap once before I used it and it had no problem but then it stared this black stuff that no matter what I have tried keeps coming off. I have tried washing it good drying and recoating once with bacon grease and then tried coconut oil but no matter what I do it still gets this black stuff coming off. I went through the baking on re-seasoning process that I saw on one website, but admit I didn’t try your hot 400 degree oven 4 x method as this is the first I have found your site. What I find odd is that my other shallow grill/skillet has been fine , is excellent and easy stick free just like you say. So what happened to this other deeper skillet to make it continue leaching this black stuff that no matter how much I wash dry and wipe, wipe,& wipe, it never stops leaching out this black stuff? Any idea what is going on with this skillet? Both pans are made by Lodge. I use my shallow skillet often and love it. The other one I finally after a few years of trying to ” fix” it gave up using it. The black stuff that comes off makes the food I had tried to cook in it taste terrible. Do I toss it and just buy another one or can it be saved and have anyone ever had this happen to their iron skillet? Thanks
Catherine- I had a CI skillet that did that black residue bit. I got so frustrated I scrubbed out all the seasoning with soap and rinsed it in boiling water then put in in the self cleaning oven for a clean cycle HOT HOT HOT.., wiped it all down and reasoned it and never had the problem again. It was Lodge. I lost the skillet in a move from college to a new home. I kind miss it as It made the best bacon. I Traeger my bacon now which is spectacular in it’s own rite. But I digress… Try a really hot burn off style cleaning. I have been told by a couple folks they would NEVER treat their CI pieces that way, but I figure you need to take control of the situation and master the skillet. A strong-willed skillet is no good….
Thank you Tim for chiming in!
Catherine – from my research and experience, that black stuff is something cooked that keeps coming off into your food. It could be cooked on REALLY well, so well that it resembles a coating… but it’s not. Tim is right – you have to SCRUB it down to the bare skillet again, get all the junk off and start the seasoning process from scratch. Don’t be afraid to strong-arm the skillet through this!
BTW – I think the best way to season a CI skillet is to make bacon in it daily for a month… Seriously… your family will love you and your pan will be thick and slippery with grease… Just kinda knock the bits out with a stiff brush and give it a wipe… If you do bacon low and slow and just kind move the grease up the sides while you cook, it will penetrate every nook and cranny. and FLAVOR? OH BABY! 😉
Thank you Tim
I will give it a try. so far no one I have asked this question ever heard of such a thing happening. lol Misery loves company I guess, thanks for the tip!
It happened to 2 of my Mom’s skillets plus1 that I bought from a thrift store & 1 left behind in a home I purchased. It will never stop, until you get rid of the loose stuff/crud. Scrap off as much as you can, reseason well & you’re good to go.
LOL – I agree with your logic! I use bacon grease for cooking, but it’s not ideal for sealing the pan. Although a side-by-side experiment wouldn’t be a bad idea…
If you have bits of food that are stuck to your skillet and you don’t want to use any soap scrub at them with salt and either a sponge or a “green scrubby,” the kind you can use on non-stick pans. Works like a charm.
Hi Tiffany,
Since I don’t like coconut oil, can I use avocado oil to season it? I just bought my first cast iron .. thanks for your help!
Hi Lali! I haven’t tried avocado oil myself, but I know it has a high smoke point. As for it’s use in sealing a cast iron skillet, I honestly haven’t heard of anyone trying it before. You can’t taste the coconut oil if it’s reassuring. By the time you wipe off and cook (even multiple times), there’s no flavor at all. You could use expeller pressed oil, which has even lesser of a coconut taste.
Deni- Yes ma’am, for generations! Just today, in a small town in Missouri, I bought- get this- a Birmingham, maybe..14″, cast iron skillet (Was just now checking with a measuring tape, and sunuvagun, it’s magnetized! Wow). The lady was maybe 60-70 years old- and she said that this was her grandmothers! Its so old that it just has a gate mark on the bottom, which puts it somewhere in the 1800’s (gate mark use discontinued around 1890’s).
Tiffany, I agree with you about putting the cast iron pan back on the stove with the burner on to dry it. Mom always did – so I grew up doing the same.
Months ago, I read somewhere, that you shouldn’t do this – ha ha ha – that’s pretty much what I did – laugh.
It always worked for my mom & as worked for all 4 of her daughters & the oldest is about 68 yrs old.
And – no one should ever use those spray on ‘oils’ – they can mess up the easy cleaning of your cast iron. (My younger sister use to do that – until I got onto her & reminded her of what she had learned from mom.)
