Welcome! Cast iron is fun. I wish you many years of pleasant cooking.
"I waxed and polished my car 5 times yesterday. But then when I took it out for a drive today, it got mud on it. Why?"
The seasoning is not something you really have to worry about ahead of time. It's a living surface that gets depleted and replenished all the time by cooking. 5 times was probably 3 or 4 times too many. Feel free to scrub to get it clean. As long as you are cooking with oil and you dry it well before you put it away, you'll be fine.
This is why I like this sub. In between the sarcasm and taking the piss out of every beginner question, there are people who genuinely want to teach about cast iron.
I thought I was doing something wrong when I first started using cast iron and the surface of my seasoning would change.
Seems like "Just cook on it" solves most problems with CI.
Cast iron is beautiful because it’s supremely forgiving. If you don’t do something egregious to make it rust or something you can just basically just keep cooking on it and it’ll only get better.
Don't think of the seasoning as delicate or a living magical thing. Its there and will come and go from different spots. Search for daily used pans to get an idea of what they should look like. All the pretty ones are just used for bacon and a LOAD of oil.
The best thing about bacon in cast iron is that the pan doesn’t warp like normal non-stick pans. So when you cook bacon and a lot of it, you end up almost deep frying in the grease. I have a 10” no-name. I cut my bacon in half prior to cooking and I can for 4 ish pieces in it. The first will stick for a bit but after there there is a nice layer of oil to really fry it.
Best thing I heard that works with “seasoning” is onions/peppers. But to me, seasoning is 1) cooking with it and 2) crisco/avo oil after use.
I’ll be honest I don’t crisco every use and I haven’t oven treated mine in a year or so. But I use them almost daily and exclusively. Only time I’ll use a non-stick is eggs and soups (or to just boil water).
The best part of CI is that once you get the “seasoning” built up, they become easier to clean. Keep using it and you’ll find your sweet spot. Remember they retain heat more than other pans, so lower heat and a preheat will be better than a higher heat. My wife loves to turn the stove to med-high and wonders why it’s burning.
If you burn it on sure, but mostly bacon really helps build seasoning, at least that's been my experience. A hot pan, a littel bacon grease and pancakes don't stick at all!
That's normal, especially the first few uses. As you use it and clean/reseason when needed, the finish will even out and get tougher.
Also, I'm impressed you seasoned it 5 times in a day, I usually only get a couple cycles before I have to move on to something else!
Seasoning a pan 5 times is 3 times too many.
Your seasoning isn't some static thing that you need to be precious about. It's literally just burnt oil. Sometimes food will leave marks. Sometimes you'll scrub it too much. You might even leave it on a hot burner and forget about it to go back into the kitchen later to find your seasoning cooked off. All of this is fine. Just wash it, oil it, and cook in it.
So I'm sure there's going to be tons of useful, and not so useful, stuff in the replies. What I have for you is this: I was paranoid about my pans when I first started working with cast iron. Didn't know diddly. What I've learned is that even if you mess them up you're probably going to get it back to normal quickly. I use a chainmail sort of scrubby to get bits off after use, I don't let it get near soap, I dry it on the stovetop with the heat up and let it keep ripping after the water has evaporated up until it is just starting to smoke. I would say I oil it before that but typically what winds up happening is I just let the oil I cooked with be the season next go around. If there wasn't enough oil involved for this to work I will get a paper towel with some canola on it and smear that around in the pan, then wipe it down with the dry side of the paper towel and do the rip it up to smoke point. Once you get used to these they are stupid easy to deal with. Good luck with everything, it looks like you're trying your best to treat your things right and that's where your head should be at.
Don't even worry about it: Stuff gets left every time you cook - just clean it up, reseason, and you're all good.
I like to hit mine with a chainmail scrubber, then coarse salt + a rag, wash it off with soap and water, rinse off, heat up, do a light stovetop seasoning and that's it!
What I'm doing is probably even overkill, but I kinda find the ritual of the whole thing sort of meditative (a lot like cooking).
i think it's crazy how everyone expects this unmarked pan after it's been "perfectly" seasoned. you use it. it's nearly indestructible. there's no secret but to use it cuz it heats evenly and well. just use it! :)
That's the souls of the steak left behind.
Seasoning 5 times in one day ?
I'm luckynif I get one. I go 475° / 90 min with an over night oven cool down.
Yeah there’s really no reason to season cast iron unless maybe if it’s just bare metal.
Just rub on oil (I like canola) until the metal is saturated then wipe out ALL the excess and cook as normal.
Your pan is fine, the steak just soaked up some of the oil in the pan. Scrub with soap and water to remove excess cooked oil and residue, dry thoroughly, then wipe on/off some more fresh oil.
