Cast iron pot is smoking

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RajunCajun

Assistant Cook
Joined
Sep 24, 2005
Messages
30
Hi,

I have a cast iron pot that I've seasoned and used several times. I always apply the "thin coating" of (Crisco vegetable) shortening after use and before storage.

My problem is that when I heat the pan for use (i.e., pre-heat before adding whatever fat I'm going to use), the pan smokes. White smoke and it's kind of a lot of smoke. I assume this is the shortening heating up and burning.

Am I doing something wrong? Too much shortening? Wrong kind of shortening? Is this what I should expect?

As usual, any advice is welcome!

Paul
 
Crisco is the right thing to use. Are you using too much? Also - when you season it, you're supposed to smear a light coat on, put it in the oven and bake it at 350 degrees for an hour - placing a sheet of aluminum foil on the bottom rack to catch any shortening drippings. This process is a bit smoky. When the hour is up, you just turn off the oven and let the cast iron cool down slowly. When it's cool, wipe off any excess oil with a paper towel. The more you use your cast iron, and if you don't wash with soap and water - the less you have to go through this "seasoning" process.

It sounds like if you're applying a light coat "after use and before storage" - and you're not doing the "bake in oven for an hour and wipe down after it's cool" part - then you have too much oil on it. This excess oil is what is burning off and smoking when you go to use it.

Make sense?
 
My CI always smokes. It is the oil burning off. Perfectly normal. Just open a window and turn on your exhaust fan.
 
Hi,
Thanks for the reply!

Yes, I already seasoned it using the process you mentioned. And yes it does get a bit smokey :) but this isn't what I'm talking about.

I'm talking about the smoke caused after application of the "thin coat," so I guess it's just an occupational hazard :sick:

Thanks again!
Paul
 
Once you get that pot very well seasoned, you won't have to apply the thin layer of shortening at all. I have 2 skillets from my grandmother that are about 75 years old - they're so well seasoned, I've been known to throw them in the dishwasher - gasp! - on occasion!
 
Seasoning Cast Iron Pot and Pans

I had the same problem that you did. I just got so frustrated I never used it again. I saw an article on CookingSpot.com and tried a different way to season it and never had the problem again.
 
The oil just might not be working for you in this case. I usually use olive oil... I have even used Pam without any problem. A little smoke in the beginning is perfectly normal... should dissipate depending on what you are doing. I made some flat bread for instance and this just smoked... someone replied not to use soap and water (and the stress here is on the soap). Are you using water to clean it....? Its fine to do, just make sure you set it on the fire or in the oven to completly dry. If, for example, you were to use water to clean it and then put a layer of oil on it... well oil and water does get a bit smoky right:)
 
NO matter what oil or shortening you use, it will smoke if hot enough. Olive oil tends to smoke at a relatively low temperature compared to the nut-derived oils. And if you're planning to get the pan hot enough to sear meat, or stir-fry effectively, it's just going to smoke until you add the food. The food absorbs much of the heat, lowering the pan and oil temperature. That's why the pans don't smoke as easily when food is cooking in them. But I can garuntee that if you get the food hot enough, the fat and foods both will smoke like crazy.

And, any pan type will cause oil to smoke if heated beyond the oil's smoking point. It's not jsut cast-iron that causes oil to smoke. But since most of us tend to wipe a light coating of oil onto the metal, it's more noticeable than with other cooking vessels.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North
 
marmalady said:
Once you get that pot very well seasoned, you won't have to apply the thin layer of shortening at all. I have 2 skillets from my grandmother that are about 75 years old - they're so well seasoned, I've been known to throw them in the dishwasher - gasp! - on occasion!



Sorry, but not so fast.

I'd recommend oiling or greasing it now & then, especially if or when signs of
rust might rear its ugly head again.

Place it in the oven and let it "slow bake".
This gives the oil or shortening a chance to "cure" and harden on the surfface which will eliminate the smoke that you get everytime to are about to use it. Doing this also helps the pot to retain its non-stick qualities.:chef:


~Corey123.
 
(locking door as i leave marm and corey in the room together, then peeking in thru keyhole)

umm, corey, you're questioning marmalady??????

lol, i keep thinking of the old "it's not nice to fool with mother nature" commercials.

actually, my mother gave me one of my scottish aunt's old cast iron pans that was seasoned like marm said. you'd have to drill into it to hit oxidizeable metal.
i don't use it much, which is probably a shame, because it is kind of an heirloom. she was my favorite aunt, now since passed, and all i have to remember her by, besides wonderful childhood experiences, is that pan. she was the nurse who delivered me on buckytom:day 1, so i owe her my life as well as my unwavering love and respect.

also, i have a lodge pan of my own to use, and to keep her's company in the cupboard.
 
:flowers: Actually, that post was meant for someone else. Sorry about that, marmalady.

I quoted the wrong member. Someone wrote a post saying that their cast iron pot kept smoking when they were about to cook something in it after it was heated to temp for cooking.


~Corey123.
 
Well, I'm glad you cleared that up, Corey:ermm: - i was about ready to invite you and whatever witness you chose to my house to see the cast iron skillet go into the dishwasher, and then onto the stove to cook just about anything!:cool:

Now, for everyone else- I DON'T recommend this for a relatively new pot/skillet, that, although seasoned well, would obviously lose its seasoning.

I do have a 'new' 12-inch Lodge skillet that never goes in the dishwasher!
 
Actually, cast iron, so i've been told, isn't supposed to be wash in the dishwasher because of the strong possibility of rusting.

The chemical-laden strong detergents used for your machine could start to eat away at the seasoning in some areas, paving the way for rust to come back.

This will cause you to have to reseason the pan all over again to keep the rust at bay.


~Corey123.
 
Corey123 said:
Actually, cast iron, so i've been told, isn't supposed to be wash in the dishwasher because of the strong possibility of rusting.
This will only happen if you do not dry the pan right away. If you put it away wet then you will get rust, but if you dry it completely right away then no need to worry.

Corey123 said:
The chemical-laden strong detergents used for your machine could start to eat away at the seasoning in some areas, paving the way for rust to come back.

This will cause you to have to reseason the pan all over again to keep the rust at bay.


~Corey123.
While this is true of pans that do not have a strong seasoning, the same can not be said for a pan that is very well seasoned. A pan like the one Marm has probably has a seasoning strong enough that nothing short of a nuclear blast (and maybe not even that) will damage the pan.
 
Yes, and don't store the pans under the sink either. If a leak occurs down there, the univited guest of rust will also thrive and plague the pan again.


~Corey123.
 
I have found that after washing a drying my wife uses spray cooking oil on the cast iron this works very well and they do not smoke.
 
When I season I use lard. I figure that thats what kept Moms skillets working and they still do. Some of mine are over 25 years in my house and still in use. Oh yeah, I haven't seasoned them in many years, they don't yet need it.
 
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