Cast Iron Care

I am a strong believer in cast iron. Food  barely ever sticks, it cooks better and more evenly, and (in my opinion) tastes better. I have at least 6 cast iron pots and skillets, (not including the two fajitas ones). I use my 12 inch skillet for nearly every meal. What I like best is their versatility and ease of care. Did I mention they can go from stove to oven? How many pans do you own that can do that? When I take my cast iron to our events all I have to do is give it a quick scrub with hot water and a stiff brush and it's clean, and the same at home, so easy!


I recently acquired a nice old cast iron set from my grandmother, so I'm going to walk you through the steps of cleaning and seasoning old cast iron

The set I acquired can be two separate skillets, or a skillet with a lid; very versatile.


Here they are before

I'd bet that you've been to an antique store and seen the selection of cast iron, and a lot of it looks like the before pictures. You probably thought to yourself that it was ruined and worthless and it would be better to buy new cast iron. Let me tell you that the old cast iron is much heavier and usually higher quality than the cast iron you can buy in stores today. And, the ugly old ruined cast iron can look brand new again and cook like a dream.

When you pick up older cast iron look for the amount of rust on it. Minimal rust can be easily fixed, but lots of rust takes lots of work (think sand blasting). Mine had a tiny bit of rust and looked unsightly, but was overall in great condition.

1. Put the skillet, pot, etc. in your sink under running water, the hottest you can stand. Using a stiff bristled brush, or plain steel wool, scrub the entire surface of the pan; inside, outside, handle, and the crevices. DO NOT USE SOAP. Salt may also be used as a scrubbing agent if needed. 

Note: NEVER EVER leave cast iron in the sink to soak, it can ruin it!

2. Dry thoroughly with a towel.

3. Place on stove top and turn on burner, add a small about of food safe oil or shortening, heat until melted. 

4. Turn off heat, and carefully with a paper towel rub the oil/melted shortening over the entire surface of the pan.

5. Get to cooking!!!! I always use canola cooking spray before I cook something, and after cleaning and drying to maintain the seasoning. At first stay away from acid foods such as tomatoes, and beans, and stick to cooking fatty foods like hamburger, bacon, sausage, etc. And remember, the more you cook in your cast iron, the better seasoned it will be, and the smoother the surface will be.

NOTE: The pans I got did not need to be seasoned more than this, however, some pans will need to be stripped of their current seasoning and re-seasoned in the oven. For more information check out Cast Iron Cooking for Dummies (one of my favorite resources)


Edit: As my loving husband pointed out, I switched the pans in the after photo. Oh well, you get the point.