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

[mizarchivist]

What Tamar said I trust entirely to be so, but also your seasoning will continue as you use it.
I've found a great way to avoid scrubbing the good surface that you're working towards is to clean the pan while it's still pretty warm, or reheat it. Adding liquid to deglaze, very helpful. I was reminded by this option recently and was eyeing the chicken remains that'd been there for 3 days. Ew.
Good luck and have fun! Cast iron is AWESOME!

[keyne.livejournal.com]

Oh, we've been using cast iron for years; my skillet is probably 25 years old. :-) But we seem never to have properly seasoned the iron Dutch oven or griddle we acquired at Lodge a few years back.

[mizarchivist]

Dur. I shoulda' known.