You know that I try to give “value added” around here. If I thought that the advice you got on other sites was sound, I wouldn't bother giving you my take. But I don't. I think the posts I've seen about cleaning cast iron pans are written by people who are too young to remember the right way to do it. I'm not even that old!
I blame the sudden onset, back when I was a young bride, of nonstick cookware.
Nonstick brings along with it a set of kitchen utensils that are not really good for anything other than… cleaning nonstick. And those kinds of pans are very persnickety about how you take care of them. If you have nonstick, you begin to look at all your cookware as impossibly delicate, easily scratched, and doomed to ultimate failure… and the trash can. On top of how high-maintenance nonstick is, there's no way it can be good for you as it burns the coating off right under your nose.
Cast iron is… cast iron. You are not going to harm it. It is not going to harm you.
With cast iron, there are two issues: Seasoning and cleaning.
For the deep scientific background and some good information on your cast iron pans, I suggest that you read this informative post.
I will try to give you the simple version!
Just keep these points in mind:
- You can't season your pan with cooking oil, no matter what the “experts” say.
- You can't season, or clean cast iron in a way that retains the seasoning, without a steel scouring pad and a stainless steel spatula. Yes, cast iron will often act quite nonstick. But the day will come when you will fry up a batch of sausage and your pan is going to have some cooked-on, burnt-up drippings.
Please don't face this eventuality with a dumb sponge and silicone spatula that are meant for the Teflon. (For that matter, you will need the steel scouring pad and metal spatula for your regular stainless pans after the pear sauce over-simmers et cetera.)
(This kind of thing will take a million hours with the sponge and lots of running water — or a quick pass with the spatula and steel scrubber.)
- You don't need rubber gloves — although if you usually use them it's fine. But you don't need them.
- You don't need tongs.
- You don't need salt (I'm editing to add, having remembered after someone commented). You can use salt or even sand because you are trying to abrade, but it's not efficient.
- A plastic scrubber will do you no good.
- You don't need but one paper towel (you could use a rag but I strongly feel that paper towels have their uses and this is one of them).
Personally, and slightly but not fatally opposed to the link I gave you, I do use bacon fat or lard if I have it. The main point is that whatever you use has to have a very high burn temp. Cooking oils do not.
To season, scrub your unseasoned pan (the one you picked up at a yard sale or thrift store for nothing — a new pan usually comes seasoned already) with the steel scouring pad. Wash it with soap (the last time you'll ever do this) and dry. Warm it on the stove. Then rub all over with bacon grease, lard, or flax oil — you can use a paper towel to do this — and then wipe off the grease with other side of the same paper towel.
Heat up your oven (Sheryl Canter in that link above says 500º), and stick the pan in for a good long time — an hour. Or put it on the stove on medium heat for a while — 15 minutes. Don't worry. It will be seasoned. If you want a true durable seasoning that won't wear off, follow her directions carefully. If you are fine with doing it every once in a while, follow mine. Eventually the seasoning will build up, although I find that cooking tomato sauce and other acid foods wears it off, so I do re-season mine occasionally.
Now it's seasoned.
So I'm going to give you the quick tutorial on how to clean those pans, because once you learn it, you will love using them.
Using your trusty spatula, (and occasionally a stainless steel spoon for corners), scrape off all the cooked on bits in your pan — while running the water as hot as you can stand it. (For this you might need gloves, but the spatula keeps your hands out of the hot water.)
Now use the steel pad.
Remember, hot water only. No soap. Trust me. That is all you need.
You just have to accept that your pan will be conceptually greasy, although you will see that between the hot water and…
… the subsequent wiping with a paper towel, the pan will be clean.
Now put it on your stove — it needs to be dry. A burner that has been hot (on an electric stove) or a burner set on low (on a gas one) will do the trick. Leave it there until completely dry.
It's clean.
That's it! It's really so simple. The trick and secret is to accept that using soap is not the only way to get something clean! And in the case of cast iron, will just not work. Try this method and see what you think!
