Cast Iron Seasoning issues, please help

[bevmoo8]

OK Here it goes. I got a Griswold pan and it looked as if the seasoning was of it but it is just as smooth as if it has seasoning on it. Well, I put it in the oven and seasoned it and now it is splotchy. It still feels smooth but it is like the seasoning only stuck to places on it. What do I do now?

 

[thymeless]

Two things at opposite ends of the spectrum:

Season it some more at HIGH heat.

Or strip it and season it from scratch.

 

[bevmoo8]

What temp would you use? I did it at 400 degrees this morning.

 

[thymeless]

What temp would you use?

Heat the oven to 500 degrees.

I oil up the pan, usually with canola or grapeseed oil, put it in the oven upside down. Season it for 1 hour. Turn oven off and let it cool in the oven.

After 1 time this way, you'll still have visible splotching but the texture should smooth out and adhere well. No stickiness, unless you have too much oil on the bottom of the pan. But thats not where it matters anyway.

It should work well now, but you can reepeat a couple of times if you want until the pan is evenly black and slick.

My theory with the oil is that the higher smoke point works well with the high oven temp. The pan's pores are open more and the oil isn't all carbonized so it can really get in there and stick where it needs to. No evidence for this though, just my opinion.

thymeless

 

[Gretchen]

Your seasoning could be uneven. With use, it will continue to season. I put a coating of oil in the pan and heat at 300*. Use your pan as much as you can for frying bacon and such.
If you want to start over, put it through the oven cleaning cycle.

 

[Robo410]

If it feels smooth, that's the important issue. the blotchy look is not going to affect its cooking ability. I tossed a crusted relic in the barbeque once to burn off the crud. It worked fine but left a few white blotches. Reseasoned just fine and cooks like a dream. SO just cook with it and enjoy!

 

[HickoryHacker]

I'd agree with the previous two posts; don't give up on it just yet - cook with it as much as possible and see if the appearance improves. I'm thinking it will. I've used the self-cleaning oven approach and the spray-on oven cleaner method to strip cast iron, and while both work well it takes a while to get the seasoning back.

 

[bevmoo8]

Thanks Ya'll. I have not done anything else with it yet but I think I am going to cook in it and just see how it does. Will let you know.