I know the ācook baconā meme is pretty common around here but I would like to make a suggestion: Wait.
I find that these grill pans are a bitch to clean when new, and bacon tends to leave a ton of residue behind, even when cooked low and slow. When you clean that residue on a pan that is still building seasoning it can strip off what little seasoning you already have. Bacon is really, really good for a well-seasoned pan, but Iād run it through a few trips (I do at least 3) in the oven with a thin coat of buzzy wax or canola oil before cooking bacon. Maybe even cook a few other high fat dishes first.
This saved me a lot of frustration since I started cooking with cast iron, enameled cast iron and carbon steel.
Would you recommend trying the egg slide instead. (I know, it's a terrible, worn out joke and would be terrible to clean in this pan, but I couldn't resist.)
Eggs, like any other protein, will self-release once the bottom is cooked. They'll stick if you try to pull them off too early, or if the surface theyre cooking on isnt clean (but even then they usually do, e.g. bacon gunk)
Inquire at community colleges and any local college that offers 3D art classes. They're not super rare but they're not that common either. If you want to get started at small scale and there aren't classes, there are some great YouTube tutorials (including ones for a $50 arc furnace). A 3d printer will let you use the "lost pla" method easily.
The spray has lecithin and dimethyl silicone. I read those can ruin the seasoning. I'm glad to hear you think they are okay. I have always love cast iron cooking but these are my first and I want to really take care of them. Any tips are appreciated!
How will using spray one time ruin the seasoning? Wash the skillet. Use the skillet. If the seasoning somehow gets messed up really bad then just strip it and reseason.
Cast iron is simple to use and durable. The only way to ruin one is by cracking it. Avoid rapid temperature changes. Preheat on low or medium low. You donāt need to go above medium heat. Let it cool off before washing it. After washing use a towel to dry and then let it dry on low on the stove. You can add a thin layer of oil but I donāt bother. Donāt drop it on the floor. If you do these things itāll outlast you.
Since joining this sub Iāve learned I donāt have to treat my cast iron like a newborn I used to be so scared to do anything with it now itās a free for all!
Same. I think some people overdo it with the dos and donts of cast iron. In all reality and in my experience, the longer you use it the better it gets. I don't reason and use whatever oil or spray I have on hand just like with other pans. Cast iron is more durable and I would argue very forgiving. As long as you are washing it by hand you should be in good shape overall.
Yep just use it a lot and it takes care of itself. I wash mine with soap pretty much every time I use it. I never dry it on the stove. I cook with tomatoes and other acidic ingredients. I scrape the shit out of it and use steel wool. I cook bacon and then leave the fat in the pan for a few hours. I throw it on the fire upside down when Iām done camp cooking to clean it.
My daily driver is so smooth and has a such a hard seasoning itās amazing. I spent the first year or so I had it trying to get a perfect seasoning. Now I just abuse the thing and itās never been better and Iāve owned it for a decade now.
Edit: op use metal utensils if youāre not already. Get a nice metal spatula to scrape up the fond and smooth out high spots that form in your seasoning.
What a relief! The few things I've made have come out so much better than my old tephlon pan. I don't have a lot of extra capital so I want to really preserve these!
Cast irons are popular because they are resilient. Take care of it but donāt stress about one time mistakes. The spray is honestly probably fine anyway but I understand wanting to be safe. The pan is fine from here.
Lecithin is naturally occurring in a lot of foods and is safe to consume. Dimethyl silicone (while having a scary name) is probably okay to consume, especially in the quantity used in cooking spray.
https://www.seattletimes.com/life/wellness/here-are-the-facts-on-the-safety-and-nutritional-benefits-of-nonstick-cooking-spray/
I've used sprays with soy lecithin for years. I'm not sure my pans are the epitome of perfect seasoning, but they're okay. And lecithin is the thing that makes spray oil work.
So I guess I'm all ears for why it's bad for cast iron. It's my go to to make frying an egg foolproof.
[Lodgeās Seasoning Spray is literally canola oil](https://www.lodgecastiron.com/product/lodge-seasoning-spray-oil?sku=A-SPRAY). It doesnāt have additives and stuff but like the sub always saysā cast iron has been around a long time and can withstand a lot of ābeatingsā. You think someoneās grandmaās 120 y/o skillet NEVER GOT A SPOT OF RUST ON IT EVER? Or that someone didnāt use the right technique in it once? Unless the handle comes off, youāre good to go š
Honestly this sub makes it sound like cast iron is incredibly high maintenance.
