For the last week and a half, I have cooked in all but 1 of my cast iron skillets/pans and have tried different types of seasonings.
These have been grapeseed oil, 1st cold press avocado oil, Field brand seasoning and Crisco. All the cast iron was done using the Field oven method and the results were not what I was expecting. Cooking in all of them was searing some chuck eye steaks and then finishing up in a 425° oven.
Grapeseed oil was 1st and I used this oil when I started with cast iron years ago. It has a high smoke point and did pretty well holding up to heat. Clean up was good with a little bit of sticking but nothing bad.
Avacado oil was 2nd and what every steak was seared in. Just happened to be an oil I also use as a seasoning. Very high smoke point and I had no sticking at all. Everything came off of the skillets with hot water and a quick brushing.
Field brand was 3rd and is about my favorite. Comes in a small tin and is more solid so it's not an oil. It has oil in but also beeswax. I get 0 sticking and sometimes all it takes is a wipe out with a damp towel to clean. There's a reason it's my go to. For now.
Last up was the Crisco and I have to say I'm impressed and surprised. My grandmother used to season cast iron with Crisco and I have 3 of her Griswold pans. I was a young child and kind of remember the Crisco can in the kitchen. Seems to be working great on par with the Field seasoning. Clean up is easy and nothing sticks. Simple hot water and a brush.
I'm not a scientist and this is purely just me trying some things out. Maybe it'll help, maybe I'm just weird.

I’m no expert but I really like Crisbee Pucks. Works well for me. Crisbee Link
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quote:

Originally posted by OKCGene:
I’m no expert but I really like Crisbee Pucks. Works well for me. Crisbee Link
.

I've heard good things about these.
I bought a 3 tin package from Field with their seasoning so I still have a few left but I may try the pucks just to see.

There has been many discussions about cast iron in this forum over the years. There are many ways to season. It’s not about the oil as much as it is the skill in the application. I suggest watching YouTube videos. In the learning curve you might expect to reseason the pan once or twice.

quote:

Originally posted by Spudgun:
There has been many discussions about cast iron in this forum over the years. There are many ways to season. It’s not about the oil as much as it is the skill in the application. I suggest watching YouTube videos. In the learning curve you might expect to reseason the pan once or twice.

You're 100% correct about the skill in the application but it's also about cooking techniques.
Searing is just one with cast iron. I'll do eggs way differently than searing. I also season every time I cook. I know I don't have to but I still do and that's probably the main reason my skillets are the way they are. To each his/her own though.

I recently came across this article: https://www.artofmanliness.com...r-cast-iron-skillet/

I can say if I over cook something and it gets a bit sticky, a little dish soap takes it right off and the seasoning is good as new.

quote:

Originally posted by mark123:
I recently came across this article: https://www.artofmanliness.com...r-cast-iron-skillet/

I can say if I over cook something and it gets a bit sticky, a little dish soap takes it right off and the seasoning is good as new.

Soap nowadays doesn't have lye in it like it did. That's what stripped seasoning off of pans.
I have a chain mail scrubber if food gets badly stuck on and that seems to work. I could use soap but I still do it the way my grandmother did and use very hot water and a brush.
One thing I did learn the hard way is that authentic chorizo has vinegar in it and it will take off seasoning.

As has been repeated here nearly ad nauseaum, a proper seasoning is impervious to many things, including soap and vinegar in chorizo.

The seasoning is a polymerization process...it makes plastic in simple terms. If a small amount of vinegar in sausage was going to ruin your seasoning, why does it come in a plastic bottle? Same with soap.

Now, do you want to soak your pan in pure vinegar for a few days? No. But cooking foods with it is just fine, as is washing it with soap. Just rinse well and oil.

And while old soaps were made with lye, it was neutralized in the saponification process and thus wouldn't have effected the seasoning. If not, you wouldn't have been able to use it on your skin.

There are many old wives tales regarding cast iron cookware.

Good posts Joatmonv. Thanks for sharing those tips.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
As has been repeated here nearly ad nauseaum, a proper seasoning is impervious to many things, including soap and vinegar in chorizo.

The seasoning is a polymerization process...it makes plastic in simple terms. If a small amount of vinegar in sausage was going to ruin your seasoning, why does it come in a plastic bottle? Same with soap.

