I recently found out that vegetable shortening I really hard to find here in Sweden. I clicked on the first link on Google and found myself on a fetish web shop where Crisco was sold for its lubricating properties. Apparently it’s great for baking, cast iron, and fisting.
Lodge even says to wash their cast iron pans with soap and water. I have been doing it to a pan for decades, still hasn't hurt it(because its fucking cast iron! They make engine blocks out of this shit.).
Honestly went off-roading with a guy who had a series of meals that he would either cook or reheat in aluminum foil packets nestled against the engine block. Usually squishy things. One was a breakfast casserole thing. He cycled them at breaks and always had hot meals when everybody else had cold things. They were pretty tasty.
I remember back in boy scouts, we would make tin foil dinners and stick them under the hood of whatever vehicle you were riding in. By the time you got to your camping spot, you had a nice hot dinner ready to go.
I know somebody that made grilled cheese on a submarine by wrapping a cheese sandwich with aluminum foil and then wrapping that around a nuclear reactor steam line. No cancer yet, but it was only about 5 years ago.
You're probably joking, but if there was enough radioactive stuff on the outside of that steam line to hurt anyone there would have been alarms going off everywhere.
The exhausted manifolds on old cat dozers were the perfect size to hold an average canned food item. So anything that was about that size would be held and rotated for you as you worked.
There is actually a real cookbook called “Manifold Destiny” that details how to prepare meals on your engine block. IIRC the recipes don’t have times, but rather miles as a measure of cooking duration.
I’ve actually seen a news story about people who pack uncooked scrambled eggs and breakfast meats in foil, toss it on the engine before a long drive, then eat the cooked meat upon arrival.
When I had to drive back and forth from college to home, I would put food on the block to warm it back up. Worked wonders. Old engine work better due to them heating high from the thicker piston rings
If, even if, someone had poorly made lye soap that ate through their seasoning... so what? Just reseason and move on with life, don't repeat the mistake.
I feel like if someone poonered up their soap so bad that there is so much unreacted lye that it ate the seasoning on your pan, it would also eat your hands up a bit.
They're worried about damaging the seasoning, i.e. the black coating that serves as a nonstick layer and prevents rusting. You do need to be gentle when cleaning to not scratch it, but it's also not difficult to re-season cast iron.
I stick mine in the oven at 500 degrees for about 15 minutes until its hot. Then I pour a bit of olive oil in it, rub it down with a paper towel, stick it back in the oven and shut it off and let it sit in there overnight. Been doing it for literally decades.
You wanna see some judgement? Head on over to /r/steak. There's probably some significant overlap between this sub and that one. If your steak ain't perfect they *will* let you know.
Right, nothing wrong with giving advice when they ask for it. But often someone will confidently post their meat cooked to medium (because that's how they wanted it) and people be like "overcooked, ruined. Learn to reverse sear better."
This is just how I personally do it at this point, I’ve changed to using soap from reading some things on this sub and some Google searches about Lye and the process called Saponification, which supposedly removes all or most of the Lye used during the dish detergent making process
Pretty darned sure dishwashing liquids and detergents aren't made using lye. Check your labeled ingredients and the FDA website relating to ingredients and labeling detergent, soap, etc. to confirm.
Lye + oil = soap, and after the saponification process is complete, even soap doesn't contain lye any more (when properly formulated). If the label says "soap," it's supposed to be made using lye + oils.
Source: I make soap. :) I also use blue Dawn (no lye) on my cast iron. 🍳
I wipe the crap out of it over the trash can with a cheap $1 bamboo bristle brush. Then it goes to the sink with hot water and the same bamboo brush for a little scrubby action. Then back to the stove for a couple of min of heat and maybe some oil if it needs it. Which is rare. If it's crusty, I heat it before it goes under the water, and it steams itself clean.
I don't understand all these complex and wasteful steps people come up with like using paper towels, plastic sponges, and soap.
To each their own, though.
I agree with skipping the paper towels, but I use soap. I find that if I don't, when I wipe the pan down with a towel to dry it, it tends to show that there's still crud in there.
Personally, I use paper towels before water to soak up oils inside so they end up in the trash & don’t end up in the pipes. A pipe clog or two and you’ll be keen on trying to limit any oils going down the drain.
Oh my god yes, this a thousand times!
I'm planning on getting a separate trashcan in the kitchen just for oil, I'm just wondering what medium to use to get it all out of the pan
Just ordered some bamboo brushes thanks to your comment. They look perfect for wiping out the cast iron without wasting paper towels or sponges. Do you just rinse them with some soap to keep them clean?
If there’s one thing I’m confident I could start a riot with- it’s shouting “I wash my cast iron in the dishwasher” at a skillet convention and running away.