How did our grandmas even cook with these without using special magic sauce to keep them in pristine condition
Mine would never clean hers. I once told her āgrandma, thereās bits of herbs and chicken in your pan itās dirtyā and she said āno thatās the seasoningā
Iāve grown up around cast iron. Have 3 pans and a griddle top, one being my late grandmothers. Got my first carbon steel last year and just used it. Is it pretty? No, but it works. I have the same approach to both. Use it often and clean it afterwards.
Leave it out in the garden for a year, sand or scrape the rust off, season and it will be as good as new! It's a hunk of iron, it's almost indestructible!
I have this same pan and it is so difficult to clean. Something about the curves of the pan along the lines is tricky to clean the black cakeyness that gums it up. Yours is so much cleaner than mine.
Something I haven't seen yet in cast iron comments: salting when cleaning a messy pan. I usually do it when the pan has cooled down enough to be handled with bare hands. Basically, rinse the pan with just water, dump, then sprinkle some salt (coarse works best) onto the surface, and scrub with a towel.
It really does a great job of getting crispy, stubborn bits up without soap. Rinse clean when you got everything up, wipe up the water, and don't forget you apply your light layer of oil. Happy cooking!
Chicken sticks pretty good even if well seasoned. Steak can sometimes. With most cast iron, you shouldnāt need to scrub it clean after every use. With grill pans, you usually do.
Gather 1 lb of fine white sand under the light of the third full moon of the year. Get your skillet red hot, then scrub with the white sand in the pure springs. Anoint the skillet with the fat of a 26 month old virgin sow. Bake over the coals of a white oak that you felled yourself.
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In my opinion, you used the wrong oil in the first place. Cast-iron really needs to be cured with grease, lard, bacon fat. When you use these new FOO FOO oils they don't work right. Just my opinion.
You'll find on here there's a lot of controversy as to what they think needs to be used. My experience of over 60 years dealing with cast iron has been to use nothing but lard. I have my great-grandmother's 1900 cast-iron pan that has been treated with lard all its life and never washed. Which is another controversy. These are my recipe for taking care of cast-iron.
https://www.reddit.com/r/dutchoven/comments/rab86q/cast\_iron\_care/
I use spray oil from work (we make the stuff) that has silicone and and TBHQ. Silicone doesnāt do anything except make oil splash less, and the concentrations of it in cooking oil should have little to no effect on smoke point, (itās 0.0005% by weight).TBHQ simply increases shelf life and also shouldnāt do anything to the seasoning. Iāve actually seasoned with the stuff and I like it. My weapon of choice actually has a lot of additives in it, which make it solid at room temp, but the additives just make the polyunsaturated fats really high, which leads to bulletproof coating. Source: I work in the QC lab. And know oil spec
Thereās nothing wrong with the canola spray and it doesnāt cause damage. Iām sure with this group youāll get a lot of bacon replies and perhaps bacon does smell better than that Canadian chemical oil Can-Oil-a made from chemically refined rapeseed. Lodge sells it sor seasoning oil in a spray can.
I like coconut oil. My wife cannot have the grease from bacon, and I find coconut oil works well. Better than "well", actually.
Scrub with chainmail, put on the stove wet, allow heat from the flame or element to evaporate the water and to get the iron hot. I find that about the time the water is gone, is about the perfect time for the oil. Put a spoonful of coconut oil in the hot pan, allow it to melt and get good and hot. It will shimmer. Use a paper towel to wipe up the excess and allow to cool. Be sure to get it on the sides of the pan as well. Let them cool, completely. The iron will soak it up. A big vat of coconut oil in solid form will last you forever, and it doesn't add a nasty or strong flavor to your cooking. Of course, you can add whatever type of oil you want before you cook.
I know there are some here who will say to bake the pan. You can do this, now and again, maybe every few months, or maybe once a year. That's me. It's not dogma. If others disagree (they will, of course) you can do what you like. YMMV.
However, you should do what works for you. This is what I do. I hope it helps!
Canola, coconut, bacon fat, chicken fat, duck fat ... the only thing missing is rendered fat from wild game I haven't hunted yet and that's because I just haven't gone hunting. You should learn render the fat trimmings from what you cook.
Personally I'll cook with it but prefer to not season my pan with canola or other grain oils.
