I need some cast-iron pan help...

[melissel]

Before I throw this thing out the back window. :mad:

 

It's pretty new, but we cook in it at least twice a week. I've cooked bacon in it several times, actively seasoned it several times, cook eggs in olive oil at least twice a week, and everything STILL STICKS. For some reason, when I try to cook scrambled eggs in it, they come out relatively nicely (but with black specks from the bottom of the pan all over), but when I cook fried eggs, they stick terribly and I break the yolks most of the time.

 

What the heck am I doing wrong? I suspect I'm not supposed to be using a steel wool-backed scrubbie sponge on it, right? I just realized that we'd sponges a few weeks ago. Yet, when I wash the pan and it's wet, I feel what feels like slick, oily bottom under the water, so I thought it was still ok. And if I don't use a scrubbie, how do I get the cooked-on stuff off the bottom?

 

Please, help me avoid going back to teflon! Wah!

 

TIA :o

[Jean in Newcastle]

Do you wash it with soap? If I wash mine with soap it will start to stick. Everytime I use mine, I wash it with hot water (I use one of those green scrubby pads), then I put it on the burner (with the burner on med.) to dry (don't forget it!), then I coat it with oil before putting it away. The warm oil step at the end keeps it from rusting and makes it ready for the next time I use it (though I may put some more oil in it the next time depending on what I'm cooking.) I don't know if I'm doing it the "correct" way, but I've been using one for years and this works great for me!

[Pam Wilhelm]

I don't know what to say.... except what we do.... I never wash with soap, only a green scotchbrite pad... and I really try not to scrub it too much... just get the latest foodstuff off of it. When done washing I put a little shortening on it with a paper towel and put it on a warm/hot burner to really dry it and open the pores while finishing the kitchen.... then turn the burner off. That's it.

 

My skillet is probably 18 years old and is a thing of beauty. I don't know whether I would say it was as stick-free as teflon..... but it's close. :cool:

 

Good luck! A seasoned skillet is beautiful! (Man!!! I need a life!!! :p )

[Snickerdoodle]

Um, I bought my cast iron pan from a garage sale type situation and it was well seasoned already.

 

But I think if I was in your shoes, I would scrub the pan down pretty good so that there would be no food stuck to it. Then I would buy some pig fat and render some lard in it. Then I would take that lard and use it to fry potato skins (they make great chips). Let the fat cool into the pan and then scrape it off with a paper towel. Don't wash with water yet. Repeat frying another day and let the lard sit in the pan until it cools again. I would do this routine several times. edited to add, I would use fresh lard each time.

 

 

When I cook something in my cast iron, for example an egg, I add a bit of butter to the pan until the pan is good and hot. Then I add the egg in it. It shouldn't stick at all. My husband sometimes doesn't wait for the pan to be good and hot and he get a tiny bit of sticking. I don't like him to use my pan. Since butter can go rancid, I rinse the pan in super hot water only and then I put on the burner to cook it dry. My mother used to add a tiny bit of lard and then rub it all over before putting it away, but I don't do this part.

[LizzyBee]

I don't even know why I kept them. But then I stumbled on the perfect way to wash and season them, and nothing sticks anymore.

 

First, I refuse to cook in anything that isn't washed in soap. So I wash them in hot soapy water, then dry them on a hot burner. While they are still warm but not real hot, I add a little oil and use a paper towel to coat the entire bottom and sides of the pan. I've started using my cast iron pans a lot, and this method has never failed.

[OneRoomHomeSchool]

Fried eggs were the last food to cook well in my brand new cast irons. Just keep using them ALOT and I promise, eventually you will be able to fry your eggs! :D

 

After use with cooked on foods, I soak it in very hot water for about 5 minutes...then I use one of those nylon flat scraper thingys that I got from Pampered Chef and the food comes right off!

 

Rinse well with HOT water....towel dry (never let your cast air dry). Place on burner for just minute with flame going to dry more....use a paper towel to wipe a dab of oil into the insides. Then put it away.

 

Keep going...the older they are the better they work!

[melissel]

I don't know what to say.... except what we do.... I never wash with soap, only a green scotchbrite pad... and I really try not to scrub it too much... just get the latest foodstuff off of it. When done washing I put a little shortening on it with a paper towel and put it on a warm/hot burner to really dry it and open the pores while finishing the kitchen.... then turn the burner off. That's it.

 

That's what I was doing, but I guess I thought it was seasoned enough and I could stop. And come to think of it, the last time my DH used it, he cooked sausage, and it stuck horribly, so I think he scrubbed the heck out of it. I bet he scrubbed off all that seasoning, and then we didn't start it again.

 

Rinse well with HOT water....towel dry (never let your cast air dry).

 

OK, see, I did not know this! That explains the state of my pan this morning :(

 

When I cook something in my cast iron, for example an egg, I add a bit of butter to the pan until the pan is good and hot. Then I add the egg in it. It shouldn't stick at all. My husband sometimes doesn't wait for the pan to be good and hot and he get a tiny bit of sticking. I don't like him to use my pan. Since butter can go rancid, I rinse the pan in super hot water only and then I put on the burner to cook it dry. My mother used to add a tiny bit of lard and then rub it all over before putting it away, but I don't do this part.

 

Maybe this is part of the problem too--maybe I'm just not waiting long enough for it to heat up.

 

So much good advice here. Thank you everyone! I'll start from scratch again, and then I'll be better about the maintenance. I really don't want to go back to nonstick if I can help it.

[Colleen]

Yes, my mother made many a tasty meal in her big ol' cast iron pot, but I just can not abide the things. To that end, I'm of no direct help here, but should you want something different next time you get a pan, go for Swiss Diamond. They are so-o-o-o-o wonderful!