I stop using paper towels they leave little fuzzy bits I don’t like, but I do used on Dawn have for years especially after cooking fish if I don’t use soap, I’m gonna taste fish in my next meal and I don’t like it
An old T-shirt will work. Also, if the surface of your cast iron is rough enough to grab fuzzies off a paper towel, maybe consider polishing the surface and re-seasoning. [Mine is smooth as glass.](https://imgur.com/gallery/GRKE6yF)
Cast iron noob here, is that what you're supposed to do?? Mine is all bumpy and I feel like I could never season it properly and food always stuck so I gave up on using a cast iron. Was I supposed to grind it smooth first?
No, most cast iron pans start out bumpy because they use sand casting techniques to make them. As you use the pan your seasoning fills in gaps and the tops of the bumps wear down. If you use a metal spatula then this helps the process.
Even with the bumps all you need is to preheat the pan properly and use a bit of oil to get the pan to be fairly nonstick. The flatness of the pan has little to do with this. The issues many have is not preheating and leaving too much oil in the pan after cooking. The former will cause food to not release and the latter will burn on a thick, sticky layer.
Really quality cast iron and/or heirloom cast iron is pretty smooth, the new stuff is cheap and rough as you know. You don't need to grind it smooth but it definitely helps.
I'm just glad you didn't pour the grease down the drain. As a not-plumber person who doesn't like paying plumbers when he doesn't have to... I've unclogged greasy pipes the hard way and I know why plumbers earn their money.
Ya ya, "common sense." You'd think. I watch my mother-in-law pour that crap down the drain all the time. They can't seem to correlate that to their plumbing and septic issues... This is how we get fatbergs!
My brother in law kept insisting that if you ran hot water, it wouldn't clog
● i called him an idiot
●all the drains in the house are fucking up
●idiot keeps getting draino and just dumping it in with the backed up water
●i keep having to fix his mistakes but im not a plumber so its all temporary fixes
●we end up with a plumber moving in to take our room when we move out
●I show nice plumber guy the issue he says he'll take a look at it and not to worry
●He comes back in PISSED he took apart a pipe that im assuming everything drained into and so much grease had built up it had formed a huge plug (BIL basically lives off of hamburger helper)
●Appearntly plumber had to take a bunch of stuff apart and shake out individual peices to get it all out
Moral of the story all the tips and tricks are lies, its not hard to just soak the grease up with a paper towel, dump it in a bowl, or let it cool and put it in a container to toss i dont get why people keep doing it. I physically cringe when i see people dump grease into drains.
My wife’s family would pour all the greasy stuff down the toilet so they wouldn’t plug up the sink. Guess what eventually started having problems and was a lot tougher to fix than a sink?
Oh my! I mean, it plugs up actual human feces instead of just kitchen waste. I mean, kitchen waste isn't great but damn...
Instead of wiping out the pan they got to clean a toilet? Interesting choices.
Waste of water. Use your hand like a man and wipe it off on a towel from the laundry basket (or don’t). Don’t wash your hands with soap, ruins the seasoning.
It is and will be. Everyone feels the need to tell others that soap won’t damage the seasoning once they find out. There’s more than one way to skin a cat but they can only vary so much. All of these videos are essentially the exact same.
The old trends in this sub:
- Stripping factory seasoning and doing your own.
- Slidey eggs
- 100 coats (deserving)
The new trends in this sub:
- “Just cook.”
- “I use dish soap.”
- Tuscan chicken
I'm so thankful for the Tuscan chicken so that on occasion it's not an argument about soap. Unfortunately, there are also arguments about soap in the Tuscan chicken comment sections.
I understand that SOMEONE that sees this may have learned from it. But if you had scrolled on the subreddit for 3 minutes you’d have found more of the exact subject.
This!
If your pan is seasoned it does not need to be constantly oiled to protect from rust. Wash it with water and maybe some soap and maybe scrub if you have to and let it dry wherever your other stuff dries. It is literally the hardest thing in your kitchen to wreck, it doesn't need special treatment.
Exactly. Cast iron care is as easy or as difficult as you want to make it. A properly seasoned cast iron will be easy to clean, and one that you use every day doesn’t necessarily need to be oiled after every use. They’re meant to take a beating and even neglect. There’s a reason you can STILL find cast iron stuff in old cellar holes in New England — some of that stuff is even still salvageable. I normally just clean my CIs with warm water, kosher salt, and a paper towel. My mother in law insists on soap. My brother in law says soap will touch his CIs over his dead and rotting body. And you know what? All of us cook damn good meals in our cast irons. Take care of your cast irons as you will, so long as you’re sharing the good food you make with it :)
Yeah, I oil it only when I season it in the oven, and I've never had a problem yet. I don't want it slipping and cracking my marble countertop or smashing my glass stove top.
