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

[trom.livejournal.com]

I wipe them down with a thin coat of oil and then put it in the oven on self clean mode. Also just cook with it a lot :)

[harimad.livejournal.com]

To season?!? Putting it through self-cleaning will *clean* the pot. Thoroughly. No seasoning left.

(Or maybe your self-cleaning cycle isn't the usual three hours at 600F?)

[trom.livejournal.com]

Nope, it seasons it just fine for a new pot. Even at 3 hours at 800F. I've done it any number of times. Hint, don't leave the pot/pan on the racks though. They will bend....

[harimad.livejournal.com]

Weird. Maybe I'll buy a 5 cent pan and try it, just to see. But seriously, how could it do both??