Thanks for the second notion Bets, and the reminder of the cooking spray. Stick with the good fats and you can’t go wrong! 😉
I was given a CI skillet and seasoned it. I didn’t realize I wasn’t supposed to let it soak after cooking, and it rusted. Any way to fix that? I would love to use it again, but not sure if it can be saved or if I need to get a new one. (It is Lodge brand) Thanks for any help.
Hi Lisa, You can save your pan by scrubbing it out with a little dish soap, hot water and a scrub brush. A little elbow grease and repeat until all of the rust is gone. Rinse with hot water, dry it well, add a coating of oil and put it on the stove top on low until dry or in a 300 degree oven for 1 hour. This process should remove the rust and re-season the pan.
Awesome! Thanks so much 😀
I own a fairly recent cast iron wok (WOW IS IT HEAVY!) and a (Lodge) cast iron 10″ skillet, but they don’t get too much use because a couple of years ago I inherited my grandmother’s 70ish year old cast iron – 6″, 8″ & 10″ skillets as well as an 8″ round griddle. The old stuff is so much better for non-stick use than the more recent stuff because of changes in the manufacturing process. Unlike the pebbly surface of your skillet from the photo (and my newer pieces), these older pieces have an almost mirror-smooth surface – every bit as smooth as my high quality stainless pans. They are amazing. I wash them in hot soapy water, using a stainless steel “sponge” scrubber if necessary (although it rarely is), then place on a medium-hot burner until dry, then rub the tiniest bit of flax seed oil onto the heated pan, covering the whole surface and then wiping away as much as I can wipe away. I let it stay on the burner as it cools, and give it one more wipe to make sure there’s not any extra oil on it. All of my cast iron was received second- (or third-) hand, and the seasoning on some of the pieces wasn’t so great, especially where they had that thick crust of blackened food that builds up in cast iron that isn’t cleaned well and then it gets seasoned in (YUCK!). I used the information in Sheryl Canter’s article, linked below, to strip and reseason them properly. It made a huge difference.
A lot of the questions folks are asking about cast iron restoration, care, and maintenance are answered in this post by Sheryl Canter (and there’s more in the companion post linked at the top of it):
http://sherylcanter.com/wordpress/2010/01/a-science-based-technique-for-seasoning-cast-iron/
For those who aren’t likely to click: you CAN restore a rusty piece of cast iron (click the link!), and flax seed oil is the best oil for seasoning with (click the link!).
I have numerous pieces of castiron. All of it is Lodge except one skillet that came from my Mother’s after she passed away. It has no marking on it- Just an 8Y engraved on the bottom. The Lodge factory is in South Pittsburg,Tn. just outside of Chattanooga. When I go see my son and his family in Clarksville, Tn. I can’t go thru Chattanooga without stopping at the Lodge Outlet store one way or the other. Lodge is the only cast iron manufacturing company still in the U.S. I don’t have any Le Creuset because, why would I buy something that cost about ten times as much as Lodge. Lodge also has the enamel finish cook ware. I have two pieces of that. If you are able to get to the outlet store, you can purchase the seconds that are in the back of the store for a little of nothing. There may be a slight blimish, but it does not effect the cooking. And Lodge is making most of the cast iron with the pre-seasoning on them now. (As for seasoning, it is best to use a solid fat{ie-Crisco} and put it in the oven upside down) Cast iron cooks anything,(though I do use non-stick for eggs), it works great in the oven or over a campfire. In addition to Cornbread, try making pineapple upside down cake, it works great. If you can’t get to Tn. you can find Lodge cast iron just about anywhere. Wal-mart, Sporting Goods and Camping Stores just about everywhere carries Lodge. So get you some, and HAPPY COOKING
If the 8Y skillet has a heat ring on the bottom and the 8Y is at the 6 O’Clock position by the handle you probably have a Birmingham Stove & Range aka BS&R. Made in Birmingham Alabama before about 1950.
Also suggest if anybody is really interested in all cast iron cookware and Used in cooking check out
http://www.wag-society.org
I love my lodge pieces and they are of course perfect for camping too! If you’re worried about smoke in the house while seasoning your pan we did ours on the grill and it worked perfect. I also have several le creuset pans and love them as well. I have one lodge enamel piece but it’s for trial. I read several reviews where the enamel from lodge came off and people found it in their food. Happy cast iron cooking everyone!
I wish all stores selling cast iron, or enamelled cast iron, would write these instructions in big letters by the display. Or even just make a pictogram, IKEA style.
