That’s what led me to redoing the seasoning today. I washed up the grease with a few drops of Dawn and the pan came out with large areas of brown/white and dry/powdery rather than black and shiny.
I definitely have had the pan have a really strong seasoning that maintains a hard, glossy black finish even after washing with soap before. I’m hoping the current seasoning holds up a bit better.
I think maybe sometimes I burn the seasoning from cooking with too high heat? I really love to put a good sear on a burger or a steak and I love how cast iron is like a deep cycle battery that can store and release a large amount of heat into a piece of food.
If you want it that high, I would suggest using wok seasoning methods instead of cast iron. Basically, you “blue” the pan (develop a black iron oxide layer) by holding it at 550F for an hour or so. You’ll burn off the oil every time you use it, but the black oxide layer is relatively non-stick. This will work better with carbon steel than cast iron.
Alternatively, you might consider an even heavier pan, to hold a 400-450F temperature even longer.
The burner will get well over a thousand. Without something cooling it off, a pan can overheat even on low.
That’s what led me to redoing the seasoning today. I washed up the grease with a few drops of Dawn and the pan came out with large areas of brown/white and dry/powdery rather than black and shiny.
I definitely have had the pan have a really strong seasoning that maintains a hard, glossy black finish even after washing with soap before. I’m hoping the current seasoning holds up a bit better.
I think maybe sometimes I burn the seasoning from cooking with too high heat? I really love to put a good sear on a burger or a steak and I love how cast iron is like a deep cycle battery that can store and release a large amount of heat into a piece of food.
That will happen around 450-500F. One method of stripping seasoning is to run it through an oven self-cleaning cycle.
Ahhh I probably get it over 500 for a big sear. Kinda crazy that my stove’s burner can get there even on medium.
If you want it that high, I would suggest using wok seasoning methods instead of cast iron. Basically, you “blue” the pan (develop a black iron oxide layer) by holding it at 550F for an hour or so. You’ll burn off the oil every time you use it, but the black oxide layer is relatively non-stick. This will work better with carbon steel than cast iron.
Alternatively, you might consider an even heavier pan, to hold a 400-450F temperature even longer.
The burner will get well over a thousand. Without something cooling it off, a pan can overheat even on low.