How to Season Cast Iron, and When to Redo It

This page sets out how to season a cast iron skillet in the oven, and the signs that say a pan needs it, from Lodge’s own instructions, as How we choose describes. No pan here was handled or tested.

Lodge 10.25-inch ↓

See on AmazonSee Lodge Pre-Seasoned Cast Iron Skillet, 10.25 Inches on Amazon (opens in a new tab)

Best for Cooking from day 1, no seasoning

Watch for Small for 4

Utopia Kitchen 12-inch ↓

See on AmazonSee Utopia Kitchen Cast Iron Skillet, 12 Inch on Amazon (opens in a new tab)

Best for A budget pan to practise on

Watch for Not made in the USA

Le Creuset Signature ↓

See on AmazonSee Le Creuset Signature Enameled Cast Iron Skillet, 11.75" on Amazon (opens in a new tab)

Best for Never seasoning at all

Watch for The price

A new pre-seasoned skillet is ready for its first meal

Skip the oven on day 1. Lodge says every piece it sells is seasoned at its South Pittsburg foundry and needs no seasoning at home before use. The same goes for most pre-seasoned pans, including Utopia Kitchen’s 12-inch skillet. A small brown spot near the rim of a new Lodge is oil that has not fully carbonised where the pan hung on the line, Lodge says, not rust.

01

Seasoned at the foundry

Lodge Pre-Seasoned Cast Iron Skillet, 10.25 Inches

Lodge's standard skillet, seasoned in its Tennessee foundry and ready to cook in from the box.

LodgeLodge Pre-Seasoned Cast Iron Skillet, 10.25 Inches

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Specifications for Lodge Pre-Seasoned Cast Iron Skillet, 10.25 Inches

Diameter	10.25 inches
Finish	Pre-seasoned

Seasoned at the foundry, so the first job is cooking.

Buy it if

• A first skillet for a cook who wants to skip the seasoning step

Don't buy it if

• Cooking for 4 in one batch

Lodge says cooking with fat is the seasoning most pans need

Every meal cooked with oil or fat adds 1 more layer. Lodge calls regular use the best and easiest way to keep a pan seasoned, and says the first layers may look patchy. Its advice for a patchy pan is to keep cooking, because the uneven layers interlock over time. Frying, searing and baking with oil all count.

Reseason when food sticks, rust shows, or the pan turns grey

4 signs call for the oven rather than more cooking: eggs sticking where they used to slide, orange rust spots, a dull grey patch of bare iron, and black flakes lifting off the surface. Bare cast iron rusts quickly once its seasoning is gone, which is why a dishwasher or a night soaking in the sink is the usual cause. A slightly uneven colour on a pan that cooks well needs nothing.

Lodge’s method: thin oil, 450 to 500°F, 1 hour upside down

The oven method takes 3 steps and about 2 hours with cooling. Lodge’s instructions, in short:

1. Wash and dry. Warm, soapy water, then dry completely with a paper towel or lint-free cloth.
2. Oil thinly. Wipe cooking oil over the whole pan, inside and out, thin enough that none drips or runs when the pan is tilted.
3. Bake. Heat the oven to 450 to 500°F, put foil on the lower rack for drips, and bake the pan upside down on the centre rack for 1 hour. Turn the oven off and let the pan cool inside it.

The upside-down position stops oil pooling in the pan. Too much oil is the commonest mistake, and it shows as a sticky, uneven finish.

3 oils Lodge’s test kitchen uses for seasoning

Pick an oil with a high smoke point, since the oven runs at 450°F or more. Lodge’s test kitchen names 3: vegetable oil, melted shortening and canola oil, and Lodge uses a soybean blend at the foundry. Wikipedia notes there is no consensus on a best oil, so the bottle already in the cupboard will do.

02

Budget pan to practise on

Utopia Kitchen Cast Iron Skillet, 12 Inch

A pre-seasoned 12-inch skillet stated safe on the stove, in the oven, on a grill and over a campfire.

Utopia KitchenUtopia Kitchen Cast Iron Skillet, 12 Inch

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Specifications for Utopia Kitchen Cast Iron Skillet, 12 Inch

Diameter	12 inches
Finish	Pre-seasoned

A budget 12-inch, for the grill, where seasoning wears fastest.

Buy it if

• A low-cost pan for the grill, where seasoning wears fastest

Don't buy it if

• A buyer who wants a USA-made pan

Enamelled cast iron never needs seasoning

Glass enamel fused to the iron does the job seasoning does. The Le Creuset Signature skillet is enamelled, 11.75 inches across, and takes tomato sauce without harm. It costs several times a Lodge, and it gives up some of bare iron’s searing heat. For the full shortlist of pans, see cast iron skillets, and for why nonstick coatings fail at heat that iron shrugs off, see nonstick coatings and heat.

03

No seasoning needed

Le Creuset Signature Enameled Cast Iron Skillet, 11.75"

An enamelled cast iron skillet, 11.75 inches, which never needs seasoning.

Le CreusetLe Creuset Signature Enameled Cast Iron Skillet, 11.75"

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Current price shown on Amazon. We may earn a commission.

Specifications for Le Creuset Signature Enameled Cast Iron Skillet, 11.75"

Diameter	11.75 inches
Finish	Enamel

Enamel instead of seasoning, for a cook who won’t oil a pan.

Buy it if

• A cook who will never oil a pan after washing it

Don't buy it if

• The price, and very high-heat searing