I just wash my cast iron with hot water and then place on a burner for a few minutes to heat and dry and then coat with fat/oil.

I do the same thing as wekick. I rinse them in hot water and either dry with a paper towel or place on the burner until it's dry. Then I wipe a small amount of oil on the inside. Since I have 2 skillets that I stack I place a paper towel inside.

None of mine came with instructions to season after each use. If by chance you scrub it with soap and remove the seasoning then you'll have to redo it. If you have burned on particles of meat just use some kosher salt and a plastic scrubber and scrub.

My kids gave me a Lodge pre-seasoned skillet last year and that one is my favorite. It just seems to have a better seasoning than the ones I did myself.

I have 2 Le Creuset enameled cast irons Dutch Ovens. I bought mine at the Le Creuset outlet and saved a bundle.

But I also have 2 Martha Stewart enameled cat iron Dutch Ovens that I bought at Macy's and the quality seems the same to me. I even like the fact that the lids on Martha's are dimpled on the inside so that the moisture that condenses on the lid drips back into the pot and doesn't run down the lid onto to the counter when you lift it up. Macy's frequently puts them on sale for 40% to 50% off. That's a great buy.

Here is a link that might be useful: Martha's Dutch Ovens

Treat it like regular cast iron...a good thread with some links from the cooking forum:

Here is a link that might be useful: cooking forum thread on CI

lillo writes: "The problem is that today I got a cast iron dutch oven from the same manufacturer, and it had a paper saying that I have to season it after each use by putting a generous amount of veggy oil and baking it on 340 for one hour and leaving it in the oven until it cools down."

Whatever you choose to do with the dutch oven, for future reference, you never should season cast iron with a "generous" amount of veggy oil. That always will result in the smell you experienced, and will leave a gummy residue -- not a seasoning layer -- on the cast iron. Seasoning comprises many very, very thin layers, not one thick layer, and if you use the oven method the way to apply the oil is to drizzle the oil onto a folded paper towel, not onto the cast iron itself; and do not put so much oil onto the paper towel that the towel itself can drip oil, but just enough oil to make the paper towel damp; then wipe the paper towel onto the cast iron.

There are as many "recipes" for seasoning cast iron as there are recipes for pasta sauce, and fori has linked to some of them; but all of the good ones call for a very sparing hand on the quantity of oil applied per session.

Lightly spraying, brushing or wiping with oil will maintain the seasoning on your cast iron after washing. Heating it slightly so that it's completely dry and there isn't any oil residue is a good idea. You can do it under your hood so the smells don't go around. If it was towel dry it should heat dry very quickly. Do this on low, so that the oil doesn't burn.

The instructions from your Dutch Oven are for seasoning an unseasoned pot, not pre-seasoned, and the temperature is too high. It sounds like your oil reached its smoke point.

If you should ever need to scrub the dickens out of your grill, and scrub the seasoning right off, this is the way to get it back. A temperature between 200 and 250 should work fine for that. Also, three thin oilings/heatings for a much shorter time, will give you a better finish than one for a long time.

I have found shortening to work better then oil. Secret is not to use soap but rinse with hot water and wipe. You can heat up and wipe a small amount of shortening in paper towel and polish the bottom and let cool. To completely reseason and you have a gas grill you can do it outside and not stink up the house.

(If soap damages your seasoning, you don't really have it seasoned correctly. There's a reason you need oven cleaner or high high temperatures to get the black crud off the inside of the oven--dish soap doesn't do it. That black crud is seasoning.)

You can damage the seasoning with the wrong scrubber and some feel soap leaves a taste. There is the soap camp and the non soap camp.
Some feel bacon grease is best, and others shortening or the fat you cook with.

And then there is the old machined smooth pans vs the new sand cast pan debate.

Oiling CI pans between uses does not season it although it might help to prevent rust. I've learned on other GW threads to season my CI with a thin wiping of grapeseed oil (high smoke point), and baking it for about 40 minutes at 450F.

Thank you all for your infos. I have used the grill side twice now and am already tired from cleaning it. I think I will by the cast iron nickel coated grill suggested buy somebody else on another thread on this forum. It is non stick, dish washer safe and has life time warranty. Does anybody has any feedback on it.