Is there a special way to take care of a cast iron skillet?!


Question: I heard someone say before that 'you're not supposed to wash them' or something. I have one and don't really use it because of what that person said. Personally, I think it's kinda grose NOT to wash it....but I dunno. Anyone know?


Answers: I heard someone say before that 'you're not supposed to wash them' or something. I have one and don't really use it because of what that person said. Personally, I think it's kinda grose NOT to wash it....but I dunno. Anyone know?

Crisco all over the pan ..inside outside
400 degree oven one hour
its cured

You need to "season" them with olive oil. And, no, you aren't supposed to wash them out ... just rub them clean with a towel. Although, I always wash mine anyways:) but, I just use water, and no detergent ....

you can wash it but handwash it no dishwashers... as soon as you do, wipe it dry right away and get a paper towel and some vegetable oil and rub it down to make it shine.. it'll prevent rust & stuff.. i live by those pans theyre amazing. mine are at least 10 years old and still cooking great.. and thats how i take care of them..

I wash my cast iron skillet, after rinsing it I put it on the burner and let it dry (while having the burner on). After it drys on the burner I put some oil on a paper towel and rub it along the inside of the skill and let that cook on the burner. When that drys I put it away.
I used to wash it like regular pots and pans but it began to make everything rust. When I started doing it like I just said, I no longer had that problem.

A properly seasoned cast iron skillet is as slick as Teflon. You can, and should, wash them but specifically you should not immerse them in water else it will rust. If you pan is not yet seasoned there are plenty of posts you can search here on Y!A that will tell you how.

If you wash it with soap then you will destroy the seasoning which creates a nonstick surface for cooking. When people need to clean them, they wash them with hot water and a stiff (but not wire) brush while the pan or pot is still warm. Sometimes if a mild abrasive action is needed then some people use clean sand or salt.

I have never used sand or salt but have a stiff brush, which takes care of the problem. I always dry it thoroughly after washing and apply a thin coat of oil or, if I'm short on time, a spray of cooking spray until I can do more.

Really caked on or burnt items might come off if you put the pan in your oven and run a self-cleaning feature. Unfortunately this might also destroy the seasoning so you'll need to check the pan when it has cooled to make certain the seasoning is intact.

If your cast iron is badly caked with food and nothing else seems to work, then you might have to use soap to get it clean and reseason it afterwards.

Follow these directions from my book and you'll be ok. Cast iron care is not that bad truthfully and you'll be glad you learned and will cook alot in your cast iron!

Cast Iron Basics
(some of the most important things you need to know!)

Seasoning: Cast iron may be heavy, but with a proper seasoning, is the greatest type of metal to cook in. But, you need to keep your cast iron free from rust and well seasoned to make it “stick free”.
When someone buys cast iron from the store, the foundry (manufacturer) coats the pot or pan with a coating of some sort to keep the item from rusting. This is done by spraying with a type of varnish or dipping it into hot paraffin wax. This protective coating must be cleaned off before seasoning your cast iron.
If your Dutch oven is made by LODGE, the protective coating is a sprayed varnish coating, which must be scrubbed off. Heat the Dutch oven inside your home oven to 200oF., then with a hot pad, lower the oven into hot soapy water, and scrub the Dutch oven with a S.O.S. pad. Scrub the inside and outside of the Dutch oven very well, rinse well, and towel dry. Then place the Dutch oven back into your oven at 225° to dry for about 10 to 15 minutes. The only way to dry cast iron is to dry it completely. I do mine in the oven because, the heat is not concentrated in one spot, as it is on the stove top, which can cause minute cracks.
If your Dutch oven is made by any of the other companies that make outdoor Dutch ovens, the protective coating is dipped paraffin wax, which can be burned off. Do this outdoors in your gas B.B.Q. or, a kettle type charcoal B.B.Q. like a Webber. In a charcoal B.B.Q., use Mesquite charcoal for fuel because it burns much hotter than briquettes. Start the charcoal or light the gas B.B.Q., set on high and pre-heat the B.B.Q. When the charcoal is white, spread it out a little so that is not to close to the cooking grate. Place the oven onto the cooking grate, upside down, and close the lid on the B.B.Q.
Heat the oven to 450° to 500° for 15 minutes. Close the B.B.Q. and cook the Dutch oven for about 1 hour at 450° to 500° , or until the oven stops smoking. Cool the scrub the oven and dry as directed above.
To season the Dutch oven, place the oven upside down on the cooking grate and warm the oven for 10 to 15 minutes at 450° to 500° . With hot pads, remove the D.O. and rub a light coat of lard, bacon grease, white Crisco, or vegetable oil, using a paper towel
Coat the inside and outside of the D.O. and lid. You only need a light coat of oil, you don’t want the grease to be dripping off the oven. Place the Dutch oven back onto the cooking grate and cook the Dutch oven for about 1 hour at 450° to 500° , or until the oven stops smoking. Remove the oven from the B.B.Q. with hot pads to cool. If the D.O. is a glossy brown color, not black, return to B.B.Q. to cook about thirty more minutes. By doing this outside in the B.B.Q., you don’t have to fill the house with smoke and set off the smoke detectors.

