What do y'all cast iron cooking people use to season your precious pans? My daily use pan is a pretty darn old 10 1/2" skillet that my dad got me as a birthday present a while ago, and I haven't ever properly seasoned it and would like to do so at this point. I've been watching a bunch of videos on how people are restoring old cast iron, and I'm set on using the oven cleaner in a bag route to get all the crud off, followed by a vinegar soak to take off a bit of rust and etch some of the surfaces to better hold onto the seasoning.
I've been kind of appalled to see how many people suggest various seed oils for seasoning. That's a no-go, IMO. Coconut oil seems to get spotty and polymerize unevenly. Avacado oil seems to work well. I have a good bit of bacon fat, but, that doesn't seem to work as well as other options.
What are your thoughts?
#castiron #cooking #cookwear #skillet #asknostr #grownostr #plebchain
The best season I've ever achieved is when I used my cast iron to hold beef tallow beside the brisket on the smoker. I have no idea what was going on technically, but that took it from trashed to perfect with minimal effort. Mine wasn't very rusty, but I knocked as much as I could off beforehand.
I don't have a stash of tallow yet. But, thank you. I appreciate the feedback.
Ive been using avocado oil
That seems to be the best way to go under current circumstances and level of knowledge and research.
Ya i wish i knew of more ways. I mean ya tallow but i want to learn about the weird stuff hahaha 😆
Yup! My hobby is acquiring more skills and, well, more hobbies. It's terrible. But also great. 😅
Well you know what I was just thinking I mean We can infuse the Olive oil Or avocado oil with some herbs like rosemary and thyme
Avacado oil for me.
Have you ever used anything else?
What led you to use avacado oil?
We keep it in stock and it’s pretty high heat oil. Seems to work. We’ve cut seed oils out so we don’t have any of that trash to use.
Just seasoned a Dutch oven with tallow for the first time and would recommend that if possible. Avocado has been my go to in the past.
Since you've used both, could you articulate the differences between avacado and tallow?
The difference was mostly in origin. I render my own tallow so I know what it is and where it comes from. Avocado oil has a higher smoke point than what temp I season my pans at, usually about 450F which is pretty close to tallows smoke point. Don't know if any of that matters really I just like using my tallow and it's easy to handle.
I like ghee (clarified butter) personally. It has a high smoke point and tastes good. No idea how it polymerizes or compares to other things, but that’s what I use. Crisco works well if you’re not afraid of vegetable oil. And I think beef tallow would work well too
Modern crisco is just glyphosphate covered seed oil slop and I won't use it for anything that is eaten out comes into contact with food these days.
I cook with butter or bacon fat or both these days. I've not made ghee yet, but that's on my list.
Thank you!
I use lard to keep that iron moist and slick.
I haven't worried too much about which oil I season with. I just use what I use for cooking: coconut oil, lard (or bacon fat), butter, and tallow.
Due to my food sensitivities, I've used almost exclusively beef tallow lately and my pans (cast iron and carbon steel) are fantastic. I've never done a side by side comparisons though.
This is the beef tallow I use and love. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0881XTCR3/ref=sns_myd_detail_page
Thank you!
That's going on my list. 😁
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