This is just my take on trying grape seed oil for the first time to season cast iron. I read Capt. Jack’s link to Sheryl Canter’s post using flax seed oil. Her method sounded good and the photos of some she did looked great. I question her accuracy though on the smoke point of flax seed oil; all the charts I see say it is 225 deg. F instead of 520 deg. like she says.
I kind of question her logic too that if the smoke point was 520 deg. F she could do it in her oven at 450 deg. and not go over the smoke point. I would think in seasoning it wouldn’t matter and it may be best to go over it anyway.
I set out to find flax seed oil since I wanted to try it. I could not find it; I finally checked a health food store and the lady said she could order it for me. She said it didn’t have a long shelf life so she didn’t carry it. It is also expensive at a dollar or more US per ounce.
I did some more research and decided I would try grape seed oil, the 16 oz. can I just bought was $5 at Krogers. It is good for two years and it has a smoke point of 420 deg. F.
In the old days lard was used to season cast iron and still works well. That is what I used on my first skillet. Some of the oils that are good to use are safflower oil, canola oil and vegetable oil. If you have a method you are happy with and it works for you stay with it. The main thing is to get a season that will last awhile and give you a non-stick skillet to use.
I don’t care for Pam canola spray; it gives a fast build up for me. I have been using vegetable oil. I clean my cast iron with hot water and a brush and sometimes use a scotch non-abrasive pad on them. At times when the seasoning starts to get a little dull looking I will put a light coat of oil on; set on a high burner and as soon as it starts to smoke set it off to cool down.
I had the perfect skillet to try grape seed oil on, a 12 inch marked 12 SK Made in the USA. I don’t remember where I bought it but I suspect it is a Lodge. I used it a few times outdoors on a gas burner. I gave it to a good neighbor friend to use and his son-in –law used it camping. After the neighbor died his wife gave the skillet back to me.
It was a mess and I scoured on it and got it down to bare metal. It had a large brown spot in the middle from gas flames that didn’t come off. I re-seasoned it a couple of times on the gas burner using Pam I think. At least this would keep it from rusting. It has hung in my shed a few years. I decided to use the grape seed oil and use it this summer.
I decided to run it through my self-cleaning oven to get all the seasoning off. While I was doing it I did the neighbors stoneware dish too and it came out looking like new. The skillet was really clean; it even took the brown burn spot out. If I had been smart enough to use the oven the first time I cleaned it I would have saved a lot of rubbing!
I am using Sheryl’s heating method to do my skillet, 6 thin coats, place in the oven and heat to 485 deg. F. for an hour then shut off and let cool. Why 485 deg.; not sure it just sounded good to me. I have had good results doing them at 350 deg. before.
I just finished the first coat on the skillet and it is cooling now. I will post a new photo with the other five coats. I will also try to get back to this post and update after I try cooking with it. I will let you know the outcome; good or bad.
The before photos are before doing in my self-cleaning oven and the after are after cleaning.
Smokin Don
Before bottom
Before inside
Bottom after
Inside after
1st coat of oil applied, before heating
1st coat of oil baked
2nd coat done
3rd coat done
4th coat done
5th coat done
6th coat done, final
Bottom after 6 coats
Jul 02 2013
I was done seasoning my skillet and time to do a first cook in it. I decided I would fry up some bacon, pour off the grease and fry a couple of eggs. Eggs are hard to do without sticking.
I fried two batches of bacon on Med. heat and poured off the grease. I cracked two eggs into the skillet and then covered to baste them. The first egg came out clean but the second one stuck just a little; but it came out easy. I probably should have left a little more grease in for the first cook.
I set the skillet off the burner to cool; it looked like I would have to do a little scrubbing to clean it. I had nuked some frozen Bob Evans biscuits and sausage gravy to have to. The breakfast tasted good.
I set the skillet in the sink and brushed it with hot water. Just a short brushing and it came out looking new again. I was real happy the way it cleaned up so easily.
Bacon's on
Grease poured off after frying the bacon
After frying the eggs
My Breakfast
After a quick cleaning
My final thoughts about how I seasoned it. The method I think is the best I have ever used.
1. Apply a thin coat of oil, wipe all off, place in an oven and turn to 485 to 500 deg.
2. After reaching set temp leave it in for one hour
3. Turn off the oven and let cool for two hours
4. Wait at least 12 hours before doing another coat
5. Do the above at least 6 times.
I liked the grape seed oil it has a high smoke point and it is low in bad fats. I think the above method would probably do well with any of the cooking oils mentioned for seasoning cast iron or even lard. Common sense tells me I want to heat over the smoke point when seasoning to get rid of any bad stuff in the oil. If you do it at 500 deg. you will be above the smoke point off all the cooking oils except refined Avocado oil which is 520 deg. F.
When I have cast iron cook ware that needs seasoned I will use the above method and probably use grape seed oil again. Thanks to Cheryl Canter for the method, it works and gives a nice matte black finish. Only more cooking with the skillet I did will tell how long the finish will last. It probably will not get much use. It’s a little too large for my stove top burner. It does have a little warp in the center that lets it spin easily on my glass top range but it will be ideal for outdoor cooking on my gas burner.
