Seasoning cast iron.....

I do not like the factory seasoning on a cast iron skillet I have. Should I season over it or remove the factory black, nasty crap and season on my own from scratch? It's a shame how poorly companies, even good ones like Lodge have such poor quality seasoning on their products.

Comments

[Burf]

My wife says always scour off the factory seasoning with a stainless steel scouring pad and very hot, soapy water,then rinse and dry thoroughly. Re-season the inside of the pan 4 or five times with a high grade vegetable oil.

[tireswing]

I recommend leaving the factory seasoning in place and putting successive layers on by yourself. Of course, clean just the surface with a damp rag on the hot surface of the pan. Then put a bit of a low smoke point fat on the pan a bit at a time. Lard, coconut or sesame are all good but you must cultivate the layers. Outdoors on a grill can be quite good as it affords the opportunity to go slowly and drink your beverage of choice. That is not to say that you may not do this indoors, it is just that the resulting smoke might obscure your ability to find another beverage. Build slowly and your patience will be rewarded. Did I mention doing this outdoors? Keep domestic tranquility by keeping some of your interests away from the family.

[dkop1]

I do understand the seasoning process, And I think I'm going to remove the seasoning from the factory first. (It's made in China, so there's little knowing WHAT they have put on there. No factory website even.)

[dkop1]

I've already got the factory seasoning removed. It's amazing what the help of an air grinder with various grades of abrasives can do. I have the inside like the polished cast iron of 50+ years ago. I'm leaving the outside seasoning on though. It won't affect the food cooked in it, so I see no reason to waste the sanding pads. Going to get some Crisco this afternoon to begin the seasoning process.

[seandogue]

I see you've already made your choice. Next time, consider using some sacrificial crisco and do a partial bake next time, then wash thoroughly. I've found that the factory oils are pretty well dissolved into the crisco after 10-15 minutes in a low temp oven, making removal a very easy process simply by washing (A light scrubbing) with dilute dishsoap and a handful of salt, rinse, dry, and then begin the seasoning process. I finish off by frying up a pack of bacon to remove any residual flavors from the oven baked Crisco and iron.

[dkop1]

Yeah, I made the mistake of letting a fellow scout wash one of my better pans on a campout. He used soap, and scrubbed like crazy, so taking almost all of the seasoning off the inside of my 53 year old Krischer skillet. I just oiled it so it wouldn't rust that night.Made sure he cooked the 2 packs of bacon for our patrol in it the next morning. put a good enough coat of season on it to get us through the campout, and it is on it's way back to a glassy finish soon.

[rickharris]

I don't have any Teflon non stick pans at all but none of my stick.

My seasoning method is to clean pan with damp cloth at worst put a little salt on the cloth Never scour (but you knew that!)

Wipe the pan all over with a cloth with some olive oil on it (has a lower smoke/carbonisation temp than other veg oils.)

Get the pan smoking hot - rewipe, repeat until satisfied.

Once the surface started to blacken I periodically turn the pan upside down over the flame to really sear the carbonised surface & seal it. - It's just my way.