I have an enamelled cast iron deep skillet that I use for literally everything from frying eggs and pancakes to making tomato sauce (something pure cast iron pans are not ideal for, due to the acidity in tomato). I love the pan, and it is so, so, so easy to care for. I just pour water into it after cooking, put it on the stove and let it heat up a bit, then I take my brush and clean it out. Put it back on the stove to dry and that’s it. Sometimes it will get a coating of oil if things start sticking, but really…I don’t get people who claim non-stick is the only way to go. Cast iron pots all the way! I’ve had mine for four years now, and it is still looking good as new. In comparison I was going through 2-3 non-stick pans a year because they don’t stand up to proper cooking practises such as searing meat, or for that matter de glazing.
One additional tip I’ve seen for cleaning CI – use old coffee grounds! They are good scrubbers and leave a bit of oily residue behind. I can finally cook eggs in my CI skillet!
Ooh, good tip Beth!
I had to laugh – I have 8″ and 10″ skillets (courtesy of my wonderful MIL), but am on the lookout for a 12″ 🙂 And I would love a CI dutch oven.
I went through my learning curve switching from non-stick to stainless steel (everything stuck!); so when I switched to CI it was actually pretty simple as I had already stopped cooking everything too hot.
I can totally see this Dawn! I have stainless steel too, and everything sticks. Not cooking hot is a steep curve!!
Look at EBay and the antique stores for used cast iron or just get a new Lodge. skillet Made in USA.
Trick to keep from sticking.on stainless, carbon steel or cast iron . old Chinese saying Hot Wok cold oil no stick. I bring cast iron or my Anodized aluminum slowly up to het then add the oil of choice let it come to heat then cook.
you have to have a small amount of oil in any cook ware except the non-stick. Which I don’t use now that I have the cast iron chef skillet seasoned so well eggs don’t stick with just a tiny bit of butter.
Excellent article! I grew up using cast iron and just recently bought a small skillet. I’ve been maintaining it ok- but we had an extremely stupid hot summer that made me not want to turn my oven on- so I need to really get it seasoned properly in the oven. I LOVE my skillet! I want to get a slightly larger one. As for tedious maintenance- definitely no more than my stainless set. Even my husband says the food tastes better… whether that’s true or if it’s just the fact that the even heating makes it easier and more reliable – and in turn- better…who knows. 😀 I’m a believer. 😀
Ever heard of anyone sanding down these newer pebbled surfaces to be more like the vintage cookware? I wonder if that would help with sticking.
My only gripe with my CI 12″ skillet is that it is so heavy I cannot pick it up with one hand and scrape the food onto a plate with the other. Any ideas?
I have the same issue Anna! I usually scoop out as much as I can, then leverage it against the oven or a pot. Not the best solution, but it works!
I have trouble lifting my larger cast iron skillets to pour out the food as well. I don’t know if you struggle with arm or shoulder strength, too, but my main problem is wrist strength. My solution is to lift my skillet using an underhand grip, ie. palm up, thumb side away from the skillet. That way, I can work with gravity, and let the weight hang down, scraping food out the side opposite the handle. Ignore the pour ‘spout’ if your skillet has one. 🙂 I find this much easier, even on the skillets with an opposing handle, as the small shift necessary to avoid pouring into the handle is much easier to make than the effort required to maintain the right angle that is possible and intuitive with a light skillet.
Do any of you CI user have a new stove with the glass top burners? I would love to cook with CI but am afraid of using it on my stovetop.
I don’t have a glass top burner, but maybe another reader can chime in with some help! 🙂
I have a glass topped induction stove. I use cast iron on it. With the induction stoves you can place a piece of paper towel in between the stove-top and the cast iron cookware, it helps so the top doesn’t get scratches and reck your stove.
Thinking about it I expect you would need to put that fat on outside otherwise that would rust am I right.
You can Lyn, but I haven’t and my outside hasn’t rusted. Just have to make sure it thoroughly dries every time.
Thanks for that Tiffany.
When you season your cast iron, you season both the inside and outside. This protects the outside from rust. just take care of the outside like you would the inside, no dishwasher etc. You don’t have to oil the outside the seasoning protects it.
Mark – for most people “season” means to use oil… so can you explain a bit more how you would season the outside without using oil?
I use oil to season the out side of the cast iron. Here is how it is done. On the first seasoning of cast iron before it is used you wash it with soapy COLD water. Rinse well and dry with lots of paper towels. This is the one time you need to wash the cast iron with soap. Place it in a pre heated 200 degree oven for about 15 minutes to make sure it is dry. Remove it and let it cool till you can handle it safely.
