Cast Iron Care and Maintenance - Creating that Perfect Pan!
Cast iron care does require a little bit of work but it definitely doesn’t need to be complicated. It really can be boiled down into 3 easy steps:
Smooth it out and clean it
Oil it up and bake it
Continued maintenance after cooking
1. Initially when you have a new or new to you cast iron pan the number one thing you want to do is make it smooth. This may consist of scraping it down with a putty knife and maybe some light work with some sandpaper until it feels smooth. Then wash it out thoroughly with soap and water so it’s clean. This will be the only time you will use soap to clean your cast iron.
2. Next you are going to want to oil up the pan with high-heat oil with a generous amount of oil going into all the nooks and crannies of the pan, including the handle, sides, and bottom. Doesn’t matter which high-heat oil you use with vegetable oil or avocado oil being good options. Other options include grape seed oil or sunflower oil. Then heat up the oven to whatever the smoke point is on the label of oil (approximately 500 degrees for avocado oil and 400 degrees for vegetable oil). Bake it in the oven for 1 hour and let it gradually return to room temperature by just turning off the oven and letting it sit in there for another 3 hours. Repeat 1-3 more times.
3. Now your job is to start cooking. Initially, for everything you cook, you’ll want to use significantly more oil than you normally would. This will continue to build the seasoning as you cook making your pan more non-stick. I recommend doing some deep frying to start with to let that pan take a bath in hot oil. Just remember when you clean it, don’t use soap, just water, and like to use steel wool to scrub any food particles off. Once clean, heat it on the stove to dry it completely. Any remaining water will rust the pan. Once the pan is hot, add a dollop of your high-heat oil about the size of a quarter, and spread around the inside of the pan with a paper towel or rag. Heat the pan until it is smoking and then turn it off and remove from heat wiping up all additional oil in the pan.
Voila! Your pan is ready and now you can keep it in good shape! Happy cooking and enjoy your pan!
Here’s a link for a brand new pan if you don’t already have one. Just remember to smooth it out prior to seasoning it! https://amzn.to/42yMS9R
By John
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