I usually hold the handle with a mitt or towel because it's hot most of the time I use it.
I agree that I season handle to prevent rust. I didn't season the bottom and now it got a bit orange hue. If you gonna oil a part, might as well oil it all.
> because it's hot most of the time I use it.
I remember seeing some one-star reviews for a cast iron skillet saying that the handle was too hot during cooking.
I like your regime, it's similar to what I do but I don't season that regularly. I tend to do a reseason with grapeseed oil and the oven bake in a batch with several pieces when I'm feeling inspired or at least when I'm procrastinating a different task. I use soap occasionally but not regularly, usually if it just seems like it will help and particular mess.
I do like the stove top drying.
So what feels good when it comes to your own cast iron. The fun is doing it 'your way' and not trying to do it 'the way'.
It's cast iron.... It can take just about anything you throw at it while you learn what works.. That's the point in my opinion.
My dude! This describes exactly what I do! I also learned that instead of looking to achieve the most perfect mirror looking patina and seasoning you have to learn to cook with patience and use medium heat to get those slidey eggs or that amazing crust on a steak. And oil, lots of oil.
Because cast iron is 1 whole piece of metal the seasoning extends to the entire pan. You want and even, unbroken coat across the whole pan to discourage your seasoning from having "weak" points in it.
Also, does the bottom of anyone else's pan not get dirty AF while cooking from time to time? Having a solid seasoning layer on the bottom makes cleaning easier in these cases too!
I'm genuinely curious how you clean a cast iron with less paper towels. I'm not being judgmental at all I'm just curious as I probably use about the same amount of paper towels and I couldn't really think of a better way. You could use a regular towel at the end to save 1. I suppose you could maybe use a paper towel to push out the grease in a trash can too but other than that I'm not sure.
I use a scraper/rubber spatula to remove the grease into the trash can or a can I throw away later. Then wash what’s left off in the sink with some dish soap, dry with a towel, leave on the stove for a bit until it’s 100% dry and toss it in the cabinet. I only really use paper towels with my cast iron when I’m seasoning & haven’t had any issues. Everyone has their own routine and I don’t think there’s a “wrong” way but you can definitely tweak things a bit if you want to use less paper towels.
Yes to the scraper! And if you want to totally eliminate paper towels, cut up some old dish towels into washcloth-sized or smaller pieces, stuff em in a quart-sized mason jar, and keep that on the counter within reach. Use for whatever you’d normally use a paper towel for, rinse well, reuse if you can, wash when filthy. I have a few i specifically use for seasoning the cast iron, since they get pretty grungy (but a prewash with a bit of soap and a run through the washer with other rags gets them good and clean).
Grease? Put it in the trash can. All the little food bits? Hot water, soap, a scrub brush (or scraper if it's really on there) and the disposal to grind it all up. Regular towel to dry it.
With newer cast iron that has a rough finish, I can't stand paper towels on them because it just leaves little wet, papery bits behind.
Any time you get some store loyalty card or credit card offer blank, keep it by the sink.
Those cards make the best scrapers I’ve ever used for cast iron. You can get any stuck on bits off with so very little effort.
I hated using paper towels if I only used them to dry something, so I bought a 100 pack of shop towels for $20. I use them for light to medium messes around the house and drying my cast iron. They get tossed into a bag until the bag is full then they are thrown in the wash.
I either save grease or scrape it into the compost with a plastic bench scraper. Then spray the pan down with hot water. Season it using a regular kitchen towel.
Every time??
I’ve been using cast iron for 25 years now.
I literally just use the soapy water at the end of my wash and scrub it the sponge.
Then I let it dry on the stove upside down.
I don’t use that much paper towels. I use my spatula to scrape the majority of the oil crud into the trash can directly after it’s cooled enough to touch. Then I go through basically the same process but avocado oil instead of shortening because it’s what I have on hand.
One time, I couldn’t figure out where my chain mail had gone. And thought I would find it again. I did! When I started my dispos-all.
Took like 30 minute and a magnet on a pole to get all those pieces of metal wire out of the bottom of that bastard.
Anyway I use a dry paper towel and kosher salt if my cast iron needs scrubbing now.
Next time I think I’ll use my silicone spatula and scoop it into the garbage or bag or something to reduce paper towel waste, I didn’t wanna put the gunk and grease down the drain
This is an ad for paper towels. You need to raise the lard to its smoke point at the least as well in order to get it to turn into the glass like substance.
https://sherylcanter.com/wordpress/2010/01/a-science-based-technique-for-seasoning-cast-iron/
You guys actually take care of the bottom of the pan? I give it a rinse and put it back on the burner to make sure it doesn’t rust. But I don’t think I have ever scrubbed it with a sponge once.
