Ruined My Pre-Season Cast Iron Pan- Help!
I bought a cast iron pan, and did not realize it had been preseasoned (this is my first one!).
I washed with soap and hot water and thoroughly dried it, then coated with thin layer of vegetable oil and baked it (upside down, over foil) at 350 for one hour.
It came out SO sticky, and the reside was thick. When I touch it, the oil rolls into little flakes (although the cast iron is NOT flaking).
So, I scrubbed that out as best I could,did less oil this time, and tried again. It still came out sticky and thick.
I cooked in it, chicken, to try to use it, and it all stuck and burned in the bottom.
Do I need to just season it a few times? I think the seasoning isn't taking. I am so bummed I didn't realize it was pre-seasoned, or else I wouldn't have had all these issues!
HELP PLEASE!
Best Answer
It sounds to me like you put too much oil on when you tried to season it, and that's why it was thick and sticky. You will probably have to start all over, but the pan is not ruined forever! It's best to wipe the thinnest layer of oil you can on it, essentially putting some oil on and then wiping as much off with a paper towel as you can, and then putting it in the oven like you did and baking it at as high of a temperature as you can. There should be no fear of drips. Bake it for an hour or two, then let it cool inside the oven back to room temperature, and then wipe it with oil and do it all over again, as many as 6 or 7 times to build up a good seasoning. It's a long process, but it's worth it. Good luck!
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How do you fix a badly seasoned cast iron pan?
If the seasoning in your pan is sticky, this is a sign of excess oil built up on the cookware. The Fix: To remedy stickiness, place the cookware upside down on the top rack of the oven and bake at 450-500 degrees F for one hour. Allow to cool and repeat if necessary.Can you season a preseason cast iron pan?
To use a pre-seasoned cast iron skillet for the first time, rinse it in hot water and pat it completely dry. Pour a generous amount of high-smoke point cooking oil inside it, then preheat (not on high) and cook with it. Of course, there's more to it than meets the eye.Can you permanently damage a cast iron skillet?
However, while they are durable and can be used to cook a wide range of dishes, they aren't indestructible. Cast-iron pans should be treated with care since there is a chance that you could damage them permanently if you don't take the right precautions.Can I season a cast iron pan twice?
#3Seasoning Can Be an All-Day Job The process of seasoning cast iron cookware consists of coating it with oil, heating it in the oven, letting it cool, and repeating. It's up to you how many times you repeat, but the more you do it, the better your patina will turn out.Why is My Cast Iron Sticky? And How to Fix It!
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Answer 2
I agree that the layer of oil you initially used might have been too thick, but since you had it resting upside down in the oven, I think it's possible you just didn't bake it long enough, or hot enough. At high heats, the oils polymerize and create a hard, dry, plasticy surface, kind of like when oil paints dry at room temperature. Your gummy texture indicates to me that the polymerization process wasn't completed. More time or heat might be all you really needed there.
One thing you could try doing differently is starting on the stovetop. My mom is particularly careless and abuses her cast iron pans horribly. (She cooks tomato sauce in them, and likes to boil water in them for a few minutes to clean them quickly, and she won't be argued with.) She accidentally discovered that if she set her pan to heat with a little oil, and then became distracted and left the pan alone to just... be hot... on the stovetop with said oil, after a couple of hours, it's amazingly seasoned! And by then the kitchen has probably cleared of smoke! It's a win-win!
Obviously I don't actually recommend THAT, but I do actually like heating my pan on the stovetop, wiping down the inside with oil once it's hot, then letting it start to smoke before transferring to a 400F preheated oven, and then bake it for an hour or so, and let it stay there until cool.
...I won't lie though, the "I forgot!" method my mom tends to employ does work really, really well though.
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