“Look into the skillet… Lean over it and look down.  If this is your mother’s skillet…it would hold among its molecules the vibrations of all the conversations every held in its presence.  All the exchanges, the petty irritations, the deadly revelations, the flat announcements of disaster, the grunts and poetry of love.” – Thomas Harris, Hannibal

The first time my parents visited us after we got married, my dad presented me with a package, announcing it was “one last wedding gift.”  I started to protest, and then I saw what lay inside, bundled in plastic wrap, and topped with a surgical-glove-bow.

Delightful! Padre spied the 15 inch Lodge amongst my bridal shower booty a few months prior and decided it was high time I learn how to properly care for such a kitchen essential!  After all, you can’t bake true Southern cornbread, fry up sublimely crispy bacon, or pan-sear a filet to perfection without well-maintained skillet. {Well, you can… but there’s just something about the heft of cast iron, isn’t there?} Here’s how to keep your cast iron cooking for generations to come…

You’ll need:

• Lard
• Aluminum Foil
• Surgical Latex gloves (or rubber dishwashing gloves) to keep your mitts grease-free
• An oven
• 2.5 hours to kill

Place a sheet of aluminum foil on the bottom of your oven, and preheat to 350.  Wash your skillet with warm, soapy water.  Rinse and pat dry.  After snapping on your gloves, rub lard into the bottom of the skillet and along the sides, thoroughly coating the cooking surface.  Bake the skillet in the oven for 15 minutes.  Remove {don’t forget your pot-holder!} and drain of excess lard liquid {yum!}.

Replace the skillet in the oven, upside-down, over the aluminum foil.  Bake for another 2 hours. When your timer dings, turn the oven off, leaving the skillet in the oven until both completely cool.  Your skillet should have a slight sheen to it when the process is complete.  It may also be a little cloudy in color; this will dissipate with use.

Repeating this process is recommended to really seal the cast iron.  {I know, I know – who has 5 hours to watch lard sizzle?! I usually pick a slow weekend and execute a little Saturday-Sunday tag-team.}  Seasoning recreates the nonstick quality as the lard smooths the naturally pitted quality of cast iron, and seals out water that can cause rusting.  With new cast iron, you’ll want to season after every use in order to build up the protective coating.  Additionally, re-season after cooking acidic foods (tomatoes, beans, etc).

Other Tips & Tricks for Cast Iron:

• Wash cast iron immediately after use, while it is still hot, using hot water and a scrub brush.  Do not use soap (unless you are about to season).  Do not soak.
• Never place cast iron in the dishwasher.
• After cleaning, brush or spritz a very light layer of vegetable oil over all surfaces.
• Never store cast iron skillets or Dutch ovens with the lids on.  Cast iron needs circulation!
• Never pour cold water into hot cast iron – it could crack!
• Do not use cast iron to store food.

Happy Cast-Iron Cooking!