In order to participate in the GunBroker Member forums, you must be logged in with your GunBroker.com account. Click the sign-in button at the top right of the forums page to get connected.
Seasoning cast iron pan
JamesRK
Member Posts: 25,670 ✭✭✭
Somehow I managed to make it past manhood and into the "I used to be a man" stage of life without learning how to cook or season cast iron. That includes the four years I was a fry cook.
After I retired my wife would ask (tell) me to do things from time to time. In an attempt at humor I'd say something like "I'm retired. I don't have to do that anymore." That one came back to bite me in the butt.
One day I asked the wife what we were going to eat and where we were going to eat it. She said she didn't know. I could pick whatever I wanted. I said "Why don't you just cook something?" She said "I'm retired. I don't have to do that anymore." Funny thing is she wasn't kidding.
I'm in the beginning stages of learning to cook and I have some cast iron pans on order. My current problem is I don't know the specific details of how to season it. I've done some reading on the internet and the instructions are all over the map. The temperatures range from 200?F to 500?F, and the seasoning fat ranges from peanut oil to lard and everything in between.
The method I'm leaning toward is LARD at 500?F for four hours, but that one scares me a little bit. The smoke point of lard is 370?F, the flash point is 395?F and auto ignition is somewhere between 395?F and 833?F. I don't want to end up with a perfectly seasoned pan and a pile of ashes where my house used to be.
After I retired my wife would ask (tell) me to do things from time to time. In an attempt at humor I'd say something like "I'm retired. I don't have to do that anymore." That one came back to bite me in the butt.
One day I asked the wife what we were going to eat and where we were going to eat it. She said she didn't know. I could pick whatever I wanted. I said "Why don't you just cook something?" She said "I'm retired. I don't have to do that anymore." Funny thing is she wasn't kidding.
I'm in the beginning stages of learning to cook and I have some cast iron pans on order. My current problem is I don't know the specific details of how to season it. I've done some reading on the internet and the instructions are all over the map. The temperatures range from 200?F to 500?F, and the seasoning fat ranges from peanut oil to lard and everything in between.
The method I'm leaning toward is LARD at 500?F for four hours, but that one scares me a little bit. The smoke point of lard is 370?F, the flash point is 395?F and auto ignition is somewhere between 395?F and 833?F. I don't want to end up with a perfectly seasoned pan and a pile of ashes where my house used to be.
The road to hell is paved with COMPROMISE.
Comments
The old pans are much better than the new ones. The Lodge Logic pans you can buy everywhere are pre seasoned but in order to get the pre seasoning to stick to the pan through the manufacturing process, they have to make the surface of the pan rough. Rough is exactly the opposite of what you want on a cast iron pan.
I'll try and find the info I used to coat my pans.
Here you go.
http://sherylcanter.com/wordpress/2010/01/a-science-based-technique-for-seasoning-cast-iron/
grandma and she told my mom and she told me...
just start using it and it'll be fine. And if not,
you got this advice for exactly what you paid for it.
Should I sand the inside of the pan smooth before I season it?
If you have the new pre seasoned pans, I would try using them as is if you can't return them. hand sanding cast iron is impractical. The old pans really are better quality and not that hard to find at yard sales, flea markets, etc. You don"t want cracks or any warping. There is another short video on identifying cast iron pans that I have found helpful. I'll try and find it.
This info is a good start to identifying good cast iron cookware.
how about take it outside and let the lard catch on fire all it wants? bbq grill or campfire
That's how I remove rust. [:)]
Read closely and follow the steps to get a coating inside your cast iron that lasts.
The process takes time but, it is worth it. I can't stress enough the importance of following the steps in regard to the High grade, organic flax seed oil* - should be refrigerated and fresh; check the expiration date.
Here is the link.
http://gnowfglins.com/2010/03/12/how-to-season-cast-iron/
all you have to do is get the pan hot hot hot through a pound of bacon and start frying,outdoors is best get the bacon with the most lard content.
get some porkchops and fry them
heat the pan hot hot hot with lard in it and through some cooked pinto beans and make them into refried beans[;)]
ymmv u get what u paid for
That website is interesting and maybe correct but there are questions on flax seed oil. Maybe do one pan and rest in traditional ways including BACON GREASE [:)]
The thing about flax seed oil is that it forms a "hard chemical bond" to the cast iron as opposed to a softer coating that other fats and oils provide.
The effort involved might be termed "Gilding the lily" by some but I'm a nit picker to some degree and the process has worked well for me.
I still have it and it's slicker'n Teflon!![^]
I found a good strait Cast 10" pan in the woods,by an old house footer.It was pretty rusty .I sanded all the rust off,built a fire with a grate over it.Dropped enough bacon fat in to coat and just kept it hot for about 3 hours.I cleaned it out with a little sand,then seasoned again.
I still have it and it's slicker'n Teflon!![^]
Ain't nothing better to cook in than cast iron when it's seasoned and your food don't stick.
BTW fishkiller, if that skillet is as slick and all like you say it is, you might wanna send it to me to let me use for a few years to make sure it's as good as you say.[:D]
I'll update you from time to time and let you know how it's working out.
them with fryer oil to the top edge and cook them on the lowest heat setting for 2 hours until the oil would smoke a little. The eggs would
never stick, just wipe the pan out between cooking. If we washed them
the coating got removed and have to start the whole process over again.
