Seasoning a Cast Iron Skillet - How to Season or Re-season a Cast Iron Pan

Cast iron is one of the most versatile tools you can have in the kitchen. If taken care of properly, it will last a lot longer than you will. And unlike you or me, it will achieve a nearly perfect non-stick surface. Want the crispiest fried chicken ever? A gorgeous crackly crust on cornbread? Maintain even temperatures for deep frying? Have the perfect crust on a steak? Cast iron is your friend.

There are some rules though. Cast iron doesn't like three things. It doesn't do well with high-acid foods - foods high in ingredients like citrus juice or vinegars. It doesn't like soap. And it doesn't like water. Keep those things in mind and you'll have some of the best cookware in the world.

So as far as caring for cast iron that has already been 'seasoned' (that means it already has a black, sort of shiny surface that's nearly non-stick) just do the following:

1. Don't cook high-acid foods in cast iron. Chicken piccata is best done in something else. You can use small amounts of acids like wine or orange juice, but keep it small.
2. To clean it you can use soap. But you have to wash it by hand, rinse it really, really well, and dry it immediately. Make sure you dry it thoroughly. You can also simply rub it with a couple tablespoons of salt instead of soap, but you still have to rinse it really well and make sure it's completely dry.
   
3. On occasion, especially if you either rarely use it or if you use it a lot, rub the interior with a thin film of oil, throw it in a 350F oven, and let it sit for an hour. This helps maintain the surface - the seasoning.
   

That's it - give it a little care and it will give a lot back to you. Sometimes though you have a skillet or other piece of cookware that wasn't cared for correctly. These rescue pieces can be hidden gold. But you have to know how to bring them back to their potential. I had one recently that was brought to me for medical attention. Here's how I nursed it back to glory.

Note - You can do the same process with a new skillet, you just will be removing the protective coating the manufacturer applies to protect a 'pre-seasoned' skillet from oxidizing if it comes into contact with moisture, instead of the rusty gunk I took off.

This is what an abused piece of cast iron looks like. Rusty, and there were lots of places where the carbon seasoning had cracked, and was actually flaking off the skillet. Since I didn't want carbon dust in my food it had to go.

There's really only one good way to do this - scrub it well first, then break out the steel wool. Normally steel wool around a piece of cast iron is anathema, because it does so much damage to a seasoned surface. But that's what you want here. Scrub it down to the shiny metal.

Now this this will tell you how much cast iron hates water. This skillet was clean, and I left it on the counter for about an hour to do something else. When I came back the rust had already reappeared. So I had to take it back to the scrubber.

Once you're down past all the rust and carbon gunk (yes, gunk is a technical term) you're ready to treat an old skillet in the same way you'd treat a new one. Preheat your oven to 350F, break out some paper towels and a little vegetable oil, and you're ready to go.

Setting the seasoning on a skillet at this point is the same whether you're restoring one or have a new one. Pour a little vegetable oil into the skillet (vegetable oil sets a better, harder finish than animal fats) and rub it thoroughly around the interior. If your skillet came 'preseasoned' there will be a protective coating applied by the manufacturer. You want to rub this off. If you have an old skillet, the Lord only knows what all you're wiping off at this point.

Continue reapplying oil as needed, and wiping down until you no longer see gunk on your towel. At this point your ready for the oven.

'Bake' your skillet for an hour at 350F. Remove it from the oven, and once cool enough to handle, repeat the oil and paper towel routine. If your towel comes off clean, you're ok. If you're still pulling off icky stuff, then repeat the bake and oil process until it is clean.

Once the towel comes clean, you have a seasoned surface. The best way to preserve it - use it! The more you use it, keeping in mind how to care for it, the better and more 'non-stick' the surface will get. It will eventually look like the one in the top picture - one of mine I've been using for years. You'll also fall in love and find you want to care for it. Nice how that happens.