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Joy says
Thanks for this, Leila. I inherited a cast iron double skillet from one grandmother and a Dutch oven from the other so I use it regularly. I’ve mostly used a plastic scrubby in fear of steel wool taking the seasoning off. Now I can buy steel wool without fear. :). I usually dry mine in the oven but I will plan on using the burner for the times I have a cold oven. Oh, and I agree about the paper towel. That’s one of infrequent uses, too.
Lindsey G says
Thanks for this! I feel like I haven’t quite got the hang of cleaning our cast iron. My question is – how often do you re-season your pans?
Dixie says
I have Lindsey’s same question. I clean my skillets in much the same way as Auntie Leila, but I’m accustomed to putting a very (VERY) thin coating of fat on the skillet after it is dry (but still very hot) each time. Is that too often, do you think?
Leila says
Dixie and Lindsey, just do what works. You can tell if the seasoning needs re-doing. The pan is no longer black — it looks like bare iron and tends to rust.
If something is working, then it’s working! The only thing about putting a film of fat on is the possibility of it going rancid. If you don’t find that happening, then you’re good!
Katie says
Not sure if my thoughts will be in line with Auntie Leila’s “value-added” approach, but I tend to figure that if every so often a frying episode is in the rotation, the pan’s seasoning will hold up okay. Bacon = ideal, but otherwise okra or veggies or something that cooks in a quarter-inch of oil such that it spends a good long while hot, deep, and greasy during the food prep; and such that cleaning it is really just emptying it of debris and excess fat, and wiping out. On balance, that seems to account for the stickier eggs, potatoes, etc. around here.
Leila says
Yes, Katie — it’s all about being okay with the grease. Wipe out your pan. At most, run hot water over it and then wipe it out.
Lindsey says
I would only add that your steel wool needs to be stainless steel wool and not a Brillo pad (which has soap embedded). Dollar Tree has a 3-pack of stainless steel wool for, you guessed it, $1! I have at least 10 pieces of cast iron (including one made by my husband!) and use at least one piece every day. I go through that $1 package about every 2-4 months.
Jen says
Can I use copper wool? And what if I have no bacon fat or lard or flax oil? And whatbif it seems to be rusty? Help…inherited this from my grandma and am regretting all the Teflon nonstick I got for my wedding…I was clueless
Dixie says
Jen, if it’s rusty you’ve got to do as Auntie Leila says and really scrub it out, WITH SOAP. Then season it. I think America’s Test Kitchen has a good video online somewhere about using hot oil and sea salt to get off rust if the soap and steel wool don’t work.
Melissa D says
Kosher salt is cheaper, has larger crystals (at least mine does), and works well with a paper towel. I rinse out as much burnt-on-food as I can with hot water, then leave just enough water in the pan to make a paste with the salt and start scrubbing. Easy-peasy!
Dixie says
And let’s not forget that cast iron does actually add a significant amount (don’t worry, not at all a dangerous amount) of iron to food cooked in it. This is great for those of us who have trouble getting our iron!
Jana says
Here is a fun short article, not only about how cast iron cooking wards off anemia, but also about how beauty is the key element for homemakers.
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/01/an-iron-fish-in-every-pot/355742/ Summary: If it’s ugly, it’s a doorstop. If it’s pretty, I’ll use it to cook with!
Lisa G. says
What a wonderful story! I’m anemic and take daily iron. My mother only ever owned one small iron skillet, and she just couldn’t believe you weren’t supposed to wash it. She made me wash it with soapy water always. So, it never became seasoned. 🙂 I had thought it was gone, but found it the other day.
Leila says
Jen, the copper pads are fine, but I just find they don’t last as long as the steel. But whatever works. And yes, rust means season! Do check out that link I posted — that lady has all the deep background info 🙂
lisa says
Just put a pot of beans to cook for today in my cast-iron dutch oven. Smeared the inside with bacon grease first, of course. 🙂 For a fall morning, seems like the perfect way to start the day’s work! Thanks for the practical advice!
Laura Jeanne says
This seems pretty easy. I always watch the thrift shop for cast iron, but I never have any luck. I guess there are too many of us looking for it, now. But I’ll keep looking because new pans are out of the budget.
