Seasoning a dutch oven or other cast iron pot or pan

[nickburt]

This is probably the single most important, but missed by many, thing to keep your cast iron kit in great condition.

The idea is to put a non stick coating on the surface of the iron.
If it's new, or particularly dirty, wash with warm water and mild detergent - the first time should be the only time you ever need to use soapy water.
Once clean, wipe the entire pot with a plain, basic vegetable oil, inside an out.
Place it over the BBQ hot coals (NO FLAMES) and leave it to cook the oil into the iron. Can be repeated 2 or 3 times to ensure a non-stick good layer.

When cooking, make sure the contents are moved around to prevent localised heating and possible sticking.
This can be by stirring, or by moving the pot about to move the contents.
When baking or roasting, a lot of the heat also needs to be on top, so a way of moving coals onto the lid is needed, and if the coals start to loose temperature, be ready to swap them around for consistent heat. Be careful when moving the pot about.

A good pair of gloves will be needed (I use (clean) welding gloves).

Once cooking is finished, leave the pot to cool and add water, then place back on the heat. Never add cold water to a hot cast iron pot - it'll crack.
Or, add water just off the boil to the hot pot and place back on the heat to simmer while you eat your meal.
This will lift any stuck food residue from the seasoned surface. If you do need to scrape any off, use a wooden spoon to avoid damaging the surface of the iron.
Once clean, dry thoroughly - water is your enemy from here on. Once dry, wipe with a paper towel soaked in cooking oil to add another layer of protection.

Look after your Dutch Oven and it will keep you fed for years.

 

[LostInSocal]

@nickburt I'm hoping you can offer some advice to a cast iron novice. I only own two pieces of cast iron cookware; one I just received yesterday. It's a Lodge grill / griddle flat top. I took it for a "test drive" yesterday evening with some steak strips on the grill side over charcoal. The steak came out fairly decent but I did over to medium well which was not the intention. The grill though because of the grooves just had so much black gunk and burnt grease in it which was really difficult to clean. I know they have a tool I can get but I was curious of there are better, quicker ways for cleanup?
I should mention, because it was brand new, I threw it over the coals (not directly touching), and slapped on a couple layers of vegetable oil before beginning to cook. And before the steaks went on, I cooked a couple strips of thick-cut bacon. Yum!

 

[nickburt]

Grills with groves for fat draining are the worst as the heat concentrates in the groove as well as on the peaks.
Cooking slower, slightly cooler, by raising further away from the coal might help, but if you like rare steaks, then the hotter the better for getting the heat into the steak without over cooking it.
I use a brass bristled brush to clean the grill. Done hot and with some more oil, it usually gets the burnt fats off relatively easily and help keeps the seasoning.
Or, cook the steaks on the flat side with it sloping slightly and allow the fat to run off (not into the hot coals = flame grilled!!! ).
Use a wooden spatula while cooking on the grill side to try to keep the grooves clear - don't let the fat collect - tip at a slight angle to get run off.
I usually keep the meat moving, so it can't get stuck, and clean as I cook, unless I'm cooking a v rare, or blue steak, on a very hot grill/griddle, in which case, it's not on there long enough for the fat to be a problem.
Fatty sausages are just the worst - don't buy cheap ones .......

 

[Wired_]

One thing I recommend, as far as the oil, use flaxseed oil. Others are fine but flaxseed is a much tougher oil once it has been seasoned. It is a little bit more expensive, but worth it in my opinion.


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[ohiowrangler]

Second the Flaxseed oil, Ron

 

[Andrew A.]

@nickburt I'm hoping you can offer some advice to a cast iron novice. I only own two pieces of cast iron cookware; one I just received yesterday. It's a Lodge grill / griddle flat top. I took it for a "test drive" yesterday evening with some steak strips on the grill side over charcoal. The steak came out fairly decent but I did over to medium well which was not the intention. The grill though because of the grooves just had so much black gunk and burnt grease in it which was really difficult to clean. I know they have a tool I can get but I was curious of there are better, quicker ways for cleanup?
I should mention, because it was brand new, I threw it over the coals (not directly touching), and slapped on a couple layers of vegetable oil before beginning to cook. And before the steaks went on, I cooked a couple strips of thick-cut bacon. Yum!

Heat up the grill/griddle/skillet, and get it to about smoking point.
Keep the heat on, and quirt some water on the surface.
You will see lots of boiling and steaming when you do this (obviously).
While it is still boiling and steaming, and before the water has a chance to completely evaporate, scrub or scrape with something flat or abrasive, like a spatula or one of those abrasive pad things. Just don't scour the surface with something pointy.
Witness the amazing power of steam!
Once the water is gone, and if there is still more cleaning to do, let it heat up some more and repeat.

