The above pan is not a typical Teflon coated non-stick item. It is a cast iron skillet with red exterior enamel and an interior "Satin Black" enamel. It is not identical to a Lodge cast iron pan, but for care and maintenance, it can be treated similarly. A patina can form on the interior "Satin Black" enamel, which is desirable. The brownish looking area on the surface of the pan is from caramelization, which occurs during the cooking process. Le Creuset says seasoning is not required (unlike other cast iron pans like Lodge), but seasoning the pan will form a better patina, which does improve the natural non-stick properties. As you said, the patina develops naturally, but if you don’t want to wait, then you can help it along by seasoning it. Check Le Creuset's website (someone else linked it) for other details. I usually just use hot water and paper towel to clean with periodic seasoning.
Great question - very well put!
Your chef advice is sound. I have been cooking with cast iron skillets for longer than I care to admit (old guy) and at first they can be intimidating but in the end, they become your go to pan especially for searing/cooking hot.
You asked the same question several times, "is the residue safe?" It's as safe as the cooking oil you use to season it and as clean as you were able to get it before storage. A clean oiled cast iron pan in your cupboard is safe. Sometimes, I will wipe the old residue off with a paper towel just before cooking just to get any dusty nasties off of the cooking surface.
Basically, this is how I use my cast iron.
1) Remove from cupboard
2) Take a look - is there any dirt, debris, dust or corrosion. If so, remove. (Corrosion being the most difficult but a little scouring and re-seasoning will do the trick.)
3) Heat pan thoroughly before cooking - again, the heat will kill anything you can't see but don't want to consume.
4) Cook your food.
5) Eat your food (grin).
6) Clean the pan (NO SOAP)
- a) Remove any remaining food with a scouring brush - in the sink, use hot water and elbow grease.
- b) Fill pan with hot water
- c) Place on burner (on high)
- d) Wait till it comes to boil
- e) Turn off burner and remove from heat (careful - water is hot).
- f) Pour out water and brush clean with scouring pad/brush
- ---If clean, let cool to touch - if not, repeat b-f
- g) When cool, pour a small amount of cooking oil into pan
- h) with a paper towel, spread cooking oil all over the inside of the pan
- i) With the same paper towel, wipe the outside of pan and handles, bottom, everywhere
- --You're looking for a nice coating of oil - no pooling - just a nice gloss. This will prevent corrosion and keep the pan seasoned.
7) Once pan in completely cool, return to cupboard.
Tip - if you were unfortunate enough to leave the braising residue in your pan for a few days and it's a sticky mess, you can try filling it with warm water and putting a couple tablespoons of dish washing crystals (Cascade works best for me) in the pan. These "crystals" contain little enzymes that will "eat" the residue and make cleaning much easier. Don't leave in too long, about an hour or so - repeat if necessary. (Works on other pans too but not recommended for Teflon or non-stick pans.)
Tip 2 - I stack my pans in storage. To prevent metal to metal contact (not good), I put a paper towel between each pan. Be careful that the cast iron is not touching your other pans. Dissimilar metals have a way of talking to each other (causes corrosion on both).
There you have my tried and true method of caring for a cast iron pans. For some reason, I find myself craving some cornbread.
Good Luck!
Gringo Dave
Best Answer
As long as the "stain" is hard and dry rather than gummy or sticky, it's probably fine. As commenters have noted, it looks like polymerized oil. You probably cooked your steak at very high heat with some oil in the pan. If you didn't use oil, the stain might just be from some of the fat that rendered out of your well-marbled ribeye. Either way, some of the fat/oil polymerized on the bottom of the pan due to the high heat. This is exactly what you'd do on purpose if you were to season the pan yourself -- coat it in a (very!) thin layer of oil and then stick the pan in a hot oven for a few hours.
As you keep using your pan, it'll acquire a lot of those stains, and it'll eventually be black all over. That's completely normal — it's what a cast iron pan should look like, and the black seasoning is a good non-stick surface.