Cast iron - What am I doing wrong?

Tbonez3858 · January 2016

I have a love hate relationship with cast iron. No matter how well I season or what seasoning process I use most of my cooks leave gobs of stuck layers of residue. There is so much stuck on gunk that I end up using salt and elbow grease to get it off which inevitably destroys the seasoning. It's burned on food and flakes off so it can't be left or it will ruin future cooks.

Case in point - I bought a brand new lodge griddle and spent a couple of hours heating and coating it in the oven. It looked perfectly seasoned and was slicker than snot. I slapped the griddle on my woo2 to sear some steaks. The steaks left huge black raised rings where the steaks were cooked. I spent ten minutes chipping off the rings and using salt to clean the griddle. I'm back to square one with seasoning now after hours of effort with the original seasoning.....

I'm not sure how cast iron is consider "no stick"...It doesn't matter if it's a brand new pan or one that's thirty years old and been handed down. I greatly prefer coated enamel but regretfully it can't hand as high of heat.

Anyone know what am I doing wrong or am I chasing a unicorn with cast iron?

jeroldharter · January 2016

You need the Ringer. It is magic for cleaning cast iron pans. Put some water in the pan, scrub with the Ringer, dry with paper towel, add some veg oil, heat on stovetop until oil just starts to smoke. Easier than it sounds. If you burn of the seasoning with high heat, just do it again.

jeroldharter · January 2016

http://www.amazon.com/The-Ringer-Cleaner-Stainless-Chainmail/dp/B00FKBR1ZG

The Ringer

BigGreenBamaGriller · January 2016

I have had some of the same issues you are dealing with (and sometimes still do). Some things I have found that help are to ensure that your cast iron is very hot before adding the meat, add some oil to the pan before adding the meat, and afterwards while the pan is still hot, deglaze the gunk off with some hot water (I know a lot of people say never let water touch your iron, but if it is seasoned well, some hot water, without soap, will not ruin the season).

odie91 · January 2016

What oil are you using to season it? While you can certainly be successful seasoning with anything from crisco to bacon far, I think the most superior seasoning oil is flax seed oil. Hemp oil would come a close 2nd. Both oils are expensive and go rancid quickly, so buy the smallest bottle you can

Mickey · January 2016

jeroldharter said:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Ringer-Cleaner-Stainless-Chainmail/dp/B00FKBR1ZG

The Ringer

Have had one for two years and it is outstanding . Still use water and salt with it. I do not oil afterword.

Hub · January 2016

I used to have the same problems, then I followed the advice of Martha Stewart and everything changed. Now my cast iron is super non-stick and I mean NOTHING sticks to it. There are several important keys. Always get your skillet very hot before adding the food and for the first 5-10 cooks after the initial seasoning make sure you cook fatty, high grease meats. Watch this video ... it is dead on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46nRKacPWPs

Tbonez3858 · January 2016

Thanks for all the replies. I will check out the Ringer and watch the video...

Odie91- I've seasoned with just about everything. I've used vegetable oil, pig fat, flaxseed. I've read a dozen articles and have tried just about everything..

Davec433 · January 2016

@hub thanks for the video! I will definitely have to give that a shot. I use "The Ringer" to knock off all the crud after cooking and then coat with vegetable oil or crisco with a napkin to keep it from rusting.

Eggingaround · January 2016

I have the ringer also and it works great. I'll occasionally get something stuck on and the ringer and warm water takes care of it pretty easy.

Hub · January 2016

The big difference in my results was the advice of making your first 5-10 cooks be fatty meats such as bacon, burgers, etc. After each cook a thin layer of non-stick appeared, and after 10 cooks or so it was super non-stick. After that, as long as I get the pan hot before inserting the food, absolutely nothing sticks. Building up these layers of non-stick is the essential key, yet it's rarely mentioned in the discussion. When I watched the Martha Stewart video I saw another video by another cook stressing that you should cook nothing but bacon the first 10 cooks after you clean and season your pan.

Carolina Q · January 2016

Ouch, that Martha Stewart video was painful! As are they all!

