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Equipment | Step-By-Step | How Often | Cleaning | Storage

Nothing beats cooking on a well-seasoned cast-iron skillet. Cast iron will get hot and stay hot to help produce restaurant-quality meals at home.  Cast iron is special for another reason, it can get an easy clean surface without treatment using chemicals like Teflon. This is called seasoning your cast iron.  Have you ever wondered how to season a cast-iron skillet and to create that easy clean surface yourself?  

All you need is cooking oil, a cloth, and a hot oven. That simple.

The process of seasoning will help keep your cast iron skillet easy-clean and hassle-free for years to come.  This article will take you through the process of seasoning your new cast iron skillet, and is suitable for any size of cast iron skillets with a wooden or metal handle.  Read on to find out how.

What Does Seasoned Cast Iron Mean

Seasoning cast iron forms a natural, easy-clean (it’s not non-stick however, it’s really easy to clean) cooking surface and helps prevent your cast iron skillet from rusting.  Once seasoned, your cast iron skillet will have a healthy easy-clean surface, no chemical treatments needed.  With regular re-seasoning, your cast iron skillet will last for years.  How many of you have cast iron cookware from a parent or grandparent?  You know exactly the point I’m making.  When it is well cared for, your cast iron skillet will outlast you!

Seasoning is simply vegetable oil baked onto cast iron.  This process is called Polymerization.   It gives your cookware that classic shiny black patina.  You can apply this process to any cast iron cookware and even BBQ grills and hot plates. In this article we’re going to focus on your trusty cast iron skillet.  No kitchen is complete until it has a cast iron skillet.

What Equipment Do You Need To Season A Cast Iron Skillet

• Oven
• Oven gloves
• Tin-foil
• Dish-washing Liquid and Sink
• Vegetable Oil (Canola Oil or similar)
• Paper Towel
• Dish Drying Rack
• Cooking Brush (optional)
• Screwdriver (optional for skillets with a wooden handle)

How To Season A Cast Iron Skillet Step By Step

Step 1

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius).  This will take about 20 to 30 minutes, so use this time to give your cast iron skillet a complete clean.  I’ll explain more in the following steps.

Step 2

If your cast iron skillet has a wooden handle, you need to remove it. Later on, we need to bake your skillet in the oven, so your wooden handle will burn if you leave it in place. Use a screwdriver to loosen, then removed the bolt holding the handle in place. Once the bolt is removed, the handle will slide off.

Step 3

Wash your brand new skillet in warm soapy water.  Use dishwashing liquid (detergent) and a dishwashing brush.  When you scrub it, make sure you get into all the corners and between all the grill ridges.  Take your time to give it a really good scrub.  You are washing off all the grease and dirt left behind from the factory when it was made.  It’s important to make sure your skillet is very clean before we start.

This is the only time you should ever wash this skillet in soapy water.  Once it’s seasoned, you will only need to use warm water to keep it clean.

Step 4

Open your oven and put an oven rack in the middle position ready for your skillet.  It’s a good idea to put something in the bottom of your oven to catch any drips of oil.  You can line an oven tray with tin-foil and place this in the bottom of your oven.  This will catch the drops and make it easy to clean up afterward.

Step 5

Wash the soapy water off your grill pan with clean water.  Again, take time to do this properly as we want to remove all the soap.  Dry your grill pan with your dish towel, kitchen towel or paper towels, then put it into your oven to finish drying and warm up.  We want a completely dry surface and we want the skillet warmed to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius) before we start applying the vegetable oil.

Step 6

Using oven gloves, remove your heated skillet from your oven and place it on a heat safe surface.  I use the stove top as I have cast iron trivets to support it however, a large wooden chopping board will work as well. 

Step 7

While your skillet is still hot, we’re going to coat it with vegetable oil.  Please be very careful not to burn yourself on the hot skillet.  I recommend using the cooking brush to apply your vegetable oil, so your hands are well away from the hot skillet.

Coat the entire skillet using a vegetable oil with a high smoke point, such as Canola Oil.  We want to coat every surface of the skillet with a thin layer of vegetable oil, even the cast iron handle.  Take your time to work the oil between the grill ridges.  Coat the outside of the skillet as well as the inside.  I know we’re not cooking with the outside of the skillet, but it will prevent it from rusting, so it’s a good idea.  

TIP
Use a baking brush to spread the oil, it gets into the corners easily and is less messy.

Spread the oil evenly using a cooking brush or a paper towel. Once you’ve covered all the surfaces in your vegetable oil, take a clean paper towel and wipe off all the excess oil.  This is very important.  We want a thin coating with no runs or drips.

Step 8

By now, your oven will be up to temperature again, so place the cast iron skillet upside-down in your oven on the rack above your oven tray.  Try to place it in the middle of the oven.  Any drops of oil will be caught by the foil covered oven tray.  If you’ve done a good job wiping off the excess oil, you’ll have no drops at all.

Step 9

Bake it in your oven for 1 hour.  Set the oven timer and once the 1 hour is up, turn off the oven.  Don’t remove the skillet just yet, keep the oven door shut and leave the skillet in the oven to cool down as the oven slowly cools.  When it’s finally cool enough to handle, it’s done.  I recommend seasoning your new skillet at least twice before its first use.

Before you slide the wooden handle back in place, apply a layer of “homemade beeswax polish“. It will treat the wood and make it look like new.

You will have a perfectly seasoned cast iron skillet with a beautiful patina and glossy finish.  Best of all, you did it all yourself with no chemicals.

How Often Should You Season Your Cast Iron

Once you notice that beautiful patina and glossy finish start to dull, repeat the process above.  Follow all the steps through and your skillet will be as good as new.  You can do it as often as you like.  I recommend twice a year, this will usually be enough to keep your skillet pretested and looking great.

How To Clean A Cast Iron Skillet

Once your cast iron skillet is seasoned, don’t ever wash it with soapy water.  Simply wash it in warm water with a dishwashing brush.  Anything leftover from cooking will come off easily. It’s not non-stick however, it’s very close.  It’s more accurate to call it easy-clean.  Once it’s dry, apply a light coat of vegetable oil inside and out, and this will help maintain the beautiful gloss.

How To Store A Cast Iron Skillet

Cast iron is tough.  As cookware goes, cast iron is about as tough as it gets.  You can stack it on anything and you’ll never chip that seasoned surface.  You can store it wherever you like.  Keep it in easy reach as they can be heavy.

Conclusion

Tough and long lasting, nothing beats cooking on a well seasoned cast iron skillet.  A cast iron skillet will get hot and stay hot, to help you create restaurant quality meals.  It’s an essential part of every kitchen. 

When well seasoned, a cast iron skillet will last for years.  How many of you are using cast iron cookware handed down from parents or grandparents?  Seasoning your cast iron skillet will protect it and help the surface to become easy-clean and it’s not treated with any chemicals.  Doesn’t that glossy patina look amazing?  Best of all, you can season and maintain your cast iron skillet yourself.  Let us know about your experience seasoning your cast iron.

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