I like the idea of simply washing it with hot water. A while ago I saw a video about the “right” way to clean a cast iron pan, and what the guy did (after cooking a single egg) was dump literally about a cup of salt into the pan and rubbed it around with a bunch of paper towels. Sure, salt is pretty cheap, but it’s hardly free, and using that much of it to clean your pan every single time you use it would add up for sure.
I’d like to ask, why you mentioned flax oil as a good choice for seasoning? I thought that flax oil was one oil you should never heat, ever, that it was only good for using cold, like in salad dressing.
Emily M says
I’m not a chemist, but IIRC, what’s going on is that if you cook with flax oil, it has a low smoke point, so you’re going to get a bad flavor and probably burn off any nutritional benefits. But seasoning goes on much longer than cooking, so you’re going to burn off the smoke particles until they’re quite gone, along with any off flavors. Nutrition isn’t really a concern here, since it’s not part of your food. It does make for a really durable coating, though. Flax oil=linseed oil, so you’re effectively varnishing that pan.
Anamaria says
Laura, not sure how tight your budget is but new cast irons from target are only $20 or so. If that’s too much, Christmas? Also flea markets seem to have them around here more often than thrift stores.
Leila says
Laura Jeanne, do read the link I posted for an explanation of the flax oil. You are not cooking with it. It’s only for the seasoning — using high heat for a long time.
I forgot about the salt advice — need to add that to my list of DON’T BOTHER! 🙂
You can cook with the salt — just sprinkle it on the pan before searing a steak or hamburgers. But cleaning with it? Silly.
Jennie Cooper says
I use soap, and after drying on the stove top, I just wipe it down again with a little butter. I’m a big fan of butter for cast iron! My pans are all gorgeous, and years of use have smoothed them to a beautiful patina many an ancient Griswold would envy!
Leila says
Nope. No soap! But yes, of course, cooking with butter.
If soap is working for you, it’s because you have a hard, hard finish on your pan (lucky you!) and aren’t using much soap. But I don’t want to confuse anyone.
Klm says
I am with you. If there is nothing burnt on, a quick soapy water wash, dry completely by heating it briefly on the stove, and a wipe with the fat of choice. Cooking oil has done the job just fine for me. And my mom. And i guess my grandmamma, as they were her pans until my mom inherited them in 1973.
Whenever i have changed to doing it ‘right’ without soap, there always comes a time when the flavor of the last meal is still lurking because some minor drop of the last batch of cooking fat is still there somewhere. The pan shouldnt be soaked, but i do believe in actually washing away the salmon, or curry, or chili flavored fat as the least bit can really ruin a Saturday morning dish of scrambled egg or french toast.
Hannah says
Would you all recommend cast iron for a family that plans to use bacon and oil only sparingly? My fiancé and I are Orthodox, so we are vegan and don’t use olive oil for about half of the year, and we’re trying to figure out what to register for!
We know we want a wok for all-vegetable meals and sauces, but after that we don’t have a clue (and of course both of us were raised in nonstick households). What kind of pans would you all recommend for two completely clueless cooking (and fasting) newbies?
Erica says
I don’t know specifically what your dietary requirements are, but you definitely need to use some kind of oil to keep food from sticking to the pan. You do not have to use bacon, it’s just a nice fat (that many of us already use) for keeping up the seasoning on pans. Shortening would work well also, or you always could use an oil with a high smoke point.
Dixie says
Hannah, do you know for sure whether using oil or animal fat to season the pan would actually be considered breaking your fast? It does not affect the taste of the food; you do not eat it. It’s part of the care of the pan. I wouldn’t be surprised if this was allowable. Do you have a good source you can ask about this? When you cooked with the pan you would still have to use some fat, but it could be almost anything.
Hannah says
Dixie–thanks! I am probably just showing my ignorance about actually cooking with cast iron. I think you’re right that using oil or fat to season the pan would be allowed, and now that you’ve set me straight on the mechanics I can ask around.
Even if not, it might be nice to have a fasting pan and a feasting one . . . Anyway, thanks for your help!
Caitlin says
A crock pot! We are also Orthodox. I love doing bean stews/chili , cream of pumpkin soup, or Thai curry (use coconut milk, the kind in cans, for the last two).
Congratulations on your wedding!
