I love my cast iron, have had most of it for many years and always seasoned like most of the instructions above. But...
I used to have parrots and I ordered some palm oil for them. I made cornbread with the palm oil and my skillet came out seasoned to perfection. I don't think you get a skillet seasoned this well any other way.

Now for a really good cast iron candy recipe (which I just in fact made and is setting up...)

TOFFEE

Melt 2 sticks margarine (light flavor) or butter (heavy flavor) in cast iron skillet. Add 1 cup white sugar, 3 T water and 1 t vanilla. Stir and cook until the color of a brown paper sack. Pour onto cookie sheet and tilt pan until even. Let sit for about one minute, then pour 8 oz of semi-sweet chocolate chips on top. Let sit long enough to melt, then spread evenly. Sprinkle with almond slivers (you can toast them if you like.) Let set and break into pieces! You can also add toasted almond slivers to the toffee before pouring onto cookie sheet. Enjoy!!!

I use mine camping and I do all of the things in this techniques but I do not use oil on them after they are dry. I use minneral oil...it does not get that stickey feel to it like oil. and they are packed away till next time with the paper towel with the oil on it.

I do boil water in mine for pototoes and oil right after sometimes even before completely dry.

yes as I posted just now I also use it for my wood.

sorry to post again but anyone of you lovers of cast iorn know how to do the old time corn bread...thanks

I have several iron skillets that came from my mothers collection. I seasoned them in the oven like has been said before. Heat, grease (lard), heat, grease, wipe clean. Mine are perfect for cornbread. I used to threaten my husband to not cook anything in them except bread. They are too heavy for me to use except for bread now since I broke my wrist last year. They do make perfect cornbread.

I rub crisco allover and then put in the oven when new. have even put them in the firplace in winter and just build the fire around it. Have always washed mine and then put on the burner until completely dry. Mine are so old they never stick any more.

I have my grandmothers cast iron that is over 75 years old and still cooks great. I do as she always did (lived with her 13 years). After using I wash with hot water and Dawn. Then I place then on a warm burner to make sure dry. Only about every 3rd or 4th use do I use a very small amount of oilve oil rubbed into the pan to prevent rusting. As far as seasoning them I have never had to do that. She always claimed once seasoned properly they were seasoned. Just maintain them afterwards. I bought one of the new cast iron skillets - they are nothing like my old ones.

I have washed mine too. As long as I reseason with oil, I've had no problems.

I do the exact same thing... But I always spray it after drying it and rub the oil spray in real good. The pan always goes inside the cool oven for storage.

I have lots of iron skillets of all sizes. I don't cuddle them either. They were alreadys seasoned when I got them bc they were old. I was them with hot sudsy water, scrape them when something is stuck and I've never reseasoned them. If I think about I stick it in the cold oven to dry or leave it in the sink. I've never had a problem. I use the same cornbread pan for months then change to another one. I have three different ones. All my cast iron is Griswold or Wagners. Wagners is older than Griswold. I cook my peas in the biggest one, like a dutch oven. The peas leave a ring around the pan and I use a scratchy to clean it. No problem, but all I cook in that pan is peas.

Brand new. wash, dry, wipe with bacon grease... place in oven at about 350 for a couple of hours. When you use it....never use soap to clean it. water and then wipe a little veggie oil on it to keep it seasoned. Good luck Craftybear... there is nothing better than something cooked in a cast iron skillet.

Pam. Spray some on, wipe it out, good to go..

The way my grandmother did. Coat it with Crisco or any all vegetable solid shortening. Lard will smell funny. Turn it upside down on the oven rack and heat it to 350º for 4 or more hours. Let it cool in the oven. The excess shortening will drip off the skillet and not get sticky build up. Then she scoured the pan with hot water, no soap at all, then repeated the process. Her cast iron skillets were smooth as glass and nothing stuck to them. Not even an egg with no oil at all. She taught me to coat the spatula with oil before using so the food wouldn't stick to it.

I season mine by coating them with bacon fat, put them in a very hot oven and leave them for an hour. Do this when the weather is nice and you can open your windows. Or you can send them camping with someone - coat them with grease and throw them in the campfire. I also have coated them and put them on top of the stove. Any of these methods will work. Never wash with soap!

