Seasoning Cast Iron - So easy your mom can do it

Well, not your mom; she probably uses those '60's aluminum pans. But your Grandma could probably do it. There's a lot your grandma could do that you haven't asked about.

Cast iron is easy to maintain, easy to cook with, and dirt cheap. If you aren't using it it's probably because someone has fed you a line about seasoning it and made it sound hard. What a jerk. You should read this and then go hunt them down like an animal.

Seasoning:

1) To season a cast iron pan rub it down with vegetable oil then wipe up most of the oil. If you're feeling precious I'm sure you could find a reason to use $30/oz Koopaberry oil from the Upper-Goomba highlands. It really doesn't matter what you use. If you don't mind the smoke you can even use butter. (Editor: please note whether your exhaust fan works *before* attempting the aforementioned).

2) Put the pan into your oven at baking temperature ~350 and leave it in for half an hour to 45 minutes. Or an hour. It's not like your landlord's GE Electric stove is gonna melt it.

3-a) Turn off your oven. The pan is now 350 degrees Fahrenheit. You should reach in with both bare hands and pull it out.

3-b) Did you follow step 3a? Really? Hah! When you get back from the burn ward take all your pots and pans and expensive Williams-Sonoma gizmos and give them to the Salvation Army. At least you learned something about
yourself, right?

3-c) Leave the pan in the oven with the door closed until it has cooled down.

4) Rinse your pan, wipe it out, and start cooking.

Until you've got the heavy thick black coating, I'd suggest frying stuff. Bacon, falafel, long-pig, chicken. Once it's nice and thick you can cook pretty much whatever you like though tomatoes and acidy stews or soups seem to take the coating off pretty quick.

Care and maintenence:

It's cast iron. Seriously. People have been using this stuff for 1,500-2,500 years. If you have to stop and think about it, you're doing it wrong.

1) Don't wash it with soap. Use a scrubby sponge and hot water. If it's real crusty boil water in it then scrape at it with a wooden/plastic spatula.

2) If you've got time, before putting it away dry it off by heating it up. Then rub an oily paper towel on it.

3) Be as rough as you like. If you leave it in the sink for a month and it all goes to hell and rusts over just scrub the **** out of it with a scouring pad and some soap until it's clean. Then re-season.

Aluminum sucks, stainless steel sucks, Un-coated copper is bad for you, non-stick is bad for you, and all the copper core pans are ****ing expensive. Cast iron is safe, cheap, and easy to use. Just like your Grandma likes it.

Editor's note: once you start using cast iron and talking about seasoning you will get into fights with people in the opposite use-soap-to-wash/don't-use-soap-to-wash camp as yourself. The editor disagrees with the author on this very topic and feels that a small amount of detergent on a really cruddy pan will work wonderful de-glazing miracles.

Author's note: 2,000 years! Even that racist easily distracted great aunt can use this stuff. Why the over thinking?

This has been a guest blog by WRC, with editorial commentary by EJG.