I know we've talked about cast iron before

[moroccangirl]

But I can't remember how to take care of it, or what to do about this. I have a lodge cast iron grill/griddle pan that I brought over with me. I've used it a few times. After I wash it I rub some olive oil on it (just what I usually have on hand). But it still looks like this. I did have to scrub it hard once and use soap once because my chicken stuck to the grill part. How do I fix it and maintain it?

[CheryG]

If I wash my cast iron and need to scrub it I coat it with oil and then heat it till it smokes a little.  Before every use I coat it with oil (spray it on) and make sure it's hot enough to sizzle before putting any food on.

[GreenMan]

I never use soap on my cast iron, even if it's got stubborn food stuck to it. Usually a short-ish soak loosens that up. I knew a guy who'd toss in some sand for scrubbing really tough cases.

It also helps if the iron is kind-of hot when you season it with the olive oil after washing, like maybe just a bit too hot to touch.

[moroccangirl]

Chery I thought you weren't supposed to use spray on on cast iron. Or do you mean you use a misto?

[cgraz]

After mr. cgraz (helpfully!) scrubbed my cast iron pan, I've continuously been re-seasoning it by cleaning it after use with just a little hot water and a scraper, wiping it off and then putting it in the oven to dry, and when the oven is hot, taking it out and oiling it lightly with vegetable oil, and leaving it in the hot oven after shutting it off. The combo of having it perfectly dry, then the heat & oil, seems to be working pretty well. I do that every time I use it, and it's coming back.

[radial]

If you washed it even once with soap, you should probably go through the process of greasing it up and baking it in the oven for a while.  It will eventually get it's groove back through regular use (and no more soap), but it's quicker just to season it again.  Also, as cgraz points out, it's very important to dry it off after rinsing because if you leave it damp, that will encourage the iron to oxidize.  Truthfully, I seldom use water on cast iron.  You can usually clean it up fine with a spatula and a paper towel.  If there's still a little crustiness, it will cook off next time you use the pan so I don't worry about that.  Of course I don't have a pan with a corrugated surface like that griddle.  Might be rinsing that one off a little more often.

[diablita]

I clean grime with kosher salt, a tiny splash of water (to help it move around but not dissolve) and a paper towel.  The salt rubs off the grime.  Then a bit of oil, heat, cool it and put away.

[moroccangirl]

I clean grime with kosher salt, a tiny splash of water (to help it move around but not dissolve) and a paper towel.  The salt rubs off the grime.  Then a bit of oil, heat, cool it and put away.

You "scrub" it with the salt and paper towel? Is olive oil fine to use on it? So oil, put it in a hot oven, then turn the oven off and leave it?
I had to scrub the smooth side once because it was sticky/tacky. I don't know what caused that.

[cgraz]

I think the sticky/tacky thing is sometimes to thick a coat of oil - it should be thin, and make sure it doesn't pool anywhere. I've had it get sticky before if I didn't wipe off enough when oiling it.

I turn the oven on after rinsing & scraping the pan, and put the pan in while it heats up, to dry it...then when it hits 350, I take the hot pan out, oil it, put it back in (it lives in the oven) and turn the oven off. I don't know if that's the scientifically approved way to do it but it works for me. 

I do think I've read that olive oil is not ideal, but I can't remember why. But I bought vegetable oil to use for this purpose.

[CheryG]

Chery I thought you weren't supposed to use spray on on cast iron. Or do you mean you use a misto?

I use pan spray on mine, frequently.

Honestly, I don't overthink my cast iron pans.  I do use soap on them occasionally.  If they look dry, I oil and heat them.  I've had them for 25 years and use at least one every day.

Tomato based recipes really abuse them, I find that's when I need to oil them the most.

[nadra24]

I think the sticky/tacky thing is sometimes to thick a coat of oil - it should be thin, and make sure it doesn't pool anywhere. I've had it get sticky before if I didn't wipe off enough when oiling it.

I turn the oven on after rinsing & scraping the pan, and put the pan in while it heats up, to dry it...then when it hits 350, I take the hot pan out, oil it, put it back in (it lives in the oven) and turn the oven off. I don't know if that's the scientifically approved way to do it but it works for me. 

I do think I've read that olive oil is not ideal, but I can't remember why. But I bought vegetable oil to use for this purpose.

I think the smoke point of olive oil is lower than you want for this.  Canola is better, or shortening if you've got that.

[Natasha]

I clean grime with kosher salt, a tiny splash of water (to help it move around but not dissolve) and a paper towel.  The salt rubs off the grime.  Then a bit of oil, heat, cool it and put away.

I do this too but with veg oil in place of the water. It's a pretty good scrub but I have trouble getting it all out of the pan when I'm finished.

[redkitty]

My grandma has cast iron pans from the 1940s. Pretty sure she has never, ever seasoned them.  When people started talking about seasoning cast iron I was always confused. Not saying it isn't good, but definitely not necessary. Her pans have held up very well (she does not use soap on them, though. )

[cgraz]

Yeah, her pans have been seasoned by years of use. Who has time for that? 

[moroccangirl]

Well, I rubbed it with salt and a paper towel with water. I dried it thoroughly and rubbed vegetable oil on both sides and put it in a hot oven then turned it off. Since it's a grill/griddle pan, I can't put it in the oven to dry, then take it back out to oil. It's too heavy and too hot to work with like that. Maybe I can get the hang of taking care of it. I just saw a cast iron pan that I forgot that I brought. Haven't used it yet and I don't even know if I want to!!

[radial]

Well, I rubbed it with salt and a paper towel with water. I dried it thoroughly and rubbed vegetable oil on both sides and put it in a hot oven then turned it off. Since it's a grill/griddle pan, I can't put it in the oven to dry, then take it back out to oil. It's too heavy and too hot to work with like that. Maybe I can get the hang of taking care of it. I just saw a cast iron pan that I forgot that I brought. Haven't used it yet and I don't even know if I want to!!

That seems like a lot of trouble.  Once you get it re-seasoned, I think you'll be fine with just keeping it away from soap and water and making sure it has a film of oil on it before you put it away.  I just put a dab in the middle, spread it around with a paper towel, and that's that.  The hardest thing for me was getting over the idea that I had to scrub things to death just to make sure nobody died of food poisoning.  You don't, and it's not unsanitary to skip the scrubbing with cast iron.  Every time you heat that griddle, you sterilize it. 

[moroccangirl]

That seems like a lot of trouble.  Once you get it re-seasoned, I think you'll be fine with just keeping it away from soap and water and making sure it has a film of oil on it before you put it away.  I just put a dab in the middle, spread it around with a paper towel, and that's that.  The hardest thing for me was getting over the idea that I had to scrub things to death just to make sure nobody died of food poisoning.  You don't, and it's not unsanitary to skip the scrubbing with cast iron.  Every time you heat that griddle, you sterilize it. 

It had some rust on it so I had to scrub. And it was the grill side with the raised ridges I had issues with. I have to rub each ridge and in between. It wasn't bad though. I just need to use it more so good doesn't stick so bad.

[gebuh]

I clean grime with kosher salt, a tiny splash of water (to help it move around but not dissolve) and a paper towel.  The salt rubs off the grime.  Then a bit of oil, heat, cool it and put away.

I use kosher salt with oil and a scrubbie, then wipe it out with a paper towel.

[Hobie1]

 http://sherylcanter.com/wordpress/2010/01/a-science-based-technique-for-seasoning-cast-iron/

[CheryG]

That was really cool Hobie!  Thank you for finding that!