Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Iron Cast & its 3000-Mile Oil Change

Are you managing your car well these days? Giving it proper baths, tune ups, and oil changes? Oh! What dread, huh? We all postpone and delay these things, unless, of course, you drive around a Lexus, Lincoln, or Mercedes....By golly, one day, I'll get me one of them! In the meantime, I'll stick with my Cobalt. Besides, it hasn't had any temper tantrums yet with the limited amount of shower time and exposure to mechanics seeing all its body parts.

Like your car, your iron cast skillet needs an oil change from time to time. I wouldn't say every three months, but it depends on how often you use it. For me, I use it a couple times a week considering the fact that I don't own a grill, so it wears down quickly.

Below is a before and after shot of my reseasoning experience.

Before--Notice a lack of blackness. It looks gray and dull. Once your meat starts to stick to the surface, you know it is time for reseasoning.

After--You can see that the grey disappeared, but a little bit of golden color developed.

How to reseason your iron cast:

Place aluminum foil on the bottom of your oven as preparation for easy clean up. Preheat oven to 350-400 degrees.

Clean your iron cast with hot, soapy water. Rinse and dry completely with a paper towel. Apply a thin, even layer of melted solid vegetable oil to the skillet, both inside and out.

On the top rack, place skillet in oven upside down, like this:

Cook for one hour. Turn off the oven and let skillet cool while inside with door shut.

Tips on caring for your iron cast:

-Never wash the iron cast with soap unless you are reseasoning. Instead, use a hard, stiff brush to scrub.
-Always dry thoroughly--never air dry! While it is still warm, apply a light coat of oil or cooking spray.
-Never put it through the dishwasher, never!! (If it ever gets done by soap or dishwasher and it rusts, use sandpaper to clean it away and reseason it promptly)
-If food is stuck to the point you cant remove it, boil water in it over the stove top. This will help.
-Skillet gets very hot! Don't submerge it under cold water immediately after use, it could cause it to crack.


Like your car, your cast iron skillet needs the occasional tune up!

My dream cars:

Lincoln MKX

Range Rover

Lexus IS 250



No comments:

Post a Comment