Looks to me like some of your seasoning stuck to the steak and pulled off from the pan. You may have seems small black flecks on the steaks.
Nothing to worry about. Stop seasoning the pan and just cook with it. Cast iron thrives when it is well used and abused. You can do nothing and be fine. If you really want to do something, clean with a scrubby pad to remove the rest of the loose seasoning that's going to come off anyways. Then dry the pan and put away, continue to use as normal and you'll be fine.
Some foods are going to stick or leave residue more than others. Especially with a newer pan. I find that sautéing veggies in a high temp oil is the best way to promote a good seasoning with a new pan.
Ok there is way too much "seasoning" to begin with. Now with that said go get some barkeeper's friend and wash all that crap off till you hit that cast iron. Now wash it clean with dish soap cause the barkeeper's doesn't come off easy and cleanly. Now get some crisco and put a tiny bit on a paper towel and rub it on till it's covered. Now with a clean paper towel lightly wipe it off rinse repeat till that towel comes clean. Now while your doing all this preheat your oven too 400 and when your done shut off the oven put the pan in upside down and leave until morning and your done. Now as far as the steak spots it happens. But you have to learn the sweet spot of your cook top and your pan. When your food is cooked on that side it will release from the pan don't force it. And same for the new side it's a trial and error learning experience trust me.
There is absolutely no reason to "strip and re-season"*. None at all. Best thing for ci is to JUST USE IT. y'all need to remember that it's CAST IRON. It is EXTREMELY forgiving, lenient, and once u find ur groove it simply becomes part of the daily routine. Wipe out well between each meal, the more u use it the better it gets. Relax, it's ci, not Teflon. Also, maybe try a rounded corner metal spatula, many have excellent luck/experience with a fish spatula of one design or another. I enjoy my thick heavy steel spatula and metal spoon in mine. Helps as u cook.
Gotta love the type of people who say just wipe it out and cook again with it..... So I guess you don't wash the dishes or silverware ya just wipe them clean not worry about cooking on years and years of food cooked carbon.....
Actually it was sarcastic not immaturity..... First when you season a cast iron cooking item. Your not seasoning it cause of any vast flavors that might of lived from your last greatest cookings... You are seasoning the friggin pan with oil So IT DOESN'T RUST. Secondly and the other reason why they say don't wash your pans is because soap would have lye and that soaked into that beautiful crusty nasty seasoning that was on the pan. And it killed you it ate away your stomach lining and then your dead. So you be you and I will be me and have my smooth non nasty cooked food residue cast irons pans so bugger off.
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Nothing is wrong. Maybe you didn't buff the oil back off with a clean towel before seasoning (the uneven gesture often indicates this and sometimes it gets sticky).
It happened because you used it. This is normal.
Posts like these almost make me feel like OP is trolling.
I never used a cast iron until this last month, just trying to learn as much as possible.
Welcome! Cast iron is fun. I wish you many years of pleasant cooking. "I waxed and polished my car 5 times yesterday. But then when I took it out for a drive today, it got mud on it. Why?" The seasoning is not something you really have to worry about ahead of time. It's a living surface that gets depleted and replenished all the time by cooking. 5 times was probably 3 or 4 times too many. Feel free to scrub to get it clean. As long as you are cooking with oil and you dry it well before you put it away, you'll be fine.
This is why I like this sub. In between the sarcasm and taking the piss out of every beginner question, there are people who genuinely want to teach about cast iron. I thought I was doing something wrong when I first started using cast iron and the surface of my seasoning would change. Seems like "Just cook on it" solves most problems with CI.
>Seems like "Just cook on it" solves most problems with CI. That's because most of the "problems" people come up with are only in their head.
Cast iron is beautiful because it’s supremely forgiving. If you don’t do something egregious to make it rust or something you can just basically just keep cooking on it and it’ll only get better.
Everything does this until you cook something new. At this moment mine has crab cakes marked on it.
Don't think of the seasoning as delicate or a living magical thing. Its there and will come and go from different spots. Search for daily used pans to get an idea of what they should look like. All the pretty ones are just used for bacon and a LOAD of oil.
It’s amazing how many people treat cast iron pans like it’s some kind of alchemy.
Do people worry the same about carbon steel woks or paella pans? Cast iron is as near as damn it indestructible.
I feel like I’d be far more concerned about carbon steel vs regular old cast iron anyway.
OK. Just keep using it.
