Seasoning the skillet is easy. Everyone has their own way of how they think it should be done. I’ll stick to the facts and keep it short. Seasoning has nothing to do with adding spices to the pan. Seasoning is a process where you are heating “oil” past its smoke point so that it chemically hardens and bonds to the metal. Use no oil. Cook with oil all you want but don’t use it for seasoning. You want to use something that is solid at room temperature like Crisco. With the skillet HOT, start applying a thin layer of Crisco to the pan with a folded square of t-shirt or cotton. The entire pan. Top, bottom, handle, everything. The t-shirt will get gray or black from the carbon coming off of the bare metal for the first coat. Apply a very light coat. The hot metal will melt the Crisco and soak up what it wants. Wipe the skillet so it looks wet but don’t apply so much that it leaves streaks or you will have streaks permanently bonded in your cast iron.
Once you have your skillet coated, put it in the oven face down for 45 minutes at 375 degrees. I use the oven mitt the entire time because, well… It’s hot.
There, your 1st coat of seasoning is done. Easy right? When the timer goes off after 45 minutes turn the oven off and get the skillet out with the oven mitt and place back on your work surface. You will notice that the skillet is coated or sealed with a slick, hardened layer of Crisco. It is not greasy or oily at all. While the skillet is still hot, add a 2nd coat of Crisco to the entire thing and put it back in the oven at 375 for 45 minutes. I usually do 3 or 4 coats before the skillet is ready to use. You can pause between coats if you have to leave or something but bring the skillet up to temperature before applying another coat.
Finished skillet ready for use. It has a hard, slick, non-oily seasoning that if treated properly, will become as non-stick as Teflon and last a lifetime.
Cook something greasy the first couple of uses… Burger, or bacon is best. After the skillet is seasoned, never use soap to clean it. Wipe it out with water, dry, apply a light layer of oil or Crisco to the cook surface and bring the oven up to 350. If it is very dirty, use a bit of oil and salt to scrub it. Salt is very abrasive. Or use a green scotch brite pad. Rinse with water and towel dry. Once the oven is up to temperature, pop the skillet in to dry face up, turn the oven off and let it cool as you go about your day.
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