Cast iron cleaning and care

[oneshooter]

Last week I was doing a 1800's cooking demo when a young lady came up and asked me about a problem she had with a cast iron skillet. She said that she had gotten it from her Mom and was trying to learn to cook with it. I asked her what was wrong, and sge said that food kept sticking to it, even though she had cleaned it.
She then proceded to take a 14" CI skillet from the pack her son was wearing. It was polished bright! I asked her how long it took her to "clean" it and she told me most of one day! She said that it had some kind of black rust on it, and when I showed her some of mine she agreed that it had looked like that. I patiently showed her the error of her ways and proceded to show he how to season it properly.

Moral of this story: You can clean your cast iron using dish soap and water, lightly scrub it, but don't soak it! If things stick, bacon is bad about leaving things behind, get a 1-1 1/2" putty knife and scrape it off, then clean with a plastic dish brush. DO NOT put into a dishwasher, the soap contains grit wich sandblasts the seasoning off. Most of my dutch ovens I bake in need only a good wiping with a clean towel.

Any other sugestions/ideas lets hear them.

Oneshooter

[Staph]

1. Your mileage may vary.

My mom has had a couple of cast iron skillets for at least 60 years. They been put in the dishwasher for as long as she's had a dishwasher. No problems.

I've had my three cast iron skillets and one Dutch oven for 15 years. Dishwasher -- no problems.

I think the trick is to season well to begin, and stay away from steel wool or other harsh abrasives.

[Gormy Cuss]

2. Ooh! Cast iron care is always good for a flamefest...

or at least as much of a flamefest as we ever have in C&B.

I have my grandmother's eighty year-old skillet, one of my mother's and one that I bought thirty years ago. They all have the same uniform black surface on the inside and the only way to tell which is the oldest is it has a more nubby appearance on the outside.

After light duty, I wipe them out without washing. Otherwise I hand wash with a little dish detergent and a scrubber as needed. If I use soap, I'm careful to rinse the pan thoroughly. dry it with a paper towel, then heat it on the stove until medium hot, shut off the heat, drizzle a small amount of vegetable oil into the pan and rub the oil into the entire interior surface using a clean paper towel. It's the way my grandmother and mother took care of their pans too.

[Melissa G]

3. I'm in your camp

but I don't always do the oil care after the heat.

[NMDemDist2]

5. I do what you do, minus the soap

I may just wipe it out, or give it HOT HOT water with a scrubby sans soap, then dry it over the flame on the stove. Once all the water is cooked off, I take a tiny bit of shortening (which is the only thing I use shortening for, except for one molasses cookie recipe) on a clean paper napkin or towel and rub the shortening into the hot pan.

let it cool and it's ready to go in the cupboard til the next time.

I bought a new Lodge grill pan, it's still getting it's legs under it, but all Grammy's Wagner CI is silky smooth as a baby's bottom

[Gormy Cuss]

7. I've used shortening too.

The inside of the pan has to have that sheen from a fat layer or I can't put it away.

[Major Nikon]

4. It's pretty hard to mess up cast iron

Even if you treat them improperly, they can be cleaned up and seasoned again. About the only way you can destroy one is to crack or warp it, and you have to work pretty hard to do that although older cast iron will crack more readily than new. It is possible for cast iron to become pitted, but this is much harder to do than aluminum.

The Lodge web site lists care and re-seasoning instructions. I have my own methods that I like better, but the ones listed certainly work.

http://www.lodgemfg.com/use-care-seasoned-cast-iron.asp

[pengillian101]

6. The only time I saw my Mom cry...

was when she dropped her cherished, vintage, heirloom, family, huge fry pan on the floor and it broke exactly in half. Broke my heart.

The frypan was too old to take it. Sure enjoyed some great meals from it before that though.

NEVER a wire scouring pad or soap was ever was used - it just got old and brittle I guess. Luckily, my inherited and my new ones have fared better. They've never seen a drop of soap. If stuff ever sticks, I heat it again after the meal with water until boiling removes the stuck-on stuff. Learned that trick camping many years ago. Take a metal spatula to remove gunk, rinse, wipe dry and it's good to go.

[GoCubsGo]

11. I use the boil-off-the-gunk method, too.

I will dry it on the stove and add another coat of oil, too.

[HopeHoops]

8. Recondition it - hot oven, shortening, and about an hour. They all need that once in a while.

You NEVER scrub cast iron - ever. It destroys the seasoning. A plastic scrubber brush and dishwashing liquid are fine, but never use anything like steel wool or copper pads. Cast Iron last forever and it is way superior to Teflon pans. I've got a shitload of cast iron ranging from griddles to dutch ovens. They're the best thing to cook in, especially if you have an anemic wife (which I do) who is pregnant (which she isn't anymore).