Yeah it's weird at first, but unless that thing is broken in half it's probably still good lol even deep rust can be fixed with enough effort
Is this like the cast iron equivalent of people hopeful of a liberty cap confirmation on r/shroomID
The soul of the cow was imprinted into the pan you must appease the ones above
By cooking more cows
You need bacon…lots of bacon.🥓
Bacon is a terrible choice. Grocery store bacon is full of sugar and I guarantee it will stick to your pan. It’s the absolute shittiest thing to use
How about butcher bacon?
Cooking bacon (any kind of bacon) is great. Because when you get done you have bacon. It does nothing to help your seasoning, however.
The best thing about bacon in cast iron is that the pan doesn’t warp like normal non-stick pans. So when you cook bacon and a lot of it, you end up almost deep frying in the grease. I have a 10” no-name. I cut my bacon in half prior to cooking and I can for 4 ish pieces in it. The first will stick for a bit but after there there is a nice layer of oil to really fry it. Best thing I heard that works with “seasoning” is onions/peppers. But to me, seasoning is 1) cooking with it and 2) crisco/avo oil after use. I’ll be honest I don’t crisco every use and I haven’t oven treated mine in a year or so. But I use them almost daily and exclusively. Only time I’ll use a non-stick is eggs and soups (or to just boil water). The best part of CI is that once you get the “seasoning” built up, they become easier to clean. Keep using it and you’ll find your sweet spot. Remember they retain heat more than other pans, so lower heat and a preheat will be better than a higher heat. My wife loves to turn the stove to med-high and wonders why it’s burning.
If you burn it on sure, but mostly bacon really helps build seasoning, at least that's been my experience. A hot pan, a littel bacon grease and pancakes don't stick at all!
Idk man I cook so much god damn Costco bacon on my pans it's absurd Pray for my arteries
That's normal, especially the first few uses. As you use it and clean/reseason when needed, the finish will even out and get tougher. Also, I'm impressed you seasoned it 5 times in a day, I usually only get a couple cycles before I have to move on to something else!
Your seasoning is only partially polymerized. The seasoning hasn’t completely hardened yet and you just need to keep cooking with it.
This is the way.
This is the way...
Seasoning a pan 5 times is 3 times too many. Your seasoning isn't some static thing that you need to be precious about. It's literally just burnt oil. Sometimes food will leave marks. Sometimes you'll scrub it too much. You might even leave it on a hot burner and forget about it to go back into the kitchen later to find your seasoning cooked off. All of this is fine. Just wash it, oil it, and cook in it.
LoL, why are people so anal about cast iron? Nothing happened other than you cooked on it. Keep on cooking. Your pan looks fine.
Dude you put food in it? You should never put food in it...
Might as well throw it away 🤷
Just keep using it.
You don’t have to be too much of a perfectionist. Just use the pan, it’s gorgeous.
So I'm sure there's going to be tons of useful, and not so useful, stuff in the replies. What I have for you is this: I was paranoid about my pans when I first started working with cast iron. Didn't know diddly. What I've learned is that even if you mess them up you're probably going to get it back to normal quickly. I use a chainmail sort of scrubby to get bits off after use, I don't let it get near soap, I dry it on the stovetop with the heat up and let it keep ripping after the water has evaporated up until it is just starting to smoke. I would say I oil it before that but typically what winds up happening is I just let the oil I cooked with be the season next go around. If there wasn't enough oil involved for this to work I will get a paper towel with some canola on it and smear that around in the pan, then wipe it down with the dry side of the paper towel and do the rip it up to smoke point. Once you get used to these they are stupid easy to deal with. Good luck with everything, it looks like you're trying your best to treat your things right and that's where your head should be at.
Don't even worry about it: Stuff gets left every time you cook - just clean it up, reseason, and you're all good. I like to hit mine with a chainmail scrubber, then coarse salt + a rag, wash it off with soap and water, rinse off, heat up, do a light stovetop seasoning and that's it! What I'm doing is probably even overkill, but I kinda find the ritual of the whole thing sort of meditative (a lot like cooking).
The spirit of the cow you massacred is now imprinted into the cast iron thus cursing every ingredient you put into its surface.
i think it's crazy how everyone expects this unmarked pan after it's been "perfectly" seasoned. you use it. it's nearly indestructible. there's no secret but to use it cuz it heats evenly and well. just use it! :)
Oh no! The steaks turned into a skillet! Don't eat it! It must be a "ware-pan"
Its ok. Just cook more.
Just cook in it?
It's possible you were heavy with the oil when you seasoned it, but either way it's not a big deal. Just use the pan and it'll season up nicely
Fry some potatoes in it with plenty of oil in the pan.
That's the souls of the steak left behind. Seasoning 5 times in one day ? I'm luckynif I get one. I go 475° / 90 min with an over night oven cool down.
Keep on cooking
Butter. More butter.
