A well-seasoned skillet is not magic. It is just thin layers of oil that have been heated until they bond to the iron and turn into a hard, slick coating. Once you understand that, the whole process stops feeling mysterious.
Start with a clean, dry pan
If your skillet is new, wash off the factory wax with hot, soapy water and dry it completely. If it is rusty, scrub the rust off with steel wool first. Either way, the pan must be bone dry before oil goes on, so set it on a warm burner for a minute to drive off any hidden moisture.
The thin-layer method
This is the step everyone gets wrong. Pour a small amount of a high-smoke-point oil into the pan, then wipe it out as if you made a mistake and are cleaning it up. The surface should look almost dry. A thick, greasy coat is what creates sticky, blotchy seasoning.
- Set your oven to 450 to 500 degrees
- Place the pan upside down on the top rack with foil below to catch drips
- Bake for one hour, then let it cool in the oven
Keep it going
The best seasoning comes from cooking, not from ceremony. Fry, sear, and roast in your pan often. After each use, rinse it warm, dry it on the stove, and wipe a whisper of oil across the surface. Repeat the oven round once or twice a year and your skillet will only get better.