CharlieD
Chef Extraordinaire
You can even send the pan with old plain send paper, that is what I did with one I got at the garage sale. Then season it and you're good to go.
Sticky cast iron skillet
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thegrova
Cook
I love my cast iron! I have only recently rediscovered it after years of having a rusty old skillet stashed away at the back of a cupboard. Last weekend I found another - quite rusty - at a garage sale and paid $2 for it. I am looking forward to getting it cleaned up and seasoned. The idea of turning them upside down over a baking tray is new to me - which could explain why my seasoned skillet does have a sticky surface. It does not seem to effect cooking results though.
What Dutchess said for starting over with a cast iron pan.
Rust can be cleaned off with a scouring pad also, if you don't have a sandblasting setup!!
Any vegetable oil can go rancid if left long enough. I think the problem with olive oil is a lower smoke point.
I would wash the pan very well with soapy water. I even do it with my very well seasoned cast iron pans, if they need it.
Then heat on a burner to dry it well before putting on the oil/shortening. Then put some vegetable oil or shortening in it and wipe it off. Put upside down in the oven to "dry". REPEAT, without the soap. Do it 3 or 4 times and see if it is sticky then.
Use the pan for as much frying as possible and before long, it will build its seasoning coat. But it isn't a fast process.
Rust can be cleaned off with a scouring pad also, if you don't have a sandblasting setup!!
Any vegetable oil can go rancid if left long enough. I think the problem with olive oil is a lower smoke point.
I would wash the pan very well with soapy water. I even do it with my very well seasoned cast iron pans, if they need it.
Then heat on a burner to dry it well before putting on the oil/shortening. Then put some vegetable oil or shortening in it and wipe it off. Put upside down in the oven to "dry". REPEAT, without the soap. Do it 3 or 4 times and see if it is sticky then.
Use the pan for as much frying as possible and before long, it will build its seasoning coat. But it isn't a fast process.
ormandj
Assistant Cook
I'm sorry for my ignorance, I didn't want to start an entirely new thread though, since this *for the most part* is still on topic.
I'm really new to cooking much, and I've always used SS cookware. The kind with the copper embedded inside to give even heat distribution. Now I'm seeing a lot of posts about cast iron, and I noticed a lot of recipes call for them too. (I've even heard steak comes out better on them!)
What is "better" about the cast iron pans for cooking? What exactly is the purpose of seasoning? I see you're basically baking on a coating of crisco, or some oil, onto the pan, a thin layer. Once you've done this, say you cook something in the pan like a steak, and you want to deglaze it. Does the crisco come off? Do you have to re-season? Also - do you wash a cast iron pan like you'd wash normal pans? I wash my SS pan every time after use. It seems like seasoning would rub off if you washed, but maybe I'm lost.
Thanks!
I'm really new to cooking much, and I've always used SS cookware. The kind with the copper embedded inside to give even heat distribution. Now I'm seeing a lot of posts about cast iron, and I noticed a lot of recipes call for them too. (I've even heard steak comes out better on them!)
What is "better" about the cast iron pans for cooking? What exactly is the purpose of seasoning? I see you're basically baking on a coating of crisco, or some oil, onto the pan, a thin layer. Once you've done this, say you cook something in the pan like a steak, and you want to deglaze it. Does the crisco come off? Do you have to re-season? Also - do you wash a cast iron pan like you'd wash normal pans? I wash my SS pan every time after use. It seems like seasoning would rub off if you washed, but maybe I'm lost.
Thanks!
LMJ
Senior Cook
In response to the original poster of this thread, I had the same thing happen with my cast iron when I tried to season it the first time... I did some reading, and it turns out that vegetable oils can polymerize under the seasoning conditions typically suggested!
Best solution I found was just to cook bacon in them on sunday mornings, pour out the excess, rinse off what I could of what remained, and wipe with paper towels. Not an instant solution, but sometimes that old ways are best.
ormandj, cast iron's worth it because once you've really broken a piece in, they become completely nonstick, and very easy to clean. Plus the material holds a LOT of heat, so anytime you need to apply very high heat to food, it's the best material.
No, you don't "wash" cast iron; there's no need to, they just need a quick rinse and wipe, sometimes maybe a quick deglazing.
It's not a "coating" of oil, either. The fat over time completely soaks into the pores in the metal.
Best solution I found was just to cook bacon in them on sunday mornings, pour out the excess, rinse off what I could of what remained, and wipe with paper towels. Not an instant solution, but sometimes that old ways are best.
ormandj, cast iron's worth it because once you've really broken a piece in, they become completely nonstick, and very easy to clean. Plus the material holds a LOT of heat, so anytime you need to apply very high heat to food, it's the best material.
No, you don't "wash" cast iron; there's no need to, they just need a quick rinse and wipe, sometimes maybe a quick deglazing.
It's not a "coating" of oil, either. The fat over time completely soaks into the pores in the metal.
