It's insane to believe that dish soap will remove the seasoning on CI, when it takes oven cleaner, electrolysis, or sanding to remove seasoning when doing a restoration.
That's because it won't remove it unless you're using some ancient lye based soap. It's literally impossible for modern dish soap to remove seasoning. As in, chemically and physically impossible. The myth that you can't clean a cast iron with soap is 100% bullshit
I bought cast iron pan long time ago, but never get used to it... It's really coarse, it literally shreds paper towel when I try to wipe the oil, so everything sticks to it almost instantly and it's unusuable to anything but steaks. Now it sits in hidden, probably getting rust and I am wondering if I should give it next try and how to deal with that harshness of the surface.
I have to disagree with the comment above here. I like non-stick pans (like teflon), and I use them as well. But they have a pretty limited lifespan, and they only get worse with time. Over the years they lose their non-stick qualities. Cast iron however, only improves and becomes MORE non-stick with time. The skillet I use in this video cost me $19 new, and performs 5x better than when I first bought it 6 years ago. If your skillet is in really bad shape, you can either go through the restoration process - or I would just buy a new skillet from Lodge (in the description) and do your best to follow the tips in this video to keep it clean and well-seasoned. Once you get the hang of it, you'll never regret buying one!
Great question! In my experience, no. I think as long as you season correctly, it will accept that oil into the iron. A proper seasoning consists of a process called "polymerization" - it's a molecular process where the oil binds to the pan to create a nonstick surface. If you add oil to a cold pan however - it will probably smoke by the time you're ready to cook with it again
You say not to season with animal fat, but then that cooking seasons the pan. So which is it? Should I give the pan a deep clean after I fry some bacon in it, or is animal fat an acceptable seasoning? Where does your claim come from that animal fat would become rancid after seasoning with it? Does the oil from animal fat, after polymerization, become rancid, while seed oils do not? If so, why?
So many questions, so little time! If you do not clean your pan after cooking bacon or meat it will absolutely go rancid if left unused. This is well documented and just unsanitary in general. Truthfully - you don’t want any fat sitting inside your pan without having gone through correct polymerization. That does not however mean the pan needs a “deep clean” after every use. As I show in the video, a solid rinse and scrub with warm water does the trick most of the time. Cooking with bacon is certainly great for your pan - it will add seasoning and shine. It’s just not something you would want sitting inside your cast iron after the fact. I recommend against seasoning (post cook) with animal fat because (according to the American Chemical Society) bacon fat and lard, being high in saturated fat is significantly less reactive than the unsaturated fats of seed or vegetable oils. Meaning it’s harder to achieve proper polymerization. TL;DR: it’s easier to screw up the seasoning process with lard - leaving higher risk of un-polymerized pork fat sitting dormant on the pan and going bad.
Watched while cleaning my cast iron.
Thanks!
Great tips! And man, your videos are so visually pleasing! Awesome job as always!
It's insane to believe that dish soap will remove the seasoning on CI, when it takes oven cleaner, electrolysis, or sanding to remove seasoning when doing a restoration.
That's because it won't remove it unless you're using some ancient lye based soap.
It's literally impossible for modern dish soap to remove seasoning. As in, chemically and physically impossible.
The myth that you can't clean a cast iron with soap is 100% bullshit
“If it’s bringing you peace you’re doing it right”- quote of the week!! And I didn’t know you really could use dish soap 🧼 😂
I bought cast iron pan long time ago, but never get used to it... It's really coarse, it literally shreds paper towel when I try to wipe the oil, so everything sticks to it almost instantly and it's unusuable to anything but steaks. Now it sits in hidden, probably getting rust and I am wondering if I should give it next try and how to deal with that harshness of the surface.
Honestly mate it's not worth the effort. A good non stick pan is functionally identical and you can clean it normally.
I have to disagree with the comment above here. I like non-stick pans (like teflon), and I use them as well. But they have a pretty limited lifespan, and they only get worse with time. Over the years they lose their non-stick qualities. Cast iron however, only improves and becomes MORE non-stick with time. The skillet I use in this video cost me $19 new, and performs 5x better than when I first bought it 6 years ago. If your skillet is in really bad shape, you can either go through the restoration process - or I would just buy a new skillet from Lodge (in the description) and do your best to follow the tips in this video to keep it clean and well-seasoned. Once you get the hang of it, you'll never regret buying one!
Also, it’s been shown non stick pans have been known to cause Cancer. Fuck Teflon
Dude, a lot of good info here. Question though, does oiling the bottom cause smoke the next time you cook with it?
Great question! In my experience, no. I think as long as you season correctly, it will accept that oil into the iron. A proper seasoning consists of a process called "polymerization" - it's a molecular process where the oil binds to the pan to create a nonstick surface. If you add oil to a cold pan however - it will probably smoke by the time you're ready to cook with it again
You don't have to season the bottom of a pan lol
You say not to season with animal fat, but then that cooking seasons the pan. So which is it? Should I give the pan a deep clean after I fry some bacon in it, or is animal fat an acceptable seasoning? Where does your claim come from that animal fat would become rancid after seasoning with it? Does the oil from animal fat, after polymerization, become rancid, while seed oils do not? If so, why?
So many questions, so little time! If you do not clean your pan after cooking bacon or meat it will absolutely go rancid if left unused. This is well documented and just unsanitary in general. Truthfully - you don’t want any fat sitting inside your pan without having gone through correct polymerization. That does not however mean the pan needs a “deep clean” after every use. As I show in the video, a solid rinse and scrub with warm water does the trick most of the time. Cooking with bacon is certainly great for your pan - it will add seasoning and shine. It’s just not something you would want sitting inside your cast iron after the fact. I recommend against seasoning (post cook) with animal fat because (according to the American Chemical Society) bacon fat and lard, being high in saturated fat is significantly less reactive than the unsaturated fats of seed or vegetable oils. Meaning it’s harder to achieve proper polymerization. TL;DR: it’s easier to screw up the seasoning process with lard - leaving higher risk of un-polymerized pork fat sitting dormant on the pan and going bad.
No hipster, my granny knew more about cooking than you will ever know.
😂 This is 100% true - and I'll be the first to admit it
Avocado Oil is what I use the (Chosen Foods brand) @ Sobeys Its burn point is 500F Way better the Veg Oil which is bad for us.
You're not eating the oil though, it's polymerising. You could use crude oil for all it matters.
Avocado oil is a great choice. It's high in unsaturated fats meaning it will easily bond to the iron during the seasoning process.
That looked a bity heavy on the oil for seasoning, but overall great vid
Consider me converted