We went to teflon pans later but that coating wasn't as slippery as
the oiled pans.
It should be a crime to wash any cast iron cookware with dish soap. If you can not simply wipe it clean with a paper towel or cloth. It anit seasoned right.
http://www.castironcollector.com/cleaning.php
quote:Originally posted by papernicker
That website is interesting and maybe correct but there are questions on flax seed oil. Maybe do one pan and rest in traditional ways including BACON GREASE [:)]
The thing about flax seed oil is that it forms a "hard chemical bond" to the cast iron as opposed to a softer coating that other fats and oils provide.
The effort involved might be termed "Gilding the lily" by some but I'm a nit picker to some degree and the process has worked well for me.
I'm pretty sure these pans I have that were originally my Great GrandMother's never saw an ounce of flax seed oil....
Lard? all day long.
And there you have it + flax seed oil is LINSEED OIL. I wouldn't put stock in that method bahaha
That makes about as much sense as saying that of the over 6000 products made from crude oil, they are the same thing because they all were derived from crude oil.
Cut & paste
Flaxseed oil is typically produced by cold-pressing the seeds of the flax plant. Cold-pressing means that heat and chemicals are not used in oil extraction. A screw press is typically used for extracting edible flaxseed oil, which may be derived from unhulled seeds or a combination of seeds and hulls. Linseed oil also involves pressing flax seeds; however, petroleum solvents are used during extraction to maximize yield.
quote:Originally posted by miles
quote:Originally posted by papernicker
That website is interesting and maybe correct but there are questions on flax seed oil. Maybe do one pan and rest in traditional ways including BACON GREASE [:)]
The thing about flax seed oil is that it forms a "hard chemical bond" to the cast iron as opposed to a softer coating that other fats and oils provide.
The effort involved might be termed "Gilding the lily" by some but I'm a nit picker to some degree and the process has worked well for me.
I'm pretty sure these pans I have that were originally my Great GrandMother's never saw an ounce of flax seed oil....
Lard? all day long.
Any kind of "Hog" lard...bacon grease..etc...The last we seasoned was on my Wilmington Grill....We keep ours wiped down with cooking oil...neverhavea problem...my mother had steel frying pans that were seasoned as well...black crust everywhere except the very cooking surface...
About 20 years ago I stripped it, put it in a 400? oven with a 1/4 pound of lard for about an hour.
Since then, nothing but a hot water only wash > towel dry > heat on stove about 3 minutes > 2 tbs's olive oil and let sit for 5 minuets > wipe with a paper towel > DONE.
Nothing sticks to it ! Do Not cook any thing acidic. Tomato sauce is a no no. Teflon has nothing on this baby !
[img][/img]
[^][^][^]
quote:Originally posted by fishkiller41
I found a good strait Cast 10" pan in the woods,by an old house footer.It was pretty rusty .I sanded all the rust off,built a fire with a grate over it.Dropped enough bacon fat in to coat and just kept it hot for about 3 hours.I cleaned it out with a little sand,then seasoned again.
I still have it and it's slicker'n Teflon!![^]
Ain't nothing better to cook in than cast iron when it's seasoned and your food don't stick.
BTW fishkiller, if that skillet is as slick and all like you say it is, you might wanna send it to me to let me use for a few years to make sure it's as good as you say.[:D]
I'll update you from time to time and let you know how it's working out.
Miles; I thought I had lost that pan for about 4 years.Then I met a girl I had lived with briefly and she told me SHE HAD IT!! I got it BACK![:D]
I only wash it with table salt and bacon grease, with a good piece of terry cloth. Maybe,3-4 times a year..
And there you have it + flax seed oil is LINSEED OIL. I wouldn't put stock in that method bahaha
Linseed oil for wood finishing and food grade flax seed oil are 2 completely different things.
quote:Originally posted by miles
quote:Originally posted by papernicker
That website is interesting and maybe correct but there are questions on flax seed oil. Maybe do one pan and rest in traditional ways including BACON GREASE [:)]
The thing about flax seed oil is that it forms a "hard chemical bond" to the cast iron as opposed to a softer coating that other fats and oils provide.
The effort involved might be termed "Gilding the lily" by some but I'm a nit picker to some degree and the process has worked well for me.
I'm pretty sure these pans I have that were originally my Great GrandMother's never saw an ounce of flax seed oil....
Lard? all day long.
Damascus shotgun barrels were just fine too. Until our metallurgy improved. Food grade flax seed oil leaves a superior finish. Very durable.
The method I'm leaning toward is LARD at 500?F for four hours...
I read this to my wife and she said "Oh lord...stop him, he'll burn his house down". [:D]
I read this to my wife and she said "Oh lord...stop him, he'll burn his house down". [:D]
Thank your wife for me. Her thinking is sound, but I think I have it covered.
It is really one hour at 500?F four times. The lard is a very thin layer. Since the flash point of lard is 395?F and the ignition point isn't much above that, I wouldn't be surprised to see it flash a time or two, but I don't think it will have enough fuel to actually ignite. If it does it shouldn't have enough fuel to amount to much.