So cooking with cast iron… it can be scary if you have never used it before but if you take care of your pans they will love you back. In fact you can hand them down to your children and even grandchildren if you teach them the right way to care for them.
Seasoning
A new cast iron pan will need a quick rinse with water, but never EVER use soap! I like to use olive oil for almost everything but you could also use canola or even grape seed oil. cover the whole thing, use a thin cloth to spread it.
Once it’s covered, go a head and cook on it! Make a nice steak or a chicken. Once you are done clean it immediately while it’s still hot. Again use some water. You can use a plastic bristle brush if you need but again no soap!
Once it’s clean, dry it off and cover it in oil again, you will leave it like this until the next time you cook on it. The coating of oil will keep it from rusting. If you have a hard to clean spot do not use a wire brush or SOS…
Take some oil and a tablespoon of salt and pile the salt over the crud. Now time for some elbow grease… Get a paper towel and fold it up a few time and use that on the salt, grind it into the crud until it’s gone. Once you are done, rinse it off, dry it, and oil it again.
This is a tedious process but trust me it’s worth it.
General Use
Cast iron heats evenly all the way into the handle. Use a towel to use your pan so you don’t burn your self. Use wooden or plastic/silicon utensils. Try not to use metal if you can help it.
Cast iron can also be put in the oven. It’s great for making pies and cobblers in. Also, because they heat so evenly, you can fill it half way up with oil and fry away 🙂
If all else fails, you can always use it as a weapon 🙂