When seasoning a cast-iron pan, should you let the oil smoke?
I've looked at seasoning guides online, and they all say that to season, you need to heat the pan to 350 degrees Farenheit.
However, some oils have vastly different smoke points. If my oil starts smoking at 350, should I use a lower temperature? Is the oil supposed to smoke or not?
A more general question is, why exactly 350? What happens if the temperature is too low or too high?
Best Answer
You certainly should let the oil smoke - if you don't, you'll end up with a layer of oil, not a layer of seasoning.
Nothing special happens at 350 F. It is a fairly typical oven temperature, so if you have been looking at guides for oven seasoning, they probably suggest this temperature out of inertia.
I must admit that with my first iron pan, I started out like you, reading a ton of guides, trying to consolidate the information, combining it from knowledge from other sources, and feeling confused. Now, several years and pan purchases later, I would classify such behavior as clear overthinking. There is a wide range of methods (and temperatures) that work, but you do need a bit of hands-on experience to judge how it is going, and intervene if something is not right, and you can't replace it by reading. So just pick one(!) guide, follow it exactly, and use the pan. If the seasoning gets damaged, you will recognize it, and can strip and redo, until you have the skill.
Pictures about "When seasoning a cast-iron pan, should you let the oil smoke?"
Why is my cast iron smoking during seasoning?
A seasoned cast-iron pan can smoke because the heat is too high with either no oil or too much oil on the surface. While this does not cause permanent harm to the pan in most cases if it's only for short periods of time like while cooking eggs or bacon. It will stop smoking when the pan cools down.Why does my cast iron pan smoke?
Over time, the residue left on the surface of the skillet will react to moisture in the kitchen, creating a sooty layer to the pan. When this is heated again and again, you end up with more and more smoke. All cast iron is made of pretty much the same stuff, and so this problem affects even the best cast iron brands.What happens if you use too much oil when seasoning cast iron?
Using too much oil, anything more than about the size of a quarter will just build up and cause an oil slick on your pan. When it's time to season your cast iron skillet, you simply can't do this with a cold skillet. This will cause build up of that oil residue, and cause stickiness.Can you overheat cast iron when seasoning?
Don't worry, it takes far more than that to damage a cast iron pan. The worst that could happen is that you overheat the seasoning on it, in which case it may flake off.What is the correct smoke point when seasoning iron cookware?
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Svetlana Ponomareva, Olga Lioncat, Dibakar Roy, Florencia Potter