Seasoning the Cast Iron Pans

I bought and was gifted two new cast iron pans. One a chicken fryer and the other a dutch oven! How cool is that?! Anyway I have to season them in order to get the "non stick" benefits of the cast iron. If you've never heard the benefits of cast iron here is a great article about it from the New York Times. When properly seasoned they are the original non stick and the heat transfer is unbeatable just to name a few! However they do need some care, not much but just to show you how easy it is I thought I would post about it.



First heat up the oven to between 300-350*. Next put the pan on the stove and heat it up with some high heat oils in it like Safflower or Canola. I actually use Spectrum Shortening, only a teaspoon +/ - a little. I don't measure I just stick my finger in and scoop out a glob. Make sure it coats the whole bottom and the sides, not dripping with oil just well coated. I use my silicone pastry brush and spread the oil around the bottom of the pan and sides. Keep the heat on low/medium, if it starts to smoke it's too hot take it off and wipe out the oil left over and start again. If it smokes you have reached the "volatile" stage for that oil and it won't do your pan any good. I keep the spreading coat up for about 10 minutes. Just long enough for the pan to get warm and the thin oil coat well spread and soaked into the pan. Essentially you are making the pan expand and fill with the oil, thus making it non stick. Ok so that parts done, take that pan off the heat and wipe out any extra oil with a paper towel, toilet paper or whatever. Then place it in the oven cooking side down.



Sorry about that last pic, my camera was having a hard time with the dark pans and dark interior of the oven. Cook it for an hour. Voila done! I have had to get a good season on several of my pans since I bought them used and rather abused. However it is really easy to fix... see above. I have purchased all my pans at a thrift store or an antique store.

Here is a good video for anyone who needs a visual. I am a vegetarian so I didn't use "meat fat" to season my pans. As long as the oil you use is for high heat.



I also don't wash my pans with soap. If they need a little I usually just dip the sponge in the soapy water. But mostly I just use really hot water and a light scrubby brush. The more you scrub and use soap the more you will have to season your pan. So I guess it's up to you how much effort you want to put into it.