Bacon grease! I keep some in the fridge and dab about 2 teaspoons on a paper towel that i rub over the cast iron every time after I clean it (no soap for me either). It always has a perfect sheen!

I have the same issue with my cast-iron pan. I heard so many good things about them before getting one, but it's been pretty frustrating to use. And frankly, it just doesn't feel sanitary to not use soap to clean it (although I don't). What am I doing wrong???

While I agree that bacon grease would make for fine seasoning, I prefer canola oil. Much as I love bacon, I don't want all my dishes to taste like it.

As to the sanitary factor that Farming Man brings up: Remember that whatever you're cooking in that skillet is going to be heated up well over 350 degrees, which should be plenty hot to kill any residual germs.

After I use my skillet (a 110-year-old Griswold beauty), I'll wipe it out with paper towels. If there's any residue left, I run the water as hot as it will go and scrub the pan out with a nylon brush. Then it's back on the stove, heat until all the water's gone, and wipe some new oil around. Works great.

The short answer is HOT pan COLD oil, foods don't stick (and by cold I don't really mean cold, it's just to make it easy to remember).

Heat up the pan first and then add the oil or butter or whatever. Then adjust the temp, let the fat get warmed up and then add the food. If you are trying to create a crust on the food, leave it alone for awhile. Don't touch it, don't lift it. Be patient.

I am a terrible housekeeper, everything I own is a mess, the outsides of my regular pans never get scrubbed, etc., etc., but I have exquisitely beautiful cast iron that never has any problems and that is my rule. Once in awhile, food sticks a little, but never a lot. If it sticks, don't panic, just clean it like a regular pan. I use a steel scrubby and honest to god hand on heart, it does not hurt the seasoning.

Hot pan, cold oil. That is the way...

Not using soap shouldn't be a sanitary issue. If you pre-heat your pan it'll kill anything potentially living in it, and... wiping it clean should prevent any bacteria from forming at all.

That said, it might be that you aren't leaving your food alone. Cast iron is non-stick, but only when you aren't fiddling with the food. It's meant to sear whatever you are cooking, so you shouldn't be stirring or fussing with the food all that much.

It takes some getting used to, but once you get the hang of it you'll see why everyone raves about cast iron!

Fat, fat and more fat.

You need to be scrupulous about no soap, and for the best results clean it when it's still hot. Things will come off better.

Also make sure that food doesn't go in until your fat is hot. Otherwise it can stick which will be harder to clean.

Finally, I usually rub a tiny bit(very very thing layer) of Vegetable on the cleaned, dried skillet. Which helps keep the sheen.

Rinse it with hot water immediately after use and scour it to get off those crusty bits. I use a rough rag I purchased for that very purpose. Dry right away or it will rust. Dab a paper towel with canola oil and wipe the pan down. Never fails!

1. In my experience, cooking meat in the pan keeps it seasoned more easily than cooking other things that don't produce fat while they cook. I'm a vegetarian and love my cast iron, but I think it needs slightly more maintenance.

2. To do that, I keep a rag with a little oil on it in a plastic container in the fridge and I use that to wipe the pan after each cleaning.

I wash my pan with hot water and a nylon brush after cooking, then I oil it. Trader Joe's sells canola oil in a spray bottle which makes it quick and easy. Make sure to do it every time. Also -- dry the pan thoroughly after washing! You can even heat it up on the stove for a few minutes to make sure all the water has evaporated.

I don't follow the 'no soap' rule for cast iron. Sometimes you need to remove food residue that can leave odors or flavoring on the pan. I wash with hot soapy water, dry it immediately, and then apply a little coating of grease (I like using shortening but any fat will work). By 'light coating of grease', I mean just enough to give you a sheen, but not too much to where it's dripping from or pooling in the pan.

Regardless of whether I wash with soap or just wipe down, I always apply a light coat of grease after using. It seems to be working and I have yet to loss my seasoning (except for that one time my sister wanted to be helpful, washed my dutch oven with soap, and left it out to air dry, SIGH).

Kosher salt, people, kosher salt! After I cook I pour in a generous amount of kosher salt and scrub with the pads of my fingers. Then I just dump the salt out and wipe it out with a paper towel.Perfectly removes everything and I haven't had to re-season my pan since! The key is to scrape out as much of the food as you can while cooking, though I don't have to scrape much at all because my pan is so nonstick.

Thanks so much for this question! I'm still figuring this out too. Lately I've had a little more luck, which probably has something to do with the fact that my cast iron is now a year old (pre-seasoned definitely doesn't mean fully seasoned).

I also bought one of those plastic scraping thingers- they look like a little plastic credit card with a ridge where you can grasp it and a scraping edge. I take off any stuck bits with that (kosher salt scrub if that doesn't do it) then rinse the pan out. I dry it out then put it on the stove top w/ the heat on to finish drying. Once it's dry, with the heat still on, I oil it and wipe the oil around using a paper towel held by tongs. I've found that this helps- it's like a little mini seasoning after every cleaning.

I keep my various cast iron pieces seasoned they same way my grandmother & her grandmother before her did. Most are inherited, a few are rehabs I got for a song - or free! - because they were covered in rust. All are in mint condition. Just described in here a few wks ago..:

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/how-to-clean-and-season-old-ru-151535

And once again for those in the back - oil is NOT THE SAME as shortening.

As Carrotsticks said...once you get the hang of it you'll see why everyone raves about cast iron!