Cleaning: Cleaning cast iron is really quite easy and simple. As the same principal with seasoning, there are as many opinions as there are cooks. The methods I have found to work for me are written hereto share with you. However, as you cook more with cast iron and outdoor Dutch ovens, you will find a method that works best for you and your style of cooking.
Right after I am finished cooking in my Dutch ovens, I like to a spray bottle filled with a solution of 4 parts of water to 1 part of apple cider vinegar to clean and sanitize with. Scrape out all the extra bits of food with a spatula then spray the solution into the hot Dutch oven and wipe it out with paper towels. Sometimes, I need to spray and wipe out the oven several times to get it clean. But, it works well and the vinegar has other uses as well.
Many people will tell you to never clean cast iron with soap and water. I have found this to be an excellent way to clean cast iron and use soap and water frequently myself. Be sure that cast iron is warm, to free the food from the pores easily, and to rinse the cast iron with hot water very well to remove all of the soap.
The last and most important thing to do after cleaning your cast iron is not applying more oil to the iron. But, is to dry it completely over or in a heat source, to keep it from rusting. When drying cast iron, don’t get it to hot. It only needs to be about 225o for the moisture to evaporate and dry out. Once the pot, pan, or Dutch oven is cleaned and dried, place a paper towel inside with a little of the paper towel going to the outside to “wick” out any moisture from inside the pot and lid. Be sure to store your cast iron dry, without oil to keep it from turning rancid.
Storing: As mentioned before, cast iron needs to be stored absolutely dry, free of any water, or oil. The water will rust the cast iron. The oil may turn rancid, especially if stored for a long period of time. Personally, I dry my cast iron in the oven at 225o for 30 minutes, after towel drying. So that I don’t burn my hands, I just leave the cast iron in the oven until the oven has cooled down, about 45 to 60 minutes. When I’m camping, I dry my cast iron over a few coals, about 6, 4 under the bottom and 2 on the lid of the Dutch oven. Only keep the cast iron until the water evaporates. Then remove the cast iron from the heat source with hot pads and place paper towels inside the pot and place the lid on the pot. Be sure some of the paper towel lays over the edge of the pot to the outside to wick any internal moisture to the outside of the pot and into the air.
Once cast iron has been seasoned, unless it has not been cared for properly, does not need to be re-seasoned after you use it. So, why store it with more oil in the pot, pan, or Dutch oven. The oil will turn rancid, becoming sticky, smelly, and spoiled; just like food that has been around for to long in the refrigerator. The oil also attracts dirt, dust, and other things flying around in the air, like bugs. So don’t apply any oil to your cast iron until it is warmed up just before you use it and put food into it. Take care of your cast iron and, it will take care of you.

olive oil and course salt, rub in circles and wipe out excess salt. kills the bacteria.

Don't use an iron skillet on a ceramic top stove it will scratch up the top and if you drop the skillet it will break your top! You can wash your iron skillet, but not supper clean because the iron skillet has porous holes in it and it need to retain oil or grease so things you cook in the skillet won't stick, with out the oil ever thing you cook will stick. Most people only bake corn bread in their iron skillet!

You can wash it when you first buy it from the store, then straight away you must dry it, if you can, put it in a low temperature oven for ten minutes, take out, allow to cool, then rub cooking oil into it, all over the surface. dab with a clean towel any excess oil. after you have cooked with it, just clean the normal way, same as your dirty plates, but afterwards, you must repeat, dry, then oil, then put away in cupbord. Each time you use it, you must re-oil it, repeat process. The reason you do this, is obviously to stop rust.





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