[Lucinda]

9. I do have a few stainless skillets, but we cook almost everything in cast iron.

I even have a cast iron wok, but Bill prefers his lighter one.
None of it EVER goes in the dishwasher.

I do occasionally use hot soapy water, and I have soaked occasionally rather than boiling stuff off, because I have an induction cooktop, but as a rule, I don't have any maintenance trouble with mine. They stay well seasoned.

I have some of my grandmother cast iron, and it's ooooooollllddddd. She used to burn hers off from time to time if they got funky, but I have never done that. Her pans are my best.

[GentryDixon]

10. My cast iron skillet

is so heavy it takes two hands to lift it from the stovetop. I am always afraid I will drop it on my tile floor.

It once belonged to my grandmother, then my mother, and now me. I have made some killer milk gravy to go with the biscuits and elk steak breakfasts my family once loved. Sadly, I don't cook like that anymore, but still use it on occasion when my other half wants "real" fried chicken.

[OffWithTheirHeads]

12. I never use soap on my cast iron. If it ever needs to be scoured I use salt.

I have some of the best cookware money can buy, a set of French copper and a set of Allclad but 90% of my cooking is done in my cast iron.

So well seasoned that I can make a perfect crepe.

[no_hypocrisy]

13. I use Kosher Salt b/c the granules are larger.

[rhett o rick]

14. I have an old cast iron skillet that was handed down but never have used it.

It appears to have a light coating of rust. Is that normal?

[OffWithTheirHeads]

15. Scour it down with a little hot water, salt and one of those green scotchbright things

Wipe it down with cooking oil or shortning (not Olive oil cause it burns at too low a temp) and stick it in the oven at 400 degrees for about an hour. Start using it. The more you use it, the better it will get. You may have to season it a few times before it really starts to be effective. When it has turned Black it should be perfect. A quick hit of Pam and a few drops of oil and you will never use Teflon again. Try it. I'm betting that once you get used to it, it will be your go to pan and you will end up buying more.

I don't have a teflon pan in my house. Don't need one cause nothing sticks to well seasoned cast iron.

[pinto]

16. Agree. And, as an aside, I store my cast iron in the oven. Not a cabinet.

Once seasoned, they stay nice and rust free.

[rhett o rick]

19. Thank you. I dont have any shortning in the house. Doesnt it contain hydrogenated oils?

I have olive oil and canola oil. Both have smoke points of around 465 degrees F.

[NMDemDist2]

22. shortening (or flaxseed oil as mentioned) is best

It needs to be a high smoke point. Oil it and stick it in a hot oven. Is it an heirloom pan, or a new one? A new one would rust if left unseasoned. An heirloom one probably is just showing light surface rust. Either way, you'll have to remove the rust and reseason.

If you oil it after every use, it will eventually build a seamless smooth finish

[rhett o rick]

25. Thanks. We do have some flaxseed softgel pills. Great tip. Not sure of the age of the pan. I have

only used it for pineapple upside down cake. I think I will clean it up, oil it and use it. Thanks again.

[NMDemDist2]

26. is it marked on the bottom?

We should b able to give u an idea if there's a name on it

[rhett o rick]

27. It just says Tiawan on the bottom. nm

[OffWithTheirHeads]

24. I'd go with the Canola

[Duer 157099]

17. I have found the ultimate best way to season cast iron

Flaxseed oil.

Try it.

Clean the pan in the self-cleaning cycle of the oven, wipe all the ash off, apply the lightest coating of flaxseed oil (use the encapsulated form, the kind sold as supplements, 2-3 capsules is enough per pan per coating) then heat in oven as usual for seasoning.

The.best.coating.EVER.

[NMDemDist2]

18. interesting!

thanks for the tip...

[Ruby Reason]

20. I haven't cooked with cast iron in forever.

I think I'll dig mine out, try to get it conditioned again, and start cooking the right way.

[hobbit709]

21. I have 4 cast iron skillets

A 14-in large pan, a 12-in skillet, a 12-in dutch oven size, and a 8-in small skillet.
that and a large pot for boiling water is about all I use.

[oneshooter]

23. When I do a demo I load the following in the truck, I may not use it all

but it helps to have a couple of cool pans to show(fewer burned fingers that way!).

Dutch Ovens: 2-12", 4-14", 2-16" all w/lids
Spiders: 1-12", 1-14" all w/lids
Skillets: 1-14", 1-18&quot w/lid), 1-24"
Stew Pots: 2-14" deep w/lids
About 40# of associated ironwork( tripods, fire irons, rotesserie, gratings, ect.)

Also a chuck box that weighs 200+lbs when loaded, ice chest, firewood(if needed) 2 water kegs(6 gal ea) and a dry box for canned goods and staples.

An hour each to load/unload/reload

Oneshooter

[NMDemDist2]

28. check out this link, and the recipes look great too!!

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