As I was really curious about cast iron cooking, I bought a brand-new cast-iron pan for my favorite cooking method one pan cooking.
I was a total newbie for cast iron cooking. I seasoned the cast iron pan very carefully.
After seasoning, I was very excited to use my cast iron pan for the first time.
And finally, I smoked salmon in cast iron. But while smoking salmon it gets little too hot and there was a big grey spot in the middle of the cast-iron skillet.
There was a grey spot that appears after smoking salmon in the cast iron skillet even though I took care all about while smoking.
Where my cast iron cooking goes wrong?
Then I asked my granny who has the long cast-iron cooking experience and expert in cast iron cooking.
Guess what?
Her advice works for me and saves my cast iron skillet!
Here I am going to share how do I fix that grey spot on cast iron and little care about cast iron.
Why Does Grey Spot Develop on Cast Iron Skillet?
Sometimes you will notice the grey spot on cast-iron skillet after cooking.
While cooking in cast iron skillet on any heating medium, if the cast iron skillet gets way too hot, results in the grey spot will appear on cast iron.
It is just because due to high heat, the seasoning of cast iron burn off and get that burnt spot on the cast iron.
So while cooking with cast iron you should take care of heat source.
How to Fix Grey Spot on Cast-Iron Skillet?
Oven self-cleaning function
If your oven has a self-cleaning function, you are in luck!
The self-cleaning function will also help for removing grey spot on cast iron.
1.Prepare your oven for cleaning, as per oven manual instructions. As per my oven manual, I need to remove both wire racks in the oven.
But I left one rack to place my cast iron skillet and it works fine for me.
2. Once the oven is prepared, I kept wire rack on the next to the bottom guide rails.
3. Then kept the cast iron skillet on the rack. You should keep the skillet upside down.
4. Then close the door of the oven. Lock it and set the oven timer.
Black coating coming off cast iron skillet? Then get know here how to fix it.
What if You Don’t have Oven self-cleaning function?
If you don’t have self-cleaning function on the oven and you will have a bare pan, you can clean the pan with steel wool, soap, and water.
Dry it thoroughly. Season with vegetable oil.
Place in the oven upside down at 450 degrees for an hour. Repeat this process of oiling and oven 3 to 4 times.
Season just bare spots of cast iron
If there is a grey spot that appears, you can fix it with oven seasoning.
For this, you don’t need to strip the whole seasoning if the major part of the skillet seasoning of the skillet is good.
You just need to apply some oil in the bare spots of the cast iron skillet and bake it in the oven.
Seasoning develops through normal use
If you don’t want oven stripping or oven seasoning, the normal usage of cast iron will automatically fix that grey spot. But takes longer to fix it.
Did you know the science behind seasoning?
Let me explain.
When the oil is heated in the cast iron, it bonds with the metal through a process.
This process is known as polymerization which develops a layer of seasoning.
After regular usage, it will create a strong durable layer of seasoning.
So that cast iron becomes more rust-resistant and non-stick. It will get better and better over time.
Seasoning on the stove
If you don’t have an oven, you can use season your cast iron skillet on the stove.
It is easier than seasoning on the stove to get rid of the grey spot.
You don’t need to put it upside down, handle it after getting hot in the oven.
1.You just need to wash the pan. Place on the stove for heating up.
2.Remove the skillet from the stove and apply little vegetable oil with a paper towel.
3.Place again the skillet on the stovetop on medium heat for about 10 minutes.
4.Allow the oil to dry completely.
Kosher salt method
You can get rid of the grey spot of cast iron by applying kosher salt. Following are steps to remove the grey spot with kosher salt:
1. Heat up the cast-iron skillet till it’s smoking hot.
2. Preheat your oven to 400-degree F.
3. Toss a few tablespoons of kosher salt into the skillet.
4. Once the pan gets extremely hot, scrub the pan with an old kitchen towel using kosher salt.
5. Throw away the dirty salt and take out the pan from heat.
6. Then rub the canola or sunflower oil on cast iron surface by using different cleaner rag.
7. Bake the skillet at 400-degree F for 2 hours. Reapply the oil at 30 minutes interval.
8. Let the pan cool down and you will get your skillet refinished again as new.
How to Prevent Grey Spots On Cast iron Skillet?
You should always take care of the heat source while cooking with cast iron. You should heat up cast iron very much slower than the steel and aluminum pan.
But the cast iron gets hotter than other types of skillet material as it doesn’t conduct heat away from the skillet.
So, you should set your stove a notch or two lower than you apply it every time. Allow the cast iron skillet to heat up before tossing the food in it.
Looking for new cast iron skillet? Then try this cast iron pan.
Conclusion
So, now you know if your cast iron skillet develops a grey spot, you can fix this issue by applying different easy ways.
You can use a self-oven cleaning function or you can season the cast iron on the stove. The Kosher salt method also works well on a grey spot.
But always remember that low heat is the key to cast iron cooking. Heat up the cast-iron skillet slowly than other types of cookware.
Image Credit Via Flikr Creative Commons: Kim Siever
