Seasoning a cast iron skillet....Tips please

[dmccarty]

Watch that those dont split on you. Mom had a set like that, but the thumb split off of the glove.
I really like the "handle holders" (ie: Amazon.com: Lodge Striped Hot Handle Holders/Mitts, Set of 2: Kitchen & Dining ) when working with multiple pans and doing other things.

Aaron Z

I read the reviews and best I can tell these mitts were recommended by one of the cooking magazines/shows I like. There were some complaints but none about the thumb splitting off! Yikes.

I need gloves to pull out the CI dutch oven and CI bread pans. I have not burned my self on a skillet handle. Knock on wood.

The mitts I ordered are silicon so you can reach into boiling water and not get burned. Or so they say. :laughing: I am have been doing quite a bit of canning lately and these mitts will come in handy for handling the hot jars. Hmmmm.... I need to start a thread about the nifty canning tools I bought....

I had just placed an order for the funky looking mitts place some other things. Just went and ordered what you linked, hopefully they can make the same shipment. I have wanted some of those things but never got around to buying any since a folded up towel works just fine. For the price, it is worth not tempting fate.

Later,
Dan

 

[aczlan]

I read the reviews and best I can tell these mitts were recommended by one of the cooking magazines/shows I like. There were some complaints but none about the thumb splitting off! Yikes.

Perhaps hers were a cheaper model. I am not sure where hers came from, I just remember that they were silicone mitts. Knowing my siblings, it is also possible that the gloves were abused, so just keep an eye on them.

I need gloves to pull out the CI dutch oven and CI bread pans. I have not burned my self on a skillet handle. Knock on wood.

Good point.

The mitts I ordered are silicon so you can reach into boiling water and not get burned. Or so they say. :laughing: I am have been doing quite a bit of canning lately and these mitts will come in handy for handling the hot jars. Hmmmm.... I need to start a thread about the nifty canning tools I bought....

I remember reaching into a pot of almost boiling water and pulling out the tongs that fell in (we were making corn on the cob). Was very intresting.

I had just placed an order for the funky looking mitts place some other things. Just went and ordered what you linked, hopefully they can make the same shipment. I have wanted some of those things but never got around to buying any since a folded up towel works just fine. For the price, it is worth not tempting fate.

I need to get some more, ours have all become lost.

Aaron Z

 

[SPIKER]

About 2 weeks back I made full big breakfast including fried taters. I popped the Big Skillet into the oven to keep the taters hot while I finished off the rest of the goodies. I pulled it out & told my woman stay away from it as it's HOT 2 seconds later she grabs the CI handle to hold on while scooping out the taters. Needless to say 2nd degree blister and knocked her plate full of her food off counter. It was one of our "Corning Correlle ware" plates which held up better than the omelet that was setting on top... I have to say those plates are really good (Ivy Pattern) but have not dropped a cast iron pan on one yet or onto something real hard like stone/ceramic as we have linoleum floor and mica counters.
Out Flat iron Skillet also has a real short cast handle that gets almost as hot as the pan it's self. The one that was taken from me (Imperial Ireland brand) had a real nice wood handle that stayed cool...


Mark

 

[Chilly807]

The Corelle living ware simply explodes if you drop it on tile.. take my word for it. Our kitchen floor is porcelain tile over concrete, not much give to it.

Sean

 

[TomSeller]

My eggs didn't stick today! Granted, they were the only thing cooked in it first. Usually I do bacon or sausage, etc then the eggs. Today, added some butter and all was good. I'm gonna have to find a cast iron strictly for eggs. I haven't done anything different so far from my normal seasoning routine. Clean-up and a wipe down with lard.

I have a couple of #5 Griswolds that I use for nothing but eggs, either scrambled or omlettes. The eggs never stick and I just wipe out, melt in a little coconut oil, wipe again and store. The light sticking that I experience is either with meat or right after cooking meat. So I keep special pans for eggs. When cooking sunny side up I have a griddle that I use. That griddle sometimes gets used for pancakes, and in either case I lightly oil the surface before cooking.

 

[MissouriSprayer]

General Lee, Morning..... the best oil to use to season Cast Iron is an oil that has a high iodine number... Flax seed oil fits that the best.... It has a low smoke point and should not be used for frying.... Put a thin layer on the pan and heat to 400-450 deg F.... It will smoke... the oil polymerizes into a very, very hard coating.... I have a new #10 DO with about 6 coatings on it... Nothing sticks to it now.... beans and hocks rinse right out... spaghetti sauce, tomato base will rinse right out.... It may need an additional coating and baking but the coating is still there... Flax Oil can be found on Amazon or your local health food store.... It is worth the price.... After coating CI for years with other oils that don't really work, I am very happy with the Flax Oil coating.... DaveView attachment 303631

Took a few pages to get the best answer. I have pans with 5-6 coats of Flaxseed oil seasoning and they are awesome...light coat, 500 degrees for 45 min, let cool, wipe and do again. wonderful results

 

[RobertBrown]

Yes, cast iron is much harder than mild steel.

That's why I use a cup brush on my 4" angle grinder on the last cast iron pan I "seasoned".
Actually, this pan was quite old and had been in my hunting camp for years with out use so I resurrected it. I haven't seen a new cast iron pan in many years.
You can get the steel to look like stainless if you have enough time.
I use cast iron exclusively for all sauteing and I have for 30 years. I think the secret is preheating the pan with oil every time you use it. Butter is not going to work. It has to be oil. Doesn't take much. Just as the oil begins to smoke toss in whatever...,eggs, potaotoes, ....meat. It will not stick unless you are careless and let the pan get too hot.
I only use teflon for omlettes and only because the sides are lower and curved rather than at right angles to the cooking surface.
Cast iron is the cat's *** for stove top cooking.

 

[Chilly807]

I have pretty good luck with even the Lodge pan making omelettes. I suspect the Wagner I have would be even better. Just to be clear though, I always add a bit of butter, oil, or Pam before adding food to the pan.

I'm on the second "treatment" with the Lodge now, scrubbed it out with oil and a steel pad last night after making tacos for supper and bacon for breakfast. I've got to stop reading this thread, it's making me hungry just thinking about it.. :licking:

Sean

 

[dmccarty]

About 2 weeks back I made full big breakfast including fried taters. I popped the Big Skillet into the oven to keep the taters hot while I finished off the rest of the goodies. I pulled it out & told my woman stay away from it as it's HOT 2 seconds later she grabs the CI handle to hold on while scooping out the taters. Needless to say 2nd degree blister and knocked her plate full of her food off counter. ...


Mark

I am worried that my wife or I would do the exact same thing, which is why I bought the handle covers that Aaron linked. I have been needing to buy those things for years but they never got bought until yesterday. Now they just need to get here. :laughing::laughing::laughing:

Later,
Dan

 

[wedge40]

ove glove