Cast Iron 101

This is the best tutorial I have ever seen on cast iron. I did the exact same thing as a bride, but I do currently have 2 cast iron pans that I am going to get out, re season, and start cooking with! Thanks so much!! Pinning to my household tips board

I also got one for Christmas. We have used them for years camping and outside. I use to use them in my kitchen too. I seriously don’t know why I quite, but after going through so many pans that just don’t last, I’m back to cast iron and loving it!!! Great post! I had a Grandpa and Grandma Z. too Zimmerman.
xox
Wanda Ann @ Memories by the Mile

My husband treated me to two cast iron pans for mother’s day one year and now I find him using the all the time as well! My neighbours told me they threw out their rusty cast iron pan and I almost cried! Great info!

I have a few cast iron pans, but I haven’t cooked with them yet, I will have to season them before I start, haha 🙂

My grandmother and mother both love to make cornbread in their cast iron skillets. I know that I need to reseason my pans, but I’ll start with the salt trick. 🙂

they are wonderful pots and skillets… I have various size skillets and 3 dutch oven ones.. different sizes one has a porcelain coating inside which i use for the acidic foods and some times my roast beef since it is the biggest one. I cook corn bread and eggs and 2 pieces of Jalapeno cream cheese stuffed boneless chicken thighs wrapped in bacon all in my small skillet. smothered potatoes, cabbage, any meat with gravy…
after wipe it out after cleaning I add a little oil and store in the oven.. if the food was cooked in the oven it helps it dry and the oil soak in… and it is always ready to go next time. 🙂 many of nine were from my grand mother and a few probably 80+ yrs old.
thank you for your post… I never thought of the salt. sometimes i use a nylon scraper if stuck too bad.. (usually cheese) but i will definitely try the salt and brush … thanks again

One tip…if you can find “vintage” cast iron, all the better! The cooking surface on the old stuff is as smooth as glass when you touch it. A lot of the newer cast iron skillets aren’t machine finished as they were back in the day. No amount of seasoning on a rough surface will make it smooth:(

I have 6 castiron pans, love every one of them and use them daily. These came from my mom and one was a wedding present 56 yrs ago. But I have a dutch oven that is not in use until I can solve this problem. It is old like all the others I have but everything I cook is almost black so I don’t use it. I thought that it possibly needs a good cleaning and seasoned again. Would that help?? I can’t use it as it is now. Thanks.

Thanks for the tips! I can’t wait to try cleaning with the salt! I am so upset that I threw out my grandmother’s cast iron skillets after Hurricane Katrina! I was so traumatized and thought that they where contaminated from that nasty water. Oh well! At least I do have two skillets I purchased after the storm. I use them to cook everything from breads and steaks to pineapple upside-down cakes!

I have 3 cast iron pans a large medium and just got a single serve one extra small I love them I cook corn bread pork chops fried chicken and the extra small brownie and cake.the next one I get will be the one that looks like corn to make individual corn bread muffins my mother and grandma had one.you did a great job telling how to season pan.you can also just pour salt in pan while still hot to clean without putting water in.cook sliced potatoes butter salt pepper cover and cook for 1 hour and half on 350

I received my mother-in-law’s cast iron skillets (set of 3) when she inherited her mother’s. I LOVE them. I cook everything in them! If anything ever sticks, which is rare, I place it back on the stove on medium-low heat with some coconut oil and while it’s heating use a metal spatula to scrape off the stuck on food. The oil provides a separation between the food and pan and the heat helps “cook” it off. Then I just wipe it clean with a paper towel after it’s a bit cooler. Works every time.

I have several cast iron pans in various shapes and sizes and I LOVE them. I use them at home and camping. From stove to oven to fire pit there is nothing better. I love cooking just about everything in my cast iron….but I have to say its the only way to make your cornbread! YUM!

If you have a gas oven and don’t have an issue with it – after cleaning mine I always rub it with oil/fat/bacon grease (usually) and store it in the oven. The mild heat from the gas oven will keep it nice and seasoned over time. I have a fryer, a skillet, two griddles in my oven at all times – I have a roaster, a Dutch oven, and a cast iron pot that I often stick in the oven for a few days after use just to keep them looking good. My family believes in cast iron – my grandfather taught me to season them and all of my pieces, other than one, have been hand me downs which I treasure deeply.

