Caring for Cast Iron

[E.Todd]

@Charlie Fu

My real question is if I should re-season. The link Mr. Fleming provided noted seasoning with olive oil and since I’ve only used olive oil on it… 4 times max it should be ok no?

Charlie,
Wednesday: Cook up some bacon in it.
Thursday: Fry up something in it.
Friday: Sautee some veggies.
Saturday: That thing will be seasoned beyond belief.

Seriously, the more you use it, the more it seasons itself. For the first handful of uses, make sure you are cooking things that are less prone to sticking, and use plenty of oil (any type, but peanut is pretty good), while keeping your cooking temp to within reason.

Our Lodge cookware is to the point that I cannot make anything stick in any of them. We use it for beef, chicken, fish, bacon, veggies, cornbread, etc. Clean up consists of hot water and a paper towel to wife off whatever is in there. It’s to the point that Teflon is a joke.

[mike_pobega]

@Jim Brennan

PS - Mike, I’m making fun of Charlie’s statement. I mean, come on… look at the pic of him dumpin’ the Screagle!

[Milton_Hudson]

one other note, i very rarely add any oil film after i use cast iron. I have a bunch of it and don’t use it every day. If you don’t use it regularly the oil film will break down and turn sticky or rancid.

One of the best things to do after you wash and dry the cast iron is put it on a burner for a few minutes or toss in a warm but turned off oven. Cast iron is porous and wil hold some moisture. After you do the above and if you need to store for an extended period put a paper towel in the pan and place the pan in a brown paper bag. This will keep atmospheric moisture from causing rust.

[Chris_Freemott]

Charlie I seasoned with olive too. I hated the smoke so I just placed it in my oven, hit self clean and 6 hours later started over with canola.

[Frank_Drew]

@Jim Brennan

I don’t think there’s any benefit to buying Le Creuset for raw cast iron, unless you’re just interested in name dropping. If you’re talking ceramic coated, that’s another issue…

I don’t think Le Creuset makes raw cast iron; do they? I thought it was all enameled, although most of the new skillets have a matt black enamel interior that looks like plain cast iron.

The great advantage to plain cast iron is that if you screw it up or let it get rusted, you can always apply a little elbow grease and renew the cooking surface.

Le Creuset is great for non-reactive uses.

[ken_emery]

@Frank Drew

@Jim Brennan

I don’t think there’s any benefit to buying Le Creuset for raw cast iron, unless you’re just interested in name dropping. If you’re talking ceramic coated, that’s another issue…

I don’t think Le Creuset makes raw cast iron; do they? I thought it was all enameled, although most of the new skillets have a matt black enamel interior that looks like plain cast iron.

The great advantage to plain cast iron is that if you screw it up or let it get rusted, you can always apply a little elbow grease and renew the cooking surface.

Le Creuset is great for non-reactive uses.

Le Creuset makes a raw cast iron fry pan and ridged fry pan. We have one of the later and it is he11 to clean. Nice pan though.

[Jay_Winton]

never use soap

[Frank_Drew]

Thanks for the followup, Ken, I didn’t know that they made unenameled cast iron cookware.

[Tyler_Rico]

just seasoned 2 this past weekend with canola

350 on the oven, minimal smoke but it did leave a bit of sticky residue after seasoning. The sticky residue did go away after one use on the weber.

[Frank_Drew]

@ken emery

]Le Creuset makes a raw cast iron fry pan and ridged fry pan.

Ken,
I emailed Le Creuset for the official word on this; FWIW, a Le Creuset telephone customer service rep just told me that they don’t, and have never, made or sold cast iron cookware without an enamel coating, although their mat black enamel looks very much like plain cast iron.

I’ll post any further word I receive from them in response to my email.

[ken_emery]

@Frank Drew

@ken emery

]Le Creuset makes a raw cast iron fry pan and ridged fry pan.

Ken,
I emailed Le Creuset for the official word on this; FWIW, a Le Creuset telephone customer service rep just told me that they don’t, and have never, made or sold cast iron cookware without an enamel coating, although their mat black enamel looks very much like plain cast iron.

I’ll post any further word I receive from them in response to my email.

I can tell you that the pan below is NOT enameled. Cleaning it is a b!tch while the enameled ones are a breeze.

http://www.lecreuset.com/en-us/Products/Enameled-Cast-Iron/Skillets--Grills/Square-Skillet-Grill-10-/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

They may call this enameled but it sure doesn’t seem like it to me.

[Frank_Drew]

If your skillet is identical to the one in the link you provided, then it’s definitely enameled, in what they call their black satin enamel interior.

http://www.lecreuset.com/en-us/Products/Enameled-Cast-Iron/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I’m not sure why they switched from the very smooth light colored interiors they used to feature in their skillets; something about better heating with the black color and better searing with the slightly grainy surface. Whatever…

With my unridged skillet, I’ve found that putting some hot water in the skillet for a while loosens up any stuck food fairly well.

[Eric_LeVine]

There is a pretty simple way to figure out if it is really enameled or not. Just put some water in there and leave it in your sink for a few days. Let us know if it rusts…

[Bob_Wood]

[Tom.Cole]

@ken emery

…Cleaning it is a b!tch while the enameled ones are a breeze…

For easy cleaning, try this. Pour a little vegetable oil in the skillet, sprinkle in some kosher salt, rub the salt around with a paper towel, and then wipe clean with another paper towel. Cleanup is a breeze and the continual coating with oil after cleanup helps season the pan.

[Frank_Drew]

Tom,

Is your cleaning advice for enameled cast iron, or for plain?

[Frank_Drew]

I just received this email from Le Creuset (LECREUSET.COM):

Hello,

Be advised that Le Creuset has never offered raw cast iron cookware. It may be the matt black from a previous line we offered but the black texture finish is enamel.

Regards,

Mernice Savage
Consumer Relations Dept.

[Tom.Cole]

@Frank Drew

Tom,

Is your cleaning advice for enameled cast iron, or for plain?

I use this method for plain cast iron, but I suppose it would work for enamel as well.

[Jim_Brennan]

so, I’ve got a cast iron skillet whose coating has become somewhat uneven over time, with chips of the seasoning flaking off at times, leaving a bunch of divots probably 1mm deep between the heavily seasoned surface and the divots.

I’m thinking I need to break down the seasoning and re-season. What’s the best way to do that? Or should I not do that? I’ve tried recoating, but the underlying problem seems that the bond with the seasoning seems to be breaking down in places.

Thoughts?

[Darin_Kendrick]

Jim,

The best way is electrolysis, but not always feasible.

I did a 1945 Griswold (what a find!) last year with oven cleaner, takes many applications but it came out great. I sprayed thoroughly, let it set 15-20 min sealed in a garbage bag, and then scrubbed (be sure to wear rubber gloves). The process took quite a few rounds until 50+ years of cooking was removed. Nothing compares to the old cast irons, the cooking surface is infinitely smoother.

good luck
Darin