When baking, cooking or frying with a cast iron pan or skillet, smoke is one of the major contributors to poor quality food. The color and smell of smoked foods can be delicious, but they may not taste as good if you have to wash all that burnt grease down off your hands!
Fortunately, there are several ways to reduce the amount of smoking in your cookware. The best way to do this will depend on what type of recipe you’re preparing- so we will go into more detail for each of these tips.
Let the skillet sit for a few minutes to absorb some of the excess oil
After you take your pan off the heat, let it rest for a couple of minutes before wiping it clean. You can do this by putting it in front of a window or setting it aside.
When the smoke has stopped coming out completely, wipe away any leftover bits with a paper towel. Don’t use soap as that will just spread the grease around more!
This works especially well if you need to reuse the pan quickly because you have to keep going.
Wipe the skillet with a paper towel to remove any excess flour
After you wash your pan, it is important to let it dry completely before using it again. If you are having issues re-heating the pan, this could be the culprit!
If the pan has dried out, then start heating it up slowly until it feels warm. If that does not work, try grabbing some canned air (a tool used for automotive repairs) and trying to blow off any smoke or ash in the pan. This might also help it reheat more easily later on.
Another tip if the pan seems very cold when handling it is to use a piece of plastic wrap to keep it warmer and insulated while waiting for it to become hot.
Add more oil as needed
When your pan gets dry, you can add some of its own fat or olive oil to create an additional barrier that helps prevent smoke from escaping.
However, do not use too much oil at once as this will cause the burner to burn out!
Instead, slowly pour in just enough so there are no bubbles burning when you put the flame to it. You may also have to turn down the heat slightly as the stove may want to catch fire due to the excess fuel.
After the pan is heated up, you can then add more oil if necessary. The amount of oil needed will depend on how hot the pan already is and what kind of result you desire.
General tips for using a cast iron skillet: remember that cast iron heats up very quickly, so keep an eye on it and pull it off the grill early if it looks like it has burned down too much.
Use a non-stick skillet
A lot of people seem to struggle with this tip more than anything else! Non-stick skillets are your best bet if you want to reduce black soot in your pan. They are much thicker than regular cooking surfaces, which is why they stay heated longer.
If you are very careful about how hot you cook your food in these pans, then there is not much need to worry about smoke rings leaving an annoying charcoal trace on your meal. The thickness also helps prevent burning or scorching of the top layer of the meat due to lack of heat transfer.
However, remember that just because it does not burn immediately does not mean the pan is safe for use. Make sure to check the back of the product before using it to see whether it is marked as fire resistant or not.
Let the skillet sit for a few minutes before adding food
After you heat up your pan, the next step is to add in foods or liquids which will create smoke. Adding too quickly can result in the fire actually getting bigger!
If you are just starting to cook with cast iron then this may seem difficult to do at first. But, give it a couple of times to use it and these steps will be second nature to you!
The best way to prepare your skillets needs is to let them sit for a few minutes before adding any moisture or other materials in the process of cooking. This helps the pan burn more slowly and evenly so that nothing burns completely away.
Your grill or frying pan already have this feature, but unfortunately not all stove top equipment does.
Add oil as needed
When your pan becomes too smokey, it’s time to give it some rest! After pre-heating the pan over medium heat for a few minutes, add in a thin layer of oil (like one tablespoon) to help keep the iron cool.
Continue to cook using the same temperature and timing settings until the dish is finished! This will reduce the amount of white smoking ash that sticks to the cooked food.
After taking the skillet out, let it sit for several minutes before wiping off the excess olive or vegetable oils. These are good sources of vitamins and minerals so don’t forget to save them! If you have leftover cooking spray, try putting it back into the bottle to use later.
Use a paper towel to wipe the skillet down after cooking
After you take your pan or skillet of food out, what do you normally do next? You typically wash it and put it away!
But before putting away your cookware, there is an easy way to reduce the smoke that leftover burnt bits of meat and vegetables may leave in the pan. After taking the cooked item out, use a paper towel to quickly swipe any remaining grease from the surface of the pan.
This will prevent some of the greasy smoke residue from sticking to the pan and creating more air pockets as the gas in the smoke combines with the oil to form new compounds. In addition to improving the look of your burner, this can also help mitigate the risk of serious health effects for people exposed to high levels of combustion products such as carbon monoxide.
Store the skillet in the refrigerator
After you take your pan off the stove, leave it alone for at least 30 minutes. This is so that the hot iron cools down and the gassy flames dissipate.
After this, remove the pan from the heat source and either place in the fridge or cover with a lid until they are cooled completely.
By doing this, all of the smoke will be drawn out of the pan and into the fridge where it can condense. Once done, you can pull the pan up and away from the fridge and apply some natural oil to keep the metal surface clean.