We got a set of cast iron pans after the Dr. told me I would always need iron in my diet. Bought the 1st. one, med, size. Couple years later, picked one up at a rummage sale. Then bought one that was small, to fry eggs in, and finally the family got bigger and I got a real big one. None of the family ever need iron in our blood again. 50 years later we still use only cast iron, they will never wear out. I read all the hints here on the board, and think I used every one of them, depending on how busy I was at the time.

I have my Mom's & Grandma's cast iron skillets. I use them occasionally anymore as I get older & they seem to get heavier!!!! LOL I always washed mine in hot water with a scrub brush, put it into the oven to dry, then wiped it with oil or shortening, & put it back in the oven at 325 deg. for an hour or more, upside down. When done, wipe out with a paper towel, & store in cold oven. This has worked for years & years & years....

crisco amd a hot oven, never wash... just wipe them out with a paper towel.

I pretty much use mine every day but I only cook with olive oil. If I use anything else for oil they start to rust. I wash them in soapy water with the rest of my dishes and only have a little problem if I was cooking hamberger and didnt put olive oil in first.

Same here and going on 50 years...

It just goes to show that, like quilting, there's no ONE right way to do anything! :)

I have 37 skillets, 3 "in house" dutch ovens, 6 "Camp ovens" (Dutch ovens with legs), I don't know how many muffin, popover, gem and cornstick pans, and a large roaster. Most are over 100 years old. None of them family heirlooms, I collected them here and there, and some were gifts. Add to that 57 cast iron trivets. All were seasoned and are taken care of the way I posted before. Nothing sticks in the cookware, and oil will "bead" in the skillet if there's not enough of it!

That being said, I will argue ONE thing. Campfires, fireplaces, and trash barrel fires to clean your cast iron is HARD on the cast iron! Ever notice that "rosy" hue that the iron takes on? It's not rust, and it's not fixable. You've changed the iron forever, and it will be weaker than iron that has not been "fired". You also take a chance on that cast iron cracking in the fire, or warping so that it no longer sits flat.

I would no more "fire" my cast iron cookware, nor would I sandblast it than I would take Comet Cleanser to my grandmother's antique sewing machine and treadle cabinet. Both might still work, but the value is gone...

That's how I treat my cast iron skillets and these skillets make perfect omelets, over easy eggs, or sunny side up eggs. Perfect for deep frying.

When i wash it with hot soapy water I place it on the stove and turn the burner on high until the skillet is dry and hot.
If the skillet is new I lightly coat it with some oil or grease and place it in the oven overnight at 220 degrees.

I don't have a skillet but I do have dutch ovens. I use my gas BBQ to do the heat. Light oil rub and put them in to bake for a while. Saves smoking out my kitchen!

Smart lady!! ;)

I've seasoned my cast iron skillet only once, when I first bought it. I wash it in hot water with very little bit of dish soap. If needed I use metal scrubber. Never soak a cast iron skillet. Actually the only thing I cook it is meat. A small cast iron skillet is used for cooking only eggs. That one is never washed, only scrubbed and rinsed with hot water. Amazing how little oil or shortening I have to use on that skillet. I do use oven cleaner only on the outside to remove greasey buildup. This I learned from my parents and have had my skillets for 47 years. If food stick to your skillet, preheat with oil or shortening, then add food.

I learned this after smoking my entire house and setting off the alarm the first time! Thankfully you really don't have to do it more than once if treated correctly! I used mine this weekend to make apple crisp for 40 people! Yum!

My DD oils hers down on inside and outside and puts on grill will the top down and leaves it overnight.

When my husband first got his pans, he seasoned them with oil but after his first one, we found we can just buy them that way. We found seasoned ones at the Cracker Barrel Restaurants, which you can find online.

i let grease sit in mine for a day or so then rinse it for the next use. i use mine everyday so it gets plenty of seasoning....love my cast iron...my mom used it for everything from cooking to throwing at a smartmouthed kid.. thank god she never hit us just used to scare the bejebees out of us....