Seasoning Cast Iron

[Spaceman Spiff]

I didn't want to hijack the 'How much cast iron do you take on the road?' thread, so I will start a new one.

How do you season your cast iron?

I have a #6 Griswold fry pan that I would like to use but the instructions for seasoning it on the 'net include using a oven to heat the pan.  All I have are a small Coleman stove/grill combo and a single burner backpacking stove that I use for cooking; no oven or large grill.

-- Spiff

 

[Almost There]

A neighbor of mine used to season cast iron in the fire pit at the campground in Indiana.

I didn't know how he did it so I went and looked it up for you.

http://www.ehow.com/how_4924126_season-cast-iron-skillet-fire.html

 

[ccbreder]

The idea is to heat the oiled skillet to "set" the oil as a coating. Heat the iron low and slow to avoid hot spot and coat the pan with preferred oil or grease. As you use the pan, do not wash but just wipe with a bit of oil. What is happening is the oil is burning into. becoming, a hard coating. You should see the pan handed down through my family. It has a dark almost black shinny coating on the inside, and a thick crusty coating on the outside. When putting into storage, use USP mineral oil from the drug store. It doesn't go bad or attract vermin. Also used for wood and bamboo kitchen tools.

 

[TMG51]

Traditional cast iron wisdom says to cook bacon/hamburger and get the grease good and hot, spread it around and bake it in the oven a while. Or just spread vegetable oil all over and bake.

I realize you have only a stove top, so I'll go on to tell you how I tend to my cast iron. Many purists disagree with this method but I use mineral oil. Mineral oil is tasteless and inert. Unlike animal fat or vegetable oil, it cannot go rancid. It also will not congeal to a sticky mess if you heat too much on the stove top when trying to season without an oven, as animal fat and vegetable oil will. If I'm seasoning a pan, I pour about 3/8" of mineral oil in it, get it good and hot, slosh it around and wipe it up all sides, and when it's coated I dump the excess and let the pan cool down before wiping the residue. It works great for me. My pans are always a rich black. The mineral oil is also great for cleaning pan residue without scrubbing (heat oil and wipe out the pan). Mineral oil is used for treating cutting boards and wooden bowls. It is fed to babies as a mild laxative. I have no reservations about using it on a cooking surface.

 

[compassrose]

If you use mineral oil, I suggest you get the "food grade" stuff sold as butcher block oil. I have heard that some nasty stuff has been found in non-food grade mineral oil. How true or how common it is, I don't know. But it's not that expensive, you would be using very little of it and you can find the butcher block oil in many stores. Oddly enough, it's kept in the paint section at Home Depot. Next to the beeswax/mineral oil combo.

 

[TMG51]

If you use mineral oil, I suggest you get the "food grade" stuff sold as butcher block oil. I have heard that some nasty stuff has been found in non-food grade mineral oil. How true or how common it is, I don't know. But it's not that expensive, you would be using very little of it and you can find the butcher block oil in many stores. Oddly enough, it's kept in the paint section at Home Depot. Next to the beeswax/mineral oil combo.

Question: What is mineral oil sold in drug stores for, if not a food-grade purpose?

The answer is nothing.

Buy it in the drug store in a 16 oz bottle for a couple bucks. It's in the laxative section and dosages are right on the bottle. Anything labeled "food-grade" is marketing to get extra money out of you.

 

[eDJ_]

I have always used Flax Seed Oil and it does a great job. It is an edible oil and you can find it at WalMart or most
pharmacy departments of big box stores.

But a lot of people use bacon or sausage grease, or shortenings such as Crisco.

But if you have a new iron implement, try using the Flax Seed Oil. I learned about this from A Dutch Oven cook off group at one of their events. Their Iron was black as the cat in my avatar and they all said that they owed the look and cooking
characteristics to the Flax Seed Oil.

 

[ccbreder]

For wood tools and storage of cast iron. USP Mineral oil. United States Pharmacopeia. Very inexpensive in the drug aisle or Pharmacy. Beyond food grade. Will not get rancid as any vegetable or animal oil will, include flax seed.

 

[christine]

Do you ever make campfires? If so, you can season the pan over that. If not, just using the pan should season it. To season my pan, I made bacon on it about 20 times and simply didn't wash it. For cleanup, I used a flat metal spatula to scrape off any bits of food stuck to the surface, and then wiped the whole pan down with bacon grease. Some of the seasoning on the bottom did start to flake off but I just ignored it and kept using it, seems fine now.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Thanks to all who responded.  I'm just going to try cooking bacon in it for now.  Later this summer, I will be visiting a cousin and can use their grill.  Try heating in that if cooking bacon doesn't work.

Campfires are pretty much a non-starter for me.  Most of the areas I frequent in the west have burning bans on and I seldom set them anyway.  I enjoy the dark.

-- Spiff

 

[ZoNiE]

I have one of these for the burn bans. These are usually allowed because you can turn them off. Might work well for the pan.