Cleaning & Care
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How Often Should I Season My Smithey?
How Often Should I Season My Skillet? The short answer: not very often. If a Smithey is being used regularly, especially for cooking with oils or fats, it will naturally continue to season itself through use. There’s no need to re-season your skillet on a strict schedule—only when you start noti... -
Rust happens—and it doesn’t mean your skillet is ruined. Cast iron is incredibly resilient, and even a rusty pan can be brought back to life with a little elbow grease and the right steps. Surface rust usually forms when a skillet has been exposed to moisture without enough oil protection, but it...
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How to Season Your Smithey So you’ve got a new Smithey cast iron skillet – congratulations! If you’re new to cast iron, the term “seasoning” might sound mysterious or intimidating. Don’t worry – seasoning is the same, simple process for all cast iron pans (Smithey included), and involves just ...
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Is It Safe To Deglaze My Smithey?
Deglazing is a simple, effective way to clean your cast iron after cooking—especially when dealing with charred bits, sticky sauces, or stubborn fond. It’s not just for building flavor in a dish; it’s also a great maintenance step that keeps your skillet performing at its best without harsh scrub... -
Should I Avoid Using Soap On My Cast Iron?
Nope—you don’t need to be afraid of a little soap. It’s one of the most persistent myths out there, but the truth is: a small amount of dish soap will not harm your cast iron seasoning when used properly. Seasoning is a bond of polymerized oil—it’s a physical layer, not a loose grease coating—so ... -
Why Does My Food Keep Sticking?
If your food is sticking to your skillet, especially when cooking lean proteins like eggs or fish, it likely means your skillet’s seasoning needs a little reinforcement. Think of seasoning like a savings account—each time you cook, you’re ideally making a deposit. But some dishes (especially acid... -
Why Is My Cast Iron Sticky After Seasoning?
If your Smithey feels sticky, tacky, or gummy after seasoning, it’s almost always due to too much oil being applied during the process. Seasoning should involve very thin layers of oil that are heated until they fully bond with the metal—a process called polymerization. When too much oil is left ... -
Why Is My Seasoning Coming Off?
Seasoning Coming Off It’s totally normal for seasoning to change or appear to come off with use, especially in the early days of cooking with a new piece of cast iron. Seasoning is a layer of polymerized oil that bonds to the iron through heat, forming a natural, non-stick surface. Because this l...