Now rub it with the oil of choice. I have used Crisco, lard, bacon grease, cooking oils such as grape seed, canola, etc. i have used spray on PAM with good results. I do not recommend using olive oil or flax seed. I rub the oil all over the inside and outside of the cast iron. Then I rub it off. You can’t rub all of it off, but try to rub it all off. Then place the iron back into the oven upside down. Also turn on the exhaust fan and maybe open a window. You may get some smoke that is fine. Turn up the oven temp to 450 degrees . Bake for one hour. Then turn off the oven leave the door closed and let the pan cool. . Don’t worry you are baking the oil onto the surface of the cast iron. It will change to a hard dark brown or black finish.. Repeat the oiling and baking one more time. The outside and inside is now sealed and won’t rust. Then after each use rinse with warm or hot water, NO SOAP. Dry then place on stove burner with medium low heat. Let the Cast Iron get hot apply a little oil or a squirt of PAM or other non flavored non stick spray and wipe it around the inside of the pan with a wad of paper towels. Then let it sit for a few minutes turn off the burner. Let the cast iron cool wipe one more time and it is ready for the next time you need it to cook. This maintains the seasoning. The more you use it the blacker and slicker it gets.
The fastest way to the slick finish is to fry or bake with it. No acidic foods or sauce to start with. When you want to cook with it remember a little oil before you cook keeps food from sticking.
Thanks for sharing your method Mark. I’ve heard of something similar, but was taught differently and so far, my bottom hasn’t rusted. I would caution against using Crisco, bacon grease, grape seed oil, canola oil and Pam though, as all but bacon grease are unhealthy oils. (Bacon grease is fine for cooking, just not the best option for seasoning.) Coconut oil and flax seed are the healthiest options for seasoning.
As for the health factors of the oils used to season there should be no problems cause your not eating the seasoning. it is reduced by heat to a thin coat of hard polymer and solidly adhered to the cast iron.
The Flaxseed craze has seen to have problems. I belong to the WAGS Wagner and Griswold Society, the cast iron collectors. They have had multiple member try the Flaxseed seasoning and it looks good from the start but in about 6 to 9 months heavy use it starts to peel and has to be redone. I also asked my son about the Flaxseed and he said no way that even belongs in a kitchen. He is a Chef and has a degree with a major in organic chemistry. Also asked my wife about the Flaxseed same response. She has a Phd in Molecular Biology and taught Anatomy and Physiology for 25 years in college.
I appreciate your response Mark and the opinions of your wife and son. We might have to agree to disagree on this issue. 🙂
I have a whole stack of cast iron…try to fry something in them periodically to reseason them. My mom and grandma taught me to wash them with the hottest water you can stand under the faucet but no soap, dry right away with a paper towel, never let air dry or have standing water in them, they will rust and always leave them out on top of the stove to dry completely before putting away….best cornbread recipe is to put skillet on stove top burnet, melt butter in, pour cornbread batter in let brown for just a minute on stove top and then finish in oven….yum
I’d love to try cornbread in my skillet – thanks for the reminder Julia!
Julia, I totally agree with your method of seasoning. I am from Georgia and inherited my Mom’s and her Mom’s cast iron skillets (some of Granny’s belong to HER Mom, my Great Grand!!), plus I have a large one I bought brand new from an Army Surplus store. They both taught me your method verbatim …. and my pots I’ve had are 40+ yrs, my Mom’s are 60+ yrs and my Granny’s are 80-100+ yrs old!!!!
My Granny didn’t have all the fancy coconut, flax seed, olive etc. oils, she used real plain old LARD for seasoning (inside ONLY) and put them in the oven to season them if new (her Mom, my Great Grand … {before ovens} used to put them upside down on the old pot belly stoves to season them!!
For cooking, Granny only used Lard to just barely coat the inside before cooking, OR if something was really sticky to cook, she used a little more Lard, or bacon drippings solidified in a ‘grease can’ she kept in the icebox. Later my Mom started using just Crisco, which is about the same as Lard, since Lard is not as readily available. I also use JUST Crisco, sometimes bacon grease for sticky cooking.
For cleaning after cooking, I also use their same methods. I wipe out my pans, WHILE STILL WARM, with paper towels …. run them under ONLY scalding hot water (NEVER any soap before seasoning or after cooking … EVER)and wipe them down thoroughly with paper towels again. I air them on the stove top overnight, NOT ever turning on the burners AT ALL.
For storage, the next day I know they are completely dry and no risk of rusting, and I store each of them in their own plastic bags and stack them on an enclosed storage shelf in my garage.
I have never had any problems with all the different aged pans I have … NO flaking, peeling, rusting, nothing. Just stick to this KISS (keep it simple ___ you know!!! ) … and not all this fancy dancy stuff all are trying to do nowadays. If this method has worked for over 4 generations down to me (and I am in my mid-60s), it must work!! 🙂
I know Christmas week is a crazy week to be trying this…but I just drug 3 old skillets out of the cabinets. Seasoning starts tomorrow.
