Realized I was drying my cast iron wrong after a year of terrible seasoning

Last month I was at a BBQ supply shop in Kansas City and the old guy running it pointed at my pan and said "You're killing it with that dish soap." I'd been scrubbing it like a regular pot every time I cooked bacon. Switched to salt and oil rubdowns and now eggs slide right off. Anyone else miss the obvious signs on their cookware for way too long?

3 comments

3 Comments

barbara_grant41mo ago

Came home from work one day to find my husband washing our cast iron with steel wool and dawn soap. Told him the pan needed therapy after that.

the_leo1mo ago

Did you at least catch him before he put it in the dishwasher too? That is a hard reset situation right there, but honestly you can fix it. Scrub off any rust with a little oil and salt, then do a full oven seasoning with grapeseed oil at 450 for an hour. Three coats and your pan will be better than new, I've had to do this exact thing after my roommate borrowed mine once.

kaigibson1mo ago

Forty years of cooking with cast iron and I STILL wash mine with dish soap and a stiff brush. I season it maybe once a year if the eggs start sticking. My grandmother washed her cast iron with soap and lye and those pans are still in the family, smooth as glass. The whole "never use soap" thing is a myth from back when soap had lye in it that would strip the seasoning. Modern dish soap is mild enough that it won't hurt a well-seasoned pan at all.