Seasoning a cast iron skillet............?

Question

I want to season my cast iron skillet. This is a new one I bought yesterday, so I have to scrub the coating that comes on the skillet. I keep seeing different methods used to scrub the skillet clean before seasoning it. Which is better: steel wool, a scouring pad, or a stiff natural brush (they are refered to as ecobejos {sp?} in Mexico) ???

Answer 1

I cook the residue and wipe w/ a paper towel, well after it is cool.
I've always used a "greenie" scouring pad. When I finished cleaning I put a light film of virgin olive oil on the surface I cleaned...to keep it from rusting.

Answer 2

Unless you have a skillet you found at a yard sale or inherited, "seasoning" it probably won't do much. Old cast iron had a very much less "perfect" surface that that cast today, so the tiny cracks in it would readily suck up oils that you heated in it, which then formed a wonderful non-stick surface after cooling. You need never scrub such a pan, they will just wipe clean with a hot soapy cloth. If you HAVE an old pan that some idiot has scrubbed the seasoning off of, just smear the surface of the whole pan with olive oil, and bake the pan in a hot oven for 15-20 minutes. Allow it to cool, and repeat the process.

Answer 3

A scouring pad, and do not use soap on it, soap will get into the pores and make your food taste like the soap.
Then dry on the stove top untill all water is dried.
Pour some oil into the skillet and rub with a paper towel while on low heat on the stove top to force the oil into the pores and force all water out.
Then wipe again with a newly oiled paper towel.

Answer 4

I have a few cast iron skillets and love using them. When purchasing a new cast iron skillet you can purchase them already seasoned or unseasoned. Personally, I like to purchase them unseasoned.

If yours was unseasoned it ought to be easy to wash for the first time. Simply scrub with a plastic scrubber and dishwashing detergent and rinse. Dry it thoroughly and to season for the first time coat it LIGHTLY but completely (inside and out) with vegetable shortening and put it into a hot (450 degree) oven until you begin noticing that it's smoking. It won't take long for it to begin smoking. Take it out of the oven and place on a pot holder or something that can withstand the heat of the pan until it cools. You might choose to repeat the seasoning process to give it a good coating.

Then, for the first few uses be sure to cook only foods that require you coat the pan with shortening when cooking (i.e. cornbread, or pizza.)

Where a lot of people go wrong with cast iron is thinking that it needs to be scrubbed with water and soap between uses. This completely destroys any seasoning you've done and can create a frustrating mess as well. Generally, after each use you just simply need to scrape gently or brush out any debris and coat with a LIGHT layer of shortening (only on the inside of the pan this time) and heat it up on a stovetop burner for a few minutes (or until it SLIGHTLY begins to smoke). This keeps your pan seasoned and ready for use.

Of course, if you've accidentally cooked something that managed to cake onto your pan big time, then you'll need to do much more extensive scrubbing and perhaps scrub everything off and reseason from scratch. One easy way to help you accomplish this is to first scrape off everything you can and then if your oven is a self cleaning oven you can put your pan into the oven and put it through the self cleaning cycle (but be sure that there's not too much crud on the pan or else it'll catch fire and hurt your oven). Once your oven is done with the cycle and your pan is cooled, then you can scrub out what's left pretty easily.

You'll become more accustomed and adjusted to this process once you've used cast iron for awhile.

Answer 5

Put oil of some sort on the pan (it can be pork fat, shortening, vegetable spray, etc.) and put it in a 225 degree oven for 30 minutes.

Pull it out and wipe up any pooled fat and throw it back in the oven for another 30.

Here's a link to a site with instructions on cleaning and seasoning iron pans.

Answer 6

I have had alot of trouble in the past with this, and I think I have found a place to get it done right kitchenemporium.com/info/castiron
My pan is working like my grandmothers used to they have directions for new and pans that you have had. I did mine 3 or 4 times and I like the results from the above site and what it did for my pan. My advice use lard.

Answer 7

I would use a scouring pad and plenty of hot, soapy water. Maybe a stiff brush as well.