LOL – no time better than the present Katie!
Even if you are germ phobic no need to clean cast iron with soap. Heating the pan very hot after rinsing basically sterilizes the pan, making it the cleanest item in the kitchen. If there is some residual food stuff left in the pan 5 minutes on the stove top will carbonize anything attached to the pan and help seal and season the pan.
I just received a Pioneer Woman cast iron skillet. It says it’s already pre-seasoned, so do I need to do anything more before using it? Or should I season it again?
Also, it’s quite a bit bigger than my largest stovetop burner. Will the skillet conduct the heat well enough to cook evenly?
Thanks!
Hi K! Personally, I’d re-season so I know for sure the quality of it and for the experience. As for the heat, I think it will mostly – in my experience, it’s when burners heat unevenly that contribute to the hot spots, like my current electric top that is crooked, lol. If it’s flat and you preheat well, you should be okay. 🙂
Thanks!
I’m new to a cast iron skillet. I was wondering if I can bake deserts and cook dinners with the same one or would my desert have a weird flavor after cooking dinner in it?
You can bake in the same skillet Heather – no weird flavors at all (just be sure to wipe out, and rinse if needed).
I found a 10 inch Wagner skillet at Goodwill for $8! It’s currently going through round one of oil in the oven (I already let it soak in lye for 24 hours to loosen the unknown scum). CThanks for all the helpful hints and comments everyone! Fingers crossed I’ll cook with it later this week! Any helpful first recipes? Meat?
What a great score! As for the first recipe, I’d go with bacon. Can’t ever go wrong with extra bacon grease. 😉
Kosher/vegetarian household here.
Cast iron has its uses, and there’s no need for animal fats of any kind to season it.
Think about what seasoning really is. We read polymerization without thinking of what that means: plastic. Not petroleum based plastics, but plant (or animal) oil based plastics. Done right at home.
What we are doing is creating a second, almost pit-less surface.
Go for high viscosity oils, coconut and the last of that transfat laden shortening you won’t eat are fine. Just avoid allergens.
For cleaning, I use the last of the tea water, still boiling, as a rinse. Very little water left behind since the water is phase changing to steam. Blot with a bar mop (no paper towels in my home). Use that same bar mop to spread a couple drops of oil over the interior, and dry on a burner. (Oven if it’s already in use- I try to use the least amount of electricity for this)
Will CI add iron? Yes. But that means acidic food or improper seasoning are in play.
We are creating a plastic layer that seals iron molecules away from the atmosphere. That layer has to be breached for iron molecules to leach into food.
Please need help. Bought a lodge cast iron. Cooked bacon in it twice and now there is a brown coating on some parts of the bottom. What do I do? Soak? Scrub with what? Put in oven?
Hi Cara! Brown coating is bits of food left over. It needs to be scraped off and the skillet needs to be seasoned (i.e. sealed with healthy fat) before you cook with it. 🙂
How do i do that ? I am very new to this. Scrape with what? And I only have unrefined coconut oil can i use that? And how could this have happened after only using two times and with something as greasy as bacon?I wiped after each use but couldnt get the brown off.
And any help u can give id appreciate it . It actually looks like the lodge pan in ur post above. Its just a slight film on bottom in some spots.wish i cd send a pic. I am changing over so much in my house and am overwhelmed. My 3 yr old just was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor sadly
If the skillet isn’t seasoned well in the first place, food can get cooked/burned onto the pan. It’s somewhat normal Cara and happens to the best of us. Scrub as hard as you can with whatever you have, then be sure to oil well before using. If you continue this, you should be fine.
Ok I used a dishcloth and scrubbed with warm water and looks better. Glad i didnt have to do the whole oven seasoning thing
There are easy ways to clean Cast Iron skillets. One is to put about an inch of water in the skillet and bring to a boil. This loosens the debris and then just rinse it out and oil. Two is to add about two tablespoons of oil and then about a quarter cup of kosher salt heat and use paper towels holding with tongs rub the salt and oil around the area to be cleaned. Then wipe it out with another wad of clean paper towels. Wipe the oil out and reheat. Allowing the pan to go to smoking hot turn off and let cool. Your then ready to cook next time.
Remember it is not Teflon so get your pan hot then add some oil let it get hot before adding the food.
The reason your bacon stuck is bacon today has a lot of sugar in the cure and sugar will stick just like eggs to a new skillet. Even one that is preseasoned. Try cooking some 85/15 or fatter ground beef or make some cornbread in the skillet. Just remember to preheat the skillet with some oil coating the inside before adding the batter for the cornbread. These work real good in helping get a good seasoning.
