a vast majority was just not true.
just get the bottoms and side polished like down to 220 grit, give a few season on stove. scraping the bottom and sides with a thin flexible metal spatula (dont use wood or silicone thats just stupid and will leave your season like shit) after rinse/brush repeat a idk, like 4 time times till you start to get a blackish look to it
really the key to maintain cast is cook with a little oil everytime as you warm it, and scrape the bottoms with your spatula as you are cooking it. you dont want the pan to get too hot. just start your burner at like medium, you never really need to use high setting.
dont keep food in it, dish it out into something else. then flash it under running water and scrap again with spatula get all the crusties (at first you will) off, then rinse, under water again brush, then rinse. back onto stove top so the water evaporates. It serious like 5 or 6 seconds to clean my 10 inch
people really make seem like it so difficult to season its no, dont use high heat, use oil on bottom covered and cook & scraping anying odd off
and dont heat it without oil, you can burn off your seasoning
aslso, i cant stress the polishing enough... it why people look for old cast iron think it is better than new (other than it being old) is because they use to polish insides
there is tons of videos on it, wear a mask and old clothes tho
All true. Looked at $600 for a 15” pan that was vintage, bought one for $15. Sandy sand sand sand, I used a random orbital for the bottom. Sides by hand, do wear a mask. Season with flax oil or lard. Literally the tiniest amount, wipe it off best you can, heat. Repeat 4 times. Use a lot, fatty foods for awhile. Is better than any non stick and as good as vintage.
i tried flax oil, i hated it, its too expensive. just a little like tsp or 2 all you need even coat olive oil.
Season with flax oil or lard. Literally the tiniest amount
yup, you just it fine when first starting a seasoning, get that initial first step going cook with a little more oil than you always do. just keep scraping that surface with thin metal spatula. anything thats flaking off, get in there and scrape it off, dont be shy... thats not seasoning its just dry crap. if you can scrape it off, it isnt seasoning. Then simply just use it scraping the bottom when you can, all you need to do nothing fancy.
the one i use is similar to this, its like perfect IMO just makes that season perfect and gives it that glass look
and then again heat, when i first started i always just add way to much. Cast holds heat. Another myth/lie is that they are even in heat. this isnt totally true on gas stoves, maybe electric idk. what it does is holds heat, you heat it more gradually to avoid that hot spot, then if you need to adjust heat just a little bit warmer or cooler it will respond very quickly and evenly.
I fucked up my cast at first so many times following these blogs about seasoning and what to do etc. Its all bullshit, you just follow what i said it will be so much better.
another thing to get is a splatter screen, do it.. you will thank me later.
As dorky as it sounds polishing your cast kinda makes it feel like it yours,
A 15" holy crap.. my wrist feels like it will snap with my 12", especially with food in it.
oh, forgot you mentioned lard... do not use or buy lard that you see in the supermarkets sitting on a shelf. its really bad for you. Just call a local butcher and ask for pig fat/trimmings (its not a odd question) and render your own and refrigerate it.
The 15” is theonly way to feed us all. Does make it feel like ours, I even polished the rough cast lines on the handle. Walmart in the camping section, not kitchen section. It’s sooo good, looks like black chrome, was useless sandcast shit new.
We make our own lard from heritage pigs we raise or buy from neighbors, never the store stuff. It’s different, from commodity pigs, not good fat.
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