Hannah says
Caitlin–thanks! This is actually tremendously encouraging. I’ve been trying to learn some Lenten recipes (we are catechumens, so we’re starting at square one) and all I can seem to master are chilis and curries.
I was on the fence about a crockpot, but I think you might have just convinced me!
Shannon says
Just wanted to say vegan means using no animal products whatsoever … not to eat , cook , wear or even season a pan with .
Margo, Thrift at Home says
oh dear, I hope my post about cleaning cast iron is not one you consider “wrong”. I love to be in the right Auntie Leila camp! I season my pans more frequently than you recommend and they have a beautiful patina and food rarely sticks.
This is my post: http://thriftathome.blogspot.com/2011/10/cast-iron-pans-are-great-and-easy-to.html
Leila says
Oops, Margo — didn’t see that! I will go and check it out, but you are a smart cookie 😉
Leila says
Yes, of course, Margo, we agree.
I don’t know that I mention any particular frequency. I find that if I cook up anything acidic, I need to reseason, but then, I haven’t given my pans the full treatment that’s on that blog post I link to.
My main issue with posts on Kitchn and such sites is that they are really giving wrong info — cooking oil (no!), plastic scrubbers (geeze), salt, etc.
As usual, I only wrapped my mind around what to do when I a) did it and b) tried to channel some ancient person like Ma, who clearly didn’t have rubber gloves or a handy grocery store to get salt from.
Melissa D says
Isn’t salt a natural “germicide” (for lack of a better word), too? But maybe people just use it for abrasive properties, the way chuck wagon cooks used to scour with sand.
I use salt b/c a large box of kosher salt is cheap and I use it anyway, so it’s just there. But I’ll buy a SSwool pad and see what happens. 🙂
Julie says
Thank you so much! My hand-me-down pans are looking a little rough and I’ve been wondering what to do. I think I remember my dad scrubbing down a pan once and then seasoning it by tossing it into a bonfire.
GramiePamie says
My MIL has truly historic cast iron, and speaks of “firing” them. This is to super-heat and flake off the built-up fat/grease residue on the handles, edges, or outside. This would be a very infrequent procedure, I feel sure. She also has always had ONE dedicated CA skillet to be used ONLY for cornbread. Hers would come out beautifully.
Leila says
Julie, that is so awesome. Could I ask for better confirmation of my thesis, namely, that cast iron is STURDY???
Joy says
It is unbelievably sturdy. A few years ago we lost power after an ice storm. In order to get hot meals, I made soup in my cast iron dutch oven by putting it in the fireplace (I put it on the grate and demoted the burning logs to under the grate). Even with flames licking its bottom for three days, it was no worse for wear. My favorite piece of cookware!
Elizabeth says
And now, if I could only convince my dear husband that the soap is really unnecessary, I would really only have to re-season on rare occasions! But he can never be convinced that anything can possibly be clean if not washed with actual soap. But since I tend to re-season by just adding fat before cooking, it’s not a big deal. I love my cast iron!
Leila says
Elizabeth, just show him the post in the links I have in my post. Once you understand the science behind the seasoning, you get it.
The other thing is to show him that you clean things in 3 ways:
1. soap –he knows about this
2. oil/grease — for instance, you would never put soap on a piece of wood furniture! You clean it with oil. Baby’s bottom? Clean with oil! Hands stained from gardening? Yes, you can wash with soap and water, but then rub coconut oil, vaseline, or olive oil on them — see the dirt come off?
3. High heat — you don’t soap down your oven or grill — you fire it up. Now you know why I keep saying “use hot water” on your pan, and why you can throw it in the bonfire 🙂
Jana says
2.) Addendum: Ancient Greek Olympian? Add Olive Oil, scrape with strigil – Clean!
Also wondering if you have heard of these newfangled steel/microfiber scrubbies that they say work with no soap on all non-non-stick cookware (can I invoke the double negative rule here and call it “stick cookware”?) Guy at vacuum-bag store said the Oreck tm dish sponge cleans with no soap for the low-low price of 8.99 – I refused because the color was just so ugly. I mean, it really was the worst yellow ever. If his claim were true, and it were a tolerable color, would you be ready/willing to ditch the soap on everything else, too? Oh Brave new world…
Leila says
Jana, I don’t know what those scrubbie things are, but seems so expensive. I use my steel scouring pad on all my pots and pans. Lasagna baked on? Soak and use steel scrubber. Bread pudding overflow? ditto.
