Good ol' Cast Iron -- or is it?

I have slowly been questing for cast iron (insert cooking implement/container here) and I found a skillet about 3 months ago that I re-seasoned (and seasoned again, and again). I have found, however, when I cook with it, food either turns up ashy, and/or it smokes! A smoke that burns your nose!

After I cook, I wash it with a liiiittle bit of soap and water, put it on the stove on medium heat to get rid of all the water, coat the pan again, let it sit for another 5-10 minutes and then I put it in the oven upside down.

I dont understand why it's smoking, and why that smoke burns my nose! I'm owrried its releasing some toxic fume or something and that would defeat my entire point of going to cast iron in the first place (as opposed to teflon).

Thoughts? [sarcasm]And please stay on topic[/sarcasm] I'd hate to annoy anyone *Cackles*

We use a cast iron fry pan here, my hubby swears by it. It took me a bit to get accustomed to it, but now I really enjoy using it as well.
When we used to camp (many years ago before kids and a farm) we used cast iron pots all the time, best things ever on a camp fire.

That is the oddest thing I've ever heard. We cook almost exclusivly on cast iorn (man those big skillets will work your arms!). The ash-ey food, the only thing I can think of there, is that cast iorn takes a loooong time to heat up, compared to teflon type pans, my hubby has trouble with cranking the heat because he feels the food isnt cooking fast enough, and then it of course, burns. But that doesnt quite sound like your problem.

What are you coating it with?

You are doing something wrong how are your seasoning and with what, what temperature are you using, I use them all the time at the lake and at home. here is a link that may be helpfull

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Thanks Pops.

To address both questions, I'm seasoning it with Olive Oil. I don't buy canola anymore because it's so hard to find out who uses GMO canola.

I watched that youtube video, and the only thing I don't do the same is I haven't wiped it out after the fact. I read if there's no pooling oil then it's fine. In fact, that looks exactly like my skillet! It was scrubbed and scoured when I bought it because of where I got it from (second hand store, and I wash everything when it comes home if I buy something, even if its in a box), and it hast the nice 'seasoned' finish and black patina that is, I've heard, cherished by cast iron owners.

Hmm... I also use very very little dish soap, and the stuff I use is mostly natural. I usually clean everything with vinegar, but I was told not to clean cast iron with vinegar unless removing rust because it can eat through.

Olive oil has a very low burning temp. I'm betting that is your problem. An old roommate of mine ruined my favorite wok by using olive oil in it with too high of a temp.

Hillbilly wrote: Olive oil has a very low burning temp. I'm betting that is your problem. An old roommate of mine ruined my favorite wok by using olive oil in it with too high of a temp.

Really? I didn't even consider that as I've used olive oil in oil lamps. Imagine that...

So, what should I use then, since I can't find non-gmo canola oil that will be confirmed by the organizations branding the bottles, or am I stuck?

Also, does this mean I should be scrubbing it down and re-doing the seasoning? I guess so eh..

It takes a long time to get new cast iron properly seasoned. I agree with the other comments, to high of heat is probably causing some of the problem. It's slow to heat and slow to cool.
Once it does get properly seasoned, I wash it quickly in normal dish water (a no-no according to some) but wipe it with vegetable oil before putting it away. Only leave a thin coat on it when you put it away.
I find the large fry pans are wonderful but I have a hard time dumping the contents into a serving bowl, they are seriously heavy.
I also believe some are just bad. I had one I finally threw out, it just burnt everything, I don't know why. But I do believe in good quality, old fashioned cast iron. I have a large skillet, a large roasting pan (over fifty years in my family) a griddle (also over fifty years in the family) and a covered pot. All are stand by favorite vessels for cooking.
Persevere, you will love them once they start to work for you. I have had people to ask me to leave my roaster to them in my will lol.

Sunflower oil is a good alternative. I would scrub it down as best I can. Either that or tolerate the burnt smell until it eventually burns off, but that could be awhile.

We wash our cast iron pans with sand and water no dish soap as we have found the dish soap removes the seasoning. We also use crisco lard to season with as we have found oils do tend to want to burn. We do this with the Dutch oven pots we have and don't have issues

A good 'seasoning' takes more than one season!

I bought an old waffle iron once, it had cast iron plates, seriously OLD. But it looked yucky. Thought I would clean it up so sprayed it with oven cleaner. Cleaned it up alright and RUINED it forever! Took all those years of seasoning right off and it burned everything ever after Had to throw it out.

Good advice too, to put a cast iron pan on MEDIUM heat and allow it to heat slowly. Blasting it on high can cook off the seasonng you are trying so hard to get on there. Is your oven coil top electric, gas or glass top? Glass top and cast iron are not a good mix. But gas and electric work great. Good luck.

@Hillbilly:

It's not the smell that bothers me, it's that the smell litterally burns your nose, and its not just me that notices it. It makes me cough, the man cough, even the dog snorts and leaves -- I have to crack open the door when I cook.

@Smoky:
I think I'll do that. I've never actually bought lard, but I'll definitely look for it next time I go to the store.

@Uno:

Of course.. Of course it would be that glass tops aren't good for them -- does that mean its futile and I should just stick to stainless, teflon loaded stuff?

I love my cast iron cookware. If the pan is totally smooth inside to the touch of your hand then quit scrubbing. It sounds like you have scrubbed it enough. I never use soap unless I've cooked animal flesh in it, otherwise its hot running water and a metal scrubbie only for cleaning. That way you don't have to reseason every time you wash with soap. And I don't season it every time I use it....probably only every half a dozen times at the most and then I use coconut oil as it has a very high heat tolerance. I also wipe any excess coconut oil with a paper towel before putting away. You can tell when it needs 'seasoning', i.e. a little coconut oil rubbed in, when the inside of the pan starts to look parched or without a slight sheen.

