Cast Iron 101
How to Purchase, Season, Clean and USE a cast iron
cast iron 101
Oh cast-iron how much do I love thee? Let me count the way….
If I have one regret in life is not having started cooking on a cast-iron earlier. For the first 10 years of my married life I really only cooked with stainless steel and use glass on occasion for baking. I knew about cast-iron. I spoke about cast-iron and yet I never bought a cast iron.
It intimidated me. Cleaning with salt and no soap sound sounded really weird and just hard to maintain.
But here is the thing : it’s hands-down the best nontoxic truly nonstick surface to cook on.
Maintenance and cleaning is actually pretty simple if you know how. If you’ve never dabbled with cast-iron, I recommend purchasing an inexpensive one from Lodge that comes preseasoned. This is how I started ( with a simple pan like this one. https://amzn.to/4tTr8Ck ) and once you get the hang of it, you can always upgrade and get yourself a fancier one. ( by the way there’s no wrong answer. If you don’t want to buy two cast-iron you could just buy the fancy one upfront lol) before we dive in, let’s go over a very important term that you will be using with the cast-iron pad
Seasoning:
It’s all about the seasoning. But, it’s not like seasoning food! Seasoning is crucial for cast iron because it creates a polymerized layer of oil that acts as a protective NONSTICK coating. It prevents iron from rusting and makes cleaning easier.
DEEP OVEN step SEASONING
This is something you do not have to do routinely I promise, just the first time you use it if you want to assure yourself a non stick experience or If you ever need to wash your cast iron with soap and water (soap will strip the seasoning layer away) or if your pan ever gets rusty (if you do not thoroughly dry your pan after cleaning it will get rusty) you might want to do the oven seasoning process once at least to regain that non stick seasoning layer.
. Scrub the pan, apply a very thin layer of high-smoke point oil (like grapeseed or avocado), bake it upside down at 450 F - 500F ( you can play it directly in the oven, but I do recommend placing a baking sheet one layer underneath to catch any droplets of oil ) for one hour, and let it cool in the oven. Repeating this process 2–3 times builds a better initial base.
ROUTINE SEASONING
On a daily or weekly basis you can always season with a very thin layer of oil (VERY thin) after cleaning and drying. Rub thin layer of oil on all sides of the pan (inside, outside, handle). I usually let it sit on the stovetop overnight and then store away (this allows the oil the be absorbed by the pan)
Step 1: buy a cast iron pan.
You have some options.
Inexpensive Lodge preseason pan
are slightly heavier than pricier models
Surface are not as smooth as pricier options (the smoother the easier achieving non stick cooking will be)
Preseason pans use soy based vegetable oil
But still cast iron and will last forever
2. Pricier cast iron pan from Field Company or Smithey Cast Iron
lighter (and cast iron is heavy so this does make a differences particularly with larger sized pans)
Smoother surface (easier to achieve non stick cooking
Come preseason in grapeseed oil
Still cast iron and will last forever
STEP 2: (optional)
Oven season a new pan. I would recommend with a Lodge, but you can skip with a Field Company nor Smithey
STEP 3: CLEANING
This is usually the step that scares people away - but it shouldn’t; I promise its simple.
Soap and water: this is something you want to avoid just because soap will strip away the seasoned layers that help make cast iron surfaces so non stick. BUT: there be a moment when someone uses soap - or a moment when the cooking residue is so sticky and hard that you yourself say “ F*** it and use soap… that is ok (just don’t make a habit of it.) After soap you WILL have to season your pan and - possible do the extended oven seasoning I mentioned above) . ALWAYS MAKE SURE TO THOROUGHLY DRY YOUR PAN
Hot water and a metal chain or brush: On a daily basis this is what you can use to clean your cast iron. ALWAYS MAKE SURE TO THOROUGHLY DRY YOUR PAN
Water, coarse salt and metal chain or brush: for stubborn stuck on food, pour some coarse salt and a tiny bit of water and scrub with the metal chain or brush.
For BIG STICKY MESSES: if the food is REALLY stubborn you can place the pan on stovetop, boil some water and use a wooden spatula or spoon to scrub the food off. Cool off and move to sink and finish with salt and metal chain. ALWAYS MAKE SURE TO THOROUGHLY DRY YOUR PAN
STEP 4: DRY
Did I mention: ALWAYS MAKE SURE TO THOROUGHLY DRY YOUR PAN. Do NOT allow to air dry. If you do not thoroughly dry your pan, it will rust. I often place on stovetop quickly when I cam done cleaning it and make sure it dries over heat.
STEP 5: SEASON
Finish with an extremely thin layer of oil All over (inside, outside, underside and handle. I sometimes skip this
SHOP THE STORY
Lodge cast iron pre seasoned pan
Smithey Cast Iron Pans. (they are SO pretty- could make a great Mother’s Day gift!) )