Reseason Your Cast Iron Skillet
by TheNewHobbyist in Living > Kitchen
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Reseason Your Cast Iron Skillet
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I admit it, in the past I've neglected the well being of my cast iron skillet. It was always good to me but sadly I had not returned the favor.
While my skillet came from the factory nicely seasoned and ready to use, a year of inattention has taken it's toll. Gone was the once smooth cooking surface so I went to my usual reference library, Google.
This instructable shows how to strip down a pan and build it back up into something invaluable to your kitchen.
Scrub, Wash and Start Over
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OK, so your parts list will be small for this Instructable:
Once clean I thoroughly dried the pan and continued to Step 2 "Largmageddon"
- One sick cast iron vessel
- One box of scouring/steel wool pads
- One comically over sized block of LARD
- (Optional but recommended) BACON
Once clean I thoroughly dried the pan and continued to Step 2 "Largmageddon"
Pan Meet Lard
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I unwrapped my lard block (aka porky crayon) and gave the entire pan a nice coat. As I mentioned in the previous step the instructions I found online suggested you also lightly season the outside of the pan. So both sides got a nice coat of fragrant lard. This was a pretty simple step but clearly the most fun part.
Baked, Cooled, Wiped, Beautiful.
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I placed a foil wrapped half sheet pan on the bottom of my oven and placed the skilled upside-down in the rack above. Baking the skillet upside-down reduces the amount of fat that pools on and around the pan. I set the over to 275oF and left it bake for about 2 hours.
At the end of the baking and cool down period I tossed the pan back on a burner, heated it up a bit and wiped any remaining lard deposits out of the inside.
After the final wipe-down the pan was nice and slick and ready for cooking copious amounts of bacon, which (while not pictured) I assure you occurred.
At the end of the baking and cool down period I tossed the pan back on a burner, heated it up a bit and wiped any remaining lard deposits out of the inside.
After the final wipe-down the pan was nice and slick and ready for cooking copious amounts of bacon, which (while not pictured) I assure you occurred.