Cast iron

[Miranda]

My cast iron pans often leave little black specks on my fried eggs. I scrub them with a cloth and use either a scrub daddy or steel wool to get off stubborn bits. I rinse well and wipe with dish towel. If there is black on the towel I re wash it until the towel is clean. Yet I still get these bits. My husband insists that we need to coat the pan with seed oil to avoid this. We have two separate cast iron pans of the same size for frying eggs. What are these specs? Iron, burnt food? Does it matter. Should I be worried about carcinogens?

[Scott F.]

I'd season the pan again. You can do it with oil and your oven (youtube). I do mine in a firepit.

Then it is important that the pans get 'gently' washed and dried. 

And never leave them soaking. Cast iron is very porous and will 'absorb'. After absorption there is flaking.

I'm not sure on the affects of the flaking but I do know if we soaked one of my Grandma's cast pans we would most definitely have some health problems coming. 

Scott

[ol_hilly]

6 hours ago, Scott F. said:

I'm not sure on the affects of the flaking but I do know if we soaked one of my Grandma's cast pans we would most definitely have some health problems coming.

At least your fanny would be warm. 

[Geezy]

Your seasoning could be flaking off depending on what you’ve seasoned it with. It won’t hurt you.
Unless I’m taking one down to bare metal I never touch mine with any kind of metal abrasive.
When I clean mine I do it immediately after I take the food out. I turn the heat up on the stove and get it really hot. In the meantime I’ve got the tap water heating up as hot as it will get. When the tap water is as hot as it will get and the pan is starting to smoke I dump the grease out and put it under the tab water and steam the food off. While it is steaming I use a wooden spatula to scrap and excess bits off. They clean up really easy. If I have some stubborn bits that I can’t scrape off with the spatula then I have a plastic scrubber I can use but I rarely need it. I then wipe the pan dry and put it back on the burner that I’ve turned off but it’s still hot and wipe it down with a thin coat of bacon grease or tallow if I know I’ll be using again in the next day or two but if I’m not going to be using that pan for awhile I’ll coat it with a little avocado oil.


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[Meathead]

With my skillet I let it cool down then run hot tap water in it while cleaning with a Dobie pad.

Drying it with paper towel. 

Preheat oven to 325 put avocado oil in and smear with my hands all over the skillet. 

Put in the oven for 1 hour, pull it out and wipe off excess oil. 

Never needed to scrub or use soap.

Black flakes sounds like seasoning is coming off, specs too. Run your hands inside and see if you feel ridges or rough spots. 

 

Edited August 22, 2024 by Meathead
Added a step

[Bob]

So, I just bought my first cast iron skillet. I've been seasoning it with coconut oil. 

When I am done cooking, I take the extremely hot pan over to the sink and spray it down with water - as hot as the water can get. Then, I use this little chain mail looking thing specifically designed for cleaning cast iron, but only if there is something stubborn on it that won't spray off. Then I dry immediately and grease it up again.

[Meathead]

This is all I need for 16 years

[Geezy]

I never use metal on mine. Generally steaming them clean will do the job with a wooden spatula but if it’s stubborn enough I’ll use a plastic scrubber.
My main skillet is a Griswald from the 40’s. I try to take really good care of it.


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[Miranda]

I like that scraper. 

[Orweller]

On 8/26/2024 at 10:59 AM, Meathead said:

This is all I need for 16 years

That plastic scraper is the key. On top of that I use a small dish brush, and always use paper towels to wipe it dry. 

[Orweller]

On 8/27/2024 at 5:12 PM, Miranda said:

I like that scraper. 

Life changer. Big time. 

[Orweller]

On 8/27/2024 at 10:30 AM, Geezy said:

I never use metal on mine. Generally steaming them clean will do the job with a wooden spatula but if it’s stubborn enough I’ll use a plastic scrubber.
My main skillet is a Griswald from the 40’s. I try to take really good care of it.


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Me neither, no metal, ever. If it's really bad a little dish soap cannot hurt the seasoning, that is a myth. I season mine with avocado oil. 

 

[Qapla]

My cast iron has not needed re-seasoning for at least 50 years. Since the seasoning process causes polymerization of the oil/fat used it does not affect the food cooked in the pan.

As for cleaning, there are several ways to clean cast iron. One is to put salt in the pan and use a cloth or paper towel to scrub the pan and then wipe it out with a damp towel. Salt is not abrasive enough to remove the seasoning.

While water will indeed steam off most foods in a well-seasoned pan, it is possible to warp and/or crack the pan - even with boiling water. Instead of taking my screaming hot cast iron to the sink and running water on it, I leave it on the stove with the burner still on but reduced and "deglaze" it with hot water from the tap letting the pan continue heating the water.

Just like it is a myth that you can't use dish soap to clean cast iron, it is also a myth you can't let a pan soak. If it is properly seasoned, the amount of water it can absorb is so minimal it won't hurt the pan at all. Like I said, my cast iron skillet has not needed to be "fixed" in over 50 years of use and, from time-to-time I have let mine soak with water in it to loosen stubborn food. However, I do not place my pan in a sink of water and let the whole pan soak.

When the pan is clean and dry, wiping it with some oil or fat is a good idea so any rust can't form. While some may be wary of using seed oil, a couple things to consider are that the amount of oil left behind is extremely minimal and using avocado oil is not seed oil. Likewise, while bacon grease or tallow has been used by many generations to season cast iron, there is the risk of a fresh coat of non-heated grease going rancid.

If you clean your cast iron correctly, you will not remove the seasoning.

When properly seasoned and cleaned, you should not be getting any iron or iron flakes in your food.