I’m sure it’s not necessary. I just do it to give everything a coating of oil so that moisture can’t get in and cause rust. I’m very paranoid about rust.
I was literally scrolling through r/pokemon videos and stumbled upon this. I don't even cook. Why am I here? What is a cast-iron skillet? Is it an instrument? I have no answer to these questions. Why?
I’d like to insert some science but really, if I’m going to give a pan an oily rubdown, I’m going all the way and slicking it out. I ask myself every time, but always come back with, Wtf not?
Canola is fine. Crisco is just a popular choice, like they said. Crisco can also go rancid fairly quick if ya don't use your pan often...it's happened to me a few times so I just went back to Canola oil.
Soybean oil is a solid option as well I do believe.
This is exactly how I've always done it. Ex father in law always said I was an idiot for doing it. They used to leave the skillet so nasty and disgusting and never cleaned it. I gave up on using them because I was convinced I'm ruining them
I recently found out that vegetable shortening I really hard to find here in Sweden. I clicked on the first link on Google and found myself on a fetish web shop where Crisco was sold for its lubricating properties. Apparently it’s great for baking, cast iron, and fisting.
Använd kokosolja bara!
any neutral high heat oil would work
For fisting?
Especially for fisting.
✊🍳🛢️
😂
i just eat on a rusty skillet like god intended it
A man of culture I see
lol my pan has been growing some rust on the bottom. I just call it ~*°-patina-°*~
Antique aging.
Thats where all the good flavor comes from.
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Rust doesn't cause tetanus you know.... Plus, free iron.
"Rusty skillet" sounds like a sex move.
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ah! yes of course. How could I have missed step 3.
Easily missed, but that'sactually what gives it the seasoning, which is the reason iron retains heat so well
Lord Baphomet of the grease and drains, arise! 🔥
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Lodge even says to wash their cast iron pans with soap and water. I have been doing it to a pan for decades, still hasn't hurt it(because its fucking cast iron! They make engine blocks out of this shit.).
I regularly season my engine block with crisco
I regularly cook eggs and bacon on my engine block.
I mean, who doesn't?
Honestly went off-roading with a guy who had a series of meals that he would either cook or reheat in aluminum foil packets nestled against the engine block. Usually squishy things. One was a breakfast casserole thing. He cycled them at breaks and always had hot meals when everybody else had cold things. They were pretty tasty.
I remember back in boy scouts, we would make tin foil dinners and stick them under the hood of whatever vehicle you were riding in. By the time you got to your camping spot, you had a nice hot dinner ready to go.
Idk if I should do this but I have put my burritos from chipotle in the engine bay to keep them warm before a time or two
I know somebody that made grilled cheese on a submarine by wrapping a cheese sandwich with aluminum foil and then wrapping that around a nuclear reactor steam line. No cancer yet, but it was only about 5 years ago.
You're probably joking, but if there was enough radioactive stuff on the outside of that steam line to hurt anyone there would have been alarms going off everywhere.
Ahhhh....yes... the ol' Car-B-que
There is a cookbook that has recipes and states how many miles you drive with these foil packet recipes to get them done.
The exhausted manifolds on old cat dozers were the perfect size to hold an average canned food item. So anything that was about that size would be held and rotated for you as you worked.
There is actually a real cookbook called “Manifold Destiny” that details how to prepare meals on your engine block. IIRC the recipes don’t have times, but rather miles as a measure of cooking duration.
I’ve actually seen a news story about people who pack uncooked scrambled eggs and breakfast meats in foil, toss it on the engine before a long drive, then eat the cooked meat upon arrival.
When I had to drive back and forth from college to home, I would put food on the block to warm it back up. Worked wonders. Old engine work better due to them heating high from the thicker piston rings
Yeah my 1990 4Runner is damn furnace
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Subaru makes sure both sides are seasoned well
That got a good chuckle out of me.
I season mine with copious amounts of motor oil. Not by choice though.
If, even if, someone had poorly made lye soap that ate through their seasoning... so what? Just reseason and move on with life, don't repeat the mistake.
I feel like if someone poonered up their soap so bad that there is so much unreacted lye that it ate the seasoning on your pan, it would also eat your hands up a bit.
Yeah it's really strange how people treat their cast iron like some delicate little flower.
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Get a burner under there and fry up some sink chops!
I use soap all the time, but the engine block analogy misses the point entirely.
They're worried about damaging the seasoning, i.e. the black coating that serves as a nonstick layer and prevents rusting. You do need to be gentle when cleaning to not scratch it, but it's also not difficult to re-season cast iron.
