For the longest time, no matter how much cooking oil I'd dump into my cast iron skillet, I'd still find myself spending more time than I'd like scraping away remnants of burnt food that got stuck to the cast iron. That is until I started seasoning my cast iron skillet.
Seasoning a cast iron skillet might sound complicated or weird, but it's actually quite simple and very helpful.
Here's what you need:
- Clean cast iron skillet
- Cooking oil
- Stove top
- Paper towels
- Oven mitt
Here's how to season your cast iron skillet:
Oil it up
Take your clean cast iron skillet and pour in some cooking oil. You want enough to coat the bottom on your cast iron skillet. If it doesn't spread entirely right away, don't sweat it. The cooking oil will be more spreadable when it heats up.
Heat it up
Heat up the cooking oil in your cast iron skillet. At this point, make sure the cooking oil is spread evenly.
Wipe it off
When the cooking oil begins to give off some smoke, turn off the burner, fold up a couple paper towels, and carefully wipe out the excess cooking oil. Make sure you wipe the cooking oil along the sides of your cast iron skillet as well.
Cool it off
Now wait about 10 or 15 minutes for the cast iron skillet to cool off. You're going to notice that your cast iron skillet is now a little shiny and slick. That's exactly what you want.
What you just did was expand the pores in your cast iron skillet, allowing the slick cooking oil to seep into those pores. Then when you let your cast iron skillet cool off, you let your cast iron skillet trap that slick cooking oil in its pores. Now when you got to cook, it has a non-stick surface.
Make sure you season your cast iron skillet regularly. You'll notice that as you continue to season it, you'll need less cooking oil over time because you're building up that seasoning.
Want to see this tip in action? Check out the video below.
*Photos courtesy Justin Fricke
