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Cast iron in the kitchen is a country staple. It’s homey and old-fashioned and just plain good for you. I cook with cast iron a lot–and I get a lot of questions about caring for cast iron. I think, sometimes, people are a bit afraid of it. (I understand. I used to feel that way, too.) Often, the people I hear from have come into some old cast iron and don’t know what to do with it. It’s rusty or covered with some bumpy, black stuff. The reason there’s so much old cast iron around is because it pretty much lasts forever. There’s nothing wrong with using old cast iron. In fact, it’s even better! It’s got history.
Once you understand how to take care of your cast iron (old–and new!), it’s a very simple routine.
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How to remove bumpy, black stuff from cast iron:
Run the pan through a cycle in your self-cleaning oven or place it directly over a campfire for 30 minutes. The icky stuff will turn to ash and flake off. Follow with scrubbing and washing. (Let the pan cool first.)
How to remove rust from cast iron:
An everyday scouring pad will handle minor rust. If you’ve got major rust, you can use steel wool, too. (Scouring rusty cast iron is a good job for children who are in trouble.) Follow with scrubbing and washing.
This little skillet hasn’t been used in a while and has some minor rust.
How to scrub and wash cast iron:
Use a scouring pad and warm, soapy water. Dry the pan thoroughly before seasoning. (You can put it in your oven for a few minutes to make sure it’s dry.)
My little skillet, rust all gone, scrubbed, washed, and dried. Ready for seasoning.
How to season cast iron:
Use a paper towel and coat the pan with some kind of oil/fat, all over, inside and out. Use lard, bacon fat, shortening, or vegetable oil. (I use lard.)
Place the pan upside down on the rack in your oven. Put another pan beneath it to catch any excess drippings. Keep it in the oven at 350-degrees for one hour, then turn the oven off and wait for the pan to cool. That’s it!
You can repeat the seasoning process two or three times in a row for an old pan you’ve just restored, or a new pan that needs a good first-time seasoning. (Always season new cast iron after you buy it.) Seasoning keeps cast iron conditioned and also gives it a stick-resistant finish.
Everyday cleaning of cast iron:
For daily purposes, a properly seasoned cast iron pan cleans out easily. Depending on what you’ve been cooking and how much of a mess you’ve made, sometimes you can just wipe it out. Other times you may need to get a butter knife and scrape it out if anything is sticking. If you need to, you may rinse it out with water, dry, then put a dab of oil on the inside and wipe it around. If you use soap to wash it, you should season it afterwards. Otherwise, just season regularly, every few weeks or months, depending on how often you use it. For a pan you use on a daily basis, the more often you season it, the easier it will be to clean, so it’s worth the trouble. (And it’s really not that much trouble. Though I will freely admit that I don’t season my favorite skillet every single time I use soap to clean it. I’m probably going to cook bacon in it–tomorrow–so I don’t worry about it. I just season it regularly to keep it in shape.)
This cast iron skillet is my favorite pan. I use it almost every day.
When I’m not cooking with it, I keep it turned upside down on the back burner of my stovetop. There’s no point putting it away.
Cooking with cast iron is a beautiful thing–so if you’re buying new cast iron, or have come into some old cast iron–don’t be afraid to use it! Take care of your new cast iron and you’ll be handing it down to your children, and restore your old cast iron–it can be done and it’s not that difficult. Cast iron cooks more evenly than most other types of pans. It’s irreplaceable for making flour tortillas as it can withstand high heat in a dry pan. Seasoned well, cast iron is nearly non-stick. Food really does taste better cooked in cast iron and an added health benefit is that it will actually absorb some of the iron.
Do you use cast iron? If so, is it old? New? Do you use it every day, or just once in a while? If you don’t use it, why not?
Note: Do not use cast iron on a glass stovetop without checking your manufacturer manual. This particularly applies to pans with a raised ring (such as my favorite skillet, above). Depending on your manufacturer, if your glass top is damaged while using cast iron, you may void your warranty. Cast iron may also cause breakage or scratching on glass stovetops.
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My Mom would use hers for all sorts of dishes, but cornbread was the main one. I haven’t done a pineapple upside down cake yet, but I’m determined to make one this holiday season.
I LOVE your big dutch oven by the way!
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LOVE LOVE LOVE cast iron cookware!
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Nothing compares to cast iron!!!
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I do have an old cast iron corn bread pan that a friend gave us. It makes individual corn muffins shaped like ears of corn. I’ve already put in my oven during the clean cycle, but now I’ve got to clean that rust out of those tiny crevices and season it. This is one item I can see not washing with soap since it’s only being used to make cornbread.
