Seasoning cast iron?

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Daggs

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Like the title says.
My dad picked up a new grill with cast iron grates and asked me how to season them properly. Now I'm asking the experts how to properly season a brand new cast iron grate.
Thanks
 
Daggs said:
Like the title says.
My dad picked up a new grill with cast iron grates and asked me how to season them properly. Now I'm asking the experts how to properly season a brand new cast iron grate.
Thanks
Click to expand...

Spray with pam or rub with some lard. cook for 2-3 hours at 300 degrees.
 
Cover the grate in peanut or groundnut oil (really any oil with a very high smoke point will do - the higher the smoke point the harder the seasoning will be) and then wipe it all off with kitchen paper; a thin layer of oil will remain. Then place in a cold oven (if it fits!) and bake on the highest heat for an hour and leave to cool. The grate will turn a shade darker. Repeat this process a few times and you're good to go! If it won't fit in the oven then just bake in your Q with a very hot fire

The idea is that as the oil passes its smoke point it will polymerize and form a hard layer on the iron. Wiping as much off as you can is important as the oil can form into sticky blobs if it starts to run or drip
 
I'm in the lard camp My CG is 7 yr old this was taken a few months ago
DSCF0063.jpg

this was 4 yrs ago
PHOT0061.jpg
 
Make sure there is no rust. If there is, remove it then add a light coat of oil to keep the rust gremlins at bay. The high temps you are likely to use will destroy any seasoning you work for so don't bother. Just start cooking on them.
 
I use Crisco right out of the can and rub it in. I run it at 300 degrees for a few hours. I also do this at least twice. The last grates I did they were able to fit in my oven in the house which made the process much easier.
 
I use lard for seasoning cast iron, and it works great. I never have to reseason my cast iron cookware, even when I use it over direct coals.
 
landarc said:
I use lard for seasoning cast iron, and it works great. I never have to reseason my cast iron cookware, even when I use it over direct coals.
Click to expand...

I just cleaned a 10" Griswald skillet I found at an estate sale. ($10)
(Oven Cleaner will remove the gunk...
Covered it in Crisco inside and out, and put it in my smoker for an hour at 300°. Looks brand new. Cooks W/O sticking...
 
It's an interesting article, and I see where her science is. But, the guy I rent a room too ends up seasoning his cast iron monthly, I have not seasoned my cast iron, literally, in 3 to 4 years. The inside is smooth and I can cook eggs in it, with almost no sticking. It isn't science, it is simply keeping it in use, wiping it clean, do not let food or water sit in it, and use a Choreboy or similar to clean it, not soap and water.
 
one thing I found with cast iron is to clean out food after cook and heat back up round 200 or so then wipe with oil or whatever you use for seasoning and will stay nonstick permanently fyi I learned this trick from an old gal that caters with cast iron and has like 250 plus ovens
 
liv4jpn said:
one thing I found with cast iron is to clean out food after cook and heat back up round 200 or so then wipe with oil or whatever you use for seasoning and will stay nonstick permanently fyi I learned this trick from an old gal that caters with cast iron and has like 250 plus ovens
Click to expand...


YEP.
Listen to 'Old Gal's'. It works. I do my cast iron D.O.'s and skillets and a Flat Top Grill that way. The secret is to reheat it and allow the oil to enter the pores. When it cools I wipe it down with oil, then wipe it off with a paper towel. No rust.
BTW: My Flat Top is outside on my covered patio. No rust, No sticking.
 
Heres how Grandmaw showed me. I do it this way because I can't stand the smell in the house! Rub it with pure lard and build a fire. Throw it in the fire and get it out the next day when it is out. She seen me washing a cast iron skillet she gave me and smacked me on the back of the head! "Boy, you know how long it's been since i washed that skillet? NEVER!"
 
YetiDave said:
Cover the grate in peanut or groundnut oil (really any oil with a very high smoke point will do - the higher the smoke point the harder the seasoning will be) and then wipe it all off with kitchen paper; a thin layer of oil will remain. Then place in a cold oven (if it fits!) and bake on the highest heat for an hour and leave to cool. The grate will turn a shade darker. Repeat this process a few times and you're good to go! If it won't fit in the oven then just bake in your Q with a very hot fire

The idea is that as the oil passes its smoke point it will polymerize and form a hard layer on the iron. Wiping as much off as you can is important as the oil can form into sticky blobs if it starts to run or drip
Click to expand...

You can do it on the grill or the oven, but I do it a minimum of 3 times. Oil (I have used Crisco shortening, lard or peanut oil is traditional), heat, let it cool for a bit, put on more while it is still warm, reheat, and repeat the same cycle, after the last round let it cool all the way. I have been successful with Dutch ovens (lots of Boy Scout camping), cast iron skillets, and grills that way.

Like some above, I scrape out/off any food in the pan/oven/grill, and then, while still warm, put another light coat on the cooking utensil.
 
I take my grates out and put them in a 300 degree oven on a cookie sheet covered in aluminum foil (wife gets upset otherwise). I bring them up to temp and then use pam cooking spray to coat them, leave them in for 30 minutes, turn them and spray them again. I then take them outside to the pit that I've got warming up with some pecan and place them back in the pit and fire em in for 2 hours. I do this once a year and seems to have done a great job keeping my grates in clean and proper condition.
 
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