Jenny from New Orleans (who has the most adorable little girls) writes:
I bought a cast-iron skillet. It came with minimal “seasoning” instructions. I tried to follow them, instead of looking up more detailed instructions online. It didn’t work. So now I have a gross, sticky mess of a skillet just sitting on my stove waiting for me to fix it. Have you any idea how I ought to proceed? I used the “wrong” oil (safflower) and (apparently) the “wrong” temp (low) on the oven. How do I get the stickiness off? I’ve tried just washing it, but it wasn’t coming off. Should I soak it? Use steel wool? Bake the whole thing at 500 degrees until I burn it off? I want to use my skillet, but all it’s doing is sitting there stickily taking up the tea kettle’s burner, mocking me!
I feel your pain. I’ve had this same problem with new cast iron pans.
When I left home a very, very long time ago, my dad passed on to me one of his big ‘ole cast iron skillets. All of his cast iron had been rescued from an abusive home many years before and he’d sandblasted all the rust away and carefully seasoned them and diligently maintained them for a long, long time. They were really good pans. Alas, being young and foolish, I did not appreciate that skillet like I ought to have. I preferred those new-fangled pans with the non-stick coating, even though, after a year or so, they’d give up that coating without warning, utterly ruining my meal. I’d just buy a new, more expensive one, hoping it wouldn’t happen again, and I gave away my cast-iron skillet to a friend who really and truly did appreciate it.
I had, however, always cooked pancakes on a large, cast-iron griddle that I’d purchased at Walmart early on. Being young and foolish and having no idea how to prep cast iron for use, I’d just buttered it up and started cooking on it. And then, some years after I’d given away my dad’s skillet, I got fed up with those teflon skillets and threw myself 100% into the cast iron camp. I purchased a smaller one-burner griddle and seasoned it according to the directions, and you know what happened: I smeared it with Crisco and baked it in the oven for a long, long time, only to pull out a deeply sticky – and poorly seasoned – mess. No amount of scrubbing could make it “touchable”, and no matter how much butter I put in it, whatever I was cooking stuck fast. I was complaining to my sister about this one day.
“How long have you been using your pancake griddle?” she asked.
“Fifteen years,” I said.
“How long have you been using your egg griddle?” she asked.
“A week,” I said.
“And how do you think your pancake griddle got to have such a nice non-stick surface?” she asked.
“Well, that’s a silly question,” I said. “I’ve been using it at least once a week for a really long time.”
“That’s right,” she continued. “And each time, you’ve added a little more seasoning, right? And you haven’t washed it off, right?”
“So what you’re saying,” I said, “is that if I just keep using it, eventually it won’t be sticky anymore?”
And she said, “That’s what I’m saying.”
She was right, of course.
The best way to season cast iron pans is just to use them. Add a little butter every time. Don’t wash pans that don’t need it, and if they do need it, put them back on the stove right away, warm them up and rub them all over with butter again before you put them away. If your pan is already sticky from a well-intentioned pre-seasoning gone amuck, just use it anyway. (Try to ignore the gunky handle!) When you are finished cooking, clean it and season it – again, with a little butter – and rub the extra onto the handle and exterior of the pan while it’s still hot. In time – just a couple of weeks if you use it often – your food won’t be sticking to the bottom and your hands won’t be sticking to the edges and you’ll have a nice skillet.
Every once in a while, I find an old skillet at a consignment shop or flee market with a surface as smooth as glass. I can never afford it, but I always wish I could. I was talking about that the other day as I pulled my biggest, two year old frying pan off the wall to prepare breakfast. I couldn’t help it: I ran my fingers over the bottom of the pan which I was only just now noticing was as smooth as glass. The two smaller and less frequently used skillets that I purchased at the same time are satisfactory, but they don’t have so fine a finish as this big one and my heart soared to think that it is just use that makes a superior pan.
So just get down to business, Jenny. Just start cooking in that thing every chance you get. Keep the soapy water to a minimum and don’t scrub it unless you absolutely have to. Keep rubbing it down with melted butter every chance you get. It won’t be long before you have a beautiful – and beautifully seasoned – skillet. Next time, skip the oven-seasoning step altogether. And always, always, always season with butter!
Did I mention the butter?
Any other questions?
I’m with ya on that one Jennie C. I too started off thinking the pretty non stick stuff was the way to go.. bwahahahha BUT did invest in a few cast irons early on.. bwahahaha.. and am constantly adding when I get a chance.. The other day when I came home form VA.. found 3 of them in the DISHWASHER… I was sooooo disappointed at my Husband.. hahahahaha… OH well, back to the drawing board… and BTW.. I DO wash mine, just rub with a little oil on a paper towel after wards and dry on the stove.. Will have to try butter, and see if it works faster.. lol
He put them in the dishwasher?! That COULD be grounds for divorce.
I’ve used oil to season, but I prefer butter. There are many people out there who say butter is NEVER to be used, but my dad always used butter and I just think it works better.
