I wanted to do a "seasoning" post. And I had beat on this pan a little hard so I re-stripped it.
The first step to seasoning your pan is simple. Heat the pan up. Not too hot though only around 200°F. And the oil it(I used Crisco). You heat the pan to "open it's pores". Once it's oiled let the pan stand for a few hours to absorb a little of the oil.
Once the pan has sit a little while get a clean towel, and wipe as much of the grease off as you can. The pan should "feel dry" to the touch, and have no shine. I will explain why this is a little later.
Oil a towel LIGHTLY. Heat your pan slowly up to a medium heat, or just until it starts to smoke a little. Now grease the cooking surface of the pan in a circular pattern like shown with your towel.
You should continue doing this until the surface of the pan no longer "beads" and it feels dry. You may be able to see a "dry" streaking pattern on the pan at this point.
"Beads" are small droplets of oil that form as you heat the pan. Those are those tiny spots you see in this picture. If just left alone they would leave small "bumps" in your seasoning. Which makes for an inferior cooking surface. This is also why when we oiled the pan we wiped it dry. The thinner the oil, the smaller the beads.
As you heat the oil it starts to harden, or "coagulate" Wiping quickly in circles smears these bumps flat when they reach a "jelly like" texture. After this the oil stays flat, and the surface feels dry.
Pre-heat your oven to around 425°F. And bake it for about an hour. Turn off the oven, but DO NOT remove the pan. Let the oven go completely cool first.
Just a little color. This is because we had such a thin coat of oil. The pan did not darken very much. You will have to repeat the process 4 or 5 times to give the pan a thick enough layer of seasoning.
While I was repeating the process I managed to get a shot of larger "oil beads"
Seasoning porn.
Continued...
The first step to seasoning your pan is simple. Heat the pan up. Not too hot though only around 200°F. And the oil it(I used Crisco). You heat the pan to "open it's pores". Once it's oiled let the pan stand for a few hours to absorb a little of the oil.
Once the pan has sit a little while get a clean towel, and wipe as much of the grease off as you can. The pan should "feel dry" to the touch, and have no shine. I will explain why this is a little later.
Oil a towel LIGHTLY. Heat your pan slowly up to a medium heat, or just until it starts to smoke a little. Now grease the cooking surface of the pan in a circular pattern like shown with your towel.
You should continue doing this until the surface of the pan no longer "beads" and it feels dry. You may be able to see a "dry" streaking pattern on the pan at this point.
"Beads" are small droplets of oil that form as you heat the pan. Those are those tiny spots you see in this picture. If just left alone they would leave small "bumps" in your seasoning. Which makes for an inferior cooking surface. This is also why when we oiled the pan we wiped it dry. The thinner the oil, the smaller the beads.
As you heat the oil it starts to harden, or "coagulate" Wiping quickly in circles smears these bumps flat when they reach a "jelly like" texture. After this the oil stays flat, and the surface feels dry.
Pre-heat your oven to around 425°F. And bake it for about an hour. Turn off the oven, but DO NOT remove the pan. Let the oven go completely cool first.
Just a little color. This is because we had such a thin coat of oil. The pan did not darken very much. You will have to repeat the process 4 or 5 times to give the pan a thick enough layer of seasoning.
While I was repeating the process I managed to get a shot of larger "oil beads"
Seasoning porn.
Continued...
There definitely is a difference in CI cookware as to how it's made and the Old -v- New pieces. 
