cast iron skillet cleaning?

[Brandi]

I just adopted this cast iron skillet that belong to my friend. It is well seasoned and all but how do you clean it? And what if something sticks really bad to it? Do have scrub and reseason it?

[Kimmyt]

If the mess is bad, I put a little bit of light oil (like corn of veggie) in it and put it in the oven on warm for a few minutes to warm the oil up, then I sprinkle a fistful of salt into it and scrub at it with a washcloth or towel. It's a lot of work so I only use my castiron once in awhile. After enough scrubbing the oil gets absorbed and the salt will start flaking away (i do this over a sink to eliminate too much mess), taking with it any particles that are on the bottom of the pan. Once when I got a really bad caked on mess I used a metal spatula to scrape the gunk off, but I don't like to do that. After I'm done I'll try and rub some more oil in so it's lightly coated and not dry.
THere may be better ways to do it, if so I'd love to know!

K.

[Becky]

I usually just wipe it out with a paper towel or clean rag, or maybe a quick rinse. For really gunky messes, I do the salt trick that kimmyt describes. Occasionally, I am forced to scrub and re-season, but I try to avoid this as much as possible.

[newfsmith]

Copper Choregirls are softer than iron so they can also be used with care on cast iron. My mother always washed our cast iron chicken fryers in the sink, with dish detergent and gentle scrubbing, rinsed well, then dried well over a low flame, and finally moistened a rag slightly with vegetable oil and wiped the inside. If something got really burned on, before she washed it she would partially fill with soapy water and simmer it for a half hour to help loosen the crust. If the pan loses it's cure, after cleaning coat it liberally with vegetable oil and bake the empty pan for 3 or 4 hours in a hot oven (375-400 F). By the way, one of my aunt's never used oil on her cast iron griddle. Before she poured a batch of pancakes she rubbed the griddle with a rag with 2-3 TBS of salt in it. It always worked for her, although I never tried it.

[alpinerabbit]

Soak in water containing dishwashing powder. The enzymes contained in it will degrade any caked on protein they can get.

If that does not help: oven cleaner.

If that still does not help: A wire brush thingy to fit onto a motor drill. it's what my dad uses for cast iron pans and grill grids.

[mimitabby]

I soak in water. if it's bad i use soap, but that's pretty rare. I have several cast iron pans and use them frequently to cook in.

[michelem]

http://www.realsimple.com/realsimple...178519,00.html

Cleaning and Seasoning a Cast-Iron Skillet
With a little TLC, this versatile pan will take care of you for a lifetime

Christopher Baker

Seasoning
Traditional cast-iron skillets don’t emerge from the box with a nonstick surface. That comes with seasoning, or coating the skillet with cooking oil and baking it in a 350° F oven for an hour. It won’t take on that shiny black patina just yet, but once you dry it with paper towels, it will be ready to use. You’ll reinforce the nonstick coating every time you heat oil in the skillet, and you can hasten the process by seasoning as often as you like. Or you can forget seasoning and go with Lodge Logic (available at hardware and cookware stores), a line of preseasoned skillets from Lodge Manufacturing, the oldest U.S. maker of cast-iron cookware.

Cleaning
A cast-iron skillet isn’t ideal for a set-aside-to-soak sort of person. For best results, rinse the pan with hot water immediately after cooking. If you need to remove burned-on food, scrub with a mild abrasive, like coarse salt, and a nonmetal brush to preserve the nonstick surface; you can also use a few drops of a mild dishwashing soap every once in a while. If the pan gets a sticky coating or develops rust over time, scrub it with steel wool and reseason it. To prevent rust, dry the skillet thoroughly and lightly coat the cooking surface with cooking oil. Cover with a paper towel to protect it from dust.

Tips

Although everything from Dutch ovens to cactus-shaped cornbread pans comes in cast iron, nothing is more versatile than a basic skillet. Either a 10- or 12-inch will do.


There’s only one thing you shouldn’t attempt in cast-iron cookware: boiling water, which will cause the pan to rust.


Cast iron takes longer to warm than other surfaces but retains heat remarkably well and diffuses it evenly.


Cast iron remains hot long after you remove it from the stove. As a reminder to be careful, drape a thick towel or a mitt over the handle.


To avoid getting smudges on all your kitchen towels, designate one to use exclusively for drying your cast-iron skillet.


Cooking in cast iron increases the iron content in food. The longer the food is in contact with the skillet, the more it absorbs.

May 2006