I was wondering about using tomatoes in a cast iron skillet. I heard once that the acidity of the tomatoes will take off the seasoning and wondered if you’d heard that, too?
I’ve heard that, too, but I do put tomatoes in various things and haven’t noticed any problems. The thing is, after cooking a meal – any meal, really – the pan is going to need washing and reseasoning. That big skillet I’ve got such a nice finish on is not only our most used but also our most washed pan. Honestly, I assumed we were washing most of the seasoning off every time we used it, but apparently, that’s not the case! I haven’t ever cooked spaghetti sauce in it, but if you want to add a can of tomatoes or sauce to your meal, I say go for it. I do.
My husband is the cast iron lover. I still prefer the nonstick…the last ones I bought are finally starting to wear down after 3 years. My biggest problem with cast iron is the weight. And the cleaning. I use oil, too, after washing…if my husband doesn’t beat me to it. We bought ours preseasoned off eBay for a decent price (must have been, or I wouldn’t have done it). I will have to try the butter method to enhance the patina.
They are heavy, which is a liability when preparing dinner with baby in one arm. Just have one of the older kids move it for you.
Thanks for this post, Jenn. I have a cast iron set I never use because it is not well seasoned. I suppose I should just use it anyway. I do like how they cook, and am getting tired of repurchasing non stick pans. Such a waste.
I think one of your early issues was the flat-top stove. Manufacturers do NOT recommend using cast iron on flat top stoves, but after a little research, I decided it didn’t matter. Just be careful about slamming it around on that glass surface, and maybe about sliding it off the burner, and that shouldn’t be a problem.
As for the seasoning, you’ll just have to sacrifice a few eggs.
lol.. Thought about it Jennie… (Divorce), but I’m keeping the pans.. bwahahahahaha
lol. I remember that conversation! You are so right, though. My favorite pans are the ones I use all the time and the more I use them the more I love them! I do have a few smaller ones hiding in my cabinet that were the victims of my early attempts at seasoning ‘according to the instructions’ and they are, like you said, all sticky. It never occurred to me to just use them that way to create that patina! I’ll give em a try…. Thanks for the reminder!
You’re welcome! And thank YOU!
I bought a roundish squarish one from Ikea a while back and hated it in the beginning. It was ROUGH!!! Sandpaper rough. The only thing I could cook on it without sticking was grilled cheese…you know all that butter on the bread and whatnot. It’s been a couple of years now, and many grilled cheeses later, but I can finally cook other stuff on it without mishap.
Regarding the washing and seasoning. I scrub the heck out of mine with soap and a good scrubbie, I cook with tomato sauce and lemon, but I ALWAYS heat it to just below smoking point and butter that baby up. Always. Daddy’s in the right, there.
I bought all my cast iron used at garage sales or the flea market for no more than a few bucks each (I’m cheap like that, lol). I absolutely love them. A few of them had been in abusive homes and came to me with rust or unevenly seasoned. For me, a little crisco and a slow oven did work as did a lot of patience. My only concern is with my big square skillet. The inside is as smooth as glass but the outside is just rough and it seems to have build-up on it. I’m wondering if I should go after the outside or just leave well enough alone and eventually it too will be in nice shape. This skillet was one of the rusty ones I bought. I knew it would be a keeper because its a Griswold and they are supposed to be good quality.
Some people recommend putting them in the oven on the self-clean cycle to get all the crud off, but then you’d have to reseason it, too. I’ve never tried this oven-cleaning thing, though, so don’t take this as my stamp of approval or anything. I’m just passing along the information.
Okay… this is me, the original inquirer.
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for this post. Thanks most of all for giving me such an easy, do-able answer!
I’m back to tell you I’ve used the skillet twice this week (yay!) I sauteed onions and then made a frittata in it once, and scrambled eggs in it the next time.
I’ve also got some additional questions:
Why do my scrambled eggs taste funny? Does that go away?
Can I use metal utensils on it (like cutting-and-serving the frittata)? I’m skittish, after ruining a couple of non-stick pans…
And lastly: when I rub butter around in it after washing (boy, did it take some scrubbing to get those scrambled eggs off!!), I use a paper towel–which then comes away dirty-looking. What gives?
Thank you again!
I’m thinking your scrambled eggs probably tasted like the metal of the pan, and that’s normal, but should diminish somewhat as your pan gets a better seasoning. One of the benefits of cooking in cast iron, though, is that the iron transfers somewhat to your food, giving you a little extra of a mineral most people don’t get enough of. You’re going to taste it no matter what. We cook dutch babies in our big skillets, and I just love the butter/iron taste of the crust.
You can use metal utensils on your cast iron. They are pretty heavy duty pans and you’re going to keep restoring the seasoning after each use, so any damage you do will be instantly repaired.
As for the scrambled eggs sticking, I gave up cooking those in any but my best pans. And use a LOT of butter!
You also noticed that you should never use your good towels to wipe your pan dry, because it will transfer a dark, dirty-looking substance to whatever you’re wiping with! Again, this is just a feature of the metal pan and nothing to be concerned about. Your pan is clean.