Log In
Register
Home
Topic RSS
2:55 pm
June 11, 2011
Offline
Hi ladies,
I finally built up my courage and tried cast iron and I love it!! I've been using this post as a guide on care http://chickensintheroad.com/cooking/the-care-and-feeding-of-cast-iron/ and it's gone fairly well but now I'm afraid I've messed something up and need some help. The first time I seasoned it the inside turned out gorgeous but I noticed that when I flipped it upside down and left it on the stove top that I'd end up with almost a powdery looking yellow residue where it touched anything. The second seasoning when my skillet came out of the oven the inside of it had a reddish tinge to it, I'm not sure what happened but I did use crisco for the seasoning that time. It started bugging me so I scrubbed out my skillet really good (no soap) got all the red color out and seasoned it again last night. This morning I took it out of the oven and the inside of the skillet looks like it only took some oil in patches. It's hard to explain but there are dry spots all on the bottom, right next to spots that look shiny and seasoned well. I tried to just do a light oiling just now (with vegetable oil) and the dry spots don't look like they're taking any of the oil. What did I do wrong and how do I fix it?! I love my skillet and every time something needs to be made it's my go to pan. Thanks so much for any advice you can give.
3:10 pm
May 18, 2010
Offline
Wipe out the rest of the grease spots. Cover the bottom of the skillet with table salt all the way across. Put in a 250° oven for a couple of hours. It should be okay then.
3:17 pm
September 21, 2010
Offline
When you are seasoning your iron skillet only use bacon grease or lard. I have found that if I have used veg. oil or crisco that my pans are sticky. Usually what I do is cook bacon in that pan for a while dumping out the excess grease but leave enough to coat the pan. I don't wash it and after a few times of just cooking bacon it is seasoned. I have been doing this for over 25 years and have not had a problem. I hope this helps! I love all of my iron skillets, it is the only that I cook with!
3:53 pm
June 11, 2011
Offline
Thanks for the replies, I'm going to put salt in it now and see if I can straighten it out. Then no more crisco!! I'll have to stop and get some lard, something I can find in the grocery store by the other oils correct? Does the outside of the pan need to be seasoned as well hilljackgirl? How do you handle doing that if it does?
4:00 pm
November 18, 2008
Offline
The lard in stores around here is usually in/around the meat department—not refrigerated, but on top of coolers usually. Don't know exactly why——
The only real reason to season the outside is so it doesn't rust, but you do basically the same thing—-just coat it when you do the inside and bake. 
4:38 pm
June 1, 2010
Offline
KrisiL: If you are IN the CITY and have trouble finding lard, try groceries in Mexican or Puerto Rican neighborhoods. It is not refrigerated, but as 52 says, it is usually lounging around the meat coolers. Used to come in rectangular 1# packages shaped like butter packages. White/green type. Otherwise, hijackgirl's way is a good bet.
5:02 pm
August 30, 2008
Offline
I save all my bacon grease. I pour it through a strainer and keep it in an old "grease" can from my Grandma's era. I use it for cooking and I use it for seasoning cast iron. I wash my pans in hot water, and use a little course salt if I need to scrub it. Dry it on my stove, set on medium (Don't walk off and forget it- set a timer if you are a busy woman!) and when it is dry, I rub in some bacon grease, wipe it well and put it away.
5:06 pm
May 7, 2011
Offline
I have found lard in the same area as the other cooking oils/shortenings in Wal Mart. I think I have also seen in it in the same area in Kroger (here in Kansas it is Dillons).
5:07 pm
February 10, 2009
Offline
I have to say that I use vegetable oil plenty of times, and the only time it's ever caused a problem is when I've used too much. I also use soap if I need to, though it's a rare thing. I just try not to use too much and make extra sure I heat the pan up really well so it's completely dry (on top of stove usually) and wipe out any excess oil.
We all tend to find our own best methods for such things. 
8:32 pm
June 11, 2011
Offline
Thanks for the replies everyone, heading to Walmart tomorrow anyway so I'll check there and then if I can't find it I'll go to the grocery store. The salt really cleaned out the bottom well and I made some bacon so it got a little seasoning. I'll do another couple tomorrow night when it won't be so painful to have the oven on lol. Good thing cast iron is so sturdy, even if I mess it up I can just clean it up and start over again!