Now, do you want to soak your pan in pure vinegar for a few days? No. But cooking foods with it is just fine, as is washing it with soap. Just rinse well and oil.

And while old soaps were made with lye, it was neutralized in the saponification process and thus wouldn't have effected the seasoning. If not, you wouldn't have been able to use it on your skin.

There are many old wives tales regarding cast iron cookware.

In my case, it was a newer pan that had 1 layer of seasoning on it. I probably wouldn't hesitate with the pans I have now, including the one that got partially stripped, to do chorizo in any of them.
My thinking was along the lines of bacon or pork fat that helps cast iron when I did the chorizo. When it started lightly browning and I went to move it around the pan was when I saw seasoning being taken off. Instant stop on my part and it stuck pretty good also.
I eventually completely stripped that pan down and started from bare cast iron.
Soap OTOH, I would use but since I get good results with hot water and a brush, I probably won't change.
The only thing I won't do is put a pan in the dishwasher like my ex wife did.

It's the process more than what kind of oil you are using. Most common mistake is using to much oil. I use a few drops of grapeseed oil after the pan has been wiped out. Rub it in and around the pan while it's a little warm. Then I go back later and wipe out any excess.

Sometimes after I rinse the pan out I don't need to put oil back in it just make sure it's completely dry. I have built up the seasoning for so long I'll use it maybe three times before I put more oil on it. Seasoning cast iron gets way over thought sometimes.

quote:

Originally posted by lastmanstanding: Seasoning cast iron gets way over thought sometimes.

It does for sure.
When I started cooking in cast iron, I read everything I could on the subject and it seemed it was all different. I tried to remember what my grandmother did but I was very young and only remember a little.
I finally found a method I like and get good results. It's not end all be all for sure but after trying a few different styles, I found one I like.

I just un-fucked a 16" skillet that I'd used on the grill & was pretty nasty. Oven cleaner & wire brush did nothing, the funk laughed at 80grit flap wheel, so I went 40/80/120/180/220 on the 6" DA & die grinder until it was almost a mirror.

The only thing I'm fighting is the 1st season coat was very splotchy on the polished surface. The outside looks brand new & even. I used avocado oil for the 1st time, but the other pan I've re-seasoned (w/o polishing) looked similar with flaxseed oil. I almost feel like I didn't use enough oil, but I've seen what too much does & don't want that. I put about a 1.5-2" circle of oil in the middle of the warm pan, then wiped it with a microfiber cloth until it was spread out & any excess was soaked up. 400* for ~1.5hr, cooled in oven. cooked 1/2 lb of bacon & the seasoning came up where it was lighter. Scrubbed it & I've run 2 more coats of seasoning now & it's evening out. Anything I did wrong?

quote:

Originally posted by joatmonv:
The only thing I won't do is put a pan in the dishwasher like my ex wife did.

I had a wife who did that too. I was less than amused. Regarding your experiment, I've used lard and/or Crisco exclusively. Both do well with Crisco being the best IMO.

quote:

Originally posted by snidera:
Anything I did wrong?

The #1 mistake made is using too much oil. Sounds like that's what you did. When you oil it up, completely wipe it down until it looks dry. Then bake it. 400F for an hour and let it cool off in the oven on its own.

I've begun using my 15" Lodge as a baking dish for oven-roasting vegetables. I use avocado oil and season the veggies to taste. I also coat the skillet in avocado oil before the bake and it's like applying a new coating of seasoning every time.

Basically, any recipe that calls for a casserole dish, I substitute a cast-iron skillet.


Tony.

quote:

Originally posted by snidera:
I just un-fucked a 16" skillet that I'd used on the grill & was pretty nasty. Oven cleaner & wire brush did nothing, the funk laughed at 80grit flap wheel, so I went 40/80/120/180/220 on the 6" DA & die grinder until it was almost a mirror.

The only thing I'm fighting is the 1st season coat was very splotchy on the polished surface. The outside looks brand new & even. I used avocado oil for the 1st time, but the other pan I've re-seasoned (w/o polishing) looked similar with flaxseed oil. I almost feel like I didn't use enough oil, but I've seen what too much does & don't want that. I put about a 1.5-2" circle of oil in the middle of the warm pan, then wiped it with a microfiber cloth until it was spread out & any excess was soaked up. 400* for ~1.5hr, cooled in oven. cooked 1/2 lb of bacon & the seasoning came up where it was lighter. Scrubbed it & I've run 2 more coats of seasoning now & it's evening out. Anything I did wrong?

