tell me how you season your cast iron cookware

[topaz]

With oil?  Lard?  Any particular kind?
A lot or a little fat?  How much?  A thin coating?  A quarter-inch deep?
On high heat or low?  In the oven?  On the stove?
For how long?  A half-hour?  Two hours?

Every guide to seasoning cast iron I've ever read has been infuriatingly vague about how much, how hot and how long, and don't give me guidance on how to tell if I've done it correctly.  I have both a cast-iron griddle and a lovely cast iron cookpot that I think have never been properly seasoned and I really want to do it right.

Comments

[arcticelf.livejournal.com]

I use regular salted butter. Rub a thin coating on and bake on 500 for an hour or two. Repeat a couple times, mixed with cooking bacon in the pan.

A word of warning though: new cast iron is typically not finish ground on the cooking surface, its left as a rough casting. This crap will not take or hold a seasoning (In my experience) the old stuff, which is smooth ground on the inside, works better then teflon. If the inside is slightly bumpy, like the outside, its no good.

If any one knows how to fix this I'd love to hear it.

AE

[nacht_musik]

buy vintage cast-iron on ebay? =)

[harimad.livejournal.com]

Dremmel tool?