9:29 pm
December 14, 2010
Offline
I always clean my skillets with flour to soak up the fat and I scrape out the hard stuck on food. If it is really bad I make gravy. I use enough flour to make a ball of fatty flour. I dump that onto a plate and let it cool and wipe the skillet with a dry rag. I give the ball of fatty flour to the neighborhood fox. He controls the mice in my yard.
9:34 pm
December 28, 2008
Offline
Yep – that's one of the great things about cast iron!
I usually do use Crisco for seasoning the pans to start with, especially ones which I have to really recondition. And, yes, they will get gunky, gelatinous stuff when too much is on it, but I would rather deal with that than under-season (is that a word??) it. It just peels off. Reheating it will get rid of any residue.
One caution – for a new or recently reconditioned pan, use it for a while doing the bacon or other fatty kinds of things before cooking anything acidic in it. So, no tomato based sauces, things with a lot of lemon in it etc until it's well broken in.
When I think a pan is about ready to go into the regular rotation, I test it out by making a milk-based gravy in it to see how that goes.
But then, we have entirely too many cast iron pans! Nobody needs as many as we have, and most have needed VERY serious reconditioning – like strip them with wire brushes kind of work!!
10:42 pm
December 14, 2010
Offline
I have a friend who collects griswold brand cast iron. When he gets one that is a really cruddy he puts it in a self cleaning oven and simply burns all of the crud away then he re seasons it like a new pan.
6:20 pm
August 30, 2008
Offline
I collect Piqua, Wapak, Wagner, etc. I love finding really old cast iron pieces with gate marks. I always wonder where they have been and who has used them. I do the same thing Ross mentioned- put them in my self cleaning oven to remove the old crust, and then start re-seasoning them.
8:06 pm
March 21, 2010
Offline
A friend once told me that you can set a cast iron skillet right into a camp fire and burn off the crud, then season. Is that ok to do?
8:32 pm
July 18, 2011
Offline
Yes! It works every time. 15 years of doing campfire cooking programs at a State Park
8:33 pm
August 30, 2010
Offline
MMT, that is what we used to do..In fact I have one now that needs the outside crud burned off. Guess I will need to light a fire in the charcoal grill. 
9:04 pm
August 30, 2008
Offline
I would hesitate to stick them in a fire. I know people use them over fire, but , just wanted you to know it is possible to damage them. It can cause a blemish to the pan referred to as "orange peel".
9:04 pm
May 7, 2011
Offline
I know people that have hung them over a trash barrel. That was back when you could still burn trash yourself. Can that still be done in some places?
9:30 pm
March 7, 2011
Offline
Here in the sticks of South Dakota it is quite common for us rual folks to burn our garbage. I'm a bit of a recycle nut though, so I have someone come get most of our stuff so it can get to the proper recycling place.
I'm glad about the talk on cast iron skillets. I don't use mine much becaue I thinks it's such a pain to wash and reseason it EVERY time I use it. Now I know I don't have wash it every time.
Most Users Ever Online: 120
Currently Online: Flatlander
20 Guest(s)
Currently Browsing this Page:
1 Guest(s)
Top Posters:
Leahld22: 2676
Ross: 1951
MaryB: 1777
JeannieB: 1477
Shells: 1184
Member Stats:
Guest Posters: 13
Members: 5888
Moderators: 3
Admins: 4
Forum Stats:
Groups: 1
Forums: 14
Topics: 2994
Posts: 57781
Newest Members: christiewahlert, basketsldj, joycelorelle, Leah Beth, bwshook, Amy
Moderators: Pete (7965), wvhomecanner (3063), Flatlander (1555)
Administrators: Suzanne McMinn (7255), emiline220 (15), CindyP (7770), BuckeyeGirl (4363)
Sections
Latest Posts on the Farmhouse Blog:
- May 24, 2012 - Bread 911!
- May 23, 2012 - Get This Print!
- May 22, 2012 - Second Place Ribbon
Sign up for the Chickens in the Road Newsletter, too!
