not a knife topic

S

SRWeldon

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I know there are some real experts out there on cast iron. I recently purchased my first lodge cast iron skillet and am having problems. It came preseasoned. The first couple of times I used it I loved it. I would rinse it with hot water use a cotton hand cloth to "scrub it" then dry it and rub it with some oil and put it away. About the 3rd or 4th time I used it I decided to use the dobbie pad in it with hot water. Now when I use it everything is starting to stick to it. Is the dobbie pad to ruff on it and has taken some of the seasoning out? Do I need to re-season? Then I get on lodges website and they say rub with oil and bake in oven. I watch a video on you tube and a guy just rubs crisco in it on the stove until it starts to smoke a little remove from heat and let cool and he says repeat up to 5 times and thats how you cure food sticking to your cast iron and re-season. Can someone help me out? Thanks
 
I scrub mine after every use. Dry the water with a towel, and pre heat to be sure it is fully dry, lightly coat with Crisco and heat till it just starts smoking, then pull off the heat and just let it cool off. I think this helps maintain the seasoning and also builds up some what. I have to use a thin metal spatula to turn eggs because they slide around so much, its difficult to get under them.

If you are having sticking issues I would recommend the Crisco and oven method, but be sure to place the pan upside down the oil doesn't pool up on the bottom. 450 degrees for an hour should do it. Then try out the maintenance procedures above.

Check this out too.
 
What kind of oil are you using? I find actual rendered lard does the best job seasoning. Don't use liquid-y oils like olive oil (though peanut oil is a not-horrible choice if you must).

Also it's important to use enough oil when cooking....

A good seasoning takes time.
 
rinse with hot water, brush/wipe down (no scotch-brite pads!) put back on stove and heat until dry, wipe down with oil (thin layer) and leave on heat until it starts to smoke - then take off the burner.
heating the pan with fresh oil adds to the seasoning.
wiping a cold pan with oil and putting it away allows the oil to dry and gum up in the pan, but does nothing to add to or preserve the seasoning.
 
What do you do if you have some food that has stuck on? I was using my plastic spatul to scrape it off while running it under hot water.
 
put 1/2" of water in the pan and put it on the stove to simmer for about 5 minutes - you can use the spatula to help loosen the food if you need to at that point.
 
Mine was great until 3rd use or so, with no additional seasoning, I made tomato-and-vinegar-based BBQ sauce in it over an open fire. I could see and feel the smooth slippery coating was gone.
After that, I seasoned it twice - flaxseed oil, upside down, in the oven.

http://sherylcanter.com/wordpress/2010/01/a-science-based-technique-for-seasoning-cast-iron/

Now I blast it with hot water and wipe with a paper towel. If stuff was really stuck on, I'd add some water, off the heat, while it's still hot and let it sit a few minutes. Hit the tough spots with a wooden spoon. Then a little coarse salt, and rub it down good. I do put a dash drop of (walnut) oil on it and rub it in/wipe it down before storage. Also use some type of fat for cooking - be it flaxseed oil (kinda strong-tasting), butter, olive oil, or olive oil spray. Haven't had to do much scrubing lately - it's been coming out pretty darn clean.

I can't imagine a clean dobie was too harsh unless there soap left in it or there was some serious scrubbing action going on. But I still wouldn't use one.
 
We use a soapless brush and hot water to clean ours. Rinse it good and throw it back on the stove to heat it for a bit, then spray it with Pam. And reseason in the oven when it sticks more than I'm willing to put up with. I know we could get and maintain better seasoning with some other techniques, but this work for us.
 
cschol said:
I scrub mine after every use. Dry the water with a towel, and pre heat to be sure it is fully dry, lightly coat with Crisco and heat till it just starts smoking, then pull off the heat and just let it cool off. I think this helps maintain the seasoning and also builds up some what. I have to use a thin metal spatula to turn eggs because they slide around so much, its difficult to get under them.

If you are having sticking issues I would recommend the Crisco and oven method, but be sure to place the pan upside down the oil doesn't pool up on the bottom. 450 degrees for an hour should do it. Then try out the maintenance procedures above.

Check this out too.
Click to expand...

Please no crisco unless you are trying to kill yourself. Peanut, Grapeseed or Avocado oil for high heat, Coconut, Lard, or Walnut oil for medium heat, Butter, olive, hemp or flax oil for low/no heat.

Ok I'll get off my high horse now.

I always season my cast-iron with lard, coconut oil works well too. Anytime you have a particularly (unexpected) sticky cooking experience it's a good sign you need more seasoning. Factory seasoned will never compare to the high quality seasoning your cast-iron will get over time.
 
You're welcome.
There's so much info out there on it - she seemed to follow a scientific approach, tried alternatives and made comparisons, drew reasonable conclusions, and got great results. So, I figured I'd give it a go.
 
So I've been using crisco pure vegetable oil for my wipe down after cooking before storage. Is this not OK. I keep seeing people say olive oil. Is this better? I have to say that the first 2 times I cooked in it I used left over bacon fat for my cooking, just a little bit, and had no problems. Then I ran out of the bacon fat and went to the crisco pure vegetable oil and thats when I noticed everthing sticken. I think on Lodges website the little like 1 minute video of the guy cleaning and reseasoning the pan he uses crisco pure vegetable oil, and I am doing an oven reseason right now using the crisco. Have I done a bad thing?
 
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