Split off from this thread.
I’ve been doing it by the book. Thin layer of flaxseed oil. Too thick it polymerizes so only a matte finish. 500 degree oven. Lather rinse repeat. I never got the seasoning to stick and how do other people get it good to go in one shot.
Today I seasoned as I normally do and put them on the full-flame stove to heat while waiting for the oven to heat.
No smoke
So not enough oil? Layer too thin? Why not try some more?
Oil in the hot pan. Wipe down. Ahh there’s the smoke. Then crazyness. A little more oil. It soaked in even before the wipe down. Now in the preheated oven. I just pulled them out and they look like a professional seasoned them. I mean I may do another cycle but I don’t think I have to.
Only took 35 years to learn how to really do it right.
Here’s a link to Cook’s Illustrated, who probably popularized this totally awesome method. Been using it for years.
Resurrecting this thread because it’s the latest one with ‘cast iron’ in the title.
My mom gave me a perfectly-seasoned, vintage, Griswold 6-inch frying pan. She probably got it from her mother. Man is it slick! But I never use it. Somewhere along the line I picked up a Chinese 8-inch frying pan. I did the usual oiling and heating, but the non-stick was just so-so. I have larger frying pans that I use all the time: A 12-inch that’s pretty much just used for bacon (although it’s great for cooking back bacon, a banger, and black pudding, and then frying a couple of eggs) or pizza; and a 10-inch that is used for cornbread (it pops right out – slather the cold pan with Crisco before poring in the batter), or blackened fish, or other meats. They’re fairly non-stick.
Lately (for months, anyway) I’ve been using the cheap 8-inch pan at least three times a week to make my breakfast. Usually, this is a sausage patty on toast, topped with an over-easy egg; but sometimes I’ll have a frittata. First I cook the meat (patty for the toast thing, or crumbled sausage or crumbled chorizo for a frittata). Remove the patty for the toast, or leave the crumbled meat in for a frittata. Add about a tablespoon of butter (Full disclosure: olive oil margarine) and swirl it around and is melted and blended with the meat residue. Cook the eggs, and eat breakfast.
I scrape any stuck bits with the spatula, and rinse out the pan under hot water. Then wipe it with a paper towel. It’s working very well. The pan is getting smoother and smoother. Yes the eggs are floating in ‘butter’, but I can’t remember the last time my eggs have stuck to the pan.