So I recently became interested in cast iron because I like cooking steaks, but it's kind of a pain to get the grill going for just a single steak, and from what I heard cast iron is perfect for cooking singles steaks.
I found a Griswold at a local antique store and restored it (lye bath followed by vinegar bath and elbow grease). I seasoned it w/ 6 coats of canola oil before use. First I cooked bacon on it, and ended up with a fair amount of black crap stuck on, that I had to clean off with oil and kosher salt and a fair bit of scrubbing. I felt like I was probably scraping away my seasoning, but after drying it looked alright. Then I cooked a steak using the Alton Brown recipe (high heat on the stove minute for a minute each side, and then into an oven heated at 450 degrees). I noticed I must have melted some seasoning off as there was a big black "drip" in the middle of the stove top coil. After eating my steak, I went to clean the skillet. On the bottom, there was a big brown circle where the coil was in contact with the skillet, and when I wipe it off with a damp paper towel, I got a ton of black stuff on the paper towel. On the inside of the skillet, it seemed like I must have cooked off the seasoning as it was, maybe not quite bare metal, but it was more grey in color than black or brown.
Any ideas/insight? Because I sure as heck feel like I'm doing something wrong, even though I feel like I'm following the "Beginner's tips" to a tee. Am I cooking with it wrong? Did I not season it right?
I found a Griswold at a local antique store and restored it (lye bath followed by vinegar bath and elbow grease). I seasoned it w/ 6 coats of canola oil before use. First I cooked bacon on it, and ended up with a fair amount of black crap stuck on, that I had to clean off with oil and kosher salt and a fair bit of scrubbing. I felt like I was probably scraping away my seasoning, but after drying it looked alright. Then I cooked a steak using the Alton Brown recipe (high heat on the stove minute for a minute each side, and then into an oven heated at 450 degrees). I noticed I must have melted some seasoning off as there was a big black "drip" in the middle of the stove top coil. After eating my steak, I went to clean the skillet. On the bottom, there was a big brown circle where the coil was in contact with the skillet, and when I wipe it off with a damp paper towel, I got a ton of black stuff on the paper towel. On the inside of the skillet, it seemed like I must have cooked off the seasoning as it was, maybe not quite bare metal, but it was more grey in color than black or brown.
Any ideas/insight? Because I sure as heck feel like I'm doing something wrong, even though I feel like I'm following the "Beginner's tips" to a tee. Am I cooking with it wrong? Did I not season it right?