Once all of the crud is off, let it cool down a bit, rinse it off with water, and put it back on the heat until it is hot and dry.
You will notice that the steam is so awesome, that it not only cleaned off the crud, but it also degreased the surface pretty effectively.
The iron is now hot and dry, so turn off the heat, and apply some oil (I like to use PAM, or Kirkland (Costco) cooking spray), and wipe it down with a wad of paper towel (don't burn yourself).

Your griddle is now clean for storage and ready for next time.

 

[nickburt]

Agree with the steam cleaning method, but it'll need properly seasoning again afterwards, as the steam will clean and degrease quite deeply.
If you've built up a good oil seasoning, steam will remove most of it, although not as badly as using a detergent. That's why I clean with hot oil, it helps keep the seasoning intact.
However, if it's burnt on badly enough, sometimes there's just no substitute for a deep steam or detergent clean and start again with oil seasoning.

 

[Andrew A.]

Yes, that is true. Definitely need to oil the iron afterwards.

The patina is actually really really difficult to remove though, even with detergent. I had a skillet a long time ago (actually, still have it) that I had to "start over" with. I tried scrubbing and scraping the heck out of it with dish soap and it wasn't working. Turns out, the only thing that can really strip the patina is either the cleaning cycle in an oven (almost 1000 degrees!), soaking in oven cleaner, or sand blasting. I ended up using the cleaning cycle because it's something that was already available to me at the time.

I don't really ever wash my irons with dish soap, because I find that it never actually needs it, but after that experience I've decided that an occasional washing with dish soap is not really a big deal to a seasoned skillet. Similarly, I have roasting pans with patina on them, and I've tried really hard to get them cleaned off. Eventually I gave up and just decided that the patina wasn't doing any harm and just left them as is. I wash them with dish soap after every use, and the patina is still there today.

 

[nickburt]

I guess after enough years of seasoning, it'll take a lot to remove it.
I have a set of cast pans we use on an ex military field kitchen and they've been around for years, one of the smaller flat bottom ones is so well seasoned, frying eggs is easy and never sticks or burns. A mate of mine thought he was helping clean up after a meal for a big group and started washing everything in hot soapy water, which got him a bol.... telling off , but that pan was still just as good afterwards.
Never really needed to completely start again, except with a fairly new griddle that got off to a bad start in life cooking eggs and cheap fatty bacon.

 

[nickburt]

On trick for getting really burnt offerings off is to leave it overnight with baby wet wipes left on it. Amazing how easy it is to wipe clean in the morning. But not on seasoned cast iron - works well on aluminum frying pans, or stew pots.

 

[Andrew A.]

That's a great tip, I'll have to try that!

 

[Rob K]

Good tips! I'm planning on purchasing a few pieces of cast iron cookware (or at least a round skillet to start) and this will be great to keep in mind. Any brand recommendations for someone looking to get into cast iron cooking?

 

[000]

Good tips! I'm planning on purchasing a few pieces of cast iron cookware (or at least a round skillet to start) and this will be great to keep in mind. Any brand recommendations for someone looking to get into cast iron cooking?

Look for old grislwolds, Wagner’s, etc at swap meets and yard sales. They’ll cost the same or more than new lodges etc, but are better made. There’s quite a cult following of the oId stuff and lots of info on what to look for, value etc. I don’t care about that, so I just look for people getting rid of grandma’s old stuff and score nice cookwear. I have been lucky enough to find a couple of glass smooth pieces pretty cheap. I just bought a 30+ yo 14” perfectly seasoned Dutch oven for $20 on Craigslist. I have a lodge skillet that I bought new about 5 years ago and use constantly and it still hasn’t gotten half as smooth as my old iron even with a lot of work on the seasoning, it’s gotten pretty good, but not nearly there yet. There’s some new companies making some really nice looking cast iron but they’re 2-3 times the price of a quality nice old piece. Plus old stuff is just cooler...


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[SeattleBeardo]

I've never had a cast iron pan myself, but have enjoyed plenty of great meals cooked in them! Am I better off buying new or finding an old one second (or 3rd, 4th...) hand? I have seen used ones available in a wide range of looks, from newish to super rusty. Anything specific to stay away from in picking up an old one?

 

[nickburt]

Some of the best ones we have came to us second hand.
Avoid anything rusty - it hasn't got any oil impregnation, or if it did, it's lost it. Best ones are ones that have obviously been used and used and used ...... but clean.
We've also got a couple of new ones that have become a bit of a "must do" in terms of getting them sufficiently seasoned - a sort of "pride and joy" sort of thing - being able to say - that's mine and I'm proud of it ..... daft really, but fun.

 

[SeattleBeardo]

Sounds like it could be a fun project. Thanks @nickburt !

 

[Desert Runner]

I have seen flax-seed oil available in small bottles(plastic) at the $dollar store. These are just the right travel size for your chuck box. Also veg/olive if you prefer other oils. I plan to try the flax-seed oil on my cast iron pans, especially my griddle, as that needs the most hope and care.