I have several cast iron pieces and use them daily! For everything including tomatoe based sauces. I actually just made pancakes on my griddle for breakfast. I rub butter on the pan and then fry the batter it makes this fantastic crispy buttery edge that just doesn’t happen with traditional nonstick pans. I love them for sausage gravy , it gives the best flavor. My grandad used to buy the old ones at auctions and yardsales to restore, the ones from him are my favorite pieces. If I use water to clean them I put them on the burner to dry and then rub with oil or lard to season. I have not tried the salt before but i will give it a go. Thanks for your post!

I wouldn’t say that I love my cast iron grill and skillet. But I highly highly respect them for the hard work they do around here. I have made cornbread, buttermilk biscuits and Moroccan semolina bread called Harsha on them. I have grilled vegetables. Stovetop to oven dishes like farmers omelets are the best in cast iron pans. Grilled vegetables like zucchini are the best thing to grill if you have griddle with grill lines on it. I hesitate to say I love them because I don’t treat them with love. I confess I have soaked them overnight in the sink. And I have thrown them in the dishwasher often times after soaking them overnight in the sink. Please don’t tell Grandma Z lol. But do tell her someone says thanks. And to you thanks as well I will definitely be trying the salt trick for getting out those stubborn burnt on memories. Cast irons in my house give a lot more than they get respect for sorry to say

Instead of drying mine with a paper towel, I was taught at a young age to rinse thoroughly with water after use (NO soap) then immediately put it on a hot burner until dry. emove from burner and then pour a little oil and salt in the hot pan and scour with paper towels and then dump the salt and paper towel into the trash. Salt kills any left over germs and heating on the stove insures that there are no remaining damp areas to rust.

Mom (now 84) tells how her mother would take her skillet to the creek & use the fine sand to clean it. She’d rinse it out, dry it well and it was ready for the next meal.

I also have my Grandmother’s cast iron skillets. My sons lost my regular one on a camping trip,so all I have left is the deep one. I make my roasts in it. Just fill half way with water put the lid on and check it every once in a while and the roast is amazing,and tender , then you can make the gravy too. Now don’t be mad, but these skillets are old and i have put it in the dishwasher a few times and many times in the dish water. I have never re-seasoned them and i absolutely love them. I miss my regular pan for eggs and just general cooking , and yell at the boys all the time about my pan. Thanks Grandma.

I get my cast iron pan what is referred to as white hot..I then put a thin layer of bacon grease….I then sear a thick Ribeye on one side to build a little crust for 3 to 4 minutes I flip it wait abt 2 mins…put the whole thing under the broiler and cook to desired temp….I remove from the pan and let it rest for mandatory 10 mins during that time butter infused with parsley, oregano, lemon juice and zest, a little salt and pepper melts into the steak

I love my old cast iron skillets as well! I use them more than any other pan I have in various sizes and styles to cook everything!

The way I season them is to put a very thin later of (oil of choice-my preference is flax seed oil but I use bacon grease as well), start in a cold oven, and turn it on to 500. Allow to bake for 1 hour… turn off oven and leave them in until cool.

I know this is super high heat, but it has worked perfectly for me for years. I usually do about 3 cycles of this depending on the need of the pan. Putting a super thin layer of the oil prevents stickiness. Patience is rewarded!

I have had trouble with the Log Cabin brand skillets as well. I can never get them to stay seasoned properly, and own one that flaked so bad after multiple seasonings that I stripped it down to the bare iron to start fresh.

After all that, I have read in addition to someone else’s comment about the Log Cabin cast irons being an alloy (more than one type of metal) but also that the coating they have on them is very toxic and should be removed and reseasoned if you choose those as your pans. I have considered grinding or buffing the bumpy texture from mine since it isn’t as high quality of a skillet as my others.

I pinned this post because we inherited a few cast iron skillets with our new to us travel trailer.

They appear clean – but, shouldn’t I re-season them before we use them? (Hubby and I are debating)

Thanks!

