Using clean paper towels, thoroughly wipe out excess oil (skillet should look dry, not glistening). Place skillet upside down in oven and bake for 1 hour. Using potholders, remove skillet from oven and let cool completely.
Cast-iron cookware is porous, and the oil works to fill those pores and create a smooth, nonstick surface. Enough oil soaks into those pores during the initial coating, so you can go ahead and wipe off as much as you can. Leaving too much oil on is a common mistake that will leave your skillet sticky.
Using too much oil, anything more than about the size of a quarter will just build up and cause an oil slick on your pan. When it's time to season your cast iron skillet, you simply can't do this with a cold skillet. This will cause build up of that oil residue, and cause stickiness.
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.
If cast iron is left in the sink to soak, put in the dishwasher, or allowed to air dry, it will rust. It can also happen when you store your cookware in moisture-prone environments, such as a cabinet near a dishwasher, an open cabinet in a humid location, or stored outside.
First, it's important to always heat up the pan prior to adding any oil, butter, or fat. When cooking on cast iron, when it comes to fat, less is not always more. It's better to err on the side of too much fat, and then simply drain any excess after cooking.
But unless the oil was overheated and started to smoke, which degrades the quality, or you used it to fry fish, it's fine to reuse it once you strain it. Here are two easy ways to clean used frying oil.
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.
We actually keep frying oil on the back of the stove pretty regularly... We've never had problems... The answer is NO, it is not safe.
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.
As mentioned briefly above, oiling cast iron cookware after using it helps protect the iron from rust. Cast iron is naturally a very porous material, meaning it has tons of microscopic “pores,” or holes. These pores tend to trap moisture and make the iron susceptible to rust.
Rinse your skillet after use
After your cast iron has cooled down a little bit (you don't want to burn your hands!), rinse your cast iron in the sink with warm—never cold—water to dislodge clingy food scraps like eggs, and prevent them from hardening and sticking to the pan.
After applying vegetable oil to the cooking surface, preheat the pan on low heat, increasing the temperature slowly. You can place the skillet upside down on a middle oven rack at 375 degrees. Place foil on a lower rack to catch drips. Bake the cast iron for about an hour and let it cool entirely in the oven.
How often should I season my skillet? — To get the best out of your cast iron skillet, it's recommended that you oil it after each use. However, depending on how frequently you use it, 2-3 times a year is sufficient.
You should add oil to a hot pan if you are using unseasoned cookware such as stainless steel. The reason why is that the high temperature of the pan will reduce the viscosity of the oil and allow it to settle into the small little cracks and pores in the pan.
Don't ever store food in a cast-iron skillet
Additionally, although the idea of getting iron toxicity overload from cooking in cast iron pans has been mostly debunked, (via Livestrong) any food sitting in the pan for a prolonged period of time can develop an off, metallic flavor.
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.
With proper care cast iron cookware can withstand a lifetime of use.
What Temperature to Season Cast Iron? The best cast iron seasoning temperature for cast iron skillets is 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Put the oiled skillet upside down on the middle rack in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
Even though a rusted cast-iron pan doesn't necessarily present a health concern, it's still not recommended that you cook on it. The rust might add an unpleasant metallic flavor to your food. Plus, it makes using the skillet much more difficult.
The worst oil for seasoning cast iron would be any oil with a low smoke point, such as butter, extra virgin olive oil, and coconut oil. These oils are prone to burning and breaking down at high temperatures, leaving a sticky or gummy residue on the cast iron.
Theoretically, cooking on a rusty grill grate won't harm you. It might make your meat taste like a rusty nail, though and even Bearded Butcher Blend Seasoning might not be enough to fix it. It's best to remove rust from grill grates before cooking on them.