Your cast iron skillet may seem like a super tough, hardcore, durable kitchen
workhorse — and it is. But there are still plenty of blunders you can make when using one.
Here are the common mistakes people make when using a cast iron skillet.
As soon as you get a new cast iron pan, you may be tempted to turn on the gas and plop your
skillet on the cooktop. However, you'll first need to season it. The majority of cast iron
skillets you purchase won't automatically have a nonstick coating, so that's where seasoning it
comes in. Even if your pan is pre-seasoned, it's still a good idea to season it again.
"Historically, cast iron has never been a nonstick surface. You would
have to season these pans and care for them very carefully."
So why exactly do you season your cast iron skillet?
Because cast iron is porous. Field Company explains it like this:
"Seasoning, especially in the early life of a pan, bakes right into the iron,
filling in those pores and smoothing everything out into an even surface. Over time, [...] the
cooking surface eventually becomes pure seasoning, securely bonded to the iron underneath."
Seasoning your cast iron means that it will develop a nice slick patina so your
food won't stick to the pan and you'll be able to flip those eggs with ease.
Most things you read will tell you it's best to season your cast iron skillet in the oven
by adding a thin layer of oil to the pan before setting the oven on a high temperature and then
letting your cast iron skillet hang out in there for an hour. But that may not be the best way to
go about things. Some cast iron aficionados think oven seasoning is ineffective and unnecessarily
slow. Issac Morton, founder of cookware company Smithey Ironware, told Gear Patrol,
"In my opinion, when you're seasoning in the oven you're just protecting the
skillet from rust and the elements. Other than cooking in it over and over again,
what we call stovetop seasoning is the better method of seasoning."
To season on the stovetop, just apply a light coating of oil, then wipe away the excess with
a paper towel. Crank up the heat, and once it starts to smoke and look dry,
apply another scant coating of oil. Do this for 10 to 15 minutes. This method will produce a lot of
smoke, so make sure you have proper ventilation. If the cooktop seasoning method brings you to that
nice hard nonstick surface quicker, then it definitely seems like the way to go.
Nothing beats a delicious Bolognese sauce that simmers on the stove for hours while you add
garlic and wine and tomato paste. However, you should not cook food like this in your cast iron
skillet until it's very well-seasoned. Dishes with high acidity like those containing tomato
or citrus may take on a metallic taste if they are cooked in a cast iron skillet that isn't
properly seasoned, and they can also strip off the seasoning you've worked so hard to cultivate.
Bon Appétit even says deglazing with vinegar or wine can cause damage to
the pan because of the acidity. Sure, adding some lemon zest to the chicken
breasts you've been sautéing should be fine, but stewing tomatoes all day is a no-go.
Another tricky thing to cook in your cast iron skillet is fish. A lot of fish is too
delicate for cast iron and will cook better in a non-stick pan. Even in a very well seasoned
pan can, fish can be too difficult to flip or will fall apart too easily. One more reason to
avoid fish is because cast iron can absorb the flavors of whatever is cooked in it. Unless you
plan on having one pan for your savory dishes and one pan for your sweets, you may not want
to use your cast iron to cook fish and then bake up a Dutch Baby. No one wants a fishy pancake.
It's easy to drink a bottle of wine with dinner and not feel up to dealing with cleaning your
cast iron skillet. We've all been there. But before you crawl into bed, don't you dare throw
your cast iron skillet into the dishwasher, because washing your cast iron skillet in the
dishwasher is going to obliterate your seasoning and cause it to rust. According to Hunker,
"The combination of the scrubbing action,
warm water and detergent effectively remove the seasoning in the pan."
If you absolutely can't deal with cleaning your cast iron pan after using it,
at least wipe out any food debris with a paper towel and leave it on
your cooktop or counter to finish cleaning in the morning. If you have a stuck-on food mess,
you can add a little bit of water and try simmering it on the stovetop to remove it.
We know. Taking care of cast iron is a lot of work, but there's one more thing you have to be
vigilant about: You can't put your skillet away with any moisture on it. Doing so is going to
leave you with rust patches, and nobody wants that after working so hard at seasoning it.
After using your pan and wiping it clean, you want to make sure absolutely no moisture remains,
and one of the easiest ways to do this is by putting your clean pan back on the cooktop.
Faith Durand at The Kitchn says,
"Place the skillet over a medium flame and let it sit until very dry — about
5 minutes. Let it cool, wipe out one more time, then put it away."
Make sure the cabinet you store your cast iron skillet in is also dry and free of humidity,
and place paper towels between each pan to prevent scratching and rusting.
Another option is to hang your cast iron pans on a pot rack,
where they'll not only be decorative, but the air flow will keep them from rusting.
Your cast iron skillet is not Tupperware. You can't cover it with foil and shove your
leftovers in the refrigerator in it. Not only will it mess with its seasoning and increase
the potential for your cast iron skillet to rust, it may have other negative consequences
as well. Storing food in a cast iron pan may lead to iron toxicity. According to Hunker,
"The iron is caused by the moisture that sticks to the food. [...] [F]or
those people who have difficulty metabolizing iron, or hemochromatosis,
that excess iron leads to fatigue, joint and stomach pain as well as other symptoms."
