A Cast iron skillet is one of the most used tools in the kitchen. You can use it in cooking different food such as crisps, pork chops, or baking a batch of brownies. As a result of being used regularly, it might end up eroding. Therefore, there is a need to take extra care on your pan to make it last longer. Maintaining it keeps the cast iron skillet in good condition favorable for cooking a variety of dishes. Hence, a process known as a seasoning is used to prevent the fine black surface of your pan from rusting. Seasoning makes the cooking surface hard and resistant to sticking when a thin layer of oil is added on the cooking surface.
1. Clean your skillet
It is hard to tell the kind of dirt that has stuck on the pan since the day you bought it up to now. Therefore, it is essential to get rid of the food particles and rust before you start seasoning. Remember that you want to end up with the smoothest possible coat on your cast iron skillet. Consider scrubbing it with a material soaked with warm water and drops of dish wash. Scrub it entirely from the top, bottom, all sides, and the handle. Make sure that no visible and removable stain is left after cleaning the skillet.
2. Dry your pan completely
After washing the skillet, rinse it with clean water to ensure no soap or any of the particles removed during washing are available. Use a towel to dry the pan until there are no water droplets on the surface. In case the skillet doesn’t dry after using a paper towel, consider using a stove. Put the pan on the flame for a duration of one to two minutes. Notably, the low heat from the stove ensures that the remaining water molecules evaporate, leaving the pan dry.
3. Rub with Oil
Let your pan cool after removing it from the stove. Seasoning your skillet is successful by rubbing oil on all the parts. Consider using a paper towel to spread the oil uniformly on the surface. Also, you can contemplate on using vegetable, canola, or corn oil in the process of seasoning your frypan after understanding how to season a cast-iron skillet. Note that any excess fat lingering on the surface should be removed to avoid a sticky pan after the heating process. Additionally, you must rub the oil on the cooking pan thoroughly so that it no longer looks even a bit greasy.
4. Heat the skillet in the oven
Place the pan you oiled in a 4500F oven. An oven is a good source of heat while seasoning since it effectively sets the oil on the skillet. Give it half an hour so that it can heat evenly on all sides. Ensure that your kitchen is well ventilated since it might get a little smoky. After 30 minutes are over, you should turn off the oven and leave the cooking tool to cool down. Experts suggest that you should repeat this step three to four times hence producing a well-baked coat of fat. Notably, the oil on the frying pan will polymerize and form a hard layer as you expected after following the process correctly.
Conclusion
Seasoning is becoming a crucial procedure, especially when you are dealing with cast iron skillets. It protects your pan, particularly when it gets wet or there exist humidity in the air. Also, with the non-sticky layer formed using seasoning, the pan becomes a more robust material to use while cooking. Hence maintain your skillet so that you don’t have to worry about its durability and efficiency.