The Best Way To Clean and Season a Cast Iron Skillet | Epicurious 101

3,713,656
0
Published 2022-01-18
Want to keep your cast iron cookware looking like new? Chef Frank Proto demonstrates and explains everything you need to know to get the best out of your cast iron skillet, from seasoning to cleaning to storage.

Learn more with Chef Frank on his YouTube Channel ProtoCooks!
   / @protocookswithcheffrank  
and follow him on Instagram @protocooks

Buy a cast iron skillet just like the one Frank uses! amzn.to/34SXSFl
Find a stainless steel chainmail cast iron cleaner here: amzn.to/33Y96bC

When you buy something through our retail links, we earn an affiliate commission.

--
0:00 Introduction
1:01 Chapter One - Removing Rust
3:11 Chapter Two - Initial Seasoning
4:28 Chapter Three - Cleaning After Use
6:01 Chapter Four - Storing And Maintaining

Start your free trial and access over 50,000 expertly-tested recipes from Epicurious, Bon Appétit and more on the Epicurious app. apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id312101965?pt=4507…

Still haven’t subscribed to Epicurious on YouTube? ►► bit.ly/epiyoutubesub

ABOUT EPICURIOUS
Browse thousands of recipes and videos from Bon Appétit, Gourmet, and more. Find inventive cooking ideas, ingredients, and restaurant menus from the world’s largest food archive.

All Comments (21)
  • @epicurious
    Buy a cast iron skillet just like the one Frank uses! amzn.to/34SXSFl Find a stainless steel chainmail cast iron cleaner here: amzn.to/33Y96bC When you buy something through our retail links, we earn an affiliate commission.
  • @danielreid9621
    My favourite part about owning a cast iron pan is that it is now my full time job to take care of my cast iron pan
  • Im 72 yrs old and I did not know this. I've always worked outside the home so I just cooked "easy" meals...a lot of fast food. My mother passed away and left me 4 iron cast pans. I also wanted to leave them to my daughter but didn't know how to take care of them. Frank, you have made me so happy with this video. I love the way you teach ( I have to be able to understand the steps and for me they have to be simple) Now to find easy recipes for my instant pot! Thanks again. I can take this off my list of things to learn .
  • I followed this fella’s instructions but used some avocado oil instead of shortening. It seasoned pretty well, there was a little bit of oil left after the oven seasoning, so I rubbed in that oil with a paper towel and let it heat up a little on the stovetop. Now the pan is actually completely nonstick! It’s a farging miracle! My hope is restored because I can do one very useful thing! Yaaay! Thank you thank you!!!❤
  • @Gww-1
    My mother is 95 yrs. old and still has her cast iron skillets, they're well seasoned. She made my father cornbread in them since 1942. It's a southern tradition.
  • OF COURSE Frank found a way to use that much salt without ever cooking anything What a legend
  • I love it when a lesson is delivered with humour. I wanted to know about the subject but it was the delivery of the teacher that compelled me to stay. Great work.
  • @firerednaxela
    correction @ 3:22: polymerization actually allows you to combine monster cards together to summon a fusion monster, like Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon
  • @ayom5600
    Cast iron AND Frank?! Man this a great!
  • 4:30 I find that pouring hot water in a dirty cast iron pan, and scraping with a flat bamboo spoon does the job of removing dried chunks of food quite easily. The rest of the tips here are excellent.
  • @guidichris
    Love your videos. A couple of things I've learned with cast iron. If you compare a brand new pan with one that was made decades ago, you will find that the "antique" pan has a very smooth surface on the inside, whereas the modern pan has a grainy appearance from where it was cast using sand. They used to finish the pans a bit better in the old days. I have found that a rotary sander can smooth out the cooking surfaces, and after proper seasoning, the pan is almost as non-stick as Teflon. I also will use my gas grill for the seasoning process, as this keeps the house cool and smoke free.
  • @KronosTheos
    History lesson here guys. The reason you don't use soap is because it has lye in the final product which removes the seasoning. At least this was the case 40 some odd years ago. Nowadays as long as you use a light detergent(most kitchen soaps) you don't have to worry. Don't have unsanitary cast iron because of out of date info.
  • @phunkydroid
    After washing and wiping it dry, before seasoning even, I put mine on the stove and heat it up for a few minutes, to drive any water out of the pores.
  • @mr.martyr8573
    I cook every week on a cast iron pan my great grandmother passed down to my grandmother that passed it down to my mother that passed it down to me. It still looks brand new because we took care of it.
  • Just bought a new cast iron pan for the first time and I really needed a video like this to understand how to maintain it for a long time.
  • @hollyw3393
    My method is different and works beautifully! I was with soap after every use since my son pointed out he heard otherwise all meals taste the same. After washing and drying I put the pan on the stove to heat, pour in just a little olive or preferably organic flax oil and heat that for 3 minutes. My pans come out black with that gorgeous shine and it takes just a few minutes!
  • @johnhobson9165
    His comment about passing cast iron pans from generation to generation reminds me that I have a Griswold number eight Dutch oven that my wife's grandmother got in the 1920s. It came to my mother-in-law in the mid-1950s. Now I have it, and I fully expect that my middle son will have it. Along with the Griswold skillet that my mother bought in the early 1950s.
  • @jimespenoza6640
    If you repeat the initial seasoning a bunch of times (like at least 3 or 4) and are liberal with your oil the first few times you cook with it you can get a truly almost completely nonstick coating. After cleaning each time I also heat the pan up just enough so that it is on the verge of being too hot to touch the bottom and give it a quick wipe down with whatever oil you used to season before storing. I've been doing this with my cast iron for years and they are incredible non stick usually cleaning consists of a quick rinse out and I have no stickage regardless of what it is that I cooked
  • Thank you, Chef. This was very helpful in learning the proper way to clean and maintain my iron skillets.