How to care for a cast iron skillet

This is written for the La Follette High School Culinary Basics class in Madison, Wisconsin, but all are welcome to see it. It is intended to be a simple, straight forward tutorial.

In following this tutorial on caring for a cast iron skillet, students will have the opportunity to a) remember that there is a special way to care for cast iron, and that they have means to access similar information for future reference, b) practice proper care and maintenance of equipment, c) more deeply connect the written word to "real life" in a meaningful way.

Step 1 Let your cast iron skillet cool to room temperature.

Let your skillet, or other cast iron implement, cool to room temperature.

Putting anything hot into water can crack or warp it, so don't.

Comments

[canucksgirl]

So what does one do if they *gasp*, neglected a fairly new cast iron skillet and there is rust?

I haven't read your whole ible yet, so I apologize if you have already answered this question in your step-by-step.

[ProBiotic]

Really, it isn't a problem :) It happens!

Get as much of the rust off as you can with steel wool or a green scrubby and follow the directions in the instructable.

[canucksgirl]

Oh. That's good to know because I thought I'd ruined it. I'm glad I asked.

Thank you. :D

[unclelar]

Good job on your ible.However,I have been using cast iron cookware(from fry pans,griddles,you name it I've used).My point is that I agree with your every step except I have no problem using dish soap to clean them.After cleaning them I rinse well with hot water.After that I do the same as you.Been doing this for 35 plus years with no problems at all.That is just my 2 cents worth.

[ProBiotic]

Thanks.

To soap or not to soap is a debate in our house, too. More than anything I didn't want students to over-use the soap. I was wondering how long it would take to come up here :)

Thanks, again!

[doctormerlin]

In a properly seasoned pan, the oil polymerizes into a hard, nonstick layer that is no longer oil. A little soap will not take this layer off.

[Kozz]

My understanding is that olive oil has a low smoke point (compared to many other oils/fats). This might produce -- you guessed it -- smoke when you start to really heat it up.

I think Alton Brown has done quite a bit of good work in advocating cast iron cookware. He suggests (amongst many other things) that you can season it with shortening (a thin layer -- a sheen, really) and putting it cooking-surface down in your oven with a cookie sheet with foil beneath to catch any drips. I won't attempt to misquote him on the temperature and time, but I do believe it's a low temp for quite a while.

Also, if you have the fortune of picking up some used (and abused) and built-up crusty cast iron cookware, you can bring it back to life! Put it in your oven during self-cleaning mode and watch all the residue turn to ash. You'll be able to wipe it all off, wash and re-season. I've done this with a dutch oven and was very pleased with the results.

[ProBiotic]

Oh, I love the self-cleaning oven trick, thanks! We live in a college town, and will often find cast iron thrown away during move-out week. Now I won't burn through so many Brillo pads making them usable again.

I've heard about the smoke-point issue with olive, but I've never run into it as a problem seasoning the pans. For my classes I'm trying to keep it simple "olive oil=good, solid fats=bad". I don't even have shortening in the classroom, except for special occasions because I'm always talking about how the solid fats aren't as good for us. Some kids can handle the nuance, others not so much.

[Kozz]

It's safe to say that when you properly season a pan, your choice of lubricant (fat/oil - either is a hydrocarbon) will break down in the heat, laying down a thin layer of carbon on the steel... and this is really what makes it non-stick. By the time the pan is seasoned, there really shouldn't be any of it that you're actually consuming.

And yes, I know where you're at from your post. I'm only a 20min drive from downtown as well. If I were brave enough to take a drive on the moving weekend, I'd grab some cast iron, too! :)

[liba_hunt]

My observations have shown that soaking for few hours does not make them rust, even when I do no seasoning after that, but dishwashing liquid makes it rust really easy when the whole process is not completed straight after. On the other hand I always use a remarkable amount of oil with the food and seldom need to do seasoning, I can imagine not everyone pours plenty of oil in with food. That may influence the rusting issue with soaking.

Aren't there any other types of vegetable oil used besides olive where you live? Due to the low smoking point it seems a bit unhealthy to burn olive oil on skillet. But there are rapeseed oil and sunflower oil and many other more expensive ones (walnut etc) that have higher smoking point.

[VadimS]

Thank you.
I've seen the results if someone doesn't know how.
They scrubbed it clean, and I spent the next two days seasoning a large set. lol

[ProBiotic]

Painful, isn't it!? lol is right!

[l8nite]

I have an electric stove that can take a while to dry a pan so I turn the pan upside down over the burner. I store my pans and griddles in the oven, I think they help regulate the heat when using the oven

[ProBiotic]

Great idea. Some of the stoves in my classroom are electric, and I hadn't thought of that. Thanks!