castiron

[coxy]

what is the best way to clean one and how often do you season them

[newoodguy78]

I just simmer water in mine and scrub with a Brillo pad at the same time. Pour it out and let the residual heat dry it then wipe a light coat of oil and it's ready for next time. Haven't actually seasoned any of mine in years.
Whatever you do don't use detergent while cleaning

[Jeff]

I Heat that bugger up hot then pour a smll bit of water in it so it sizzles and loosens stuff up. Wipe it out, repeat if nessesary. Once you get everything out, while the pan is still hot, spray in some pam, or a little oil and wipe that out. never use soap or cleaner and never put it in the sink.  We keep ours all in the oven, as we don't use the oven all that much and don't have any place else for them. For the most part, probably 85% of the time, the cast iron is what we use.



 

[Chuck White]

I have a 3" deep X 8" dia. (at the bottom) frying pan that I'm trying to get adjusted!

I cook my eggs in it in the mornings, then when they're done, I wipe it out with a paper towel and then I take another paper towel with some Crisco on it and wipe the entire inside of the pan with it!

The pan is getting a little better and don't stick quite so much as it did at the start!

I've been told "don't be in a big hurry" it takes time to do it right!

I'd really like to get this pan right, those old Teflon pans just don't quite get it!

[Roxie]

Peanut oil is the absolute best conditioner and protector of cast iron.  I have two cast iron skillets that are 45 years old, and a few that are more recent additions.  Once they are seasoned properly, I do use a scrubby sponge and detergent and water. 

I wouldn't recommend peanut oil for frying if you have a cholesterol problem, but it makes the best fries, fish, and chicken known to man. 

[WDH]

Mine are so seasoned after being passed down through several generations that it does not matter anymore how you clean them. 

[69bronco]

Ours are well seasoned and usually wipe right out, if anything stick we rub it with salt and a paper towel. Wipe on a little oil and good to go. That was per my grandmother 30-40 yrs ago.

[Weekend_Sawyer]

I love cast iron and have quite a bit of it.

Cast iron is porous so don't use soap.

For light stuff I just wipe it out.
For heavier stuff I scrape it out with a metal spatula.
For baked on I do like others have said, put in some water and heat it up.

Oil and store.

[LaneC]

 I love cast iron and do as everyone else has said except I have a pretty Italian wine bottle with olive oil in it right by the stove, and after I heat it hot enough to evaporate all the water after cleaning it, I sling some olive oil in it and wipe it down with a napkin, and the lid also, until the next use.

[LaneC]

  I didn't read the question well enough I think you only have to really season it one time. After that, by not cleaning with detergent and soap, it continues to build up a non stick surface from each use. There are a couple of methods you could use but either way you will have to get it very hot the first time and then start with what type of oil you will use for the initial seasoning. If you just got one, you may want to scribe a date on it somewhere if you plan on passing it down. Mine is probably 20 years old (not old for most folks) and I wish I would have dated it so when I pass it on they can say, that is Paw Paws old pot, look at the date on it.

[Weekend_Sawyer]

Season it once, use it a lifetime!

[drobertson]

I love them too, we have 4, small skillet, pretty big shallow (lodge), and a deep dish wagner, one like WDH's it sounds like, now the lodge was a bit of a pain getting it right, and I've tried the steaming off method, it seemed to just create another round of seasoning all over again for me.. I just cooked everything in it for a while,, mainly bacon and sausage,,and I do what many folks don't, but I use hot tap water and one of those soap filled scrubbers, lightly cleaning and rinsing with the hot water, it now will bake and fry anything without sticking..the little one was a pain as well, its a pioneer woman skillet, picked it up at a walmart for 10 bucks, same as above, lots of cooking. To your question, I believe you can use dish soap, just don't soak it, and for seasoning, I cleaned them good, coated with oil, and placed in the oven upside down baking at 350* for over an hour, the dutch oven cleans out good too, they can be cantanceraus (spelling) but with patience they will come around and serve you well,

[petefrom bearswamp]

No soap here, just hot water, wipe out with a plastic scrubber, dry on the stove and wipe with a little oil.
OUr oven is the storage place too.