I give the regular pots and pans a soaping afterwards to get the grease off. But I find I use much less if I’m not relying on it to get off the burnt-on crud — and anyway, it doesn’t work like that, so…
Stella aka "fennario" says
Yikes, Leila, no bonfire! It can ruin your pan!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESeZcp-NbqU
Instead of steel wool, I like to use a chainmail scrubber. They last forever, get the job done, and don’t damage the seasoning.
Erin says
Do you have any advice for how to store cast iron? I would love to hang it on a wall or from a rack, but that just doesn’t work in my kitchen. I have a nice wide cabinet with pull out drawers that I use for pots n pans, but the always greasy feel of the cast iron gets annoying. I currently stack my two cast iron pans together with a paper bag under them, but would love to hear if you have a better idea?
Like the previous poster, I will be showing my husband this post. Oh, the day he stuck my cast iron pan in a sink of soapy water was not a good day in our marriage. 🙂 I reacted very poorly. He’s got it down now, but a little reinforcement is always good.
Leila says
Erin, I have very little storage in my kitchen. I keep my pans on the stove or on my wood burning stove (which is right there in the kitchen). If I had to, I would put hooks in the brick and hang them (I would like to do this but just never get around to it).
You *can* wash the outside — ONLY the outside — of your pan with soap. The outside is very well seasoned and the soap will just get off the grease that is going to mar your cabinets. Wipe with a paper towel so that you know that it’s really clean. But yes, lining the drawer with paper towels or a paper bag is not a bad idea.
Evelyn says
Would leaving it in the oven work? I just pop it back in there once it’s been wiped down with paper towel. From time to time it gets heated up with the oven, but nothing a mitt can’t remove:)
Erin says
That is a great idea, particularly for the one I use the most. I’m not a fan of stove top storage, but the oven would work. Thanks!
priest' wife @byzcathwife says
We are renting a house with a ceramic stovetop- I miss my gas stovetop! I assumed that I couldn’t use my cast iron skillet (that lived on the stove because I used it every day)- this post inspired me to ‘google’ if I can use it….and I think I can. I’m going to try tonight
Katie says
We had a flat range in our old apartment, and we used our cast iron successfully many times! Just make sure the bottom of the pan is wiped off well, so that you don’t scrape and damage the cooktop with random bits of crispy-crummy crud under the heavy pan.
Leila says
Yes, the only limitation is that you will scratch the ceramic. Personally, I don’t care, but in a rental, it might be a problem.
Cristina says
This is great advice! My husband got me some cast iron pans for Christmas a few years ago and the instructions they came with were to use the included little plastic scraper thing to clean out burnt on bits and then season every time with olive oil which never seemed right or all that effective–also they are definitely more nubbly than older ones I’ve seen which always made me think I wasn’t cleaning them correctly! Apparently I just need to get hunting for a metal spatula and some steel wool! Also it never occurred to me to stop using them once we moved into our current rental with a ceramic cook top….whoops….it’s been a year now so the damage is probably done? I can’t give them up!
MT says
You have no idea how timely this post is!! I found a cast iron skillet a month ago and have been confused by all the conflicting information on the Internet. I’m going to do it this way from now on. Thank you! PS, I just threw out two nonstick pans that were only 3 yrs old. They were crap.
Laura Jeanne says
I know! Actually, I have not found that non-stick pans last even that long, if they are used often. I have a non-stick large skillet that I use probably 4-5 times per week, and the coating is already coming off. It’s less than a year old, and although I bought it on sale it was an $80 pan. I definitely need to get some cast iron.
MT says
Ouch! $80! Truth be told, mine were probably done before 3 years, I just couldn’t afford better.
Anne Marie says
You’ve inspired me to attempt to property season all 3 of my aebleskiver pans.
Dawn says
I love my cast iron frying pan. Luckily, my dad taught me how to take care of it. Your tips are great. I hate teflon and won’t let it in my house.
