I got a cast iron frying pan for christmas. How do i season it?

a little olive oil and a porterhouse

Some used Castrol 5w-30 would be cheaper.

New Pans

1. Heat the oven to 250o - 300o
2. Coat the pan with lard or bacon grease. Don't use a liquid vegetable oil because it will leave a sticky surface and the pan will not be properly seasoned.
3. Put the pan in the oven. In 15 minutes, remove the pan & pour out any excess grease. Place the pan back in the oven and bake for 2 hours.

Repeating this process several times is recommended as it will help create a stronger "seasoning" bond.

Also, when you put the pan into service, it is recommended to use it initially for foods high in fat, such as bacon or foods cooked with fat, because the grease from these foods will help strengthen the seasoning.

Have never used Olive Oil.
I always use regular cooking oil, cannola, vegetable, etc.
Cover the entire pan with oil, rub it in well.
Bake at lowest oven setting for two hours.
Remove from oven and cool.
Oil it again before putting away.
Always rub it down with oil after each washing.

[link to huntsville.about.com]

coat with vegetable oil thickly.

4 tablspoons salt.

heat until smoking hot and you can see the blackness absorbed by salt.. burn it ... remove wipe clean with paper towel.

Beings, seriously.

Throw out ALL vegetable, and especially, canola oil.

It is about as vile as oil gets.

Use only extra-virgin olive or coconut oil. Or pure beef lard.

NEVER use margarine for any purpose whatsoever. Only butter.

im a cajun

hold the phone has it down

use bacon big time

olive oil burn too low. canola oil.

This is confusing as heck.

There are too many different ways to do it.

here'd be my choice.

Diesel fuel and gunpowder.

Exactly. Never ever wash it. Kinda a little like a teapot, sorta.

Geeez. WTF am I talking about??????

OK, this is me trying not to mis speak again. I've read about a thousand different ways to season it, but I would say, just use it. Use it and it will get the best patina......

Don't put it in water to clean it. Wipe out the grease with a rag or paper towels. I know that sounds gross, but it's true.

I was taught to use bacon fat. Heat up the pan, put in the bacon fat until it starts smoking and coats the whole pan. Then use salt and paper towel to wipe the pan. We didn't have paper towel when I was taught so we had to use old newspapers.

I like yours the best. Just another use for diesel fuel.

just finishing my 12 inch grill skillet.

im doing the same process on this skillet as i did for the 8 inch i have.


scrub and clean pan with sunlight dishwash detergent. dry it.
heat pan up to get rid of any water, and open the pours up a bit on the pan.

coat it in bacon grease for the first coating, bake at 350 for 1 hour. let cool off in oven

then for the next 5 coatings, use extra virgin olive oil at
400- 500 , i did 450 and 500. let cool off in the oven


now enjoy cooking your favorite foods, with a non stick pan.

heat it up slow, and cook away with care.

take care of that beauty of a pan now, and your mouth and taste buds while suck you off for the rest of your life.

Last Edited by anti-agenda21 on 09/01/2012 03:24 PM

Thread: Tomorrow is International Bacon Day

OP this is the best one on here... Ignore everything else!

Hit the man who gave it to you over the head with it.

How is a frying pan a Xmas gift? Will you get a vacuum cleaner or a toaster oven this year?

I think women that act like you have penis envy... I bet you look like a little boy don't you? Yea, thats why you're mad...

I use Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO).

Brand new, fresh out of the store I will use about a teaspoon of EVOO and a paper towel and I will rub the oil all over the interior, bottom and sides. Then directly cook something that is fatty - like hamburger or dark meat chicken.

Immediately after cooking I use a damp soapy sponge to clean it - this is just to get the stuff that may readily cake on. Rinse with clear water, whip with the dish towel, then return to heat to get the rest of the water the towel misses.

Turn of the oven, go eat, then I apply a few drops of oil and rub in to leave behind a very thin layer.

Each use there after I rinse the pan first, add oil to cook with (usually less than a teaspoon). After about 5 uses you can start using it for things like potatoes, with just a touch of oil.

The trick is to make certain you re-oil AFTER use, just a touch of oil is needed. Leaving the oil on at room temperature (in the oven or wherever you store your pans) will do the most seasoning.

Cast iron is not ideal for slow cooking until its aged a bit, say 10 uses or so. Your first uses should be quick frying, stir frying and the like.

This is pretty much how we do it.

Follow it up with an epic deep dish pizza.

Christmas is a bit early this year huh? -Or in this case...WAY LATE.-

And...I thought you were supposed to season the food, not the pan. But hey...I could be wrong.

Last Edited by Serenity777 on 09/01/2012 03:51 PM

NEVER use soap on cast iron. EVER.

It is HIGHLY recommended to NOT ever use soap on your cast iron pan. Also, heating olive oil at high tempertures is also NOT recommended. Try coconut oil....enjoy your pan!

It's not confusing.

Use whatever food grade oil, bacon grease, lard, anything you prefer except canola (made from Rape seed oil, nasty stuff) or some olive oils because they burn up easy and are not designed for cooking.

We grew up on Crisco for everything fried.

Wipe the sides generously with oil, pour some in the bottom, heat in the oven for a while. Specific temp is not really important as long as the pores open up. Time depends on your temp. If the door on the oven turns red, probably too hot and in too long. I wouldn't go over 250 and maybe an hour.

Let cool, pour out excess, dump some salt in, (that's why they call it seasoning!) wipe thoroughly, heat again. Then wipe all of the oil and salt out. Good to go.

DO NOT WASH THE PAN!! Wipe it out with a paper towel to clean. It's non-stick right? Just wipe it out.

The detergent or any cleaner will warsh out the seasoning and you'll have to re-season the pan.

All of the above repliers that said similar reasonable steps were correct. Gun powder and motor oil... only if you are a real man.

Not washing the pan with detergent, soap or in a dishwasher is the real key. Warm water and a scratch pad is about as serious as you want to get if cleaning is needed.

The under bottom may carbon up eventually if you cook with gas, but that adds to the charm and flavor.

Later on, when you put heat to the pan, you should notice some oil coming up to the surface before you throw the steaks in, this is good. When it stays dry, you need to re-season. You still need to add oil to cook though.

Nuthin' better than fried chicken in an old beat up, well used cast iron skillet with a lid that fits.

We expect samples when you get it ready...

For the initial seasoning,I've used butter and lard/bacon grease with good results.

One thing that I do not use on cast iron is soap,or detergent. I just take a Scotchbrite pad and scrub the pan or pot with the pad,under running water,until all food residue is gone. Then I dry it off with a paper towel,and spread a little oil on it,if it looks like it need it,or if I know it's going to be a few days until I use it again.

Sounds gross,I know,but it works.

And whoever it is that thinks a cast iron pan isn't a very good gift badly needs to be ignored. You now have a piece of equipment that-with a bare minimum of care and maintenance-will outlive you,can be passed down to your children,and will work even better than it works now,when that time arrives. That cast iron doesn't just soak up oil.It soaks up the good karma from food prepared with love,and it gives that good karma right back to the food being prepared.

I've been using this method for 50 years (slightly over now).

I can't use coconut - any product with coconut will kill me... I have a rare allergy to coconut. Almonds, ok. Coconut my throat swells shut. LOL

And I do not use much soap, only a soapy sponge. There is a difference between dunking the pan into the sink of soapy water and in using a sponge to get at the harder deposits. It that was clear in my OP.....