And I cook with cast iron at high heat with no problems. You just have to remember it holds its heat very well and takes a little longer to cool down while you're cooking in it and you're lowering the heat.

Oh yes, and you cannot taste even a hint of coconut oil in your cooking.

You'll get there. Just don't over scrub and over season it.

Teflon BAD! Teflon is not to be made as of 2013.

Sweetend..this makes me wonder... CAUTION OFF TOPIC!

I have a cast iron cook stove in my kitchen. Is was built in the late 1800s. Took two men and a boy to lug it in here. Had to reinforce the floor joists beneath it. Poured a concrete pad for it to sit on. None of this is relevent.

It is old and shabby and someone had told me to rub it all over with this stuff called Stove Black that would make it look good. Well holy crackers, it looked great! Right until we lit it for the first time and off roiled this acrid, burning, stenching, horrid smoke. Filled the house! Opened all the doors and windows as the smoke detectors screeched and wailed. LAST time I ever did that! And it took at least 4 more hot spells to burn that junk off completely.

Was your pan new? Could it be that some lovely paint/blacking coating was on there and THAT is what is burning off? If that is the case, until that junk is burned off, no oil is going to even be able to penetrate. Before you give up, get Hubby to take your pan out to the shop and heat it with a blow torch. If after a while it quits smoking...it was a factory coating you were burning off. ANd once it's gone THEN you can begin the long process of cultivating a good pan.

Pretty pan = some coating to make it pretty and black. Cast iron has to be made black. Fresh broken edge of cast iron is silver, black is artificially added. Burning 'paint' may be your smoking culprit. Just a thought I had thinking about my black cast iron cook stove.

Perhaps, Uno...

I bought it used, mind you, though that doesn't mean anything. Many of my clothes are from the used shelves in Value Village, purchased with original tags -- pff.. people waste everything.

I'll see about getting DH out to heat that darn thing up. It's ashy too, when that nasal burning occurs. I don't scrub the pan anymore, I scrubbed it when I got it home to make sure it didnt have creepy crawlies all over it. I season it lightly after heating the pan back up to make sure all the water is gone.

I will definitely check that, though, uno.

Sweetened wrote:Thanks Pops.

To address both questions, I'm seasoning it with Olive Oil. I don't buy canola anymore because it's so hard to find out who uses GMO canola.

I watched that youtube video, and the only thing I don't do the same is I haven't wiped it out after the fact. I read if there's no pooling oil then it's fine. In fact, that looks exactly like my skillet! It was scrubbed and scoured when I bought it because of where I got it from (second hand store, and I wash everything when it comes home if I buy something, even if its in a box), and it hast the nice 'seasoned' finish and black patina that is, I've heard, cherished by cast iron owners.

Hmm... I also use very very little dish soap, and the stuff I use is mostly natural. I usually clean everything with vinegar, but I was told not to clean cast iron with vinegar unless removing rust because it can eat through.

here I am using the quote section, you can NOT use olive oil ( or car oil ), lard is good canola oil aor sunflower oil, I understand the GMO worry oilve oil has a lower burn temp and yes it does burn your nose.

Love, Love, LOVE my cast iron. All teflon is OUT of my house. Other good cooking surfaces include pyrex and safely glazed or unglazed pottery. I even have a fireproof pottery fry pan that is excellent for cooking rabbit dishes- don't know why.

Oops- off topic a little. Forgiveness begged....

Sue

Oh yes! The Stove Black on our wood stove looked wonderful until the water boiled over in the cast iron kettle we use to add moisture to the air. The water hit the stove top, mixed with the Stove Black, and shot over everything within range. We have a running battle here over cast iron cookware and whatever is the latest non-stick cookware. I use and my wife uses the cast iron but the younger generation absolutes avoids it like the plague. Amazing thing is how well food sticks to our non-stick cookware when one is also avoiding the use of any oils because of fear we may put on a few pounds.

All my fry pans and casseroles are cast iron.

Never use soap, not even a little. I scrub them if they are really stuck on bits with some coarse salt and oil.. like a paste.

Cathy

I love my cast iron too. Try less heat when seasoning? How about melted beef fat, that has a high smoking temperature. Cook with a little extra fat/oil the first 3 or 4 times, and it will season as it goes.

Thanks all. I think the first thing I'll try is scrubbing it back down to remove the olive oil and redo the seasoning with lard to see if the seasoning was the problem. Then I'll cook at a lower temp (I usually cook on '7')and see how that goes. If I still get the same problem, I might just turn it into a radish growing pot and be done with it.

Yup, absolutely use the lard after you get the olive oil out. Maybe season it on the BBQ or even the fire pit until it quits smoking. I have 2 cast iron pans but I favour my Le Creuset pans and pots. They are amazing! They are enameled cast iron and are so easy to clean. Plus, they're really pretty

The only thing that we have ever used to "" cure "" our cast Iron pans etc is pig lard , or Crisco which is the same thing , as they did way back when .I believe that Lard is actually recommended for any cast iron cooking utensils .That is all the Pioneers had , and there cast iron pots and pans are still around ?I've never heard of anyone useing olive oil or any other processed oil ??

I understand olive oil has the lowest burning point of any cooking oil and is not good once burned. So I use it for raw purposes (salad dressing etc) but use other oils for cooking. Husband has care and control of cast iron pans and he doesn't wash them at all - just heats them up and scrapes them clean. We like them best for cooking on the woodstove.

Good luck! Lots of good advice on this thread.