I used to wash my CI with only hot water and a stiff brush. Then, I saw Mom wash one of her pans with a scrubby and hot, soapy water!

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/xg/hlna7jcw6zmi.jpg

I figured if that's how she's been cleaning CI for most of her 99+ years, and it looks like that, I'd do it too. And so I do...

My (washed with soap) Wagner #10, antique shop find, years of seasoning included. Smooth as a baby's butt and for the most part, non-stick. Not sure, but probably $25, maybe less.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/yh/1i57fpj0k221.jpg

I'm selective about which pans I use for searing. This one, NEVER. IMO, it's likely to ruin the seasoning.

I don't own any Lodge CI, but I recently picked up one of their 10" carbon steel pans (like de Buyer, but far cheaper... and pre-seasoned). I have cooked a few things, including eggs, chops, sautéed asparagus and have seared steaks in it. I do add a bit of oil or butter. Not completely non stick, but close, and easy to clean, again with soap and a scrubby, sometimes a metal spatula to lightly scrape stubborn bits.

SciAggie · January 2016

Speaking for myself, I have had to learn how to manage my CI and carbon cookware. Speaking to your point about "chunks" of material being stuck to the skillet - that's fond. If you deglaze the skillet, you can make a pan sauce. If your goal is just a clean skillet, try this: while your steak is resting and the skillet is still hot, add some water to the pan (maybe 1/4 cup). It will sizzle and carry on for a bit. Use a wooden spoon and gently scrape and stir the bottom of the skillet - all of those "chunks" will most likely release. Pour out the liquid, dry and oil the pan. Now your steak is rested and it's time to eat.
This may not be the advice you need, I'm making a lot of assumptions about the situation you're describing and how you cook - but maybe this helps some.

JJ4473 · January 2016

I use CI and my mother-in law taught me this: when you have anything stuck to it put a little bit of water in it to cover the bottom, simmer on very, very low heat on the stove, just long enough to release the stuck on mess. I use a plastic scraper (from Pampered Chef) and it comes right off. Dry immediately and then I put a light player of vegetable oil and the pan is ready for the next cook. Doing this will not affect the seasoning - so long as you don't go have an after dinner drink and leave it on the stove!

Elijah · January 2016

I use CI for 90% of my cooking. I used to follow all the rules and only cook what wouldn't make a mess, scrape off all of the crap without washing and such. I can't tell you how many times I've reseasoned. I always found myself with an inconsistent seasoning after a few cooks. Finally I said screw it. With one pan I started doing all of my nasty cooking, while still trying to follow the rules with the others. The nasty pan got the steaks, veggies, eggs, anything. After each cook I'd scrape it off with water. That worked most of the time. When it didn't I'd use a little soap. I'd then put it in the oven and preheat it to 250 or 350 or so. Enough to dry it well.
It only took a few months for my constantly used nasty pan to develop the seasoning I had been looking for all along. I no longer follow the cast iron rules. If I cook bacon or something really fatty I'll wipe the crud but leave a layer of fat and stick it in the oven for a while for a mini seasoning.

To remove seasoning run your CI through the self cleaning cycle of the oven, run it through a clean burn on the egg, or throw it in the coals of a camp fire.

To season use the highest smoke point oil, even though any decent smoke point oil works, and put it in a cold oven. Preheat to 450 and once preheated let it go 30 minutes. Turn the oven off and leave it in the oven all night without opening the oven. This is the most convenient, but it makes a lot of smoke.
Other way I've found to work is put it in the oven at 250 and let it go all night.

Elijah · January 2016

If you do season in the oven, put some foil on the bottom to easily clean up the mess

GATraveller · January 2016

Hub said:

I used to have the same problems, then I followed the advice of Martha Stewart and everything changed. Now my cast iron is super non-stick and I mean NOTHING sticks to it. There are several important keys. Always get your skillet very hot before adding the food and for the first 5-10 cooks after the initial seasoning make sure you cook fatty, high grease meats. Watch this video ... it is dead on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46nRKacPWPs

+1

Cast iron - What am I doing wrong?

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