Heat or vinegar work very well.
Cast Iron
- Thread starter fmueller
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Heat or vinegar work very well.
Ron R
I survived a lathey foreman
I like cooking with my Smarts cast iron 10" approx cast iron frying pan(they are out of busniness now). I can cook steaks very nicely with it and is one of the easiest pans to clean IMO, no doubt that more than likely not doing the cleaning properly but it works.
All I do is after frying & let it cool down a little & place in sink add some hot water and use a nylon egg flipper and scrape the bottom of the pan and dump the contents down the sink. Add new clean water and use a little dish soap and scour with a nylon scrubber and the dump contents and rinse with hot water and then dry with a paper towel, while the pan is still warm from the hot rinse I take some olive oil and coat the bottom of the pan and sides with a light coating and store for the next use(4-5 minutes max procedure and have done this for years)
All I do is after frying & let it cool down a little & place in sink add some hot water and use a nylon egg flipper and scrape the bottom of the pan and dump the contents down the sink. Add new clean water and use a little dish soap and scour with a nylon scrubber and the dump contents and rinse with hot water and then dry with a paper towel, while the pan is still warm from the hot rinse I take some olive oil and coat the bottom of the pan and sides with a light coating and store for the next use(4-5 minutes max procedure and have done this for years)
I used heat/oil/steel wool and a my outdoor grill. There's plenty of tutorials online and video's on how to restore rusted cast iron. Took a while to get it back and I think I need to strip it again and do a better job of putting the seasoning on. It still works great. Used it last night to sear steaks before putting them in the broiler. They were to thick to cook in the pan alone. Thin steaks I can cook in the pan.
Picked up a cast iron wok inexpensively; unsure really how to use it.
On the gas grill, but it's a bit chilly out for that.
AA
On the gas grill, but it's a bit chilly out for that.
AA
I've seen those, but I'm also not sure what to do with them. Cast iron doesn't exactly suit wok technique.
+1 my wok is just a simple hammered steel device. The response to amount of heat I am adding allows me to turn it up/down quickly when I mess up and need a large adjustment in heat.
The wok is a very versatile pan. Of course, you can stir fry, but also use it for steaming, deep-fat frying, braising, boiling pasta, rice dishes like paella, making popcorn, kneading bread dough, reheating tortillas and flatbreads, etc.Picked up a cast iron wok inexpensively; unsure really how to use it.
On the gas grill, but it's a bit chilly out for that.
Stir frying requires high heat. This is very hard to obtain on an electric stove. A cast iron wok can be preheated and will retain a lot of heat even when adding fresh ingredients to a stir fry. The downside is you cannot change the amount of heat rapidly. You have to adapt to that by keeping the heat constant and adjusting the cooking time.
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Stargazer is another light cast iron skillet that's really nice. It also has a lengthy handle that remains cool and serves as a spoon holder too. I've had mine for a few months and really like cooking with it.
I have skillets, dutch ovens & woks; cast iron & hammered steel. Can’t use the hammered steel on my induction cooker. Can’t make popcorn [emoji897] in the cast iron one. Enjoy using both. I feel the hammered steel wok may stir fry slightly better. Depends what the plan is.
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I have a question for cast iron users. Do any of you use organic cold pressed Flax Seed Oil to season their cast iron?
I have begun seasoning my cast iro with 3 or 4 really thin coats of flax seed oil and then putting it in a 475 degree oven for an hour and then letting the cast iron cool down with the oven. I then repeat this process 3 o4 4 times depending on how it looks.
What I have noticed is, the flax seed oil which has a very high smoke point, seems to polymerize and hardens, onto the cast iron's surface and leaves behind a very hard and shiny, non-stick slick and dry surface. It looks wet and oily but it's dry as a bone.
Is there anyone else who uses flax seed oil that can tell me if this is a lasting seasoning?
Here are some pics of a few that I have seasoned with flax seed and one skillet without flax seed.
This is a modern Lodge grill skillet, that I seasoned with flax seed oil top and bottom. In the pic it looks wet, but it is a very hard and shiny surface instead.
Here is a vintage skillet top and bottom seasoned the same.
Here is a 100 year old Griswold that hasn't been seasoned with flax seed oil yet. It appears much duller and not as non-stick looking?
I have begun seasoning my cast iro with 3 or 4 really thin coats of flax seed oil and then putting it in a 475 degree oven for an hour and then letting the cast iron cool down with the oven. I then repeat this process 3 o4 4 times depending on how it looks.
What I have noticed is, the flax seed oil which has a very high smoke point, seems to polymerize and hardens, onto the cast iron's surface and leaves behind a very hard and shiny, non-stick slick and dry surface. It looks wet and oily but it's dry as a bone.
Is there anyone else who uses flax seed oil that can tell me if this is a lasting seasoning?
Here are some pics of a few that I have seasoned with flax seed and one skillet without flax seed.
This is a modern Lodge grill skillet, that I seasoned with flax seed oil top and bottom. In the pic it looks wet, but it is a very hard and shiny surface instead.
Here is a vintage skillet top and bottom seasoned the same.
Here is a 100 year old Griswold that hasn't been seasoned with flax seed oil yet. It appears much duller and not as non-stick looking?
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I did the last time I seasoned some cast iron skillets. Works the best by far!
I have, too. I did a similar process with my Lodge skillets, and that worked wonderfully. However, it did not work well with my Griswalds--the seasoning flaked off.
That’s interesting. I wonder if the difference would be the smooth surface of the Griswold and the rough surface of the modern Lodge?
Pretty much what I do. I generally use a 425-450 oven. Open a window and turn on the hood fan, bake it until the smoke quits drifting out of the oven vent, then pull it and recoat. I do that about four times for a base layer, then let'er cool in the oven.
After that, just use it. Cleaning is with a scrubby and hot water, then heat it up to dry it.
Looks like you have a nice Birmingham Stove skillet there. Heavy fire ring, triangular section handle. I have a couple in the #5 size.
O.H.
I've wondered the same thing.
I toss my cast iron and black steel pans I. The fryer at work. Wipe off the excess after 10 minutes then throw them into a 450 degree oven upside down. Wipe out after 20 minutes, rub a towel with some fryer shortening on it and do it again. If it has a run of oil that I didn't see I'll salt it and work it and do it again. Most times to clean I use the dish sprayer and a towel. If that doesn't work, a touch of soapy water a green scrubby. Then an oily rag.
At home I do about the same thing minus deep frying them. I have a quart container of fryer shortening from work to do it or I take my pans in once a year and work on them when we are slow in the winter.
I didn't fully clean my Griswold that I found for $7. It isn't the smoothest bit it is non stick. My black irons on the other hand are gorgeous.
At home I do about the same thing minus deep frying them. I have a quart container of fryer shortening from work to do it or I take my pans in once a year and work on them when we are slow in the winter.
I didn't fully clean my Griswold that I found for $7. It isn't the smoothest bit it is non stick. My black irons on the other hand are gorgeous.
kelbro
Alfred Spatchcock
Had 4 coats of the flaxseed oil flake off one of my Griswolds after about the third or fourth cook. Had another one, seasoned at the same time that has been just fine. The skillet that had the seasoning flake off is mirror smooth. Maybe that's it.
