Many manufacturers pre-season their cast iron before selling it, but it's still a good idea to know how to prepare because it's recommended maintenance two or three times a year. Without this protective coating, the combination of water, cooking, moisture, and exposure to oxygen can rust the cast iron.
Yes, season the outside of your cast iron pan to protect it from rust. Every part of an unseasoned pan is susceptible to rust – even the outside and the bottom. So, it's important to coat the entire surface with oil.
When cooking in cast iron, you should add a little oil to the pan before adding your food. This helps ensure the food doesn't stick, and it helps build layers of seasoning. You can generally use whatever oil you prefer, as long as the cooking temperature is below the smoke point of the oil.
Seasoning is just oil baked onto cast iron through a process called polymerization. It gives your cookware that classic black patina. Seasoning forms a natural, easy-release cooking surface and helps prevent your pan from rusting.
Oil the entire pan.
Once the pan is clean, use a kitchen or paper towel to coat it with a thin layer of oil. Use a neutral oil, like grapeseed, canola, or vegetable oil; fats with a high smoke point work better than something more delicate, like olive oil or flaxseed oil.
You're going to have to give your skillet at least six coats of oil and baking to create a hardwearing non stick base. Basically, new cast iron needs some intense TLC for the first year or so of it's life.
A well-seasoned skillet will have a dark, semiglossy finish and won't be sticky or greasy to the touch. It won't have any rust or any dull or dry patches. An easy way to test a skillet's seasoning is to fry an egg (heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in skillet over medium heat for 3 minutes, then add egg).
Pinholes are a common casting defect found in all cast iron products, including cookware. These holes are almost always visible to the human eye but don't appear on the product until after mechanical processing.
Cooking on unseasoned cast iron can result in sticking, rusting, and a myriad of other issues (some of which are outlined above). Lucky for cast-iron newbies, most skillets sold these days come pre-seasoned. Take your store-bought seasoning a step further though and add your own before you call it good to go.
Clean cast-iron skillet after every use
Wipe interior surface of still-warm skillet with paper towels to remove any excess food and oil. Rinse under hot running water, scrubbing with nonmetal brush or nonabrasive scrub pad to remove any traces of food.
Having a small amount of oil after cleaning is not a problem. In fact, keeping a pan from drying out is an important part of long term maintenance. Over-cleaning your cast iron pan is unnecessary and will only stand to damage your seasoning. For many meals, this will be the only necessary step to cleaning your skillet.
It's not really a problem (in the absence of water, it won't get any worse), but if it bugs you you can scrub it with some steel wool and put some oil on it (be careful if you use something flammable).
WHY IS MY SKILLET BROWN AFTER PRE-SEASONING AND NOT BLACK? Newly seasoned cast iron may have a brownish tint to it. It's not rust, it's just the initial patina baking in. It can take a few coats of seasoning and some use to get a black finish.
Olive oil is a great option for seasoning your cast iron skillet because it is affordable and easy to find. It also has a high smoke point, which means it can withstand high temperatures without burning.
Many manufacturers pre-season their cast iron before selling it, but it's still a good idea to know how to prepare because it's recommended maintenance two or three times a year. Without this protective coating, the combination of water, cooking, moisture, and exposure to oxygen can rust the cast iron.
A well-seasoned cast iron pan should be dark black, shiny, and smooth to the touch. Unseasoned cast iron has a rough look and feel until it is properly seasoned. Here are some sure signs of damage and misuse: It's covered in rust.
The vinegar solution will dissolve the rust, but once that's gone, it can penetrate further and start eating away at the original cast surface of the pan, the ultimate death sentence for your skillet. If that happens, retire it to a piece of farmhouse-chic kitchen decor.
The easiest way to remove rust from cast iron is to soak the pan in a 1:1 vinegar and water solution. Then scrub the rust off with a scrubby sponge, scrub brush, or steel wool.
Can I use steel wool or a metal scrubber to clean my cast iron pan? No! We recommend using a pan scraper or the Lodge Chainmail Scrubber to remove any stuck-on residue.
When is too much too much? Although it seems odd, it is technically possible to over-season a skillet. Too much oil baked into the cast iron will cause it to polymerize unevenly and eventually will cause the surface of the skillet to flake.
Bake the Pan for 1 Hour
Bake upside down in the oven at 350 degrees F for 1 hour (line the rack below with foil to catch any oil drips). This will protect the surface and give it an almost nonstick quality. Some people tout another seasoning method: heating the pan on the stove.
Sticky Surface
If the seasoning in your pan is sticky, this is a sign of excess oil built up on the cookware. The Fix: To remedy stickiness, place the cookware upside down on the top rack of the oven and bake at 450-500 degrees F for one hour. Allow to cool and repeat if necessary.
Complete the seasoning process by baking your cookware upside down at 450 degrees Fahrenheit in the oven for one hour. Let it cool in the oven, then the skillet is ready to use.