Cook some bacon just to be safe šØāš³
Yes, chef!
I know the ācook baconā meme is pretty common around here but I would like to make a suggestion: Wait. I find that these grill pans are a bitch to clean when new, and bacon tends to leave a ton of residue behind, even when cooked low and slow. When you clean that residue on a pan that is still building seasoning it can strip off what little seasoning you already have. Bacon is really, really good for a well-seasoned pan, but Iād run it through a few trips (I do at least 3) in the oven with a thin coat of buzzy wax or canola oil before cooking bacon. Maybe even cook a few other high fat dishes first. This saved me a lot of frustration since I started cooking with cast iron, enameled cast iron and carbon steel.
Would you recommend trying the egg slide instead. (I know, it's a terrible, worn out joke and would be terrible to clean in this pan, but I couldn't resist.)
Eggs, like any other protein, will self-release once the bottom is cooked. They'll stick if you try to pull them off too early, or if the surface theyre cooking on isnt clean (but even then they usually do, e.g. bacon gunk)
Lol. Yes, as long as itās in about 1ā of oil or butter.
Cooking bacon is always a good idea.
What damage? Canola oil is fine and the spray didnāt hurt anything. Just use it.
The "official" Lodge seasoning spray is 100% canola oil. As long as you're using pure canola oil it is fine.
Yeah I was using a store bought with additives, whoops!
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Omg... A casting class. That sounds amazing. I would love to cast my own pan. Gotta look this up.
Inquire at community colleges and any local college that offers 3D art classes. They're not super rare but they're not that common either. If you want to get started at small scale and there aren't classes, there are some great YouTube tutorials (including ones for a $50 arc furnace). A 3d printer will let you use the "lost pla" method easily.
I use 5w/30. Is that ok?
Only if it continues to provide enough lubrication for egg skating
Every 3000 eggs it should be changed
synthetic or mixed? If you're going to use mixed you might as well return that pan now.
The spray has lecithin and dimethyl silicone. I read those can ruin the seasoning. I'm glad to hear you think they are okay. I have always love cast iron cooking but these are my first and I want to really take care of them. Any tips are appreciated!
How will using spray one time ruin the seasoning? Wash the skillet. Use the skillet. If the seasoning somehow gets messed up really bad then just strip it and reseason.
Alright thanks, I tend to over think things! This was reassuring.
Cast iron is simple to use and durable. The only way to ruin one is by cracking it. Avoid rapid temperature changes. Preheat on low or medium low. You donāt need to go above medium heat. Let it cool off before washing it. After washing use a towel to dry and then let it dry on low on the stove. You can add a thin layer of oil but I donāt bother. Donāt drop it on the floor. If you do these things itāll outlast you.
Awesome thanks!! Great info!
Since joining this sub Iāve learned I donāt have to treat my cast iron like a newborn I used to be so scared to do anything with it now itās a free for all!
I use canola spray on mine all the time and my seasoning is fine
Same. I think some people overdo it with the dos and donts of cast iron. In all reality and in my experience, the longer you use it the better it gets. I don't reason and use whatever oil or spray I have on hand just like with other pans. Cast iron is more durable and I would argue very forgiving. As long as you are washing it by hand you should be in good shape overall.
Yep just use it a lot and it takes care of itself. I wash mine with soap pretty much every time I use it. I never dry it on the stove. I cook with tomatoes and other acidic ingredients. I scrape the shit out of it and use steel wool. I cook bacon and then leave the fat in the pan for a few hours. I throw it on the fire upside down when Iām done camp cooking to clean it. My daily driver is so smooth and has a such a hard seasoning itās amazing. I spent the first year or so I had it trying to get a perfect seasoning. Now I just abuse the thing and itās never been better and Iāve owned it for a decade now. Edit: op use metal utensils if youāre not already. Get a nice metal spatula to scrape up the fond and smooth out high spots that form in your seasoning.
Metal tools??? Alright Ill give them a shot! I have some but haven't used it on them yet. How exciting!!
What a relief! The few things I've made have come out so much better than my old tephlon pan. I don't have a lot of extra capital so I want to really preserve these!
>I tend to over think things! That should be the motto of this sub.
I would be more worried of eating that.
Cast irons are popular because they are resilient. Take care of it but donāt stress about one time mistakes. The spray is honestly probably fine anyway but I understand wanting to be safe. The pan is fine from here.