[DanG]

I'm a member of "Cast Iron Cooking" on Facebook. The group has over 270,000 members and has all kinds of info on whipping your cast iron into shape.  For seasoning, they recommend coating lightly with lard or shortening and placing upside down in the oven at 450-500 for a couple of hours. The trick is to get the temp up to the "smoke point" and hold it there until all of the volatiles are burned out of the coating. You can also use your grill if you don't want to smoke up your house.

[21incher]

I purchased 2 Chinese  cast iron frying pans at tractor supply a couple years ago and they were junk. The pores were big enough to loose a grain of rice in and everything stuck no mater what I tried. Tossed them and got some lodge pans from Costco.  What a difference. Lesson learned, quality costs.
Thanks everyone for sharing these pointers to a new cast iron user.

[coxy]

yes thanks I'm new to this  my mom had one that was at least 20in with 2 handles  after dad and mom passed away my sister through it in the garbage because it was black  >:( >:( >:( >:( I was not happy  that pan made the best p chops and steak I ever had not to mention the fried taters that came out of it  the pan that a friend got me is preseason and its from Cabela's not shur where it was made haven't seen it yet another guy told me cook as much bacon in it as I can eat for a few months then try frying an egg if it sticks cook more bacon  :D 

[Ianab]

nother guy told me cook as much bacon in it as I can eat for a few months then try frying an egg if it sticks cook more bacon  :D

Yup, that will work  :D

I did have to re-season one of my pans, but that was after it was in a house fire at the Ex's. (I'd left her a frying pan when I moved out) Fire was so hot we found the pan on the ground, with a puddle of aluminium solidified in it.  :D She was getting all new stuff from the insurance, so I salvaged that. Took some wire brush on a power drill work to clean it up. But wiped it down with oil, baked it in a hot oven for a couple of hours, then cooked some bacon. Good as new  ;D

And that's just a cheap Chinese set, although it does seem to be decent quality, and has lasted well.

[WV Sawmiller]

   I never heard of re-seasoning one unless it was old and rusted. I confess I have used detergent on mine but mostly I just scrub briskly with a stiff plastic bristled brush or scrubby pad under scalding hot water and occasionally wipe with cooking oil.

   We have a big selection of cast iron including some that belonged to my grandmother and possibly she got them from her mom. Dad sent us a 4" and a 2" deep oval roaster with a lid that fits both about a year after we got married (When we returned from an overseas USMC tour). He sent them by Greyhound bus from Fla to SC. I'd speculate we have used that 4" roaster on average at least once per month for the 39 years we have had it.

[samandothers]

My brother found an old rusted cast iron skillet.  I sand blasted it to clean.  He seasoned and used it.

If a pan/skillet is warped is there a method to flatten?  We have a skillet that is bulged in the center that came from mom and dad's.  We speculate it was too hot and placed in water.

[Weekend_Sawyer]

I purchased 2 Chinese  cast iron frying pans at tractor supply a couple years ago and they were junk. The pores were big enough to loose a grain of rice in and everything stuck no mater what I tried. Tossed them and got some lodge pans from Costco.  What a difference. Lesson learned, quality costs.
Thanks everyone for sharing these pointers to a new cast iron user.

If you have a junk pan it will make a nice plinking target for a 22 or pellet rifle.
I bought a couple from a junk (antique) shop and was going to plink with them but they turned out to be nice pans so I kept them. Go figure.  :

Jon

[Raider Bill]

I stopped at a garage sale Saturday. Guy had a bunch of cast iron. Got to taking to him about cleaning the rust off when he finds them. His "secret" is PB Blaster. I'm like are you kidding me! Do you tell the people you sell them to so they won't use the to cook with?
Nope. And the worst part is he didn't think there was anything wrong with it.

[Weekend_Sawyer]

There ya go, If they were cheep, perfect plinking pans!

[coxy]

you cant just burn the PB off   :-\     if nothing else your inners should be lubed up and every thing should slide out real fast  :D 8)   

[WV Sawmiller]

   Good point Raider Bill. I worry about such ever since I came home from an overseas assignment and found my son had taken a small cast iron skillet and was using it on the big wood stove downstairs to melt his lead sinkers and cast his bullets.

   

[DanG]

You can get a little kit at most any hardware store to test cast iron for lead contamination. Not a bad idea if you're buying used stuff. ;)