Properly preparing or “seasoning” your cast Iron or carbon steel cookware is very important. If seasoned correctly, your piece of cookware could last for generations if taken care of. Seasoning is just oil baked into the surface of the cookware and accomplishes two things. First it helps make your cookware rust free, and second over time it provides a stick free cooking surface.

When cast iron and carbon steel cookware comes new, the bottoms and sometimes the sides come “unfinished” or rough to the touch. Cooking stuff that is fatty or oily, like bacon, steaks, fried potatoes, or eggs helps build up a smooth nonstick surface on the cookware. Over time this burnt on layer becomes just as non stick as Teflon.

Properly "seasoning" cast iron & carbon steel for use in a kitchen

How to properly season cast iron & carbon steel pots & pans for use in a kitchen

Keyword: Carbon steel, Cast Iron, Cookware, Kitchen 101

Author: Howard Marlin

Equipment

Unseasoned or New Cast Iron or carbon steel Cookware
Full Sized Oven - Gas or Electric
Oven Mitts
Paper Towels
Large Cookie Sheet Pan (Needs to be bigger than the cookware you are seasoning)

Materials

2-4 tbsps Vegetable oil

Instructions

First things first, wash the new cookware before you try to season it. Use warm soapy water and scrub it good to remove any foreign particles or left over oils from the manufacturing process
Let the cookware air dry completely, use a paper towel to wipe any water droplets away if your in a hurry or just impatient like me
While you wait for the metal to dry, preheat your oven to 375° F
Take 1 to 2 tbsp Vegetable oil (you can use pretty much any cooking oil)
Pour the oil onto the paper towel and let it soak in a bit
Use the paper towel to spread the oil onto the surface of the cast iron or carbon steel cookware. The idea is to thinly coat the metal not to drench it
Once you have covered the surface with oil, use a fresh paper towel to wipe up any excess oil off the surface. If you can see the oil, then it is too much. It should almost be dry to the touch but have a nice sheen to it
Be wary of dry spots. If you look close you can see the dry spot in the middle of this pot. Grab the oily paper towel and cover any dry spots with oil and then buffing the metal with a clean paper towel afterwards
This is almost perfect, but beware of bits and pieces of debris from the paper towels. I circled a few of them. I don't think they would hurt anything but sometimes the OCD comes out in me. Just take a clean paper towel and lightly dust them away
Place the large cookie sheet on the bottom rack to catch any oil from dripping onto the bottom of the oven. Try to put the cookware directly above the cookie sheet
Set a timer for 15 minutes. Go take a break, you earned it
Using a good pair of oven mitts or a thick towel, remove the cookware from the oven. Allow to cool on top of the cook top.
Once cool, repeat steps 4 through 11 two more times. You want to do the entire process at least 3 times but you are free to do it as many times as you wish
Once finished your cookware should have a nice metallic sheen to it and be dry to the touch