Am I taking off the season in my cast iron?

[bubbler33]

Dunno why but I was gonna season my cast iron some more so I rubbed it with a real light coating of vegetable shortening and put it upside down for 400 then 450 for an hour and a half, now there's spots all over the bottom of the skillet and streaks on the sides. The shortening seems to go into little individual puddles as it gets hotter. Dunno what i did wrong

[Andy M.]

Too much shortening. You are instructed to put the pan in the oven upside down so excess fat runs off rather than pooling. As a result, you are faced with the pooling problem on the bottom.

You could open the oven and blot up the excess after a few minutes in the oven or you could season the inside and outside at different times.

[bubbler33]

the coating was very light, barely any shortening really. It was also turned upside down. The very first few times I seasoned it that way it didn't make little mini puddles like that, only after a couple seasonings it starts to do that.

[Andy M.]

The puddling has to be caused by excess fat collecting in one spot. Perhaps, once the fat got hot and became more fluid, it collected in certain spots. I can't think of another explanation.

Once you've seasoned the skillet, the pan's pores are sealed and there is nowhere for the fat to go. Stop seasoning it and just cook with it.

[kennethcole]

I find the best way to clean my cast iron is the following and keep it seasoned well.

Hot water and scrape away food build up with plastic scrapper.
Dry completely
Put back on stove on medium heat for 5 min with some lard.
Let it cool a little and then wipe lard oil around in pan.
Bake in oven turned over on 300 for 2 hrs.
Let cool in oven.

Pretty simple.

[CeliaGates]

If you're worried about taking the 'seasoning' off - simply put it back on again!

Check out the reply I have just written to Julio: 'What does it mean SEASON in cast iron'

This will show you how to put it back on!

Hoping to have helped!

[Scotch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Bob +1 IMO all of this "No Soap In Cast Iron" Phobia is a carry over from another time....a time when our Great (Great) (Great?)Grand Mother's used (Homemade) Lye soap which would deteriorate seasoning on cast iron...Modern day soaps are mostly wetting agents, and not as near as caustic as the old lye soaps of the past --- A quick swish around in some hot soapy water...well rinsed and dried will not hurt a well-seasoned cast iron pan.

I agree completely. Modern dish detergents rinse easily and completely. Just be sure to use a lot of clean water to rinse your pan.