Blessings, Dawn
Kaitlin @ More Like Mary says
Help! I have always taken care of my cast iron in this way but it makes food taste disgusting. One bite of scrambled eggs from it has me gagging. I’ve re-seasoned it and baked it so many times and nothing seems to help! I do use coconut oil, which has a very high heat point, but maybe that’s not good enough? It will be hard to part with my beloved bacon grease that I save for special occasions… 😉
Mary says
Hi Kaitlin,
It’s possible that the oil you used to season with has gone rancid somehow, and that’s making the food taste bad. This happened to me with a cast iron dutch oven when I stored it with the top on. I did the same as you, scrubbed, re-seasoned, baked, and still couldn’t use it. Finally, my husband put it in a bonfire for a good long while (I think someone else mentioned doing this, too!), and that took care of it! I hope you can restore it somehow!
Annalisa says
Eggs taste bad from our cast iron skillet too. Metallic. Season?
Kathia says
It looks like you are using cast iron on an electric stove top… yes? I’ve heard that is a no-no, but if it is OK I’m all for going back to cast iron!! Haven’t used it since we had a gas stove in the last house.
Leila says
Kathia, yes, but it will scratch the surface. It just will. It’s not enough to stop me but just so you know 🙂
Robin says
Something else to consider about cast iron: the newer (what you can go buy right now) cast iron has a rather nubbly texture on the cooking surface, that drives me nuts! If you can, go for something older from a thrift store or something, and it will work much better for you! I had a newer LARGE (12 in) skillet that I got so mad at, for that nubbly surface, that I tried to get it machined at a machine shop (they looked at me like I had two heads). Finally, my husband sanded out the interior and voila! Awesome non-stick cooking!
NB: you will pay more for Griswold cast iron because it has antique value.
Leila says
Robin, tooooo funny, and a great thought, because I too have noticed that the new ones have that texture. What did he use to sand it out?
Robin says
Ha! Sand is probably too mild of a word. As I recall it was some kind of grindy-spinny-wheely thing. (So helpful!) I know it was serious business when he took it on, because he was the one that got me started with cast iron (for him it was the great eggs that you could make). Once the ‘new’ surface was revealed, I just seasoned it and went on from there.
I have cooked taco meat and spaghetti sauce in mine, so like a poster above, I cleaned it with soap and reseasoned, though that just means that after I used soap it looked a little parched, so I cooked it on the stovetop until dry (and hot) and wiped it with some non-virgin coconut oil. That’s really all I do.
Sorry! My power tool expertise is limited to my tools in the kitchen!
Victoria says
Mine were like that new. After six months of nearly daily use with a steel spatula, they became smooth as can be; but it isn’t very fun when you first start using them, for sure.
I often wondered why folks treat something as primative and hardy as cast iron as though it were China. Your explanation that Teflon is to blame makes a lot of sense.
Evelyn says
You too us well! This made me laugh. I did, in fact, find a (free!) cast iron pan at a garage sale. Naturally, I googled how to season it and was told to use canola oil, salt and a potato. As you predicted, it did not work very well. Anyhow, it’s been through a few rounds of bacon (i’ve kept it at that in fear that anything less fatty will taste like whoever owned it last..) and it’s starting to look a bit better. Always love the tips!
Jessica says
My sweet dear 8 year old son cleaned up dinner by himself one tired, morning – sickness evening. The next morning, I found my great grandmother’s cast iron skillet in the clean dishwasher, dry and rusty. But we seasoned it and it’s still going strong.
JC-DeoGratias says
I love my cast iron pans, and have also had a hard time convincing my sweet husband that they are clean without soap. Whenever my big 12″ pan seems to need a bit of reseasoning, I make an upside-down cake– the kind of recipe that starts with melting a whole stick of butter in the pan, then adding 1 cup brown sugar, plus fruit and nuts, then pouring over the cake batter and baking. It makes it slick as anything, and everyone love the treat. I bought an extra bag of apples this week so I could do it. For the other pans, including my ableskiever pan, I make cornbread, putting a generous amount of butter in before pouring in the batter. Butter is good;-).
