Cast Iron skillet help

[cigarusmaximus]

Originally Posted by smokeyandthebandit05

are the bottoms of your pans completely flat?

Not at all. Both mine have large images molded in....
My cook top looks as good now as the day we took possession of the house. I hate non-sticky, teflon, circulon, crapulon....all craptastic junk!

My irons see it all. Luv 'em.

...double thick back bacon, sunny side up eggs, and pancakes are on the menu for my twin boys tomorrow morning mmmmm I'll have the 12" skillet and 22x12 griddle both on the glass top as usual

[smokeyandthebandit05]

Alright awesome. I'll just have to fly under the radar with this one till my mom forgets. How do you season yours? Ive heard people say put crisco on it and put it in a 350-400 degree oven for a while. Others say pam or vegetable oil.

The pan came pre seasoned but when I wiped it out, the paper towel was grey so I wanna clean it first

[cigarusmaximus]

Originally Posted by smokeyandthebandit05

How do you season yours...

That's an easy one...just cook with it!
Seriously, at first I was overly taken with my ocd seasoning ritual but that got old fast. Now I find simply cooking with oily/fatty foods from time to time is best.

For example tomorrow after I'm done with the bacon I'll give the skillet a good wipe and go straight to the eggs with a little EVO added to the pan (turn it down a notch or the EVO will burn and make the eggs taste off).
After the eggs are done and the skillet has cooled somewhat, I'll run it under a fast stream of scalding hot water. The water will blast off any debris left over from cooking and remove excess oil. After a minute you'll see the water is beading on the surface like a freshly waxed car in the rain. You don't want to wash off that thinly seasoned film! That's magic right there. When you're done rinsing, the hot skillet should evaporate nearly all the hot water right away; if not give it a light wipe with paper towel and yer done! Easier than any craptastic teflon pan, imo.

If you happen to be searing meat for broiling in the oven you'll find some extra effort is required to clean the skillet. In this case, I use a touch of dish soap and a soft cloth, then simply give it a wipe with veggie oil and put it away. I will often apply some non-stick spray on the pan if I plan on searing meats to avoid excessive sticking. Remember to do this before cooking when the pan is still cold.

Never scrub your skillet with a scouring pad! You'll rub off all the seasoning and have a long road ahead to get it back into top form.

Originally Posted by cigarusmaximus

That's an easy one...just cook with it!
Seriously, at first I was overly taken with my ocd seasoning ritual but that got old fast. Now I find simply cooking with oily/fatty foods from time to time is best.

I use almost all cast iron now. I use to just use it for camping in the summer but a few years ago I started using it year around inside and out. When I get a new pan I just cook lots of fatty foods in it until it gets seasoned. I have 6 year old pans that have never been "cleaned". When done cooking put a cup of hot water and a nylon scoring pad (NOT the wire ones) and bring the water to a boil. If the pan is fully seasoned the food will simply peal off with little effort from the pad. Wipe out with a clean paper towel and wipe down with a few drops of oil while still hot.

Chas