Cast Iron Pans

Written By Dan Price

So, Cast Iron pans.  They have been around for hundreds of years.  If you still have the ones from your Grandma – KEEP THEM!!  The older ones can be quite valuable – even if they are all rusty, and gross looking!  The reason for this is…… you simply can’t kill a cast iron pan!  Its simple to strip them down to bare metal (one way is to put it in your oven, then run the cleaning cycle.  It will burn off anything on the metal).  Then you just re season them, and they will be good to go.  Wait, you say – how do you “Season” a metal pan?  Well, it is incredibly easy, and actually, it’s an ongoing process with cast iron.

What is “seasoning”? It is the process of cooking a very thin layer of oil onto the metal pan, to seal the metal off, protect it, keep it from rusting and coincidentally making the pan pretty much “nonstick” without any special coating.  So – how do you bake this oil on, what kind of oil do you use?  There are two basic methods – oven, and stove top.

OVEN METHOD: This is what you do the first couple of times you season a pan, or if you are re-seasoning a pan.  Coat the ENTIRE pan in a thin layer of oil.    Use Grapeseed or Flaxseed oil, or lard – something with a very high smoke point.  You CAN use olive oil, but I really don’t recommend it, because olive oil has a very high particulate level (There’s still a bunch of olive meat in it…lol) and can be a little smokey.  Apply the oil with a paper towel, then wipe with a clean paper towel so the layer of oil is THIN.  This is a time where less is more.  Put the pan in a cold oven.  Heat the oven to 450.  When the oven reaches temp, set a timer for one hour.  At the one-hour point, turn the oven off, and let it get back to room temperature.  The pan will have a golden-brown coloring.  I actually recommend doing these 3 or 4 times before you use the pan.  The more layers of seasoning the better!

STOVE TOP METHOD:  This is something you should do virtually every time you use the pan.  Apply a thin layer of oil and bring the pan to a high heat.  Just as the oil starts to smoke, remove from heat and allow it to cool.  This also makes sure the pan is good and dry, so no rust can develop.

A word about new seasoning.  We have some amazing hand cast pans from several small companies.  They are beautifully hand double seasoned with Grapeseed Oil.  The first time or two I used one, it pulled some seasoning up.  It is VERY common with new pans and does NOT affect the pan itself.  I simply stovetop season it every time I use it, and now it is a beautiful dark brown, turning black.  The first few times you use a newly seasoned pan, avoid acidic foods, like tomatoes or wine ( I was cooking apples….)  With time, the pans will turn a beautiful glossy black, with a cooking surface like black glass!

Cleaning a Cast Iron Pan:  Say you seared a steak in your pan.  You will have some of the fond crusted into the bottom when you are done.  This is how I clean my pans, and it actually helps season them as well:  Wipe out the excess grease with a paper towel. I add about ½ of water to the pan and bring it to a rolling boil.  Dump out the water and scrape the pan with a plastic pan scraper.  I then add about 3 or 4 tbs of Kosher salt, and scrub with a very slightly damp paper towel ( You can use a short bristle brush here too) till you have removed the burnt parts, and the cooking surface is smooth.  No need for perfection here – just pretty smooth will do.  Rinse out the salt and dry the pan.  Coat the inside surface with the THIN layer of oil and put back on the burner till the oil just starts to smoke.  All done.  Every time you do this, adds to the seasoning of the pan.  It takes a while to get that perfect, impervious black glassy coating, but it’s worth the effort!!