Polly says
Yay! Cast iron is my favorite, hands-down. I inherited my great-grandmother’s enormous cast iron skillet. I use it nearly every day. I have committed myself to cast iron for basically all my cooking needs now. It’s a joy to cook with a skillet that made breakfasts for my great-grandparents for *decades!*
The newer cast iron does have that annoying nubby texture. I’m banking on it going away with diligent use.
I am so glad you mentioned the steel scrubber! And the no-soap. I almost had to stage an intervention once with a friend over her soapy treatment of cast iron.
Natalie says
Thanks for these tips! Is improper seasoning to blame for eggs sticking every.single.time I try to scramble them?
Leila says
Natalie, yes — you must *season* the pan, not just grease it! Go back and check out the linked article (with pictures).
SS says
Target started carrying cast iron skillets that are enameled on the outside- perfect for those of us with ceramic or glass stoves. They are also smoother inside than the usual new cast iron pan. I had been having trouble with skillets getting warped on my stove even though I don’t cook at very high heats, so when I was due for a replacement recently, I switched to cast iron. The pans come in a couple different sizes and colors and are only a couple dollars more expensive than Lodge.
http://www.target.com/p/threshold-cast-iron-skillet-10-in/-/A-16977095
Margaret Foster says
Cast iron pans are my nightmare when it comes to washing dishes. I have two of these babies and my husband loves to cook in them, I on the other hand am not such a fan. Anyway, cleaning them is a must and I am very happy to find this lovely post! Thanks for sharing your secret! 🙂
Cami says
Auntie,
Is it normal to smoke up the house when cooking in cast iron? If I am searing meat especially or even just cooking veggies for fajitas, it gets rather smokey. We have to open windows and doors to air out the house. We do have the microwave/range hood combo above an electric stove. Am I doing something wrong? Love the food cooked in cast iron so hoping to somehow eliminate smoke issue.
Leila says
Cami, it might be that you are overheating your pan — and yes, burning your food! Here’s the thing about cast iron — it takes a long time to heat up, and then it’s going to take a long time to cool down.
So, maybe try using a medium heat but let the pan really heat up for a while before you start your searing.
You can put your pan on the heat and just leave it there for quite a while. It will be fine. It will come up to a nice temperature and then really stay there for you.
When I am cooking steak in the winter (i.e. can’t grill), I heat my pan to around 5 (medium). I put salt in it. I sear one side for 4 or 5 minutes, turn it, and sear the other. The last 2 or 3 minutes I put the cover on.
It’s always perfect! No smoke.
If it isn’t that things are burning, it could be that you have built-up crud on your pan (as described in that more technical article I linked to. The best thing will be to throw your pan in the bonfire as described in the other comments! Or follow the directions for re-seasoning…
Good luck!
Annie says
Thanks for this clear, simple set of directions for cast iron.
I’m concerned about your instructions to use steel wool on stainless steel pans, however. I think that may be fine for something you don’t care much about, but I received a marvelous set of tri-ply cuisinart pans for my wedding that came with very specific instructions to NEVER use steel wool on them. I believe it said the steel wool would create many tiny scratches (and also void the warranty). It recommended a scotch brite pad and barkeepers friend, which has worked very well. Since I expect and plan to keep these pans forever, I’m following those instructions. I’m a little afraid to even have any steel wool in my house for the cast iron in case someone else uses them on the stainless!
Leila says
Annie, I don’t know about those pans; I’m assuming they have a stainless steel lining and an aluminum core. I have used stainless steel pads on my stainless steel pans forever (like literally 39 years as of yesterday 😉 ). It leaves them polished. (I also use them on my aluminum baking pans and enameled cast iron.)
All I’m saying is that if for instance you boil milk in a pot and scorch the bottom, you will be scrubbing with a scotch brite pad forever and incidentally, messing it up and needing to buy more (pads, that is — I use them all the time but not for stuck-on food on pans — they are expensive!). Whereas a stainless pad will clean it all up quickly. With cast iron, things get charred on there — you need to be able to scrape down to the iron, or you will have a carbon build-up on the pan and it won’t be nonstick anymore.
Obviously you can use what you want! I’m just saying that this is a tool that works very well!
Chas Gantz says
I have that exact same spatula! It was my Mothers. My handle is coming apart though. This is my favorite spatula! I too use case iron frying pans.