How to Properly Season Your Cast Iron Cookware

Yes, you can use your cast iron right after seasoning and you should.  In fact, you should cook every meal with it for a couple of weeks.  You will see how well the seasoning develops with the constant cooking.

It all depends on usage frequency and storage conditions. I season my cast iron after each use/cleaning, which is 1-3 times daily. Not seasoning it after each use is simply poor maintenance.

You do not have to heat it in the oven for an hour after each use but use the stovetop to heat the pan to a smoking point, burn off the water, and then apply a light coating of beef fat or other recommended fats from above.  Be careful when doing this, the oil will get as hot as the pan.  I use a paper towel to spread about a tablespoon of oil all over the pan.  I cover the pan, handle,  and bottom of the pan.

You should season your cast iron at a temperature of 400-500 degrees Fahrenheit.  Lodge recommends 450-500.  If your oven is not hot enough, you will not achieve the polymerization process you are trying to apply.

Yes, you can remove the factory seasoning.  I refinish cast iron by using Easy-Off oven cleaner.  It will strip your cast iron cookware down to the cast iron, at which point you can reseason it properly.  Learn more about how to recondition or reseason a cast iron pan.

Yes, putting oil in the pan is a part of the seasoning process.  The purpose of the oil is to create a carbonized coating on the pan.  When the pours of the metal expand, they absorb the oil creating a smooth surface.  To solidify this smooth coating the oil should be heated for about an hour between 400-500 degrees.

Ideally, you should not use your cast iron to boil water or to cook water-based foods.  Cast iron cookware is best suited for foods that need to be cooked in fat.  If you need to boil water or cook water foods such as sauces and soups, stainless steel is your best option.

You can use it to cook on a seasoned cast iron skillet, but why use it when there are much better fats to use for the food?  Do not season your cast iron with it.  Learn more about how to properly season your cast iron cookware.

You should season your cast iron at 450-500.  Most conventional ovens will get that hot, so turn it up just a little bit higher the achieve the best results.

Yes, it does.  Letting the bottom get rusty can cause damage to the surface of the cast iron.  There is no need to let that happen, but if it does, simply scrub the rusted spot with a copper scrub pad and reseason when over the stovetop.  Simply get the pan- hot, apply the fat on the previously rusted spot, and let it stay hot for a few minutes.  This should fix the problem after a few times.

Olive oil has a very low smoke point and should not be used to season cast iron.  The smoke point is the temperature when the burning oil will start to smoke.  The burnt oil will create a foul taste in the pan.  You will be much happier with the proper fat, beef fat, or avocado oil.

You can put too much oil on your cast iron when seasoning it.  If you have excess, it will solidify in interesting patterns on the surface of the cast iron and become gummy or sticky.  It is not the kind of finish you are trying to achieve.  If this happens, let the pan cool and simply scrub the surface with a copper scrub pad in a circular motion under warm water.  You will see the surface start to level out and become smooth again.  Be careful not to take all of the fat off.   Re-season the pan again, rub a light coat of fat on the pan, and let it cook in the oven for an hour at 400-500 degrees.

The process of seasoning is almost the same as the oven method.  Here are the steps:

1. Gently wash the pan in warm water with a mild detergent like Dawn.
2. Rinse clean and do not let it sit wet – go to steps 4 and 5 immediately.
3. Dry with a paper towel or clean kitchen cloth.
4. Heat the pan on the stovetop so that it is too hot to touch.
5. Lightly coat the entire hot pan with the fat you’ve chosen for seasoning – cover the handle, bottom, and sides as well.  Be careful, the pan is dangerously hot at this point.
6. Heat the pan just until it starts to smoke. If you let it get hotter, it will fill your house with smoke.  You may need to turn the temperature down to low depending on which burner you use and the output of your stove.  The best control method is with the thermometer.
7. Once it starts to smoke, turn the burner off and let the pan cool to room temperature.
8. Repeat steps 4-7 about 4 more times. 

You should put about 4-5 coats of seasoning on your cast iron before using it with wet foods.  If you are going to fry in/on it repeatedly, then you can start with 3.  Remember, the more coats you put on the more effective they will be.  

Don’t get carried away and put more than 5 because you will be wasting your time.  Cooking fried foods on it after the seasoning will help with the seasoning process.

You should always remove rust from cast iron before seasoning. I use a copper scrub pad to clean my new/vintage pans before seasoning.  Copper is a soft metal that scours rough surfaces.  I would not recommend a copper scrub pad as a daily cleaning pad.  Just use it in circumstances such as rust on the pan, sticky build-up of oils, or when re-seasoning.

A well-seasoned cast iron pan will be useful for years, maybe decades, depending on how you cook in it and what you in it.  It will also depend on how well you maintain it after each use.  If cook properly in it by not getting it too hot, avoid using your cast iron to cook acidic foods, and you give it a quick stove top reseason after cleaning, then you will enjoy years of great use before you even have to think about removing the old seasoning and re-seasoning it.

The best test to give your cast iron cookware for proper seasoning is frying an egg in it.  If your egg does not stick, then your pan is seasoned enough.