Everything You Need To Know About Cooking With Cast-Iron Pans (2024)

You want to season your cast iron whether it's old or new. New cast iron typically has a coating to protect it during shipping and storage. And old, rusty cast iron can be restored through the seasoning process. Either way, you always want to season your cast iron before using it for the first time (or if it's just been a while or needs some damage control).

If this isn't your first time seasoning the pan and you're just adding a maintenance layer, skip steps 1 and 2 and start with step 3.

*Note: This guide features a cast-iron skillet, but these methods will work for any bare cast-iron cookware.

First things first, you want to scrub your cast iron down with steel wool, hot water, and a mild dish soap to get it to the base layer. Scrub the entire pan, including the handle and the bottom and sides of it. These pans are actually one piece of cast iron, and you want to season the whole thing, not just the inside.

*Note: You only want to do this if this is your first time seasoning the pan or if you're trying to get rid of rust and residue and bring it back to its base layer.

Once you've finished scrubbing the pan, rinse it under hot water and continue scrubbing with a non-metal scouring pad or the tough side of a sponge.

Pour a small drop of oil into the skillet and spread it around with a paper towel or dish towel, covering the entire pan. Then take the clean side of your towel and wipe off any excess oil. Cast-iron cookware is porous, and the oil works to fill those pores and create a smooth, nonstick surface. Enough oil soaks into those pores during the initial coating, so you can go ahead and wipe off as much as you can. Leaving too much oil on is a common mistake that will leave your skillet sticky.

*Note: Flaxseed oil is the new standard, since it dries the hardest and creates the best, longest-lasting nonstick seasoning, but it's also pretty expensive. If you don't want to spend that much money, canola oil will also work just fine.

Seasoning will give you that hard, glassy layer that protects your skillet and makes it nonstick. The more you do this, the better and more effective the seasoning of your pan will get.

For regular maintenance, do this process at least twice a year. If this is the first time you're seasoning your skillet, it's best to do this process twice in a row. If this isn't your first time seasoning, skip steps 1 and 2 and just start with adding a thin layer of oil and heating it past the smoking point in the oven.

You always want to preheat your skillet before cooking with it on the stovetop. Putting cold food in a cold cast-iron pan will make your food stick.

Cast-iron skillets don't heat as evenly as nonstick or stainless steel pans, but they keep their heat very well. So preheat the skillet on low to medium heat for 5-10 minutes, until it's evenly heated. You can carefully hover your hand over the pan to feel when it's hot enough and ready to go.

Starting things on the stove and finishing them in the oven is a great use for your cast iron. It allows you to get that caramelized crust from the high heat on the stovetop, while finishing with a gentler, more radiant heat in the oven.

People often hear that you can't cook acidic foods in cast iron (like tomatoes, lemons, wine, etc.), but you actually can in small amounts if you have a good layer of seasoning on your pan.

Scrubbing your skillet with salt and hot water with a non-metal scouring pad or the tough side of a sponge is the gentlest way to clean it. The salt works as an abrasive to scrub off food without damaging the seasoning.

*Note: If the salt and water method isn't working for you, you can actually use a little bit of soap. It's a common myth that using soap on your cast iron will ruin the seasoning, but if your skillet is seasoned properly, you can use a mild dish soap to clean it without doing any damage!