Once your pan is pre-heated, add a little oil or fat. Then simply add your food! (Note: if you want to use butter, start with oil, and then add butter right before you add your food.)
When cooking in cast iron, you should add a little oil to the pan before adding your food. This helps ensure the food doesn't stick, and it helps build layers of seasoning. You can generally use whatever oil you prefer, as long as the cooking temperature is below the smoke point of the oil.
Yes, it is safe to use butter in a cast iron skillet. Cast iron skillets are versatile and can be used for a variety of cooking methods including sautéing, frying, and baking. Butter is a great option to use in a cast iron skillet as it has a high smoke point and can be used at high temperatures without burning.
Cast-iron cookware is porous, and the oil works to fill those pores and create a smooth, nonstick surface. Enough oil soaks into those pores during the initial coating, so you can go ahead and wipe off as much as you can. Leaving too much oil on is a common mistake that will leave your skillet sticky.
That's why our simple cleaning steps have you rub oil into your pan after each use to ensure the seasoning remains for quality cooking. You can also season your cast iron cookware in the oven. This method adds a more thorough layer of seasoning onto the entire pan, strengthening the bond to the iron.
CLEAN CAST-IRON SKILLET AFTER EVERY USE
Wipe interior surface of still-warm skillet with paper towels to remove any excess food and oil. Rinse under hot running water, scrubbing with nonmetal brush or nonabrasive scrub pad to remove any traces of food.
Olive oil has a high smoke point and when done properly you can keep your pan in good shape for years and years. Keeping your cast iron seasoned will stop rusting and staining and it will let you cook your food to perfection. In this case, olive oil is definitely one of your best friends.
Why Olive Oil Is Good for Skillet Seasoning. Olive oil is a great option for seasoning your cast iron skillet because it is affordable and easy to find. It also has a high smoke point, which means it can withstand high temperatures without burning.
Since olive oil is such a pantry staple, many people naturally wonder if they can use olive oil to season cast iron. You can use olive oil to season cast iron, but you need to choose a high quality extra virgin olive oil, which should have a smoke point close to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
First, it's important to always heat up the pan prior to adding any oil, butter, or fat. When cooking on cast iron, when it comes to fat, less is not always more. It's better to err on the side of too much fat, and then simply drain any excess after cooking.
Bare cast iron is highly susceptible to corrosion, so if you've stripped away any of the seasoning (the black protective layer of polymerized oil) in the process of cleaning or just normal use, you need to re-season your pan to prevent rust and restore its naturally nonstick cooking surface.
Two words: heat & oil.
The most common reason food sticks to cast iron is because the pan is simply too hot. Because cast iron retains heat much better than other types of cookware, you generally don't need to use as high of a heat setting as you normally would with stainless steel or aluminum cookware.
Cooking on unseasoned cast iron can result in sticking, rusting, and a myriad of other issues (some of which are outlined above). Lucky for cast-iron newbies, most skillets sold these days come pre-seasoned. Take your store-bought seasoning a step further though and add your own before you call it good to go.
Leave even a well-seasoned iron skillet out in the elements, and it will rust. Let it get wet and store it for a long period, and it might rust so bad that no amount of elbow grease will bring it back.
Due to its high smoke point, Canola oil is perfect for grilling, cooking, frying, and seasoning a cast iron skillet. Canola oil's smoke point is approximately 450°F; season your pan with Canola oil at 470°F.
If your skillet didn't come pre-seasoned, you may need to season it three or four times to get a good layer of seasoning before you start cooking. Repeat this process whenever you remove a bit of seasoning, which can happen if you cook with acidic foods or at very high heat.
Instead of adding a light coat of oil, it will burn. Seasoning with olive oil will soon degrade and add smoke flavor to your food. Oil for cast iron should have a high smoke point, so olive oil is not a good choice.
Putting it upside down eliminates drips and prevents oil from pooling, which can dry into sticky spots. Feel free to set a piece of aluminum foil under the skillet to catch drips and help with clean up. After an hour, the cast iron should have a dark matte finish.
Generally, we recommend seasoning your cast iron about once per month, but after every time you use it works as well if you find that it could use some seasoning. What type of oil is best for seasoning a cast iron skillet? Canola, vegetable, or coconut oil are best.
If a crack appears in your cast iron pan, it's time to ditch it. Even a hairline crack will expand and contract when heated and cooled, and ultimately the pan will split—a potentially dangerous situation if it happens during cooking! Plus, cracks are difficult to clean and may harbor bacteria and rust.
A well-seasoned skillet will have a dark, semiglossy finish and won't be sticky or greasy to the touch. It won't have any rust or any dull or dry patches. An easy way to test a skillet's seasoning is to fry an egg (heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in skillet over medium heat for 3 minutes, then add egg).