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Notice you have an old cast iron skillet with the fire ring, that was used generally on old wood stoves. The old ones are my favorites! Some had fire rings, some didn’t…We have sold many old Griswold and Wagner skillets, etc. when we were collectible flea market vendors.
I have one I use for cornbread..Don’t touch it or (die) unless you are going to make me some cornbread!..lol Both my boys had to have old cast iron skillets for cornbread, they said “Mom, square bread just doesn’t taste as good”. Some back in the “olden days” things are good!
I have a huge one (won’t fit a modern electric stove) for outdoor fish frying..My mother and grandmother used large skillets for frying chicken. Also used cast iron bread stick pans, dutch oven (we called it a stew pot)and of course iron trivets were used..and my mother (93) remembers her grandmother using cast iron clothes irons..I use most of mine in the oven now….since retired from so much canning, cooking and cleaning stove eyes…now have a glass top range…but miss it terribly…well some “not”…lol
PS Forgot…nothing but nothing cooks homemade french fries like a large smooth cast iron skillet…and you don’t have to use a ton of oil to do it..they brown up and crip beautifully…my daughter in law begged me for mine..lol
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My husbands Grandparents gave us some cast iron several years ago for us to use while camping. He gave us the largest skillet I have ever seen. (enamel coated) I would like to start using some of the pieces…esp now that I know how to clean and season them. (and yes, I’ve been scared to try)
Guess I know what I’ll be doing this morning.
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Happy cooking all! Off to try to find some fall pictures for the blog. It is a beautiful day in North Carolina today. Hope it is a nice one in WV!
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(I’ve been drying Concord grapes for use in cooking. I love this time of the year!!!)
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My cookware is a mix of gifted, found and thrifted pieces – a huge griddle, two corn stick pans, a six-inch fry pan, a seven-inch skillet, a nine-inch skillet, a 12-inch skillet, and a three-quart blue enameled dutch oven. I’m not sure I could do without any one of them!
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I love them- love that I have lids for several of the skillets and can bake sausages in the oven- in 45 minutes, without turning it or even checking on it!
I make corn bread and Irish soda bread in my largest skillet- delicious!
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The rust comes off on the foil. I have used an old credit card or plastic tab from a loaf of bread to scrap the inside of the skillet.
Love your blog. It’s the first one I read every morning. Thank you for the time you take to make it one of the best. (My grandson loves your animal stories.)
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fudge at Christmas in anything but her cast iron skillet.. I loved to sit by her and stick my spoon in the side when it was just starting to thicken and was so warm and gooey.. Mmmm. I personally
am one of those people who have been afraid of them but since my husband has a bunch that he sells at Flea markets, I may get in his stash and try out a couple of them now.. Thanks, Suzanne.
9:46
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Got a question for all you “seasoned” cast iron users! We have one sauce pot (probably about 2 quart or so in volume) with a wooden handle. Have done nothing with it yet because of that wooden handle. Does that handle affect how it woud be cleaned, etc? Not so sure about putting it into the oven…
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I wish I had thought to get that pan when my mom passed away. Wonder what ever happened to it?? She always made her fried potatoes in it. Yum!
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Cast iron ROCKS!
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Pat
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We collect cast iron…old cast iron. And we sell it on ebay sometimes. But I have several skillets and griddles that are very old…from mid to late 1800’s that we found at estate sales and my husband cleaned.
You can clean the bad bumpy pieces in a lye bath but you have to know what you’re doing because it’s dangerous. It will, however, take off the absolute worst of the yuck on any good cast iron pan. It takes off rust as well but nothing will remove pitting. If you find a badly pitted pan, tell it bye bye.
Once cleaned in lye, wash…no soap ever…rub with a minimal amount of shortening and bake for about 20 minutes in a moderate warm oven. Rub off excess shortening and you’re done.
I have a 10 inch skillet, a National from about turn of the last century, that has the smoothest cooking surface you could imagine. There is nothing I can’t cook in that skillet and it’s far far better than the best non-stick surface. Once I cook in it, I clean it with hot water and a non-metal scrubbie then dry it well. I have a couple of wonderful griddles that are almost as smooth.
There truly is something ‘basic’ and down to earth about cooking in cast iron. Fry chicken, bake biscuits, make a Pineapple Upside Down cake in them….nothing is better!
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I also have a cast iron dutch oven (the kind with feet) that I use over an open fire. I’ve baked bread in it and use it for bbq country style ribs.
