Here’s How to Care for Your Cast Iron Pan

The benefits of cast iron cooking are legendary. You can impart savoury, smoky flavours into your food. You can sear meats to perfection then transfer to the oven for one-pan or one-pot cooking. You can even use your cast iron pan to cook over an open campfire. Perhaps most important of all, cast iron pans can last forever, with some families passing them down over generations. However, cast iron does need a bit more care and maintenance than other cookware. Here’s some tips on how to do it.

How to Season a Cast Iron Pan

Seasoning your cast iron pan or pot creates a non-stick, smooth surface for easier cooking. If you use your pan often it should be done every few months. If you only use it occasionally you probably only need to season it once a year. Some new cast iron pans come pre-seasoned, but if not, you should season it before the first usage. Here’s how to do it:

1. Give your pan a good, thorough cleaning, using steel wool and mild dish soap to scrub off any rust or stuck on food (including the sides, handle, and bottom). 

2.  Use a cleaning rag to dry the pan, or heat it on the stove to ensure all of the water evaporates. 

3. Rub a high smoke point oil like vegetable or canola oil into all areas of your pan (again, including the sides, handle and bottom). 

4. Once coated, wipe off the excess oil with a fresh cleaning rag. 

5. Place the cast iron pan upside down in your oven on the upper rack. 

6. Place a piece of aluminum foil on your bottom oven rack to catch the drips. 

7. Heat your oven to its highest temperature and bake your cast iron pan for one hour. 

8. Turn off your oven and allow the pan to completely cool. 

9. Once cooled, remove your pan and start cooking!

How to Clean a Cast Iron Skillet or Pan

Different home chefs use different methods to clean their cast iron skillets and pans. Purists believe soap should never be used as it will strip away the prized seasoning built up over years of use. This was definitely true decades ago when most soaps contained harsh lye and vinegar. However, today’s mild dish soaps are not likely to damage a well-seasoned pan. One exception is new, factory-seasoned pans. The seasoning on these is quite light and can be washed away by regular dish soap. The most important thing to remember is that you must fully dry your pan to prevent rust from setting in. Here’s three of the most popular cast iron cleaning methods:

How to Clean a Cast Iron Pan with Soap

1. Loosen up any food and debris with a hard-bristle brush or the scrubbing side of a sponge. 

2. Pour a bit of mild dish soap and water into the pan and continue cleaning out the excess cooking oil. 

3. Clean the sides and bottom of the pan with the soap solution. 

4. Rinse the pan and dry it with a cleaning rag. 

5. Heat the pan on the stovetop at medium-low to ensure all water is evaporated. 

6. Turn off the heat and add a little high smoke point oil (vegetable or canola). 

7. Use a paper towel to spread the oil around the pan, inside and out. Allow the pan to cool and wipe away excess oil.

How to Clean a Cast Iron Pan with Hot Water

1. Loosen up any food and debris with a hard-bristle brush or the scrubbing side of a sponge. 

2. Use a chainmail scrubber to remove baked-on bits of food that need a little extra power. 

3. Use the sponge/scrubber to clean the sides and bottom of the pan. 

4. Rinse the pan and dry it with a cleaning rag. 

5. Heat the pan on the stovetop at medium-low to ensure all water is evaporated. 

6. Turn off the heat and add a little high smoke point oil (vegetable or canola). 

7. Use a paper towel to spread the oil around the pan, inside and out. Allow the pan to cool and wipe away excess oil.

How to Clean a Cast Iron Pan with Coarse Salt

1. Pour 1 cup of coarse salt (kosher or rock salt) into your still-warm cast iron pan. 

2. Use a folded paper towel to scrub the pan with the salt until it appears clean (the salt should be almost completely black). 

3. Rinse the pan and dry it with a cleaning rag. 

4. Heat the pan on the stovetop at medium-low to ensure all water is evaporated. 

5. Turn off the heat and add a little high smoke point oil (vegetable or canola). 

6. Use a paper towel to spread the oil around the pan, inside and out. 

7. Allow the pan to cool and wipe away excess oil.

Cast Iron Cooking Tips

You can cook almost anything in your cast iron pan or pot, but there are a few things to be aware of when cooking.

Flavour Absorption: Cast iron pans take on the flavour of whatever is cooked in it. That’s great for steaks, chops, other meats and even veggies, because it makes for deeper and richer overall flavouring. However, that meaty flavour may not be welcome in fish or vegetarian dishes. Some people actually use two cast iron pans: one for meats and one for everything else. 

Acidic Food: Cooking acidic ingredients like tomatoes, wines and vinegars can strip the seasoning away from your cast iron pan, especially if done frequently. It doesn’t mean you can’t do it, it just means you’ll need to re-season your pan more often. 

Cooking Fish: Some fish fillets like trout and salmon have a delicate skin on one side that has trouble releasing itself from cast iron. This can cause the fish to fall apart when flipping it over to cook the other side. 

Extreme Temperature Changes: Cast iron is extremely durable, but one thing that can damage it is extreme changes in temperature. You should never immerse a hot cast iron pan in cold water as it can cause the pan to crack.

How to Restore a Cast Iron Pan

If you find a rusty old cast iron pan at a yard sale, it doesn’t mean it’s no longer good to use. Old cast iron pans can be restored. It will take a bit of effort, but remember, cast iron can last forever so it’s worth the time. You can use steel wool at this stage, but not once your pan is properly seasoned. Here’s how to clean rusty cast iron: 

1. Scrub the pan thoroughly using combination of vinegar, baking soda and salt 

2. Once the rust is removed, scrub the pan clean with soap and hot water 

3. Rinse the pan and dry it with a cleaning rag 

4.  Re-season your pan using the steps outlined above 

5. Repeat the re-seasoning process one more time

A cast iron pan, skillet or pot adds so much functionality to your kitchen, and so much flavour to your food. Sure, they’re a little more expensive than other cookware, and they require a bit more care. But a lifetime’s worth of usage makes for a very worthy investment.