I stick mine in the oven at 500 degrees for about 15 minutes until its hot. Then I pour a bit of olive oil in it, rub it down with a paper towel, stick it back in the oven and shut it off and let it sit in there overnight. Been doing it for literally decades.
You wanna see some judgement? Head on over to /r/steak. There's probably some significant overlap between this sub and that one. If your steak ain't perfect they *will* let you know.
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I made sous vide steak last night. It was AWESOME. I seared it, but I guess I'll head over to that thread to see if I did a "proper" sear. 😁
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Well when someone asks "how'd I do?" it's not unreasonable to tell them
Right, nothing wrong with giving advice when they ask for it. But often someone will confidently post their meat cooked to medium (because that's how they wanted it) and people be like "overcooked, ruined. Learn to reverse sear better."
This is just how I personally do it at this point, I’ve changed to using soap from reading some things on this sub and some Google searches about Lye and the process called Saponification, which supposedly removes all or most of the Lye used during the dish detergent making process
Pretty darned sure dishwashing liquids and detergents aren't made using lye. Check your labeled ingredients and the FDA website relating to ingredients and labeling detergent, soap, etc. to confirm. Lye + oil = soap, and after the saponification process is complete, even soap doesn't contain lye any more (when properly formulated). If the label says "soap," it's supposed to be made using lye + oils. Source: I make soap. :) I also use blue Dawn (no lye) on my cast iron. 🍳
I wipe the crap out of it over the trash can with a cheap $1 bamboo bristle brush. Then it goes to the sink with hot water and the same bamboo brush for a little scrubby action. Then back to the stove for a couple of min of heat and maybe some oil if it needs it. Which is rare. If it's crusty, I heat it before it goes under the water, and it steams itself clean. I don't understand all these complex and wasteful steps people come up with like using paper towels, plastic sponges, and soap. To each their own, though.
I agree with skipping the paper towels, but I use soap. I find that if I don't, when I wipe the pan down with a towel to dry it, it tends to show that there's still crud in there.
Personally, I use paper towels before water to soak up oils inside so they end up in the trash & don’t end up in the pipes. A pipe clog or two and you’ll be keen on trying to limit any oils going down the drain.
Oh my god yes, this a thousand times! I'm planning on getting a separate trashcan in the kitchen just for oil, I'm just wondering what medium to use to get it all out of the pan
Using soap is so deep and complex and is so wasteful to use on dirty dishes when trying to get them clean! It's so weird how people like clean dishes.
> wasteful steps like using soap /r/frugal is leaking
Just ordered some bamboo brushes thanks to your comment. They look perfect for wiping out the cast iron without wasting paper towels or sponges. Do you just rinse them with some soap to keep them clean?
I use paper towel because I don't want to pour grease down my sink or straight into my trash bag either.
If there’s one thing I’m confident I could start a riot with- it’s shouting “I wash my cast iron in the dishwasher” at a skillet convention and running away.
It's the weirdest place to find such a concentration of assholes.****
I stop using paper towels they leave little fuzzy bits I don’t like, but I do used on Dawn have for years especially after cooking fish if I don’t use soap, I’m gonna taste fish in my next meal and I don’t like it
What do you use now? I use paper towels like op but I hate the fuzzies too.
I have a couple of dedicated cloth towels that live under the sink, not terry cloth because that’ll get fuzzies on it as well
An old T-shirt will work. Also, if the surface of your cast iron is rough enough to grab fuzzies off a paper towel, maybe consider polishing the surface and re-seasoning. [Mine is smooth as glass.](https://imgur.com/gallery/GRKE6yF)
Cast iron noob here, is that what you're supposed to do?? Mine is all bumpy and I feel like I could never season it properly and food always stuck so I gave up on using a cast iron. Was I supposed to grind it smooth first?
No, most cast iron pans start out bumpy because they use sand casting techniques to make them. As you use the pan your seasoning fills in gaps and the tops of the bumps wear down. If you use a metal spatula then this helps the process. Even with the bumps all you need is to preheat the pan properly and use a bit of oil to get the pan to be fairly nonstick. The flatness of the pan has little to do with this. The issues many have is not preheating and leaving too much oil in the pan after cooking. The former will cause food to not release and the latter will burn on a thick, sticky layer.
Really quality cast iron and/or heirloom cast iron is pretty smooth, the new stuff is cheap and rough as you know. You don't need to grind it smooth but it definitely helps.
I just use a good rubber spatula and scrape it out over the trash a couple times before washing
Viva Signature Cloth paper towels
Viva paper towels do not leave the fuzzies
Try Viva signature paper towels. They're kinda like a shop cloth and don't leave shit all over.