I have several pieces of cast iron – Griswold and Wagner brands- 6″, 8″, 12″ and a Dutch oven. All purchased about 25 years ago at farm auctions. Some had good- but not great- seasoning and some I had to start all over with.
The absolute best way I have found to season cast iron is to fry bacon outside over an open fire. Like Mark Smith commented, do not use just any bacon. It must be natural without sugar, therefore no flavor, maple, apple etc. Just good old plain bacon- organic if you can get it. Side pork will work great too!,
The smoke form the fire and grease from the pork will make a non-stick seasoning that you won’t believe and will cherish for many years! So take your cast iron camping!
I have a skillet I’ve had for a long time. I keep using it off and on because it always seems to have food stick. I always coat with oil when done using it. I really don’t even know if it was seasoned properly. Do you think I need to reseason it?
If you HAVE to use oil every time you use it and food always sticks, then yes, I’d say re-season.
I’m purchasing a pre-seasoned cast iron skillet. Will I need to do my own seasoning on it?
Won’t hurt. But you could just remember to start the pan heating on medium low heat then add a little oil before you put the food in the pan. Also for the first few times cooking with it try frying some potatoes or bake some cornbread. This helps the seasoning process. Depending on how big the skillet and if you have a lid that willful it try hoping some popcorn in it. really helps the seasoning.
I would Deb, that way you know it’s done right and well.
I worry and expect that one day I will pull my cast iron skillet out and find grease ants (or something worse) nibbling at the grease or the tiny ant sized bits of food I missed when I wiped out the skillet before putting it away. Any bad experiences or horror stories I should expect or find out about now?
You shouldn’t have that much grease in it. After cleaning with hot water and drying on the stove you could heat the pan up to just about smoking add a little grease/oil or if you use it PAM spray. Then take a wad of paper towels and using tongs wipe the oil around the pan and then wipe it off. Then turn the burner off and let the pan cool. It should not feel tacky gummy or sticky. it should feel slick. If it is tacky or gummy wipe it with a towel, then heat your oven up to 300 to 350 degrees place the pan it the oven upside down. Let it come up to temp bake for one hour. Then turn oven off let pan cool in oven and then remove. It should be dry and slick with no tacky gummy feeling.
LOL, I think you’ll be okay Kaylynne! Just wipe it all out. You don’t want to leave much in there – wiping as much grease out as you can and drying on the stove will take care of it!
Great article Tiffany! I have a cast iron skillet that I’ve used almost every day for more than 40 years. Interestingly, I love it more every time I use it. Yours is the only article on cast iron that is honest and sensible — sometimes you just HAVE TO use a bit of soap on it and it’s NOT the end of the world. 🙂 For those of you who are just getting started on your cast iron journey, I urge you to bear with it (through the seasoning phases). It will be well worth it and soon, your pan will seem like a reliable old friend. (Okay, I’m sounding crazy now, I admit it! LOL)
I don’t think you sound crazy at all Debra! Thanks for the compliment, and the encouragement to fellow readers!
I’m seasoning my CI skillet and griddle, using coconut oil. I just finished the third round and they both have a slightly tacky feel to them. Is that normal, or am I doing something wrong?
I don’t remember my skillet feeling tacky, but one way to see if you’re on the right track is to cook something! Try frying some potato. Add some fat, cook it up and it should cook without sticking much. If it’s like scraping the potatoes every time, you can either keep seasoning, or just keep cooking. I stopped after 3 rounds, but the skillet actually cooked better the more I cooked with it!
I figured it out, after sleuthing around the Internet. I had the oven set at 400, but in my fourth go round I tuned it up to 475 and that did the trick. I read that coconut oil has a higher smoke point and needed the extra degrees. I just finished my fifth round. One more to go.
Glad to hear that John!
I have a lodge pan and its a compleat pain, I waited months for the handle by which time I was used to using it without and it ade the handle rust. Sigh.
I dont have any proble at all with seasoning, sticking rust (now the handle is no longer in use) my problem is uneven heating !!!!!!!!! Its driving me to buy a stainless steel pan if you cant help !
So I like large wraps and I make them using the pour method. My problem is no matter what method I use heating slowly, heating same rate as normal pan etc always testing the heat with water drops first it is ALWAYS hotter in the middle so it is undercooked on the outside and burnt in the middle. Its a shame because it stated even heating as a selling point. I am using it on a flat top electric.
