I’ve seen a lot of statements made all over the internet and in how-to guides in weekly newspapers and the like, on how to best deal with cast iron skillets…
So here’s my own, the large Griswold skillet and the smaller, unknown make, egg pan came from my grandparents - they cooked for decades on them and in fact the egg pan is one of the “old” pieces my grandmother got from HER grandmother.
They were cleaned with a stainless steel scouring pads for as long as I can remember, and we’re talking early 1970’s. I use stainless steel Chore Boys on them. The mid-sized Griswold saucier pan, is one I found at a yard sale some 30 years ago… It was black with the baked-on acrylamides and it’s almost finally scrubbed clean of all that nasty black gunk.
It’s kind of the reason why I’m not that famous on Lodge pans - they’ve got that texture to them that catches the baked on seasoning and it’s hard to get super clean.
I season - just wash, dry and wipe with coconut oil and bake for 45 minutes or so at 350 degrees, every 6 months.
I store them in my oven proper, with a light coat of coconut oil on them. All three are close to mirror smooth from being steel polished for decades and with a light amount of cooking oil (usually coconut) seldom does food stick.
I tried this and found I couldn’t get the seasoning to take. (It’ll failed the deglaze-with-water test.)
It seasoned up nicely, no doubt, but then tossing water into a leidenfrost-hot pan removed it. (Actually? I think I was doing asparagus, the water was to steam after a quick fry.)
Your mileage may vary, though. Just make sure to have a proper filter mask on ( not the cheap dental masks)
You do not want the filings in your lungs.
And a strong magnet near will reduce the iron dust moving about the shop. Put it in a doggie poo bag for easy cleaning.
I think I’d prefer to clean iron fillings off a magnet than dog poop. Why not use an empty bag instead? Sorry, I’m a bit of a noob when it comes to cast iron pans.
Good points. Mine is actually pretty smooth anyway with pitting.