I used steel wool to gently scrub the center of my skillet, coated it with sunflower oil and baked one hour at 450F... I baked the skillet upside down and now have smooth splotches instead of an even cooking surface ( see picture ) Should I just re-coat and re-bake , or steel wool the center and start over ?
CAST IRON skillet seasoning
- Thread starter malocchio
- Start date
My wife and son in law are the cast iron experts, but from what they say, you did everything right except maybe not scrubbing enough and not using the right oil. They always scrub the heck out of it to get all the residue out and then the coat it with Crisco or lard and bake it upside down.
This works for me. Clean the inside however you like. Then make the skillet hot turn the heat off. Add A very small layer of oil. I use a paper towel. Put it back on the burner. Get that oil to just start to smoke. Take it back off the burner. Let it cool a bit. Then add a small amount of butter again with a paper towel. Eggs really do not stick. The guy in the video gos over it pretty well.
Flax oil is good too.
I have used a lot of different types of oil. Don't think it makes much difference.
Rhody
I'm a Lumberjack.
Ive tried this on a blue carbon steel pan and just can't get it right. So frustrating to have such a high maintenance pan.
It's hard to tell, but it also looks like you may have had too much oil on there. As mentioned, you want about as thin a layer as you can get. Wipe off with a clean (or nearly so) paper towel, if you need to. Do several thin layers.
I've used flaxseed with great results, but I've also had the seasoning flake off when I've used flaxseed oil. I understand that can be an issue with flaxseed oil, but I never looked into it much beyond that.
I've used flaxseed with great results, but I've also had the seasoning flake off when I've used flaxseed oil. I understand that can be an issue with flaxseed oil, but I never looked into it much beyond that.
+1 on too much oil.
After the oil has been applied use a clean paper towel to wipe any residual oil out of the cast iron. This will leave an even coating.
Just recently I tried to apply another layer to the seasoning and did not wipe a second time. I got a pan like yours
. That's what I get for cutting corners.
After the oil has been applied use a clean paper towel to wipe any residual oil out of the cast iron. This will leave an even coating.
Just recently I tried to apply another layer to the seasoning and did not wipe a second time. I got a pan like yours
. That's what I get for cutting corners.
Yes indeed, too much oil. We've all done it. Clean the pan really well. Use soap and/or steel wool, if you want. I heat the pan in the oven for a few minutes at low heat to make sure all the water from washing is dry. After oiling and heating the pan in the oven for about ten minutes to get the oil flowing, I take the pan out and wipe all the oil off I can. Thick is bad; a thin coat is all you want. I use Crisco and the blue shop towels from the building stores, as they don't leave lint. But, you can use canola oil, grapeseed oil, or any high smoke point oil. I avoid strong flavored oils like olive oil. Make sure to keep your oven heat below the smoke point of the oil you use. Let it bake upside down after wiping well, for an hour or more, turn it off, and let it cool in the oven. Then cook with a good amount of fat the first few uses and you should be off to a good start. There are lots of methods, but mostly they say a thin coat of oil, heating, cooling, and some say do it a few times. I usually pre-season once and then start using a pan.
simon1
Self Ignored by Vista
I have a Lodge in the cabinet now that looks like that...I think I'll use that one to cook bacon in the morning. Versions of how to do it are as many as kittens from a barn cat.
Soak it with hot water in the bottom of the pan for a few minutes: under the hot water from the faucet...not dunking the whole thing. Then put some kosher salt in it and get the salt damp...like damp sand...and scrub it with a plastic scrubby pad...or a rag.
Dry it, then heat it on the stove top until it is lightly smoking.
Then put a bit of Crisco shortening on a paper towel and put a light coat of oil on it. When/if the oil starts "puddling" or "sweating" use the paper towel and swirl it around a bit to keep it from drying too thick as it cools.
Then put it up where you usually store it. You really have to mistreat cast iron to hurt it.
Here's a few of mine. Sorry about the dirty Dutch oven lid...used three Dutch ovens to cook dinner outside tonight and haven't cleaned them up yet.
Lodge DO, small Birmingham Stove and Range Company skillet, and an old Griswald skillet of Mom's from the late '40s.
Soak it with hot water in the bottom of the pan for a few minutes: under the hot water from the faucet...not dunking the whole thing. Then put some kosher salt in it and get the salt damp...like damp sand...and scrub it with a plastic scrubby pad...or a rag.
Dry it, then heat it on the stove top until it is lightly smoking.
Then put a bit of Crisco shortening on a paper towel and put a light coat of oil on it. When/if the oil starts "puddling" or "sweating" use the paper towel and swirl it around a bit to keep it from drying too thick as it cools.
Then put it up where you usually store it. You really have to mistreat cast iron to hurt it.
Here's a few of mine. Sorry about the dirty Dutch oven lid...used three Dutch ovens to cook dinner outside tonight and haven't cleaned them up yet.
