Cast iron skillets are the real workhorses of the home kitchen. They hold plenty of heat, searing steak to perfection and sautéing mushrooms to a crispy finish; distribute heat evenly when frying chicken or baking cornbread; and move freely from stovetop to oven and back, making cooking a cinch.
But for first-time owners, cast iron skillets can also be … intimidating. For starters, cast iron pans need to be seasoned, or they corrode and rust. Once seasoned, a skillet must be broken in until the seasoning is sturdy and dependable. Until then, acidic ingredients or sticky foods are out of the question.
Things get even trickier when you consider that these days, all cast iron skillets are sold pre-seasoned. This is supposed to save time because a foundry worker has already seasoned the pan for you. And yet that’s not how things always go — some cast iron buyers complain that the factory seasoning isn’t all that good, requiring them to strip their pans and season them anew.
The Decision You’ll Have to Make
You have two options when you buy a new, pre-seasoned cast iron pan: you can either give it a quick rinse and use it with the factory pre-seasoning, or strip the pre-seasoning and apply a seasoning of your own.
If you’re new to cast iron, try using your skillet with the factory pre-seasoning. While you’ll eventually need to reseason the pan, learning to cook with the pre-seasoned surface is good practice. You’ll probably make mistakes and need to re-season the pan soon anyway.
If you’re experienced with cast iron but this is your first pre-seasoned skillet, you might want to strip off the factory seasoning and apply your own. Factory coatings aren’t all that good.
I’ll explain both methods below.
Using Your Pan With the Pre-Seasoning
- Unpack the skillet. Give it a quick rinse with warm, soapy water. Use a non-abrasive scrub sponge and mild dish soap, never a heavy-duty degreaser.
- Pat the skillet completely dry with a clean cloth or a few lint-free paper towels. Heat on the burner over medium-low for 5 minutes to evaporate excess moisture.
- Wait for the skillet to cool. When it’s still warm but no longer too hot to touch, rub a very thin layer of grapeseed oil on the inside and out, just enough to give the iron a nice sheen.
- You can now cook in your pre-seasoned cast-iron skillet. For storing it, hang it on the wall or put it in a cool and dry kitchen cabinet. Never store cast iron cookware in the upper cabinets; since cast iron is heavy and brittle, it can break if dropped.
Re-Seasoning the Pan Before First Use
- Remove the skillet from its packaging. Rinse it with warm soapy water and a non-abrasive scrub sponge.
- Fill a plastic storage container halfway with a 1:1 mixture of distilled white vinegar and tap water. Completely submerge the skillet in the mixture, placing it face down, and let it soak for 30 minutes. While waiting, preheat the oven to 400°F (205°C) with the rack in the middle position.
- Put on a pair of dishwashing gloves with a long cuff. Using steel wool, scrub off the factory pre-seasoning while keeping the skillet in the container. Scrub the pan for 3 to 5 minutes. When done, the surface should appear matte gray rather than sheeny black.
- Thoroughly rinse the skillet under cold running water. Pat it fully dry with a clean dish cloth or a bunch of lint-free paper towels. Place it on the burner over medium-low for 5 minutes to evaporate any excess moisture.
- Wait for the skillet to cool. When it’s still warm but no longer too hot to touch, apply a very thin layer of grapeseed oil to the entire skillet — interior, underside, walls, and handle.
- Place the skillet upside down in the oven. This keeps the oil from pooling and becoming sticky. Bake the oil onto the pan for 1 hour.
- Turn the oven off and wait for your cast iron skillet to cool. Once cooled, hang it on the wall or store it in a cool and dry cabinet.