How to Season Cast Iron Skillet

How to season cast iron skillet with just a few simple steps! If your cast iron skillet is old or new, these simple steps will help!

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Reseason Cast Iron Pans!

Maybe you have picked up some cast iron cookware for a steal at a yard sale or thrift store and its been neglected, or perhaps like me you have abused yours a little bit.

I have been loving my cast iron skillet so we’re using it every day now, so it doesn’t take long for the cast iron skillet to show some wear and need to be re-seasoned to make it look like new again!

Things like tossing it in the dishwasher, soaking it in the sink, letting things burn in it. It’s probably be shoved to the side and forgotten about.

Either way, over time your cast iron probably needs some TLC.  I am going to show you the simplest way to season your cast iron skillet and prepare it for all kinds of tasty cooking.

Nothing is better than cast iron cooking. Once you have a perfectly seasoned cast iron pan, it will become your favorite skillet! You’ll be amazed at just how easy the seasoning process is.

Side note, even if you have purchased a new cast iron skillet that has a layer of pre-seasoning on it, you will want to perform most of these steps to prepare it as new ones are coated in a special oil.

How long to season?

Depending upon what shape your cast iron skillet is in and how long it takes to get the cooking surface back into a usable state, it really doesn’t take very long to season your cast iron cookware. Actual hands on time is about 5-10 minutes and then you have a little over an hour of your cast iron seasoning in the oven.

I highly recommend that you take the time to do all of the steps for seasoning cast iron so that you can have the perfectly seasoned pan, though!

These steps help food not to stick to your skillet since the oil has become bonded to the metal. This layer of seasoning, as it’s called, makes cooking in cast iron so easy.

How to Season a Cast Iron Skillet

If you don’t have a cast iron skillet you may want to  consider purchasing one, it is good for cooking in and on the oven for a wide variety of foods.

• First, start off by preheating the oven to 400 degrees F.
  
• Then you need to wash your skillet in soapy water, using steel wool and scrubbing vigorously if necessary to remove burnt on food or rust. Allow it to soak for 5 minutes.
  
• Next, dry your cast iron skillet thoroughly. You can either let it air dry or you can dry it off with a clean towel.
  
• Then place the cast iron skillet in a hot oven for 5 minutes to be sure there is no water left. Let the pan cool completely.
  
  

What type of oil to season the pan with?

• After the skillet has completely cooled, pour 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil in pan. If you don’t have vegetable oil, you can use canola oil or a high quality olive oil.
  
  You just want to make sure to use an oil that has a high smoke point, so avoid flaxseed oil and avocado oil. See the Best Oil for Cast Iron Pan.
  
• Then take a paper towel and rub the cooking oil all over bottom and sides of pan making sure the entire pan has a thin layer of oil. Use your paper towel to remove any excess oil.
  
• Next, place the pan upside down into an oven preheated to 400 degrees F for an hour.
• Lastly, turn off the oven and allow the pan cool to room temperature in oven.

To maintain your cast iron, every time you wash it, season it by repeating steps 2- 6.

Then you may either do 7 and 8 or season on stove top by turning on medium high heat until it starts to smoke. Then turn off the burner and allow it to completely cool before storing in the cupboard.

Reasoning a cast iron skillet is a process called polymerization. When oils or fats are heated at a high enough temperature, they change from a wet surface to a harden surface.

A few helpful tips:

First use as little soap as possible when cleaning your cast iron every time you cook. Most times hot water and a scrubber will be sufficient to clean your cast iron skillet. See How to Clean a Cast Iron Skillet.

Also, if you find that food is sticking to your skillet, that means that it is time to re-season it. Just follow the steps above regularly to enjoy your cast iron skillet.

Print how to season a cast iron skillet below:

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5 from 3 votes

How to Season a Cast Iron Skillet

How to season a cast iron skillet with just a few simple steps! If your cast iron skillet is old or new, these simple steps will help!

Prep Time1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Author: Carrie Barnard

Ingredients

• Cast Iron Skillet
• 1 Tbsp Vegetable Oil

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Wash your skillet in soap and water, using steel wool and scrubbing vigorously if necessary to remove burnt on food or rust. Allow it to soak for 5 minutes.
• Dry thoroughly-air dry or with a clean towel.
• Place the pan in a hot oven for 5 minutes to be sure there is no water left.
• Cool pan completely.
• Pour 1 Tbsp. Vegetable Oil in pan.
• Take a paper towel and rub the oil all over bottom and sides of pan.
• Place pan into an oven preheated to 400 for an hour.
• Turn off oven and allow to cool to room temp in oven.

Notes

You can also use canola oil instead of vegetable oil or use any oil with a high smoke point. 

Cast Iron Skillet Recipes:

• Easy Cheesy Pasta and Sausage Skillet
• Skillet BBQ Pork Chops
• 15 Minute Skillet Macaroni Dinner
• Tex Mex Skillet Chicken
• Quick Skillet Chicken Fajitas
• Cast Iron Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie

Check out these other cooking basics:

• How to Make a Roux (Cooking Basics)
• Roast a Chicken Recipe
• How to Use Leftover Grilled Chicken
• Freezing Ground Beef after you Brown it
• Cutting Onions without Crying
• The Best Oil to Cook With and Why