Lodge DO, small Birmingham Stove and Range Company skillet, and an old Griswald skillet of Mom's from the late '40s.
Just did 3 carbon pan seasonings today. I think a key is to make sure you get all the coating off as possible. Something different that I do that I haven’t seen being common is to heat treat the pan till it becomes silver blue, then season. Two rounds of canola oil seasoning and a fried egg released with just a bit of judging.
Said seasoned pan. It doesn’t have to be jet black to be “nonstick”, it just needs a layer of polymerized oil/burnt oil between the food and the pan. The blacker the pan the thicker the layer so the stronger it is, but it isn’t a prerequisite.
I should add that “nonstick” is relative, and you will need a certain amount of oil/fat/butter and the correct heat for an egg not to stick.
I have found a food will “stick” initially and after a bit it releases and slides around the pan.
kelbro
Alfred Spatchcock
Great seasoning posts above. I've used most of them successfully.
My advise... Just cook on it. It will come around soon enough. And use a metal spatula. The more you use them, the better the seasoning layer evens out.
My advise... Just cook on it. It will come around soon enough. And use a metal spatula. The more you use them, the better the seasoning layer evens out.
- Thread starter
- #14
Thanks to all of you for the great tips..... I'll be working on a nice smooth surface soon !
There’s a guy on YouTube. Cowboy Kent Rollins. He’s a hoot. He claims that the newer cast iron pans, lodge specifically, come “pre-seasoned”
He maintains that you have to sandpaper off that finish and then go about seasoning like normal.
I got one cheaply a while back and it has sort of a rough finish. Not smooth at all.
He says sanding that off and seasoning it after that will give you that smooth finish after a few sessions in the oven with oil.
He maintains that you have to sandpaper off that finish and then go about seasoning like normal.
I got one cheaply a while back and it has sort of a rough finish. Not smooth at all.
He says sanding that off and seasoning it after that will give you that smooth finish after a few sessions in the oven with oil.
Once I discovered carbon steel, the cast iron pans have been sitting in the cabinet.
Seasons and becomes non stick just like cast iron, can go from the burner to the oven just like cast iron, lighter, quicker to respond to heat changes, lots of advantages. Cast iron is good for applications that require a larger thermal mass but I generally use enameled cast iron pots or if I need to sear, I'll light some charcoal and heat up the grill grates. So pots = cast iron and pans/skillets = carbon steel in our house now.
Looks like you have the Matfer Bourgeat. Ours practically never leave the stovetop.
Seasons and becomes non stick just like cast iron, can go from the burner to the oven just like cast iron, lighter, quicker to respond to heat changes, lots of advantages. Cast iron is good for applications that require a larger thermal mass but I generally use enameled cast iron pots or if I need to sear, I'll light some charcoal and heat up the grill grates. So pots = cast iron and pans/skillets = carbon steel in our house now.
Looks like you have the Matfer Bourgeat. Ours practically never leave the stovetop.
- Thread starter
- #17
My 8 inch skillet cost $16 and $19 for the lid , both are LODGE . What makes these cast iron skillets ( etc ) that cost 3 - 4 times as much as the Lodge products so special ???....https://pleasanthillgrain.com/skeppshult-jarn-cast-iron-fry-pan
Most of the new expensive cast iron pans are finished significantly better than Lodge- far smoother cooking surface and they may contain a more premium iron mixture. Lodge pans are just fine though, and once seasoned work well. The one you linked I hadn't seen before, but that looks as pebbly as a Lodge. Here's an example of the real pricey ones: No. 12 Cast Iron Skillet - https://smithey.com/collections/ironware/products/no-12-cast-iron-skillet?gclid=CjwKCAjwgdX4BRB_EiwAg8O8HVbuKr_F1eFhd0VXjEwAK6wYQW67tm65rtPFKl9d7TBFdjwYcBJ6ShoCiaYQAvD_BwE
As an aside, the best pans I have had are the vintage Griswold and Wagner ones. But, these have gotten ridiculously expensive in the last few years. Years ago I would pick them up for $5-10 at flea markets and thrift stores, clean them up with a wire brush on a drill, sand them where needed, then reseason and have great cookware. I gave at least a dozen redone vintage pans away as gifts to friends or younger folks setting up kitchens. I've kept a few, but use Lodge at our second home with no problems. There are videos out there on how to finish a Lodge pan and make it smooth like the vintage pans. I've had cast iron around of my own for ~50 years. Both my grandmothers and my Mom all had cast iron in their kitchens, so I grew up learning to use cast iron. Here's a pic of a Griswold from the 1950s. Notice how smooth the cooking surface is versus your Lodge.
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Yep, 2 Matfers and 2 DeBuyers.
Seared some pork chops last night, and it seems like it sears better than a cast iron. I almost feel like it gets hotter. It definitely comes up to temp much faster.
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