On seasoning cast iron

Okay so I've owned a cast iron pan for a while now and it works great most of the time. I cook steaks, bacon, and eggs in it and it works great. These foods never stick but when I cook starchy foods like gnocchi, or scramble eggs (the pan is lubed with butter too) they stick and strip my seasoning and I need to reseason from square one. If I would use my nonstick enamel pan with PAM these foods will slide right off that.

There is like 500 different ways Google tells you to season a cast iron pan. I am not sure I picked the right one. Basically all I do is after cooking scrape off residue and heat on the stovetop, then put a thin layer of lard on while it's searing hot. I feel like this seasons it, but not permanently and only temporarily.

Some guides I've read recommend putting it in the oven at a high temp for an hour or so with the layer of lard. Is that more permanent? What's the correct way to do it that builds the nonstick coating? Is the coating that forms supposed to be slightly greasy?

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uses crisco

You put a lot of effort into your post, I feel bad no one's responding.

You shouldn't expect to get a "non stick" coating like Teflon with a cast iron, no matter how many times you season it. Use an oil with a high smoke point like peanut oil or canola even. Rub the oil all over the pan and remove any excess. Put it in your oven at 450 for an hour, then turn the oven off and let the pan just sit in there. If it's "sticky" anywhere on the pan afterwards, you used too much oil

Okay so it really isn't a catch all tool like some people made me think. Its great for steaks but I will just keep using nonstick pans for baking and enamel for sticky stovetop stuff.

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I think cast iron pans are not ideal for scrambled eggs, period. Also wouldn't be my go to for gnocchi. Cast iron pans excel at high temperature cooking, that's why they are so good for cooking meat in, and they can be transferred to finish in the oven. They are also useful for baking in. And for searing in general, like if you wanted to fry some asparagus.

As for seasoning, basically you just need to apply a thin layer of whatever fat or oil you're using, and get the pan to an extremely high temperature. Putting it in the oven at max temperature works well for this, as it will heat the entire pan quickly and evenly. And make sure it is a thin layer, if you apply to much, it will become sticky and not season properly. Some say flax seed oil is the absolute best for seasoning. Various types of vegetable or peanut oil will work well. Olive oil is a bad choice. Some say meat fats are best, for example some say bacon should be the first thing you cook in your cast iron, others say they aren't as good, so you will have to decide that for yourself.

fwiw, I've heard that old Lodge pans came with a smooth finish, new ones have that pebbly shit, and their nonstick properties can be improved quite a bit with an orbit sander.

>nonstick pans for baking

>their nonstick properties can be improved quite a bit with an orbit sander.
Broscience. The rough surface does not impact "nonstick properties."

I don't bake a lot, usually lasagna or box brownies

>nonstick pans for baking

You guys know these are also called pans right?

youtube.com/watch?v=a5NbQwzwUTw

TL;DW: you need to re-season every single time you cook with it.

If there are stuck bits, clean by heating up the pan, use hot water to steam it. Salt if that's not enough.

Heat again to remove any water.

Re-season. Only a small amount of oil. You aren't seasoning it to the point of greasiness, just enough to get into the pores and then you wipe off any excess.

it does a bit actually. My cast iron pan I bought in the UK is still very bumpy even after 3 years of use, and things do stick more.
I got a lodge one in the USA and it was much smoother, and of course even after only a few weeks of use, food sticks far less than my UK one.

Waste of money.

>TL;DW: you need to re-season every single time you cook with it.
No you don't. You should heat it up to dry it after every time you clean it, but that's not the same as re-seasoning, which requires at least 450 degrees in the oven.

those are bullshit, you still have to grease/flour them.

You're imagining it, or it's not seasoned as well. If smoothness was what impacted stickiness, then regular stainless steel pans would be the most "nonstick" of all.

>Being so broke you can't afford a $2 nonstick baking pan from the thrift store

>but that's not the same as re-seasoning, which requires at least 450 degrees in the oven.

Nope. That's only required for the first initial seasoning. Every time after that just applying a small amount of oil when it's cleat and hot is enough for a re-seasoning.

Doesn't matter whether you can afford it or not. Paying any amount of money for it is a waste, as there are much better alternatives you can buy instead.

That's not reseasoning. All you're doing is rubbing oil all over your pan. In order for the oil to polymerize, it needs to reach a certain temperature.

If you don't re-season after every use then you have no business using cast iron. End of story.

>being this literal and autistic
call it what you want, you need to apply a small amount of oil after every use. faggot.

Why? Because you said so? Have you tried not doing that? There's no reason to keep layer of oil on the pan at all times. Oil =/= seasoning.

>Much better alternatives
>>More money
>$2 pan already does exactly what it's supposed to do, make some box shit

You're a massive turbo faggot who's desperately trying to feed his superiority complex on a Peruvian Quilting Image Board

Because that's how people have been taking care of cast iron and having it last for hundreds of years. Enjoy your rusty garbage.

They're not significantly cheaper, if at all. And I doubt they will last as long, probably a lot easier to damage the coating.

And what is the reason for doing it?

Prevents it from rusting. Doesn't make it non-stick but certainly makes shit stick to it a lot less. Makes cleaning it about 100 times easier and quicker.

Heating the pan to remove moisture is what prevents rusting. Even if you put oil on it when it's wet, it will rust.

>Makes cleaning it about 100 times easier and quicker.
I'm not sure how you came to that conclusion. I don't see how or why it would.

k

Always cook eggs in non-stick