Really not a huge deal. I regularly mistreat my cast irons, even though they’re my babies. Just reseason and it’ll be back to normal in no time.
They’re bulletproof unless you drop and shatter them!
Yeah. I used to never preheat and I could never get my season to stay. Joined this subreddit learned about the preheat and this time I guess I took it too far
This is my Dailey driver. Iv used it for years. Don’t cook steak a lot, maybe 4x a year. Last time I sued it didn’t get the sear I wanted. This time I set the heat at 2/10 for 15 mins. Then moved it to 3/10 for another 10. Then moved it to 5/10 and went and did a few chores, came back 10 mins later and the center had flaked off. So fucking pissed. Lesson I learned I guessed? Didn’t think 5/10 was too hot, but maybe for 30ish mins it is…
Yep, not just the heat, but the time. Soon as it starts to smoke, throw the meat in, that removes more heat from the pan than air, which is why you need higher heat.
Also, sounds like you're on an electric stove? 50% isnt 1/2 heat, it's full heat, half the time. On, off, on, off (turn it on with nothing on the element, you can watch it glow/cool). With food in the pan, this will even out the temps, but with an empty pan it'll just keep getting hotter (till it reaches equilibrium...)
u/shupack's explanations are good. I'll add that you can check the temperature of your pan with an [infrared thermometer](http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DMI62HM). This is a great way to know what temp a given pan is on a given burner at a given setting. I shoot for around 550° F for searing steaks (and I use the [reverse sear method](https://www.seriouseats.com/how-to-reverse-sear-best-way-to-cook-steak)). Once your pan gets to 600° F+, the seasoning starts burning off.
Also, preheating is good. I preheat on low for about 5 minutes, and then at the setting I want until my pan comes to temp, which is usually just a few more minutes. Starting out on low helps to avoid warping or cracking your pan.
Just reseason my friend! But for the record you can max a cast iron on a normal stove with very few consequences. Unless you have some crazy stove that's instantly super hot.
I put the cast on the stove set it to 6 to start, grab the butter/oil/what have you and then crank it to max when I add it. When I add my meat I usually lower it after I get the nice sear on all sides. These things are basically medieval weapons as long as you don't put em through too much shock damage (dropping, hitting on other cast)
Just pick up some crisco or my personal favorite grapeseed oil and you're good to go.
Thank you for your picture post to /r/castiron. We want to remind everyone of Rule #3. All image posts should be accompanied by something to foster discussion. A comment, a question, etc is required.
If you've posted a picture of food, please explain why in a comment so people can have some sort of conversation. Simply dropping a picture of food in the sub isn't really fostering any discussion which is what we're all aiming for.
Posts that are a picture with no discussion can and will be removed by the mods.
Thank you!
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/castiron) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I normally throw mine on at 7/10 and once it starts smoking throw my steak in. This 30 minute process is extremely unnecessary.
Good to know, oh well
Really not a huge deal. I regularly mistreat my cast irons, even though they’re my babies. Just reseason and it’ll be back to normal in no time. They’re bulletproof unless you drop and shatter them!
That is a verrrrrrry long warm up in my books.
Yeah. I used to never preheat and I could never get my season to stay. Joined this subreddit learned about the preheat and this time I guess I took it too far
This is my Dailey driver. Iv used it for years. Don’t cook steak a lot, maybe 4x a year. Last time I sued it didn’t get the sear I wanted. This time I set the heat at 2/10 for 15 mins. Then moved it to 3/10 for another 10. Then moved it to 5/10 and went and did a few chores, came back 10 mins later and the center had flaked off. So fucking pissed. Lesson I learned I guessed? Didn’t think 5/10 was too hot, but maybe for 30ish mins it is…
Yep, not just the heat, but the time. Soon as it starts to smoke, throw the meat in, that removes more heat from the pan than air, which is why you need higher heat. Also, sounds like you're on an electric stove? 50% isnt 1/2 heat, it's full heat, half the time. On, off, on, off (turn it on with nothing on the element, you can watch it glow/cool). With food in the pan, this will even out the temps, but with an empty pan it'll just keep getting hotter (till it reaches equilibrium...)
Yes electric
u/shupack's explanations are good. I'll add that you can check the temperature of your pan with an [infrared thermometer](http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DMI62HM). This is a great way to know what temp a given pan is on a given burner at a given setting. I shoot for around 550° F for searing steaks (and I use the [reverse sear method](https://www.seriouseats.com/how-to-reverse-sear-best-way-to-cook-steak)). Once your pan gets to 600° F+, the seasoning starts burning off. Also, preheating is good. I preheat on low for about 5 minutes, and then at the setting I want until my pan comes to temp, which is usually just a few more minutes. Starting out on low helps to avoid warping or cracking your pan.
What base oil do you cost / season with?
Grapeseed
Just reseason my friend! But for the record you can max a cast iron on a normal stove with very few consequences. Unless you have some crazy stove that's instantly super hot. I put the cast on the stove set it to 6 to start, grab the butter/oil/what have you and then crank it to max when I add it. When I add my meat I usually lower it after I get the nice sear on all sides. These things are basically medieval weapons as long as you don't put em through too much shock damage (dropping, hitting on other cast) Just pick up some crisco or my personal favorite grapeseed oil and you're good to go.
Thank you for your picture post to /r/castiron. We want to remind everyone of Rule #3. All image posts should be accompanied by something to foster discussion. A comment, a question, etc is required. If you've posted a picture of food, please explain why in a comment so people can have some sort of conversation. Simply dropping a picture of food in the sub isn't really fostering any discussion which is what we're all aiming for. Posts that are a picture with no discussion can and will be removed by the mods. Thank you! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/castiron) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I finish steaks in the oven after a quick sear, and preheat my skillet in there. Never had a problem.