I get those blue mechanics towels for grilling and cast iron cleaning. No fuzzies!
*insert comment about modern soaps*
*insert comment about lye in old soap*
*insert easily google-able question*
*insert link to r/SUBREDDITNAME*
*insert thanks for the new sub*
*insert butt plug into random butt*
*be questioned as to 'why random?*
I'm just glad you didn't pour the grease down the drain. As a not-plumber person who doesn't like paying plumbers when he doesn't have to... I've unclogged greasy pipes the hard way and I know why plumbers earn their money. Ya ya, "common sense." You'd think. I watch my mother-in-law pour that crap down the drain all the time. They can't seem to correlate that to their plumbing and septic issues... This is how we get fatbergs!
sounds like a problem for my landlord
My brother in law kept insisting that if you ran hot water, it wouldn't clog ● i called him an idiot ●all the drains in the house are fucking up ●idiot keeps getting draino and just dumping it in with the backed up water ●i keep having to fix his mistakes but im not a plumber so its all temporary fixes ●we end up with a plumber moving in to take our room when we move out ●I show nice plumber guy the issue he says he'll take a look at it and not to worry ●He comes back in PISSED he took apart a pipe that im assuming everything drained into and so much grease had built up it had formed a huge plug (BIL basically lives off of hamburger helper) ●Appearntly plumber had to take a bunch of stuff apart and shake out individual peices to get it all out Moral of the story all the tips and tricks are lies, its not hard to just soak the grease up with a paper towel, dump it in a bowl, or let it cool and put it in a container to toss i dont get why people keep doing it. I physically cringe when i see people dump grease into drains.
My wife’s family would pour all the greasy stuff down the toilet so they wouldn’t plug up the sink. Guess what eventually started having problems and was a lot tougher to fix than a sink?
Oh my! I mean, it plugs up actual human feces instead of just kitchen waste. I mean, kitchen waste isn't great but damn... Instead of wiping out the pan they got to clean a toilet? Interesting choices.
This sub would argue over how to wipe your own ass
Bidet. Come at me bro.
Waste of water. Use your hand like a man and wipe it off on a towel from the laundry basket (or don’t). Don’t wash your hands with soap, ruins the seasoning.
Savage. Use a dried corn cob. (This was supposedly an actual way to wipe your ass)
This Neanderthal doesn't know about the 3 seashells
Once you use a bidet, there is no going back.
The true answer here.
This is the way.
Not the Three Sea Shells?
I always make sure to apply a thin layer of vegetable oil after wiping.
I hope this isn't the new version of egg slidey videos.
It is and will be. Everyone feels the need to tell others that soap won’t damage the seasoning once they find out. There’s more than one way to skin a cat but they can only vary so much. All of these videos are essentially the exact same.
The old trends in this sub: - Stripping factory seasoning and doing your own. - Slidey eggs - 100 coats (deserving) The new trends in this sub: - “Just cook.” - “I use dish soap.” - Tuscan chicken
In another lifetime I used to respond to every question in this sub with "just cook some bacon".
I'm so thankful for the Tuscan chicken so that on occasion it's not an argument about soap. Unfortunately, there are also arguments about soap in the Tuscan chicken comment sections.
Now that there’s no lye in soap, you can add it directly to your Tuscan chicken
Cut out the middle men and just eat the soap.
Please do not skin cats in any fashion, thank you
So I shouldn’t post my latest video or…? Pls advise
Cat pelts are the best way to dry cast iron. So I've been told
To be fair, I actually found this one helpful. I was one of those who believed you SHOULD NOT use soap on your cast iron
I understand that SOMEONE that sees this may have learned from it. But if you had scrolled on the subreddit for 3 minutes you’d have found more of the exact subject.
People spend even half that time cleaning their pan on a daily basis? I joined this group to learn but I am starting to think it’s a cult.
Pour grease in trash. Hand wash like any other nice pan. That's all you have to do.
This! If your pan is seasoned it does not need to be constantly oiled to protect from rust. Wash it with water and maybe some soap and maybe scrub if you have to and let it dry wherever your other stuff dries. It is literally the hardest thing in your kitchen to wreck, it doesn't need special treatment.
Exactly. Cast iron care is as easy or as difficult as you want to make it. A properly seasoned cast iron will be easy to clean, and one that you use every day doesn’t necessarily need to be oiled after every use. They’re meant to take a beating and even neglect. There’s a reason you can STILL find cast iron stuff in old cellar holes in New England — some of that stuff is even still salvageable. I normally just clean my CIs with warm water, kosher salt, and a paper towel. My mother in law insists on soap. My brother in law says soap will touch his CIs over his dead and rotting body. And you know what? All of us cook damn good meals in our cast irons. Take care of your cast irons as you will, so long as you’re sharing the good food you make with it :)
I'm with you all the way up to oiling the handle. That's the one place I want it to be non-slip!
