Hey there gang...finally got around to buying my first cast iron pans at long last (9" and 6.25" round skillets to be exact). My question is threefold:
- grill or oven for seasoning? I'm thinking grill as it's outside and I'm sure it will generate some smoke and it seems like a better idea than blowing a fan out the window or whatever. Might be a little more touchy to control temp but I'll have my wireless probe in there while I do it so it shouldn't be too much of an issue.
- temperature? I've noticed most manufacturers say only to go up to 300 or 325 but I've read some forum posts and they recommend going up to the maximum temp you might use for cooking, which seems to make sense...so I was thinking season them at 450 or even 475 just to make sure it's as hot as it'll ever get in actual use. (Anyone use a pan rather than grilltop for searing for example? Or is that sacrelige?)
- lastly, what kind of oil? again almost everything I've read so far says to use a vegetable oil of my choice (I was thinking canola) but the old school thinking is to use lard or some other animal-based goop (ie. bacon grease, which sounds like a great idea)...are there pros and cons to either, and furthermore, could I mix the two for perhaps best of both worlds (ie. mix crisco with some bacon grease), or does this present some kind of problem on a chemical level (would the two types of oil conflict in the bonding with the metal for example)? i am definitely not a chemist and would be interested to know how it all works.
anyhoo thanks for your help, looking forward to getting these pans in the mix!
- grill or oven for seasoning? I'm thinking grill as it's outside and I'm sure it will generate some smoke and it seems like a better idea than blowing a fan out the window or whatever. Might be a little more touchy to control temp but I'll have my wireless probe in there while I do it so it shouldn't be too much of an issue.
- temperature? I've noticed most manufacturers say only to go up to 300 or 325 but I've read some forum posts and they recommend going up to the maximum temp you might use for cooking, which seems to make sense...so I was thinking season them at 450 or even 475 just to make sure it's as hot as it'll ever get in actual use. (Anyone use a pan rather than grilltop for searing for example? Or is that sacrelige?)
- lastly, what kind of oil? again almost everything I've read so far says to use a vegetable oil of my choice (I was thinking canola) but the old school thinking is to use lard or some other animal-based goop (ie. bacon grease, which sounds like a great idea)...are there pros and cons to either, and furthermore, could I mix the two for perhaps best of both worlds (ie. mix crisco with some bacon grease), or does this present some kind of problem on a chemical level (would the two types of oil conflict in the bonding with the metal for example)? i am definitely not a chemist and would be interested to know how it all works.
anyhoo thanks for your help, looking forward to getting these pans in the mix!
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