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OT- Cast Iron Seasoning Question
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CornfedMA
Posts: 491
I know there are some cast iron gurus out there so I thought I’d throw this out there. The wife got me a beautiful new Smithey cast iron skillet. It showed up a few weeks ago and I have yet to season it. This isn’t your typical cast iron with a “not perfectly smooth” surface out of the box. It’s got a nice polished finish on the cooking surface. With the skillet, they give the generic seasoning directions, light coat of oil, in the oven or on the stovetop until it smokes, let it cool, etc. However, I have the egg going all day today for pastrami and rib cooks back to back. I figure after those are done, I can seize the moment and throw the Smithey on for seasoning. Here’s the question- I’m smoking the meats over a mix of apple and hickory, will the seasoning on the new skillet pick up the smoke flavor profile?
Comments
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You'll get black smoke residue on the outside, but you can wash that off with soap and water. I think you'll get better results, more easily, if you just wipe it down with thin coats of crisco (as thin as you can possibly get it) and throw it in your oven @550F for a few hours, reapplying every 30 minutes.South of Nashville - BGE XL - Alfresco 42" ALXE - Alfresco Versa Burner - Sunbeam Microwave
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it will blacken quicker in the egg. what you are looking for is a few thin coats for the seasoning, it can be a staw color to black, it doesnt really matter. put the pan in upsidedown so oil doesnt puddle up and remain somewhat soft during the process. im a fan of lard with this but its become unavailable here in the last few years
fukahwee maineyou can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it -
I sell a lot of vintage cast iron cookware on eBay. This is the seasoning method that I use after the restoration process:
Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
Put cast iron cookware in the oven and heat for 30 minutes.
Remove cast iron and raise the oven temperature to 300 degrees.
Coat the cast iron with Crisco or grapeseed oil using Scott Shop blue towels. (I buy them at Home Depot. Don't use regular paper towels or cotton towels.)
This next step may seem odd but if it's not followed, the cast iron will have splotchy spots on the cook surface. No amount of cooking will hide those spots.
Wipe off the oil that was applied. There will be oil left but it might not look like it. (Scott towels also.)
Put cast iron, cook surface side down back in oven and bake for 20 minutes.
Remove from oven and wipe down the spotted areas.
Raise oven temperature to 400 degrees and replace cast iron, cook surface side down. Bake for 2 hours.
After 2 hours, turn off oven and let the pan cool in the oven.
Repeat until you get the patina that you are looking for.
Large Egg, PGS A40 gasser. -
PM me with a link to your Ebay store/site etc please.1voyager said:I sell a lot of vintage cast iron cookware on eBay. This is the seasoning method that I use after the restoration process:
Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
Put cast iron cookware in the oven and heat for 30 minutes.
Remove cast iron and raise the oven temperature to 300 degrees.
Coat the cast iron with Crisco or grapeseed oil using Scott Shop blue towels. (I buy them at Home Depot. Don't use regular paper towels or cotton towels.)
This next step may seem odd but if it's not followed, the cast iron will have splotchy spots on the cook surface. No amount of cooking will hide those spots.
Wipe off the oil that was applied. There will be oil left but it might not look like it. (Scott towels also.)
Put cast iron, cook surface side down back in oven and bake for 20 minutes.
Remove from oven and wipe down the spotted areas.
Raise oven temperature to 400 degrees and replace cast iron, cook surface side down. Bake for 2 hours.
After 2 hours, turn off oven and let the pan cool in the oven.
Repeat until you get the patina that you are looking for. -
Great method there. I use the grapeseed oil and it does work great. Question though, why use the blue wipes versus plain paper towels?1voyager said:I sell a lot of vintage cast iron cookware on eBay. This is the seasoning method that I use after the restoration process:
Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
Put cast iron cookware in the oven and heat for 30 minutes.
Remove cast iron and raise the oven temperature to 300 degrees.
Coat the cast iron with Crisco or grapeseed oil using Scott Shop blue towels. (I buy them at Home Depot. Don't use regular paper towels or cotton towels.)
This next step may seem odd but if it's not followed, the cast iron will have splotchy spots on the cook surface. No amount of cooking will hide those spots.
Wipe off the oil that was applied. There will be oil left but it might not look like it. (Scott towels also.)
Put cast iron, cook surface side down back in oven and bake for 20 minutes.
Remove from oven and wipe down the spotted areas.
Raise oven temperature to 400 degrees and replace cast iron, cook surface side down. Bake for 2 hours.
After 2 hours, turn off oven and let the pan cool in the oven.
Repeat until you get the patina that you are looking for. -
Thanks. Using regular paper towels to wipe cast iron, especially the new cookware with a rough surface, tend leave tiny particles. It doesn't happen all the time but when it does the particles will create rough spots on the cooking surface. It happens even with high quality paper towels like Bounty.Great method there. I use the grapeseed oil and it does work great. Question though, why use the blue wipes versus plain paper towels?Large Egg, PGS A40 gasser. -
Plain paper towels leave white fibers on the cast iron. I always use the blue shop towels on cast iron.