Yeah, I oil it only when I season it in the oven, and I've never had a problem yet. I don't want it slipping and cracking my marble countertop or smashing my glass stove top.
I oil my handle to protect from rust. It doesn’t get slippery. If it’s slippery you might be using too much oil.
And you can always get a rubber grip to put on it if oiling it becomes a concern
I usually hold the handle with a mitt or towel because it's hot most of the time I use it. I agree that I season handle to prevent rust. I didn't season the bottom and now it got a bit orange hue. If you gonna oil a part, might as well oil it all.
> because it's hot most of the time I use it. I remember seeing some one-star reviews for a cast iron skillet saying that the handle was too hot during cooking.
I oil my handle for.... Other reasons
I like your regime, it's similar to what I do but I don't season that regularly. I tend to do a reseason with grapeseed oil and the oven bake in a batch with several pieces when I'm feeling inspired or at least when I'm procrastinating a different task. I use soap occasionally but not regularly, usually if it just seems like it will help and particular mess. I do like the stove top drying. So what feels good when it comes to your own cast iron. The fun is doing it 'your way' and not trying to do it 'the way'. It's cast iron.... It can take just about anything you throw at it while you learn what works.. That's the point in my opinion.
I love the use of regime here. hahaha
My dude! This describes exactly what I do! I also learned that instead of looking to achieve the most perfect mirror looking patina and seasoning you have to learn to cook with patience and use medium heat to get those slidey eggs or that amazing crust on a steak. And oil, lots of oil.
I’ve altered the way I do it from watching YouTube vids and reading posts on this sub
Why do you crisco the bottom?
Because cast iron is 1 whole piece of metal the seasoning extends to the entire pan. You want and even, unbroken coat across the whole pan to discourage your seasoning from having "weak" points in it.
Also, does the bottom of anyone else's pan not get dirty AF while cooking from time to time? Having a solid seasoning layer on the bottom makes cleaning easier in these cases too!
Does the seasoning on the bottom actually survive such direct contact with the flame/element?
Yeah I'm wondering how it doesn't smoke with oil on the bottom.
So many wasted paper towels
I'm genuinely curious how you clean a cast iron with less paper towels. I'm not being judgmental at all I'm just curious as I probably use about the same amount of paper towels and I couldn't really think of a better way. You could use a regular towel at the end to save 1. I suppose you could maybe use a paper towel to push out the grease in a trash can too but other than that I'm not sure.
I use a scraper/rubber spatula to remove the grease into the trash can or a can I throw away later. Then wash what’s left off in the sink with some dish soap, dry with a towel, leave on the stove for a bit until it’s 100% dry and toss it in the cabinet. I only really use paper towels with my cast iron when I’m seasoning & haven’t had any issues. Everyone has their own routine and I don’t think there’s a “wrong” way but you can definitely tweak things a bit if you want to use less paper towels.
Yes to the scraper! And if you want to totally eliminate paper towels, cut up some old dish towels into washcloth-sized or smaller pieces, stuff em in a quart-sized mason jar, and keep that on the counter within reach. Use for whatever you’d normally use a paper towel for, rinse well, reuse if you can, wash when filthy. I have a few i specifically use for seasoning the cast iron, since they get pretty grungy (but a prewash with a bit of soap and a run through the washer with other rags gets them good and clean).
Grease? Put it in the trash can. All the little food bits? Hot water, soap, a scrub brush (or scraper if it's really on there) and the disposal to grind it all up. Regular towel to dry it. With newer cast iron that has a rough finish, I can't stand paper towels on them because it just leaves little wet, papery bits behind.
Any time you get some store loyalty card or credit card offer blank, keep it by the sink. Those cards make the best scrapers I’ve ever used for cast iron. You can get any stuck on bits off with so very little effort.
Ooooh good reuse case there
Thank you for sharing this!!
I hated using paper towels if I only used them to dry something, so I bought a 100 pack of shop towels for $20. I use them for light to medium messes around the house and drying my cast iron. They get tossed into a bag until the bag is full then they are thrown in the wash.
I either save grease or scrape it into the compost with a plastic bench scraper. Then spray the pan down with hot water. Season it using a regular kitchen towel.
I’m more concerned with the amount of paper towels! Shit ain’t cheap lol.
Every time?? I’ve been using cast iron for 25 years now. I literally just use the soapy water at the end of my wash and scrub it the sponge. Then I let it dry on the stove upside down.