Hemochromatosis, or iron overload disease, is said to affect as many as 1 million Americans,
so it's better to be safe than sorry. Bust out those Ziploc baggies and your trusty Tupperware,
and stick your leftovers in those instead.
Before you start searing a steak in your cast iron, or cooking anything in it,
you need to let it get hot. Not letting your cast iron skillet get hot before you start
cooking in it causes your food to stick. Cast iron doesn't preheat evenly and also
takes a long time for it to get hot, but once it does it is excellent at retaining that heat.
You can preheat your skillet by placing it in your oven or by
preheating it on the cooktop for about 10 minutes. Today advises,
"Start the skillet over low heat, incrementally increasing that to
whatever your desired cooking temperature is. Make sure you place the pan an inch or
two off center and rotate it every couple of minutes, so it circles the heat source [...]"
There are plenty of sources that will tell you to never use soap on your cast iron pan
because soap will remove the seasoning. The reality is that a well-seasoned cast iron pan
has been oiled and heated repeatedly, and the seasoning is actually a polymerized oil that
has bonded to the surface of the metal. A little soap can't hurt that. According to The Kitchn,
"The oil combines with the porous surface of the pan when heated
creating a surface harder and smoother than the pan itself.
It would take a lot more than soap to remove the seasoning from a skillet."
Field Company says that the whole myth about not using soap on your cast iron pans
originated back when soaps were made with things like lye and other harsh compounds.
"Smells so nice and clean, lemony. Will the shine happen again?"
Sure, you should never soak your cast iron skillet in soapy water for long periods of time, but if
you have to use a little bit of soap to clean up some very gunked-on food it should be fine.
Instead of using soap to clean your cast iron pan, you might want to try other less invasive
methods first, and one of the best ways to clean your skillet is by using good old kosher salt.
Bon Appétit recommends pouring a cup of kosher salt into your
still-warm pan and using a kitchen towel to scrub it. When you're done,
simply rinse the pan with hot water and dry it very well before storing it.
HuffPost suggests using both salt and a cut potato to scrub your pan.
And WideOpenEats uses both salt and a nifty chainmail scrubber to remove stuck on food.
In one Reddit thread, Alton Brown is quoted as saying he uses salt plus a little bit of
fat to scrub his pan down. Regardless of which method you use, salt is cheap,
readily available, and isn't too abrasive to use on your precious cast iron skillet.
Soaking cast iron is a big no-no. Sure, you'll find those brave souls out there
who claim that they do it themselves or know someone who has soaked their cast iron
skillet with no resulting problems, like this GardenWeb user who says,
"My mother has always soaked her cast iron skillets. And washed them with soap and water,
and even on occasion, scrubbed them with SOS. And they always seem to stay 'seasoned.'"
According to the experts at Field Company, though, it's a risky move. They say that soaking
a pan with water overnight is a recipe for rust. However, Field Company also mentions that briefly
rinsing your cast iron skillet or soaking it for a few minutes with warm water is totally fine.
It's hard to go wrong when it comes to the kitchen utensils you use on a cast iron skillet,
and that's due to the fact that these pans are virtually indestructible. But some work better
than others, depending on what you're cooking, and how well-seasoned your pan is. A metal
spatula is great for flipping delicate items and it may also help with the condition of your pan.
"Spatula City! A giant warehouse of spatulas for every occasion."
According to MannKitchen, metal spatulas improve the condition of a cast iron pan because:
"[T]he right spatula will lower the high spots in the natural texture of cast iron
(left by the sand mold it was cast in), resulting in a smoother
cooking surface that no longer makes that rusty nail-on-a-chalkboard sound when you scrape it."
Some suggest using gentler utensils on newly-seasoned cast
iron. One Chowhound user advises,
"I would either (a) use a very light hand with the metal utensils,
or (b) use wood/bamboo/silicone utensils."
For ease of use, reach for a silicone spatula. Elite Daily says that thanks to its flexible
corners, you'll be able to navigate inside the pan no problem, plus it stands up to very high heat.
Don't throw away that rusted old cast iron skillet that was gifted because
you can totally bring it back to life. Don't forget, cast iron is made to last
forever. It's the stuff that heirlooms are made of, and if you take care of it
chances are your baby's baby's babies will still be using it long after you're gone.
If you do have a rusted pan, you can save it with some steel wool and a lot of elbow grease.
According to Taste of Home, you first want to scour it with the steel wool or a tough scrubber,
a little water, and some soap. Yes, you will remove the seasoning, but you will be adding
more after all the rust is removed. Once it's nice and clean, you want to rinse it, dry it very well,
and start the reasoning process. Your cast iron skillet will be as good as
new and you can get back to making all the pancakes you can eat in it.
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