Cast iron seasoning problems

[kbreit]

I have a cast iron dutch oven which needed to be reseasoned. I scraped the old seasoning off and used flax seed oil on the grill this afternoon. I noticed two problems. First, there are some areas which didn’t seem to take the oil. Please see this video (https://share.icloud.com/photos/0oRouLTfBVQr-nbGyS18qsXDA#Home) to see what happens. It wasn’t a uniform shade of black but rubbing oil on it made the oil bead up.

After I was through three rounds of seasoning I saw some of the seasoning was immediately flaking off. https://share.icloud.com/photos/0nvDRUtcG9mxQTif5Q3o9OzVA#Home shows the example. What do you believe is causing these issues?

 

[Katie H]

Not sure if I can help, but when I want to re-season or season a piece of cast iron, I first wash it thoroughly and put into my self-cleaning oven and blast it for the time required. If you don't have a self-cleaning oven, you could burn the daylights out of the piece on a hot charcoal grill. Then, I wipe it, all over, with vegetable oil and cook it in a 350F oven, upside down, for 30 minutes. Do that for a few times, then my piece is ready for use.

 

[kbreit]

That’s probably what I would have done but I have a 2 year old and being able to spend the better part of a day with the smoke detectors going off isn’t a luxury I have. My microwave is over the stove and doesn’t vent outside so the house tends to get smokey if I season indoors. It’s why I put it in the grill so the smoke stays outside.

 

[Markf]

I spray my dutch oven with oven cleaner, Seal it up in a trash bag, then leave it alone for a couple of days. After a good soapy water bath, season it in the oven 2x. Gotta be quick from wash to season as the cast iron will begin to rust quickly.

Mark

 

[jabbur]

Not sure if I can help, but when I want to re-season or season a piece of cast iron, I first wash it thoroughly and put into my self-cleaning oven and blast it for the time required. If you don't have a self-cleaning oven, you could burn the daylights out of the piece on a hot charcoal grill. Then, I wipe it, all over, with vegetable oil and cook it in a 350F oven, upside down, for 30 minutes. Do that for a few times, then my piece is ready for use.

This is what I've done to revive old cast iron. Run the cleaning cycle with pan inside the oven. Wipe it down because the old seasoning will become ash on the pan. Oil it up with a light film of veggie oil and bake it in the oven. Works every time.

 

[Andy M.]

This is what I've done to revive old cast iron. Run the cleaning cycle with pan inside the oven. Wipe it down because the old seasoning will become ash on the pan. Oil it up with a light film of veggie oil and bake it in the oven. Works every time.

This is the easiest way to get a great new surface on you CI pans. I accidentally left a CI skillet in the oven and ran the cleaning cycle. The pan was clean as a whistle and ready for seasoning.

 

[GotGarlic]

The problem may be the oil you're using. Serious Eats, a cooking blog that many of us like because of their scientific approach, says this:

Now that your pan is clean and dry, rub it all over, inside and out—including the handle—with cooking oil. Here at Serious Eats, we're fans of unsaturated cooking fats, like vegetable, canola, and corn oil, for seasoning our pans. Not only do we always have them on hand, but they work well and are easier to spread than saturated fats, like shortening or lard. There's no need to go out and buy any special oils just for seasoning!*

*For the record, we've found that the often-suggested flaxseed oil produces a fast layer of seasoning, but it has a tendency to flake off with use. We don't recommend it.

https://www.seriouseats.com/2016/09/how-to-season-cast-iron-pans-skillets-cookware.html

 

[Andy M.]

I use corn oil. It's cheap and it works. I've never had an issue.

 

[CWS4322]

I use Crisco or vegetable oil. I have cooked in CI pans since the late 1970s. My favourite pans--whether Lodge CI or LeCrueset enamel-cast iron. I really don't like stainless or other types of pans.