LBGE, CGS Adjustable Rig & Spider, Weber Kettle, Weber Summit,Thermoworks Smoke, Smokeware Cap
Johns Island, SC, Fairfax, VA -
those white fibers burn off during seasoningSouth of Nashville - BGE XL - Alfresco 42" ALXE - Alfresco Versa Burner - Sunbeam Microwave
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First, sweet pan your wife got you!
Second, I follow these steps: https://www.seriouseats.com/2016/09/how-to-season-cast-iron-pans-skillets-cookware.htmlBoom -
Done. Thanks.DoubleEgger said:PM me with a link to your Ebay store/site etc please.Large Egg, PGS A40 gasser. -
I would love for you to post it, I am sure a lot of members would be interested in buying stuff. I don't think it would break any rules1voyager said:
Done. Thanks.DoubleEgger said:PM me with a link to your Ebay store/site etc please.Boom -
Thanks everyone. Oven seasoning it is. I can’t wait to cook with this thing!
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me too!1voyager said:
Done. Thanks.DoubleEgger said:PM me with a link to your Ebay store/site etc please.aka marysvilleksegghead
Lrg 2008
mini 2009
XL 2021 (sold 8/24/23)
Henny Youngman:
I said to my wife, 'Where do you want to go for our anniversary?' She said, 'I want to go somewhere I've never been before.' I said, 'Try the kitchen.'
Bob Hope: When I wake up in the morning, I don’t feel anything until noon, and then it’s time for my nap -
Some good advice above.One thing I’ll add... anytime I’ve seasoned CI in the oven, I’ve greatly regretted it. Lots of foul-smelling smoke that lingers in the house for days. Do yourself a favour and do it on the barbecue.Also, Crisco for the win!
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So many people think that seasoning a cast iron skillet is a one time thing. It is not. It is a multiple step process, and you add layers of seasoning. Regardless of your initial approach, make sure your first few cooks are very high in fat .. bacon, 80/20 ground beef, etc. This will do wonders for the process.
Beautiful and lovely Villa Rica, Georgia -
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Hub said:So many people think that seasoning a cast iron skillet is a one time thing. It is not. It is a multiple step process, and you add layers of seasoning. Regardless of your initial approach, make sure your first few cooks are very high in fat .. bacon, 80/20 ground beef, etc. This will do wonders for the process.
This is very true. I apply a very thin coat of Crisco every ~30 minutes (careful, it's hot AF) and keep it going for several hours. Typically I can have a bare cast iron pan ready to cook eggs without sticking in a single seasoning session.South of Nashville - BGE XL - Alfresco 42" ALXE - Alfresco Versa Burner - Sunbeam Microwave -
GrateEggspectations said:Some good advice above.One thing I’ll add... anytime I’ve seasoned CI in the oven, I’ve greatly regretted it. Lots of foul-smelling smoke that lingers in the house for days. Do yourself a favour and do it on the barbecue.Also, Crisco for the win!
You may be applying too thick a layer of oil, or you need to clean your oven (if baked-on grease/residue is burning off). You shouldn't be getting thick smoke if you're seasoning properly.South of Nashville - BGE XL - Alfresco 42" ALXE - Alfresco Versa Burner - Sunbeam Microwave -
one thing that might need to be added is just as important as to how you clean you CI cook wear. I have been using CI for years and have many pieces. Do not use steel wool and soap on them . If you can use a brush and plunge it under water while hot and brush it clean it usually works throw it on the stove to dry for a couple of moments under the flame to dry to avoid rust on newish pans. Depending on the type of pot you have making a few batches of sweet potato fries or French fries real helps season it.
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You can use mild dish soap on your cast iron without issues. See below... this is one of those old wive's tales that keep getting repeated.
Myth #4: "You should NEVER wash your cast iron pan with soap."
The Reality: Seasoning is actually not a thin layer of oil, it's a thin layer of polymerized oil, a key distinction. In a properly seasoned cast iron pan, one that has been rubbed with oil and heated repeatedly, the oil has already broken down into a plastic-like substance that has bonded to the surface of the metal. This is what gives well-seasoned cast iron its non-stick properties, and as the material is no longer actually an oil, the surfactants in dish soap should not affect it. Go ahead and soap it up and scrub it out.
The one thing you shouldn't do? Let it soak in the sink. Try to minimize the time it takes from when you start cleaning to when you dry and re-season your pan. If that means letting it sit on the stovetop until dinner is done, so be it.
https://www.seriouseats.com/2014/11/the-truth-about-cast-iron.html
South of Nashville - BGE XL - Alfresco 42" ALXE - Alfresco Versa Burner - Sunbeam Microwave -
i find it easier to heat the pan up and then deglaze it with a quarter cup of water and a spatula, wipe it out with a paper towel and then just leave it stove top for next time. that way i can just leave the dirty dishes in the sink
but those that have to wash it can wash it
fukahwee maineyou can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it -
That's what I do too. If there's still stuck on gunk I toss in a tablespoon of kosher salt and rub it out with a paper towel.South of Nashville - BGE XL - Alfresco 42" ALXE - Alfresco Versa Burner - Sunbeam Microwave
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