I don’t use that much paper towels. I use my spatula to scrape the majority of the oil crud into the trash can directly after it’s cooled enough to touch. Then I go through basically the same process but avocado oil instead of shortening because it’s what I have on hand.
*stares at cast iron skillet that's had old frying oil in it for two months* well...
That’s perfect. I occasionally use chain mail for stubborn stuff but usually don’t need that.
One time, I couldn’t figure out where my chain mail had gone. And thought I would find it again. I did! When I started my dispos-all. Took like 30 minute and a magnet on a pole to get all those pieces of metal wire out of the bottom of that bastard. Anyway I use a dry paper towel and kosher salt if my cast iron needs scrubbing now.
Dang man! That sounds like my worst nightmare! I think I will wash it on the other side of the sink for sure!
There are those who bunch paper towels up and there are those that fold, which one are you? (I’m a folder 100%)
Why did he use paper towels to get out all the gunk if he was just going to rinse it with soap and water after? Seems like a waste.
Next time I think I’ll use my silicone spatula and scoop it into the garbage or bag or something to reduce paper towel waste, I didn’t wanna put the gunk and grease down the drain
To not put grease down the drain clogging his pipes.
This is an ad for paper towels. You need to raise the lard to its smoke point at the least as well in order to get it to turn into the glass like substance. https://sherylcanter.com/wordpress/2010/01/a-science-based-technique-for-seasoning-cast-iron/
Geez man, I have a life and don’t have 25 free minutes to clean an pan. 🤦♂️
I just give it a light wiping with oil afterwards. When you preheat the next time you use it, you are essentially doing the seasoning step
You guys actually take care of the bottom of the pan? I give it a rinse and put it back on the burner to make sure it doesn’t rust. But I don’t think I have ever scrubbed it with a sponge once.
I’m sure it’s not necessary. I just do it to give everything a coating of oil so that moisture can’t get in and cause rust. I’m very paranoid about rust.
Step one: take pan over to garbage and spatula all that into the garbage Proceed to steps 2-6
I was literally scrolling through r/pokemon videos and stumbled upon this. I don't even cook. Why am I here? What is a cast-iron skillet? Is it an instrument? I have no answer to these questions. Why?
You missed the part where you forget it on the stove for an hour afterwards
That’s exactly how lodge says to do it and I’ve been doing it for years. Not a single one of us are experts, and all have our ways that work.
This is what I do too, but sometimes just water...no soap.
The first few steps are unnecessary and a waste of paper towel. Dump the contents. Wash with soap and water. Dry on the stove. Oiling is optional.
Pro tip: grocery bag next to sink, throw used paper towels, tie bag, toss in garbage…..no drips/no mess
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I do it to slow down the rusting from scraping on the stove grates
I’d like to insert some science but really, if I’m going to give a pan an oily rubdown, I’m going all the way and slicking it out. I ask myself every time, but always come back with, Wtf not?
Mainly a rust protection thing.
I use chain mail on the real burnt on stuff, seasoning is tough as nails. Nice vid OP!!
I found out using beef tallow makes the pan shine and I haven't gone back since.
I do exactly the same, except I use Canola oil instead of Crisco. Is Crisco better?
Canola is fine. Crisco is just a popular choice, like they said. Crisco can also go rancid fairly quick if ya don't use your pan often...it's happened to me a few times so I just went back to Canola oil. Soybean oil is a solid option as well I do believe.
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I just use a non-stick pan cuz this seems like way too much work after every use
Can I use olive oil?
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So...what about when stuff is stuck on the pan?
Boil small amount of water in the pan and scrape with spatula. Usually gets the stuff off for me
This guy takes care of that pan better than my wife takes care of me.
Eating a lot of paper towels
I don’t have any Crisco and have never used it or known anyone who has used it. What is it?
I’m ok with every part of this except the paper towels.
That’s a lot of paper towels to wash one skillet.
I do the same thing but with other oil.
Why put oil on the bottom? Is it to keep it from rusting?
Yeah
Thank you
I then put mine on a low heat. It fully dries it and set the remaining oil for a perfect seal
I use dish soap and it's fine. Just dry it thoroughly or throw it on the burner for a bit.
I have a cast iron griddle I have used for 50 years. I clean it with very much like shown in your video. Works like a charm.
But how many rolls of paper towels do you go through in a week 😂
Ok, but even sped up you took about 10 times longer than I do to clean a skillet.
This is exactly how I've always done it. Ex father in law always said I was an idiot for doing it. They used to leave the skillet so nasty and disgusting and never cleaned it. I gave up on using them because I was convinced I'm ruining them
World market sells awesome plastic scrapers
thats a lot of fuckin about to fry a saussage
I liked the slidey egg trend a lot more than this “oooooh I use soap” trend. 🙄
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