How do you season a cast iron reversible griddle?

Question

I just brought a cast iron reversible griddle. For some reason , the seasoning instructions were missing. I want to season the griddle. Now, do I need to spray it with oil and let it cook on 425 for about an hour? How do I do this?

Answer 1

Here's instructions for one (may not be your brand, but probably works the same). Also, from personal experience, don't use vegetable oil to season cast iron, as it causes stickiness. Use shortening or bacon grease.

"Seasoning cast iron pieces isn't as awful as people make it out to be, and you should have to do a full seasoning only ONCE in the lifetime of the piece (forever, as far as I can tell).

How to do it? Melt a bit of shortening in a small bowl, grab a piece of paper towel, dip into the melted shortening and rub it onto the Lodge Pro Cast Iron Reversible Double Grill/Griddle. Just a thin coat -- no puddles.

Heat your oven to 350º, place the grill/griddle on the top rack and place a piece of aluminum foil below it on the lower rack (to catch any drips of excess shortening). Close the door and time it for an hour. You may want to open a window and/or use the exhaust fan over your range, because the iron and its beauty-mask coating of Crisco smell "hot" -- and that isn't a complimentary term, in this case.

When the timer goes off, turn off the oven and allow the Lodge Pro Cast Iron Reversible Double Grill/Griddle to cool inside the oven. When cool, remove it and you're set to use it.

What you'll see is a brownish hue on the iron surface, and it will feel smoother. With each use, the color will darken (usually in splotches, depending on how/what you cook) and the iron will become even smoother. It will never be 100% non-stick, but you'll swear it's 99.9%.

Upkeep is simple. After a cleaning just spread a little shortening on the Lodge Pro Cast Iron Reversible Double Grill/Griddle and stow it again. I don't rub on a coating of shortening every time, but more like 3 times a year. Works, and my cast iron looks and cooks exactly as it should.

You'll see the grill/griddle needs a rub-down when it looks like it has some dry patches. Of course, it doesn't hurt to "moisturize" the whole thing every time you use it, but it isn't necessary."

Answer 2

Cast Iron Grill Griddle

Answer 3

The rule for not washing a cast iron griddle is because it will give a smooth sheen on the surface. Most cooks would not recommend washing and certainly not scrubbing the surface or you will spoil it. There is a guy from the store who taught me to scrub the surface liberally with salt and a piece of paper towel. Now, I don't exactly know how 'clean' that would be, but he said this will keep the surface better for you to cook your food in.(For that reason, I never did buy the pan!) Maybe you could try heating the pan again and rubbing a generous amount of salt on the surface. See if that will help? Good luck!

Answer 4

My great grandmother had a cast iron frying pan that I still have today, and I believe this is how she seasoned it:

Wash the pan with COLD WATER and rub the cooking surface with steel wool lightly. Rinse and dry the pan with a clean towel. Heat the pan on the stove until hot , in the mean time pre-heat your oven to 450. while the pan is warm, with a clean cloth soaked with vegetable oil, wipe the cooking surface CAREFULLY so not to get burned but make the oil coating wet but not to where there is a puddle of oil in the pan. Now put the pan in the oven for 20-25 minutes. When the time is up, take the pan out of the oven, (PLEASE USE AN OVEN MIT, TY) and place it on your stove to cool.That should give you a real good seasoning to the cooking surface.

Oh, and by the way, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER wash the pan. I usually wipe it out with a cloth after use and then put the pan on the stove over high heat until the cooking surface turns white and anything left in the pan goes to ash. Let the pan cool and then wipe out with a dry cloth.

Have fun!

Answer 5

The one post on how to season is good never use dish soap on it! I use a paste of baking soda & water and a soft sponge to wash rince good then put in oven if you have gas do nothing but if you hsve electric turn to 100 while washing turn of and leave 20 min. That way it won't rust.

Answer 6

spread a thin coat of oil with a paper towel and let it cook on high for a few minutes 5 to 10. It will keep the nonstick finish nice.

Answer 7

Rub it all over with oil and bake it for an hour.

The quickest way that I seasoned my pans was to cook bacon in them.

Answer 8

seasoning iron is universal. rub down with corn oil. never wash or scrub pan with steel sponge. it makes the pan rust. just season pan with salty water, preferably kosher salt. scrub with wooden brush, then dry. then rub with canola oil. then you've got yourself a seasoned pan.

Answer 9

Right here:
http://whatscookingamerica.net/Information/CastIronPans.htm