Thread: Cast iron?

Any oil will work. I have used a bunch of different ones and have stuck with lard as that is the one I personally think works best...for me. As per usual though YMMV. The only reason you might have to, or rather choose to go back to bare metal is if large chunks of the seasoning coat are chipping off or if something caustic has gotten under it; that or you just want a fresh start. The heat will kill anything organic and the oil will fill in the crevices. Really it is usually best to just keep calm and carry on as the pan improves as it is used, all of which has been said. Just an alternative to what Mike said, I use plain hot water and a soft nylon kitchen brush. after that I put mine on the stove on low-medium to dry out all the moisture then put a small gob of lard on a paper towel and coat the inside.

The other important thing is to warm the pan thoroughly before putting any food in it, That gives it good anti-stick properties. I had to laugh when "anti-stick coated" pans came out. They act like it was some new invention. HA! what do you think the seasoning on a cast iron pan is? People just don't know how to use one or are too impatient to wait for the pan to warm up properly. The rule of thumb I use is, once the handle is warm, almost too hot to touch, then the pan is ready, THEN put your oil in IF you even need it. Usually you won't if you coated the pan properly when you put it away.

EDIT: Oh, I should add that the one exception to the lard is that I use olive oil on my clam sauce pan. That pan though is a special purpose pan.