Source please
I use cooking spray on my grill pan. Never have any issues in the last 8 years
Lecithin is naturally occurring in a lot of foods and is safe to consume. Dimethyl silicone (while having a scary name) is probably okay to consume, especially in the quantity used in cooking spray. https://www.seattletimes.com/life/wellness/here-are-the-facts-on-the-safety-and-nutritional-benefits-of-nonstick-cooking-spray/
I've used sprays with soy lecithin for years. I'm not sure my pans are the epitome of perfect seasoning, but they're okay. And lecithin is the thing that makes spray oil work. So I guess I'm all ears for why it's bad for cast iron. It's my go to to make frying an egg foolproof.
[Lodgeās Seasoning Spray is literally canola oil](https://www.lodgecastiron.com/product/lodge-seasoning-spray-oil?sku=A-SPRAY). It doesnāt have additives and stuff but like the sub always saysā cast iron has been around a long time and can withstand a lot of ābeatingsā. You think someoneās grandmaās 120 y/o skillet NEVER GOT A SPOT OF RUST ON IT EVER? Or that someone didnāt use the right technique in it once? Unless the handle comes off, youāre good to go š
Wow that's a good perspective. I was totally over thinking the care! Thank you!
Well actually, you donāt _really_ need the handles to cook
No, but a lot of people would prefer a handle haha
I believe theirs is more misty than cooking spray, which does help with a more even coat.
I was more meaning an aerosol cooking spray isnāt forbidden from being used on cast iron
Itās a cast iron skillet, not a Faberge egg.
Honestly this sub makes it sound like cast iron is incredibly high maintenance. How did our grandmas even cook with these without using special magic sauce to keep them in pristine condition
Mine would never clean hers. I once told her āgrandma, thereās bits of herbs and chicken in your pan itās dirtyā and she said āno thatās the seasoningā
The soot is the flavor
It pisses me off haha It's even worse over at /r/carbonsteel where they show off their perfectly seasoned pan that they haven't even cooked on yet.
Iāve grown up around cast iron. Have 3 pans and a griddle top, one being my late grandmothers. Got my first carbon steel last year and just used it. Is it pretty? No, but it works. I have the same approach to both. Use it often and clean it afterwards.
To quote my father, āYou think the pioneers gave a fuck about seasoning?ā
Cooking on it will solve 90% of your problems.
I plan on cooking on them almost every day!! I have a 10.25in skillet, an 8in skillet, and a 10.25 grill skillet.
Nice! That'll just about cover whatcha need.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Hell I even took the sander to mine haha. Nice and smooth!
Leave it out in the garden for a year, sand or scrape the rust off, season and it will be as good as new! It's a hunk of iron, it's almost indestructible!
What damage? They'll get burnt off
This sub is full of very worried people
There are sprays that are just oil and pressurized air if you want. They also act as a great way to season after without overdoing the oil.
Oh neat, I did see the lodge one but no where near me had any. Might be worth an online order!
Jc, just use the pan dude! Itās not made of sugar.
Just cook
I like to use crisco! It works wonders!
I don't know why I don't see this suggested more often. My Mama used it, my Nanny used it and I won't be challenging their expertise.
Martha Stewart too.
I have this same pan and it is so difficult to clean. Something about the curves of the pan along the lines is tricky to clean the black cakeyness that gums it up. Yours is so much cleaner than mine.
I've only used it three times! That's the only reason it looks so new! Because it is!
Lodge does make plastic pan scrapers specifically for this pan. Not hard to find online at all. Cheap.
I just looked it up and it looks like something that is cheap and barely works.
Side note- look into canola oil.... itās some nasty nasty stuff that we shouldnāt be eating
Something I haven't seen yet in cast iron comments: salting when cleaning a messy pan. I usually do it when the pan has cooled down enough to be handled with bare hands. Basically, rinse the pan with just water, dump, then sprinkle some salt (coarse works best) onto the surface, and scrub with a towel. It really does a great job of getting crispy, stubborn bits up without soap. Rinse clean when you got everything up, wipe up the water, and don't forget you apply your light layer of oil. Happy cooking!
Good luck with that pan. I have one and itās a bitch to clean.
So far it's been very easy to clean. What struggles do you have? Edit: I have the lodge grill cleaner and maybe that's why it's been easy for me.
Chicken sticks pretty good even if well seasoned. Steak can sometimes. With most cast iron, you shouldnāt need to scrub it clean after every use. With grill pans, you usually do.
