cast iron skillet sticking

[Rod Bear]

recently purchased a preseasoned cast iron skillet. Everything is sticking to the bottom. I have used it about four times. Unless I put a ton of oil before I start, things stick. Will this go away with use, or do I need to do something else?

[stickhorse]

they say they are preseasoned, but they are not done properly. heat it in the oven to 250 deg, take out and wipe inside with corn oil, do this 3-4 times or till it seams like it wont take any more oil. let cool and do it again. won' stick any more. use corn oil not veg oil or it will smell. good luck on your cooking, things always taste better cooked in cast iron skillets or duch ovens.

[bretto]

Make sure you turn it upside down so any extra oil doesn't puddle up. And put a sheet pan under it to catch any drips. Yes that is experience talking. LOL

[stickhorse]

yep!!! forgot to say to turn over!! i use aluminum foil, and just throw it away.hate to do dishes.

[T Lail]

what they said, then test it on cornbread...if it comes out clean she is OK......

[Tsalagi]

The other thing you have to do is after you get done using it and wash it, you need to give it a good rubdown inside with olive oil. You can use corn oil if you prefer. You have to store it with oil rubbed into it. Otherwise, it attracts moisture that creates oxidation (it eventually becomes visible as rust)and that will cause sticking. A nice sheen of oil rubbed in after washing and drying it well (while the skillet is hot from the water)is what you need before putting it away. That defends it against the oxidation.

[T Folts]

Also dont use soap when washing it removes the oil. I just fill it with water and boil it on the stove and use a green scubbie to remove anything sticking to it.

[ronp]

I have found that they get better with time.  Intially, I just cook things that won't stick too bad (soups, lighter stews, etc.) then maybe some hamburgers.  Keep it oiled up after use and you can cook eggs after a while.  Also, I don't cook bacon or other salty foods in it at first.  Including chili and tomato sauce unless using home-canned tomatoes.  The canned stuff is salty.  Hope this helps.

[ronp]

In other words, they get better with age.  Like Chevy Pickups and Black Widow Recurves.
ron

[d. ward]

here's a great little tip for cast iron cooking.Make sure your pan is preheated good before you start cooking.If you can pick up a cast iron pan by the handle with out a hot pad it is not hot enough to cook in yet.Let it heat up a bit more bd

[Sheepshooter]

Something my mom told me was to never put a hot pan into your dishwater. let it cool completely before you wash it. After I started doing this my sticking problems went away. (once I seasoned it again)

[d. ward]

oh no never wash cast iron with soap.When your all done cooking in your cast iron just add one cup of water coffee gatoraide whatever you have.Let it come to a light boil dump off the water wipe clean with paper towel and reoil with peanut oil bd

[Don Stokes]

My cornbread skillet never sees anything but bacon grease and a damp paper towel. My others see hot water only for cleaning, and I season the iron with Crisco, the solid kind. Old school.

[Bobby Urban]

I will second the Crisco for seasoning post

[Bill Turner]

Old Chineese proverb, "Hot wok, cold oil, no sticky".  

[kill shot]

fry some bacon in it.

[jmack]

All I use is cast iron, and I must strongly disagree with the person telling you to boil anything in your skillet after cleaning it. Boiling water in your skillet will liquify any oil in the metal, and you'll just dump it all(the oil) out when you pour out the boiling water. This is why you should also never use hot water to clean your skillet. Once you have it properly seasoned, to clean it all you need to do are follow these steps -

1. Let it cool to room temp after you you are done using it. Cleaning while it is hot does the same thing as using hot water to clean with, or boiling water in it as previously mentioned.

2. Scrub the item with a stiff brush under cold water. If properly seasoned, then nothing should be stuck to your skillet unless you burned something in it. Cold water will not wash the oil out of the porous cast iron.

3. Wipe out any excess water, and heat the skillet on the stovetop until all the water has evaporated.

4. Wipe the skillet with an oil soaked paper towel while hot. The hot metal will draw in any oil that has cooked/burned out. You don't want any pools of oil, as these will harden up later and jut be a sticky/crusty annoyance. You want just enough oil to make the metal appear wet. Let cool and store.

If you ever get rust that you just can't get out of your skillet, then pour a coke in it, and let it sit in the oven with the light on. The light will create just enough heat to let the metal expand so the coke can work it's way through the metal. If you turn the heat on, then the sugar will carmelize, and then you have a near ruined skillet. Make sure you put a drip pan under the skillet when doing this, or else you'll have coke all over the bottom of your oven. After you do this will be the only time you should use hot soapy water to clean it, to get rid of any sugary coke left in the metal. Then just season again, and clean as directed above.

[kill shot]

jmack knows what he's talkin about.

[Don Stokes]

I haven't had a problem rinsing mine with hot water, but it's a quick rinse followed by wiping down.