I have tried using a stainless steel pan slightly smaller and apart from breaking when turned over because it is a frying pan it cookit it far better than my Lodge :o( I would prefer to keep using my Lodge and not buy yet another pan if anyone can help I would be very grateful !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Claudia – do you think it could be your cooktop? I’ve used cast iron skillets on an electric top (not flat) and gas and never had issues with uneven heating. Uneven distribution of oil maybe, but that’s from my oven not being level, lol. I think a better way to test whether it your stove or pan would be to cook something in the oven with the cast iron. Let it preheat in the oven, cook something like cornbread and then see if the inner part of the pan creates a darker crust than the outer part of the pan.
Oh I have it makes loverly pizzas :o) I thought it should heat outside the top hob evenly as well ? I tried the same recipe with a stainless steel pan thatwas slightly smaller and that made a better job than the cast iron which is why I have been thinking about buying a big chipatti pan instead really would prefer to find a way to make this work though. I did read someone say that it was the lodge logo on the bottom making it heat up more in the middle ? I would happily grind that off.
Yer kinda came to the conclusion that they were just plain rubbish glad I didnt bother to grind the logo off stainless steal all the way !!!!!!!! Apart from pizzas that is.
Does anyone know if the Pioneer Woman cast iron brand can go in an open fire? I want to purchase a cast iron finally, but love the look of the Pioneer Woman brand, but want it not only for cooking at home, but also when we go camping. If anyone has used one for an open fire please let me know.
Thanks
I have been using cast iron for roughly 58 years. Mom and her mom got me started. I love cooking with it the most. Some of my skillets are hand-me-downs and I’ve got three that I bought from Lodge. (Won’t buy anything else.) For cleaning my pans the very first time, I use a little gentle dish soap and hot water. I’ve got a bamboo scrubber that’s made for cleaning woks. The hot water helps to warm the pan for seasoning when it’s dry. I dry the skillet after it’s been washed with either paper towels or a soft dish towel. I then place the skillet on the stove with the burner on medium. This helps to make sure it’s really dry and opens the pores in the cast iron. I always use “Crisco” to season my cast iron. It doesn’t take much Crisco to coat the skillet. Just enough to make it shine. I leave it on the burner which I’ve turned on and let it cool. Wipe the excess grease out with a paper towel and it’s ready for it’s next use. After each time I use it, it gets washed with HOT water and the bamboo scrubber and gets seasoned. The only time I ever use any soap is when I first get them. Sometimes it takes a little elbow grease to remove anything that may stick. I’ve been using some of my skillets for many years and have never had a problem with them.
Very nice easy to follow post. I am glad you have discovered cast iron and did not give up after that first time. I have been cooking on cast iron for over a decade now and I have a slight addiction to it. I don’t own anything else actually. I have 15 skillets of different shapes, sizes, and weights that I use fairly regularly and am always looking to add more. I love to “rescue” my cast iron from those who neglect them and sell them at garage sales and flea markets, the more beat up the better, I love the challenge of bringing them back to life.
Dish soap you say???? Gasp, cringe, argh…how dare you. Just kidding, I have heard that some people do this and it is just fine in moderating and just a drop will go a long way. Personally though, I never ever ever ever ever ever wash my cast iron with soap, because that is what my grandpa told me not to do and well I never was one to not listen to grandpa. Some boiling water always does the trick and a nice light coating of Crisco is my greasy coating of choice, unless I am going to be using it again that same day I like to then use some bacon grease, it just seems to add a little extra something to the magic of it all.
Well thank you for the great post, I have pinned it and saved it to Facebook.
The Broke Dad
I see so many recipes for more than just meats….pies, brownies, veggies…Do you just cook/bake these items in the same pan that meats were cooked in? Is there no flavor carryover to the desserts or any food for that matter? I’m just thinking that if you cook, for example, bacon and eggs, wipe clean and then bake a pie, won’t your pie taste like bacon?
Thanks!
Can you use mineral oil after you clean your pan?
I wouldn’t put anything on my pan that I don’t eat, and I don’t eat mineral oil Elizabeth 😉 I’d recommend coconut oil b/c it’s good for higher temps and you can eat it. Palm oil would be another good one.
I use nothing but Crisco after I wash my skillet with very hot water and dry it. Then I set it on a stove burner, turn it up to high and as soon as the grease starts melting I turn the heat off and let it return back to room temperature.
I got a cast iron skillet for Christmas this year. It said it was pre seasoned so I washed it with warm soapy water, dried it and then using a paper towel to coat it with some veggie oil-its what the package said. I used my skillet to make pulled pork tacos and there is some sticking. I am not sure how to get it off. I know i am not supposed to scour the pan so what else can i do?
