How can I season a cast iron skillet?

Question

Every time I use, the food sticks to the skillet.

Answer 1

How To Season:
You season a cast iron pan by rubbing it with a relatively thin coat of neutral oil (I stress a light coat of oil).

NOTE: Use vegetable oils (canola, sunflower, etc.), shortening (like Crisco shortening) or lard for seasoning your cast iron pans. I recently experimented and found out that food-grade coconut oil/butter also works great.

Place the cast iron pan, upside down, in the oven, with a sheet of aluminum foil on the bottom to catch any drips. Heat the pan for 30 to 60 minutes in a 300 to 500 degree oven. Once done, let the pan cool to room temperature. Repeating this process several times is recommended as it will help create a stronger "seasoning" bond.

The oil fills the cavities and becomes entrenched in them, as well as rounding off the peaks. By seasoning a new pan, the cooking surface develops a nonstick quality because the formerly jagged and pitted surface becomes smooth. Also, because the pores are permeated with oil, water cannot seep in and create rust that would give food an off-flavor.

Your ironware will be slightly discolored at this stage, but a couple of frying jobs will help complete the cure, and turn the iron into the rich, black color that is the sign of a well-seasoned, well-used skillet or pot.

Never put cold liquid into a very hot cast iron pan or oven. They will crack on the spot!

Be careful when cooking with your cast-iron pots on an electric range, because the burners create hot spots that can warp cast iron or even cause it to crack. Be sure to preheat the iron very slowly when using an electric range and keep the settings to medium or even medium-low.

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

First rule of basic skillet care is to never let your skillet air dry. After each use and wash place the skillet back on the stove top and heat to dry. This prevents rusting.
As for a basic seasoning, a good and simple pan preparation is to apply a small amount of butter and sugar to the hot clean pan. Using a paper towel, wipe lightly and evenly. This caramelizing of the pan surface doesn't affect the food taste of the next dish to be cooked. Good, old skillets have build-up on them. Don't scrub your skillet clean with a wire pad.
Good luck

Answer 4

Lard from animal fat works best. Veg. oil and shortenings are a little more fragile. You can do what everyone else said, rub it down, put it in the oven with foil underneath, but the head needs to be VERY high. Like 500 degrees. If it's not smoking, you're not doing it right. The easiest way and cleanest, because of the smoke, is to do it on a barbque grill outside. Just do the same thing you would in an oven. But make sure the fire is really hot. It's okay if the pan is in the flames. It won't hurt it. And you won't have to worry about catching the oven on fire or smoking up your house. Even a good campfire will work.

Answer 5

1. Preheat your oven to 275 ºF (135 ºC).
2. Wash and dry your pan.
3. Coat the pan with bacon grease or lard (I use crisco).
4. Place in the oven for two hours.
5. Repeat this process several times to get a strong coat over the iron.
6. Right after you cook with the pan, as soon as it is cool enough to touch, wipe out the food remnants with a towel and rinse with hot water. Place the pan upside down over the burner that you used to cook on (the burner should still be a little warm). This will help the pan dry faster.
7. Re-season the pan periodically or if it gets rusty (scrub the rust off first with a scratchy pad.

Answer 6

Rub it with a light coat of crisco after every use. Do not wash the cast iron skillet. Scrape off all of the food, dry it, then rub the crisco on it. Let it dry. Then put it away.

Answer 7

Heat oil or lard (if you have some) in it for about 10 minutes. Wipe out the excess with a paper towel. Repeat 10 or 15 times and try cooking with it again. If there's food stuck to it, just scrape it out. Never use soap!!! If you do, some will remain in the pores and come out in your next meal. I've heard shortening will work, but have never used it.

Answer 8

after you scrub it with a metal brush, put in on the burner to dry it out. When the water is all gone, turn off the burner and remove from heat. Then take a papertowel with some vegetable oil and rub in on the bottom and sides of the pan. Becareful not to burn yourself (I have a couple times).
That should help you out and you can also use a little more oil before you use the pan for cooking.

Answer 9

I searched 'how to season cast iron skillet' and got many hits.
This one is good:
http://www.lodgemfg.com/usecare1.asp
I have my great grandmother's cast iron skillets and they are well worth the small effort to keep them seasoned.

Answer 10

wash it well and dry it in the oven. with a paper towel wipe on a little vegie or corn oil and return it to the oven for a bit. let it cool and wipe out any excess oil. i don't know what you're cooking in it but many items such as eggs will almost always stick anyway unless you use enough spray or butter or iol while cooking.i use mine only for corn bread or frying chicken.