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I make cornbread in mine and everything I fry….they just cook so good…I really think meat is more tender in cast iron. I just got an old dutch oven from my stepmom and made chili in the oven last week in it and it was awesome!!!!
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The Park Wife
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I don’t know why people scrub stuck-on cast iron. All I do is put hot water in the pan and let it sit for 10 mins or so. I rinse it out and stuck-on egg and the “meat spot” from frying hamburgers wipes straight off.
The other thing I do is when I’m done frying meat in my skillet (I don’t usually use much by way of oil/fat to fry), I add a little bit of water to loosen the browned on bits. I can then freeze it for soup stock (add to a bucket. When bucket is full, make the soup.) or make gravy either for that meal or another, or put it over the dog’s food.
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Then his grandfather passed away and, among the things being sorted, Mark discovered two small Griswold pans, a #2 and #4, one with italic lettering. He looked them up in an antique price guide and found they were two of the more difficult collectible pans to find.
Mark was hooked, he went on a several year long, self imposed mission to obtain Griswold cast iron. Other than the #3,6 & 9 pans I use most often, and the set of those we gave our son, Mark has (at last count) 52 skillets, 5 dutch ovens, a large assortment of muffin and corn stick pans, flat griddles of several shapes, steak plates, a bunch of trivets, two mailboxes and a gas stove.
He can’t leave me, he can’t carry his things! If our house catches fire, we are content knowing that the cast iron will still be there.
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(Have you a bio-science background? or Capricorn/Virgo?).
Those who know owe first to “do no harm”…even by omission.
My first post was this a.m. I expect shy me will need about 18 hours before I join the Curmudgeon Club! Is there one?? Will it have me? Could we start one? (I have a treehouse! yaaay!)
getting silly now,…anyway, thanks again, Berta
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When it comes to not using soap, I have found that baking soda is a really nice, gentle abrasive that I use even on my stainless steel frying pans.
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!
Oh well. Never again, though.
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and afterwards, a brief time on the burner to dry thoroughly . There’s rarely any build-up from cooking (which comes off easily if there is) ,and most importantly, there’s no flaking off of old seasoning to contaminate the food. Additionally, the benefits of using ‘naked’ iron means the food is coming in direct contact with the iron and no seasoning barrier to interfere with absorption. If one really likes the taste of iron and a no- hassle maintenance, all you really have to do is monitor for occasional rust, and just keep your iron clean. Oiling, I only do when storing for long periods. The rest is simple, common-sense care.
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I have had some cast iron that had a funny taste to the food so I got rid of it. My newest one is a Lodge and is not funny tasting.
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My bacon pan is a square old one, handed down. The square ones are hard to find – I was lucky to find another one in an antique store and bought it for the cabin. My bacon pan remains on the stove or in the oven ALWAYS, full of bacon grease. That is it’s seasoning. I baste my fried eggs in the bacon grease, changing out grease periodically (monthly) for freshness (hate it when there’s not enough grease to baste an egg properly!). I butter bread and turn it face down on a hot cast iron griddle pan – perfect.
I have all sizes and use them for all manner of things. Besides bacon, fried chicken (or fish) in the deep fryer is to die for. I usually keep that grease around for a little while, depending on how often I’m going to have chicken and/or fish (and I label what was fried in it – I don’t mix my kept greases).
As for soap – NO! NOT EVER! We wipe a pan out with a paper towel, use steel wool if necessary, though with a properly seasoned pan, it never is necessary, wash with water only, and put on the GAS STOVE burner till it dries (don’t walk away and think of something else when you’re doing that, BTW). I also have a small pan with lid and wood handle – never had any problem with the wood handle.
When we find a pan, my husband scours with steel wool and scraper, wash it in really hot water, season by rubbing oil or grease all over it, put it in the oven or on the stove or just begin using it to fry something. Never had a problem, and we’re not unhealthy because of it.
The dutch oven works well for a big pot of beans or stew. Same thing – wipe out, rinse, natural dry. And I love the way it looks. Plus cats can’t knock the cast iron lids off of cast iron pots and pans.
I swear by cast iron. I have a kettle, woodstove, the cookstove at the cabin, a bacon press, pans and griddles of every size and shape; there’s only one thing I still want: a cauldron with hook and frame. You could have an entire clam bake in one of those! (clams, baked potatoes, corn on the cob – substitute steaks for clams and let ’em sizzle to one side)
But my bacon pan is by far my favorite and most-used staple. Besides, that bacon grease is handy for dipping a spoonful for a pot of green beans or blackeyed peas. (Yeah, I’m from the South.)
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