Edited September 6, 2024 by Qapla

[Miranda]

4 hours ago, Qapla said:

My cast iron has not needed re-seasoning for at least 50 years. Since the seasoning process causes polymerization of the oil/fat used it does not affect the food cooked in the pan.

As for cleaning, there are several ways to clean cast iron. One is to put salt in the pan and use a cloth or paper towel to scrub the pan and then wipe it out with a damp towel. Salt is not abrasive enough to remove the seasoning.

While water will indeed steam off most foods in a well-seasoned pan, it is possible to warp and/or crack the pan - even with boiling water. Instead of taking my screaming hot cast iron to the sink and running water on it, I leave it on the stove with the burner still on but reduced and "deglaze" it with hot water from the tap letting the pan continue heating the water.

Just like it is a myth that you can't use dish soap to clean cast iron, it is also a myth you can't let a pan soak. If it is properly seasoned, the amount of water it can absorb is so minimal it won't hurt the pan at all. Like I said, my cast iron skillet has not needed to be "fixed" in over 50 years of use and, from time-to-time I have let mine soak with water in it to loosen stubborn food. However, I do not place my pan in a sink of water and let the whole pan soak.

When the pan is clean and dry, wiping it with some oil or fat is a good idea so any rust can't form. While some may be wary of using seed oil, a couple things to consider are that the amount of oil left behind is extremely minimal and using avocado oil is not seed oil. Likewise, while bacon grease or tallow has been used by many generations to season cast iron, there is the risk of a fresh coat of non-heated grease going rancid.

If you clean your cast iron correctly, you will not remove the seasoning.

When properly seasoned and cleaned, you should not be getting any iron or iron flakes in your food.

The one that is flaking has the preseason on it and the texture wasn't smooth brand new. Some times I'd just like to take a sander to it and start over.

[Geezy]

My cast iron has not needed re-seasoning for at least 50 years. Since the seasoning process causes polymerization of the oil/fat used it does not affect the food cooked in the pan.
As for cleaning, there are several ways to clean cast iron. One is to put salt in the pan and use a cloth or paper towel to scrub the pan and then wipe it out with a damp towel. Salt is not abrasive enough to remove the seasoning.
While water will indeed steam off most foods in a well-seasoned pan, it is possible to warp and/or crack the pan - even with boiling water. Instead of taking my screaming hot cast iron to the sink and running water on it, I leave it on the stove with the burner still on but reduced and "deglaze" it with hot water from the tap letting the pan continue heating the water.
Just like it is a myth that you can't use dish soap to clean cast iron, it is also a myth you can't let a pan soak. If it is properly seasoned, the amount of water it can absorb is so minimal it won't hurt the pan at all. Like I said, my cast iron skillet has not needed to be "fixed" in over 50 years of use and, from time-to-time I have let mine soak with water in it to loosen stubborn food. However, I do not place my pan in a sink of water and let the whole pan soak.
When the pan is clean and dry, wiping it with some oil or fat is a good idea so any rust can't form. While some may be wary of using seed oil, a couple things to consider are that the amount of oil left behind is extremely minimal and using avocado oil is not seed oil. Likewise, while bacon grease or tallow has been used by many generations to season cast iron, there is the risk of a fresh coat of non-heated grease going rancid.
If you clean your cast iron correctly, you will not remove the seasoning.
When properly seasoned and cleaned, you should not be getting any iron or iron flakes in your food.

When I steam clean mine I make sure the tap water is as hot as it will get before I put the hot pan under it. It works really well.
I never use seed oils. Don’t even have them in my house but for long term storage I do use avocado oil but in my daily use pan I use a very thin coat of tallow or bacon grease. It won’t go rancid in a day or at least it hasn’t so far.


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[Miranda]

4 hours ago, Geezy said:

bacon grease

This is what I have been using, I put it back on burner to dry off the bottom and I heard the iron absorbs it better when hot, so I smear some on with half a paper towel then use the other half to get any extra off of it. My #8 Griswold isn't flaking, it's the newer Lodge pan that is doing it, I think it's the preseason that is coming off. My DH is a bit OCD about the other small cast iron pan and is claiming that I am ruining and stripping the pan every time I use it. I think he thinks they need to shine like an enamel coating. He uses old rancid grape seed oil and baked it on. It makes the house smell horrid.

Edited September 11, 2024 by Miranda
Autocorrect madness

[Geezy]

This is what I have been using, I put it back on burner to dry off the bottom and I heard the iron absorbs it better when hot, so I smear some on with half a paper towel then use the other half to get any extra off of it. My #8 Griswold isn't flaking, it's the newer Lodge pan that is doing it, I think it's the preseason that is coming off. My DH is a bit OCD about the other small cast iron pan and is claiming that I am ruining and stripping the pan every time I use it. I think he thinks they need to shine like an enamel coating. He uses old rancid grape seed oil and baked it on. It makes the house smell horrid.

I have three Griswalds and one Lodge.
I did not care for the rough texture of the Lodge so I used my sander to smooth it out and then re-seasoned
It. It’s been flawless ever since.


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[Miranda]

4 hours ago, Geezy said:

I have three Griswalds and one Lodge.
I did not care for the rough texture of the Lodge so I used my sander to smooth it out and then re-seasoned
It. It’s been flawless ever since.


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That's what I'm talking about!

[Meathead]

4 hours ago, Geezy said:

I have three Griswalds

I'm so jealous, I need to get 2 or 3 vintage skillets that don't break the bank. 

My newer lodge had a rough finish but with using metal spatulas and years of care it's now smooth but not as good as Griswold, wapak. 

[ol_hilly]

6 hours ago, Geezy said:

I did not care for the rough texture of the Lodge so I used my sander to smooth it out and then re-seasoned

I one time bought an off brand Dutch oven that came pre pitted. It was sooo rough. And that's what I did. Grind it smooth.