Gonna agree with Gustofer on too much oil but add something also. You don't really need to sand cast iron smooth. I haven't touched any of my Lodge pans and they're fine.
Kind of reminds me of the trouble I had with my Stargazer pan and it comes shipped from the factory smooth. Would not hold on to the seasoning good at all. I finally fried some food in peanut oil about 3x and it took. Pain in the ass when they're smooth like that.
My Field, Smithey, Griswold and Lodge haven't been touched. The Field and Smithey have very slight concentric rings in the bottom of the skillets and they picked up seasoning excellently. A few cooks in them and basically non stick now.

Back to the oil. When you wipe your warm pan down, you don't want any sheen to it hardly at all. It should look almost dry. This is where I like the Field method of seasoning. You start with a 200° oven to warm the pan. You then apply your preferred oil and out it back in the oven on 300°. Next time you pull it out, after 10 minutes, you wipe out any excess oil. Heat increases oil activity. Back in a 400-425° oven for an hour and then turn the heat off. Let it sit in the oven until cool. Kind of a curing process.

I’m gonna have to give all those a try in the OP. I’ve been using olive oil and haven’t had any issues. But I’m always up to trying something new.

I can't go an iron skillet thread without posting my favorite video...

quote:

Originally posted by snidera:
I just un-fucked a 16" skillet that I'd used on the grill & was pretty nasty. Oven cleaner & wire brush did nothing, the funk laughed at 80grit flap wheel, so I went 40/80/120/180/220 on the 6" DA & die grinder until it was almost a mirror.

The only thing I'm fighting is the 1st season coat was very splotchy on the polished surface. The outside looks brand new & even. I used avocado oil for the 1st time, but the other pan I've re-seasoned (w/o polishing) looked similar with flaxseed oil. I almost feel like I didn't use enough oil, but I've seen what too much does & don't want that. I put about a 1.5-2" circle of oil in the middle of the warm pan, then wiped it with a microfiber cloth until it was spread out & any excess was soaked up. 400* for ~1.5hr, cooled in oven. cooked 1/2 lb of bacon & the seasoning came up where it was lighter. Scrubbed it & I've run 2 more coats of seasoning now & it's evening out. Anything I did wrong?

Sanding or wire wheeling a pan is considered an absolute no-no, and will get you thrown out of cast iron groups. Apparently it can lead to seasoning not sticking to the pan in the future. The "Correct" method of getting that gunk off of the pans is a lye bath if you have multiple pans, or you can coat it with oven cleaner and stick it in a garbage bag for a couple of days if it's just one or two pans. Rust can be removed with rust remover, vinegar (be careful with this- leave it sitting too long and it will start to damage the pan) or you can build an e tank if you have a old dumb battery charger laying around.

When it comes to seasoning, less oil is more. You want to rub it off until there's no sign of it left, then pop it in the oven. Pretend it will kill you if you don't get it all wiped off before you put it in the oven. You can repeat that process multiple times, but you really want to get as much off of there as you can.

When it comes to seasoning, I personally prefer a more hands off approach. Just use the pan and it will built up. That lovely smooth feel from vintage pans isn't from the original user seasoning it when they got it, it's from years and years and years of cooking.

Seasoning is really just rust protection for the pan, temperature control is where the non stick properties come from. Check out this guy cooking fried eggs on a totally stripped cast iron skillet: http://www.tothewoods.net/Cast...s-Fried-Egg-Test.php

quote:

Originally posted by benny6:
I've begun using my 15" Lodge as a baking dish for oven-roasting vegetables. I use avocado oil and season the veggies to taste. I also coat the skillet in avocado oil before the bake and it's like applying a new coating of seasoning every time.

Basically, any recipe that calls for a casserole dish, I substitute a cast-iron skillet.


Tony.

I do the same Benny. I don't own anything other than cast iron and carbon steel. No Teflon in my house at all.
You could use a Dutch oven also and do a chuck roast with vegetables. Braising is excellent with cast iron.