I have used cast iron since I was a little girl. My mother now has my grandmothers set of cast iron. She purchased a set for me as a wedding gift, I cant wait to use them. My mother has always seasoned her pans with Crisco and to try them off she just puts them on the stove and turns on the burner for a few mins until they are dry.
My dad found an old cast iron skillet at the Goodwill, it was covered in rust, he came home dropped it in a 5 gallon bucket full of vinegar for a few days, scrubbed it, seasoned it and now it is like new.
My family only uses the Lodge brand, my parents swear they are the only true cast iron company left.

I’m thinking of getting my hubby to take the sander to my pan. I tried making pancakes today and it was an epic failure. Every time I rinse the pan and dry it with paper towel black film comes off the pan. It’s been doing this for ever. I scrub it with steel wool and it just keeps letting off the black stuff. I try seasoning it over this but to no avail. Only really greasy food cooks well in it. I don’t feel this black stuff (charcoal maybe). Is good for is. Is this what ruins others dish towels. I’ve learnt to use paper towels.

I find that if I take my skillet off the stove while it’s still pretty hot, add a little water (it will sizzle and bubble), then take my Pampered Chef scraper to the bottom, it’s a cinch to clean up. Just run water over it with a sponge, put it back on the hot stove to let it dry thoroughly, then add oil and rub it in.

I have 2 really nice cast iron pans. I just wish my husband to be would stop washing them with soap. I’ve tried telling him one is his, the other is mine, so that mine is seasoned the way I want and he can deal with his own, but he keeps washing mine too. I know he’s trying to be helpful and telling him the same thing over and over is useless, so sadly, I just don’t use the pans.

So, what if you seasoned the skillet, and baked it in the oven per instructions you had, only to end up with too much oil baked in and it looks like glue? How do I clean and redo the mess. Thanks so much, Z!!!

I have a Lodge cast iron skillet and just got a hand-me-down Griswold skillet from 1930s that belonged to my grandmother. The Griswold skillet is smooth as glass. I find that a light coat of Crisco shortening works great for seasoning.
One thing I love making in the skillet is pizza! I buy a ball of pizza dough at the grocery store and use half per pizza. Oil the pan well with Olive Oil, spread the dough in the pan and top as desired. Bake at 425 until the top looks done, crust around edges is browned, approx 20 minutes, then move to stovetop and cook over burner until the bottom of crust is golden & crispy.

I think coconut oil or lard works best. These fats will not oxidize in high heat and they really create a non-stick surface. I wouldn’t believe it until I used my pan finally. I was the same way when I first received my cast iron pan! Now I cook everything in it!

I have used cast iron for years, and that’s all that was ever used in my home growing up. I use a Teflon pad to scrub out any food particles that remain after cooking, then place on the burner to dry and get hot after which I spread a little lard on it and put it away. Have not had any problems with this cleaning method over the years. Loved your tutorial by the way.

Thank you for this! I was directed here by Pinterest! (how do they know I have a new cast iron for Christmas? LOL) I have been using soap to clean mine. Oops. so how do I clean it properly? How often do I season it? I thought I was supposed to do it every time I used it.

Very good info for those that don’t know. My dad used cast iron while hunting and camping. I was taught at a very early age the correct way. One of my favorite memories is when he would take rolls and drop them in the hot oil making us donuts.

I have used one of my 4 often. Potatoes, steaks, pretty much anything. To include a pineapple upside down cake of sorts.

Your advice is almost spot on. However, you left out one very important step in cleaning the pan. IF you rinse it in water (more on that if in a minute), you need to return the pan to the stove and allow it to heat up again so that the water in the pores of the pan evaporates or you will have rust.

Now, about that “if” I mentioned. I do NOT use water on my cast iron pans. How do I clean it? I take a paper towel and wipe it clean. If there are food particles stuck to the pan, I use some canola oil and coarse salt (sea salt or kosher salt) to scrub the pan and then wipe the pan out to remove the salt. This leaves a light coat of oil in the pan and no water was used.

I’ve always wanted to own one. Now I’m considering purchasing one. I will put this information in mind. Thank you for this informative blog! I will take care of my cast iron well as soon as I purchase one.

Thank u so much for this tutorial! Please forgive the question if it’s dumb but when u remove rust with salt and brush do u do this without water? I hv a few cast iron skillets but some have rust and I’m totally scared of wrecking them completely! Also, when I tried to season one of them it came out sticky!