Is a Cast Iron Skillet With a Wood Handle Oven Safe?

Cast Iron

• Many cast iron cookware products consist of one-piece iron castings. Plain cast iron handles heat quickly and even on the stove top can become too hot to handle without protection. Cast iron products with wooden grips on handles protect users from the heat and offer easier, safer handling when used on stove tops. Wooden handle construction includes insulating spacers to shield the grip from the hot cooking vessel. In an oven, the wooden grip loses that protection. Moisture cooks out of the wood and causes shrinkage. At high temperatures, the wood vents flammable gases and adds unwanted flavors to the food.

Fire Hazards

• The exact temperature at which wood bursts into flame varies with the species and the moisture content. Some woods contain flammable resins that burn easily, while the dense structure of other woods delays combustion. Pyrolysis of wood begins at about 480 degrees F, well below the average combustion temperature. Pyrolysis releases combustible gases from wood, including carbon monoxide and methane. Oils or finishes on a wood handle contribute other gases to this flammable mix. Wood does not catch fire at oven temperatures. Wood gases accumulating in the oven can explode in a flash fire if ignited by a spark or flame.

Safe Temperatures

• A gas flame reaches 1,400 degrees F, more than enough to melt an aluminum pan. Cast iron skillets keep their shape and strength at temperatures up to 1,700 degrees F. Left on a gas burner, a cast iron pan's wooden handle might catch fire, but the pan itself remains stable. Melamine resin grips withstand temperatures up to 300 degrees F, but wood products can only be used in an oven at warming temperatures, according to Tomlinson Industries. Oven temperatures above 200 degrees F can affect the appearance and distort the shape of wood products.

Seasoning

• Cast iron rusts unless seasoned by cooking vegetable oil into the pores of the metal. As the oil cooks off, a carbon residue forms a protective coating that prevents food from sticking to the pan and shields the iron from corrosive liquids. Rubbing a cast iron skillet thoroughly with oil or shortening and baking it for 60 minutes at 400 degrees F efficiently seasons a new pan. For cast iron cookware with wooden grips, oil the pan and heat it slowly over a stove top burner until the oil burns off. Take the pan off the heat and set it aside to cool.