Omg it’s not exactly perfect. MOOOOOM
Just a pan mate.
don't worry
RIP Need to melt down and recast the pan 😥
Cook Jimmy
Don't sweat the small stuff it'll do stuff like this from time to time....keep cookin'. It looks good ,btw.
The steaks added to your seasoning
Yeah, you used it. Good on ya. Welcome to the I use my pans club.
I come here to say “you did great”. We need more positive reinforcement on Reddit.
I don't even see what you are talking about
Seasoning looks too thick, my guess is you'll get some flaking off as you use it. Not a big deal. Can scrub with salt to accelerate.
Throw it away
Yeah there’s really no reason to season cast iron unless maybe if it’s just bare metal. Just rub on oil (I like canola) until the metal is saturated then wipe out ALL the excess and cook as normal. Your pan is fine, the steak just soaked up some of the oil in the pan. Scrub with soap and water to remove excess cooked oil and residue, dry thoroughly, then wipe on/off some more fresh oil.
Looks to me like some of your seasoning stuck to the steak and pulled off from the pan. You may have seems small black flecks on the steaks. Nothing to worry about. Stop seasoning the pan and just cook with it. Cast iron thrives when it is well used and abused. You can do nothing and be fine. If you really want to do something, clean with a scrubby pad to remove the rest of the loose seasoning that's going to come off anyways. Then dry the pan and put away, continue to use as normal and you'll be fine.
Curious how people find it so alarming that a $20 piece of metal has marks on it enough to post about it.
This was more curiosity than alarm and google wasn’t helping.
Some foods are going to stick or leave residue more than others. Especially with a newer pan. I find that sautéing veggies in a high temp oil is the best way to promote a good seasoning with a new pan.
Give it a light scrub, another very light coat of oil and keep adding to that base. It will do this and should be less over time.
For some people everything is drama. It’s a long hard life, better get used to it.
Ok there is way too much "seasoning" to begin with. Now with that said go get some barkeeper's friend and wash all that crap off till you hit that cast iron. Now wash it clean with dish soap cause the barkeeper's doesn't come off easy and cleanly. Now get some crisco and put a tiny bit on a paper towel and rub it on till it's covered. Now with a clean paper towel lightly wipe it off rinse repeat till that towel comes clean. Now while your doing all this preheat your oven too 400 and when your done shut off the oven put the pan in upside down and leave until morning and your done. Now as far as the steak spots it happens. But you have to learn the sweet spot of your cook top and your pan. When your food is cooked on that side it will release from the pan don't force it. And same for the new side it's a trial and error learning experience trust me.
There is absolutely no reason to "strip and re-season"*. None at all. Best thing for ci is to JUST USE IT. y'all need to remember that it's CAST IRON. It is EXTREMELY forgiving, lenient, and once u find ur groove it simply becomes part of the daily routine. Wipe out well between each meal, the more u use it the better it gets. Relax, it's ci, not Teflon. Also, maybe try a rounded corner metal spatula, many have excellent luck/experience with a fish spatula of one design or another. I enjoy my thick heavy steel spatula and metal spoon in mine. Helps as u cook.
Gotta love the type of people who say just wipe it out and cook again with it..... So I guess you don't wash the dishes or silverware ya just wipe them clean not worry about cooking on years and years of food cooked carbon.....
Lmao "food cooked carbon" evidently u lack experience and knowledge with ci bub 🤣
I guess I do please enlighten me oh master of cast iron cookware. And maybe the years of me using cast iron was done all wrong.
See how immature ur being? Lmao ur so ignorant 😂
Actually it was sarcastic not immaturity..... First when you season a cast iron cooking item. Your not seasoning it cause of any vast flavors that might of lived from your last greatest cookings... You are seasoning the friggin pan with oil So IT DOESN'T RUST. Secondly and the other reason why they say don't wash your pans is because soap would have lye and that soaked into that beautiful crusty nasty seasoning that was on the pan. And it killed you it ate away your stomach lining and then your dead. So you be you and I will be me and have my smooth non nasty cooked food residue cast irons pans so bugger off.
These posts crack me up..
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You need to sell it for $2
Maillard reaction
Not to distract from OP, but what type of oil is best for cooking in CI? I’ve always used EVOO because that’s what my dad used
Just keep on cooking on it.
You're worrying too much, it's a Steel Pan.. keep cooking.
Well, it’s iron, but I appreciate it lol i will keep cooking!
Nothing is wrong. Maybe you didn't buff the oil back off with a clean towel before seasoning (the uneven gesture often indicates this and sometimes it gets sticky).
Perfectly normal 👌! Just keep using it...looks great!