Mine get much more use than any other pot/skillet/griddle I own and I own quite a few. Oh, and don't buy into the nonsense that some things are not ok to cook in the skillet. I have never once made spaghetti sauce in anything except my largest cast iron piece. And I have never once had a problem. Nor did my grandmother....or her grandmother...you get the picture. A little patience in the beginning will net a lifetime of enjoyment.

In my experience, the fasted way to lose the seasoning on your pan is to throw acid in (lemon/lime juice, vinegar, etc). If I want to use some sort of acid, I add it after plating the dish or I use a different pan.

Also, I agree with all the points about oiling after each use and no using soap. As soon as I'm done cooking I rinse the hot pan in water, scraping off anything stuck and put it back in the over or on the burner to dry.

Sigh. My roommate used my cast iron skillet to make spaghetti sauce in and the finish was just gone after it was washed. Here's to starting over again... :\

Thanks for the suggestions! I'll guess I'll just keep at it until the shine sticks...

Whenever my seasoning starts to get a bit low (usually from over-vigorous scrubbing), I use it as the perfect excuse to make cornbread. I throw some butter in the skillet and put it in the oven to preheat while I make the batter. Once the batter is done, pour it in over the hot melted butter and then bake as usual.
It sort of acts as a reseasoning, but without the feeling of tedium waiting for 'nothing' to bake.

I second the Kosher salt! I have a beautifully seasoned cast iron pan that is almost nonstick and I cook EVERYTHING in it, from sweet to savory. When the cooking is done, I pour about a quarter to a half-cup of kosher salt in and spread it around and leave it until all the other cleanup is done. The salt soaks up excess grease. Then I add enough hot water to form a paste and scrub with a scrubby sponge to remove any stuck-on bits. Then rinse with hot water. If water isn't beading off it, I dry it carefully and spray it with a little Pam, inside and out, wiping with a paper towel, or I spread some shortening or lard on it. The metal should feel pleasantly slick, not greasy.

I think there is a mistaken idea that a cast iron pan needs to look oiled to be seasoned. It does not. It just shouldn't look like plain metal any more. My pans don't stick, I wash 'em with soap, I don't apply oil to them after use, I DO dry them after use. They are perfect for all kinds of cooking, including tomato based dishes. The only thing weird that happens is if I cook red cabbage, the cabbage sometimes turns purple-blue. Cook bacon in them once in a while--after heating the pan first. The key thing to learn is to heat the pan and THEN add the fat (like I said above).

Another tip if you think the seasoning needs some TLC is to use your bbq. You can get a beautiful coating using the bbq much faster and effectively than using the oven, and you won't smoke yourself out of your home. Just remember that many very thin coats is 100X better than a thick coat. Just like painting!

I would be cautious of those advocating using soap to clean the pan. You're not supposed to since it will absorb into the seasoning, and could affect the smoothness of it. The seasoning is literally burnt oils, and dish soap is meant to break down oils. The two are not a good mix! I just wipe mine out and use a wooden spoon to get any stuck on bits off.

I'm a cast iron junkie!

I find that quality matters. Most of your average, Fred Meyer/supermarket/hardware store- available cast irons tend to have a course grain. I inherited some of my grandma's cast iron and the grain is noticeably finer. I rarely have sticking food with those, versus my younger irons. Using the pan while hot also tends to make food congeal before seeping into the pores and sticking.

If I ever notice a loss of luster, I always fry something in 'em and that usually does it. Also, make sure you coat the OUTSIDE of the pan too, otherwise it'll rust and all that work is for not.

I try to routinely re-season my pans (at least once a year). As long as there isn't crud on them, I turn the oven up to 450, coat them inside at out with white fat (crisco, lard, etc.) and put them in upside down for about 1/2 an hour, bring em out, let em come to room temp, coat them inside and out with fat again. I do least 3 cycles of this. If you have crud, throw it in a really hot camp fire, fireplace or furnace, if you can, until they glow a dull red. That usually gets you back to square one.

The oils penetrate the pores of the iron, and keep water from getting in and rusting the pan. White fats are superior as their solid at room temperature, and better keep pores locked and waterproof. Soap breaks up lipids (fats). Using soap on your pan can break up the lips and expose the iron to water and induce rusting or food and induce crud build-up.

I use soap and scrub my cast iron hard.
But, then I oil and reheat after every use.
I also store it in the oven so it gets reheated whenever I bake.

Also, I take it camping and fry in it over a campfire. Then wipe it clean (but oiled), and turn it upside down over the fire for storage. The soot washes straight off.

And, all of my skillets, are black and shiny non-stick.

I'll definitely lose some surface when I cook an acidic dish (like Texmex red chili with a tomato base), but reoiling and reheating always does the trick.

I have a cast iron pan I sometimes use at home for upside down cakes, but mainly use mine camping. Since my stove is one burner with one reasonably sized gas grill, it's my only pot or pan usually, except for the kettle. It's so nicely seasoned that it is utterly nonstick, and it cleans like a dream. The specific brand I have is Lodge Logic. It's widely available, I think.

Use animal fat to cook with. Lard is preferable, but butter is a better option than oil. Until your pan is properly seasoned, vegetable oils will actually make your pan sticky.

new to this site and kinda new to cooking with cast iron - what do you mean by the statement that oil is not the same as shortening? which is preferable for seasoning in your opinion? oil or shortening?

thanks!

For msgvb --- shortening! My understanding is a fat that is solid at room temperature will give a better coating.