Iron cooking utensils page 2

[Bosnic]

I've noticed that to prevent food from sticking, you need to heat it up slowly. If your meat is coming straight from the fridge, you need to warm it up on a very low temperature. Taking it out before hand and letting it warm up also works.

Too much heat = sticking.

[keithpowers]

I've noticed that to prevent food from sticking, you need to heat it up slowly. If your meat is coming straight from the fridge, you need to warm it up on a very low temperature. Taking it out before hand and letting it warm up also works.

Too much heat = sticking.

My favorite method is to put the skillet on the heat and put the meat in at the same time. That way, it gradually brings the temperature of the meat up with the pan. I drop a couple tablespoons of butter in after I pull the sausage out and fry my eggs. I NEVER have sticking. Not even once... but I did an old-fashioned seasoning, and it is MUCH more durable than even the Lodge instructions. (To clarify: long ago, NO one would use a vegetable oil for seasoning their skillet, because they simply didn't exist. They used lard or tallow, and because it is so highly saturated, it requires high temperatures to polymerize... so I use lard, and expose it to VERY high temperatures. My favorite method for that is to put it on my grill with a full complement of lump charcoal going, VERY VERY hot)
The coating MUST be very thin, or it gets sticky. After the initial coat sets, you can add another coating (and back onto the heat) to seal it further.
My Wagner Ware skillet is FAR more non-stick than any non-stick pans I've used in the past. Now, I just have to get all the poorly polymerized factory seasoning off my Dutch Oven and I should be good to go.

[yodiewan]

I tried the Sheryl Canter method but I didn't get amazing results. I did 4 or 5 coats, but the pan was still not black. It looked somewhat reddish maybe, but not really like rust. I took the "wipe off all the oil" part to heart. The pans were barely even slick when I put them in the oven. Am I leaving too thin of a layer? Should I be slightly less enthusiastic with wiping all the oil off?

[IcarianVX]

I tried the Sheryl Canter method but I didn't get amazing results. I did 4 or 5 coats, but the pan was still not black. It looked somewhat reddish maybe, but not really like rust. I took the "wipe off all the oil" part to heart. The pans were barely even slick when I put them in the oven. Am I leaving too thin of a layer? Should I be slightly less enthusiastic with wiping all the oil off?

Are you talking about seasoning it? I season mine by filling it with lard and poppin it in the oven for a few hours.

[Blackcatbone]

I tried the Sheryl Canter method but I didn't get amazing results. I did 4 or 5 coats, but the pan was still not black. It looked somewhat reddish maybe, but not really like rust. I took the "wipe off all the oil" part to heart. The pans were barely even slick when I put them in the oven. Am I leaving too thin of a layer? Should I be slightly less enthusiastic with wiping all the oil off?

Are you sure the oven was hot enough? When I've seasoned stuff it's worked well, although the whole house smelled bad. Also, was this a new pan or older one? If it was new did it have a preseasoned layer that needed cleaning off? Or if it was older was it cleaned and dried thoroughly first? The iron I've used this on was old, weathered pieces that I found along the RR tracks, so seriously rough shape, but even then, after a good cleaning and drying blackened up nicely.

[yodiewan]

Are you sure the oven was hot enough? When I've seasoned stuff it's worked well, although the whole house smelled bad. Also, was this a new pan or older one? If it was new did it have a preseasoned layer that needed cleaning off? Or if it was older was it cleaned and dried thoroughly first? The iron I've used this on was old, weathered pieces that I found along the RR tracks, so seriously rough shape, but even then, after a good cleaning and drying blackened up nicely.

I had the oven at 500F for an hour, then let it sit inside the oven for an hour or more each time. It was a Lodge pan, but I sprayed it down with oven cleaner and let it sit overnight twice to remove anything that might have been on it. I did not do the vinegar soak since it did not look rusty to me. I just rinsed off the oven cleaner, put it into the oven until it was dry, oiled it and wiped it and then back in the oven at 500F.