Hi Jillian – clean the pan as best as you can (using soap and scrubbing if you need to) and then season it using the directions in this post. Pre-seasoning usually doesn’t do the trick, but this method does!
Nothing wrong with my stove top if you google heat conduction you will see for yoreself that stainless steal WILL conduct heat far more evenling than iron !!!!!!!
If you want to use iron in the oven or a small item on the stove top that will fit within the rings the this is great but if you want to make wraps, tortillas,pancakes etc FORGET IT CAST IRON WILL NOT HEAT EVENLING AND YOU WILL BURN THE CENTER ! This is NOT because you have a “cheep stove” as some fanatics who can not bare to hear a bad word said against their beloved cast iron IT IS FACT GOOGLE THE FACTS YOURSELF !!!!!!!!
I bought a lodge cast iron frying pan last week.
My husband seasoned it and used the pan for the first and I can’t get the baked on sauce off the pan.
I have tried cleaning it with salt , also tried rehearing the pan with water , also tried soap and it won’t come off .
Any sujggestions on cleaning this ?
A ball of steel wool can do it Dawn. 🙂
I have a 16″ large cast iron skillet and a 11″ x 14″ baking dish I got for $40 of a couple on a swap page. I really want to make perfect hashbrowns and according to my research that’s the only way to get them is in a cast iron or non stick skillet. I decided that I don’t want the toxins from the non stick and all my cook ware is stainless steel… 🙁 . I haven’t seasoned my skillet yet but really want those perfect hashbrowns . Thank you for posting this !! Its super easy ! In my head it was more complicated for some odd reason.
I’ve tried seasoning my plans this way but it takes a loooong time and I never get it do win one day. When you season it, does it normally take two days? Do you do one coat a day until it’s finished?
Hi Heather – I typically do this process over the course of 2-4 days because it’s easier to leave it in the oven overnight. So I’ll season + bake when I’m cooking dinner, then let it stay in there to cool off. Repeat, repeat, repeat. And more repeat if you can! Essentially, I give myself 5-10 days of still using other pans before using a cast iron skillet. It’s better to do it right the first time, then go through the hassle of stuck-on foods and re-doing the process later. 🙂
I have a new cast iron skillet and did the seasoning process as above and now the sides of the skillet are sticky and gummy. What did I do wrong and how doe I clean it off?
Hi Cindy! Your skillet shouldn’t be sticky and gummy… I’m not sure why that would be the case, but I’d wipe off any excess oil really well, put it in the oven per the article and let it thoroughly dry. If it’s still sticky and gummy, then I’d suggest cleaning it with a gritty sponge.
I was using oil like you said then a friend said she used Crisco Shortening so then I started using that. Do you think that may have caused the sticky stuff? I can scrape it with my finger nail.
Possibly – Crisco is pure hydrogenated oils and I would never recommend cooking with that. If I were you, I’d scrub the pan well (on the areas you used Crisco) using dish soap and a gritty sponge and use the method I wrote above. 🙂
Thank you so much. I will clean it really good and season again. Have a great day!!!!
The reason your pan is sticky and gummy is because you applied to much oil when you put it in the oven. After you apply the oil to your pan you want to make sure you wipe all the excess off. So when you apply the oil wipe it totally down like you are wiping all the oil you just put on totally off. You only want a microscopic amount left on when you put it in the oven
Do you do the six bakings in a row, or can they be done on consecutive days?
They can be done on consecutive days. You can even skip a couple if you forget, but don’t use the skillet until you’re completely done!
Thanks very mucu.
The best way I found to use a new cast iron skillet is to season it 3 times to start. Then start cooking with it. If you get stuck on food just boil a cup or so of water in the skillet and wipe the skillet down with a sponge. The sponge being held by a spatula because the boiling water is to hot to hold on to the sponge directly. That is the easiest way to clean a new skillet that sticks. Then rinse and dry on the stove top. Once cool season it again place in over at 400 to 450° for 1 hour. You’ll do this a total of 3 times. So now you.have a skillet that has been seasoned 6 times and cooked in 3 times. After this you shouldn’t have food sticking and should be able to just rinse clean you skillet
Thanks for sharing your method, Ryan!
I’ve been using cast iron since I began cooking. Love this hack with the little bit of extra info – while baking something else! Thanks.
I was taught to heat the skillet, after using, then run under cold water {wiping with a scrubber}, then rinsing and heating till dry over med heat. I’ve been doing this almost 60 years.
You shouldn’t ever take a cast iron pan from hot to cold so maybe you meant let cool or not really heating too high? Drastic temperature changes that quick can crack cast iron.