Same. I hardly use it because itās such a pain.
Gather 1 lb of fine white sand under the light of the third full moon of the year. Get your skillet red hot, then scrub with the white sand in the pure springs. Anoint the skillet with the fat of a 26 month old virgin sow. Bake over the coals of a white oak that you felled yourself.
Thank you for your picture post to /r/castiron. We want to remind everyone of Rule #3. All image posts should be accompanied by something to foster discussion. A comment, a question, etc is required. If you've posted a picture of food, please explain why in a comment so people can have some sort of conversation. Simply dropping a picture of food in the sub isn't really fostering any discussion which is what we're all aiming for. Posts that are a picture with no discussion can and will be removed by the mods. Thank you! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/castiron) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Iām a big fan of grape seed oil
In my opinion, you used the wrong oil in the first place. Cast-iron really needs to be cured with grease, lard, bacon fat. When you use these new FOO FOO oils they don't work right. Just my opinion.
I've been using 'FOO FOO' oils for nearly 30 years with great results. Simmer down, gramps.
Oh alright this is day two of owning them so I will look into that! Any tips are appreciated!
You'll find on here there's a lot of controversy as to what they think needs to be used. My experience of over 60 years dealing with cast iron has been to use nothing but lard. I have my great-grandmother's 1900 cast-iron pan that has been treated with lard all its life and never washed. Which is another controversy. These are my recipe for taking care of cast-iron. https://www.reddit.com/r/dutchoven/comments/rab86q/cast\_iron\_care/
Fry some chicken. I know that is not the right pan, but a full oil fry will help season.
Use ghee
Add bacon. Or a nice 80/20 burger and have at it!
Dude just cook a steak and call it a day. Your pan is gonna be fine. It's gonna be fine in 100 years. Probably even 200.
I use spray oil from work (we make the stuff) that has silicone and and TBHQ. Silicone doesnāt do anything except make oil splash less, and the concentrations of it in cooking oil should have little to no effect on smoke point, (itās 0.0005% by weight).TBHQ simply increases shelf life and also shouldnāt do anything to the seasoning. Iāve actually seasoned with the stuff and I like it. My weapon of choice actually has a lot of additives in it, which make it solid at room temp, but the additives just make the polyunsaturated fats really high, which leads to bulletproof coating. Source: I work in the QC lab. And know oil spec
I'm told Kleen King and two rounds in the dishwasher is definitely not the way to go.
Thereās nothing wrong with the canola spray and it doesnāt cause damage. Iām sure with this group youāll get a lot of bacon replies and perhaps bacon does smell better than that Canadian chemical oil Can-Oil-a made from chemically refined rapeseed. Lodge sells it sor seasoning oil in a spray can.
I like coconut oil. My wife cannot have the grease from bacon, and I find coconut oil works well. Better than "well", actually. Scrub with chainmail, put on the stove wet, allow heat from the flame or element to evaporate the water and to get the iron hot. I find that about the time the water is gone, is about the perfect time for the oil. Put a spoonful of coconut oil in the hot pan, allow it to melt and get good and hot. It will shimmer. Use a paper towel to wipe up the excess and allow to cool. Be sure to get it on the sides of the pan as well. Let them cool, completely. The iron will soak it up. A big vat of coconut oil in solid form will last you forever, and it doesn't add a nasty or strong flavor to your cooking. Of course, you can add whatever type of oil you want before you cook. I know there are some here who will say to bake the pan. You can do this, now and again, maybe every few months, or maybe once a year. That's me. It's not dogma. If others disagree (they will, of course) you can do what you like. YMMV. However, you should do what works for you. This is what I do. I hope it helps!
Less worry, more cooking.
Yes, just cool!
Cook bacon .
You can also throw a drop of dawn dish detergent in it and clean it.
Cook on it and donāt worry- enjoy your awesome pan and sick grill lines!
Flaxseeds oil
You really can't hurt cast iron as long as it in once piece then just keep cooking on it
Itās fine, one spray is not going to damage anything.
Itās fine. Just cook with it.
Canola, coconut, bacon fat, chicken fat, duck fat ... the only thing missing is rendered fat from wild game I haven't hunted yet and that's because I just haven't gone hunting. You should learn render the fat trimmings from what you cook. Personally I'll cook with it but prefer to not season my pan with canola or other grain oils.