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How to Clean Cast Iron Cookware
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First of all, NEVER use soap on cast iron cookware. After cooking and while pan is still hot run some hot water into it and sit it back on the stove for a few minutes. If anything is burnt on, turn the burner on low. After a brief period of deglazing drain it and sprinkle liberally with table salt. Wash with a cloth and a little hot water. Rinse with hot water and dry thoroughly. Allow pot to air-dry for awhile and lightly grease inside (if needed) with fingers or a paper towel.
Note: a metal or synthetic scouring pad may be used if needed, as long as it contains NO SOAP. I very seldom need anything more abrasive than salt.
to get the nonstick back on the cast iron this works great. Clean castiron w/soap & water,dry completely. Apply a coat of oil or shortening(non flavored). Preheat over to 350. Put aluminum foil on bottom of oven put castiron on top shelve upside down and bake for one hour. turn oven off and leave pan in oven until cool. Clean pan with boiling water,plastic scrub or bun.(no soap). Dry thoroughly, spray lightly with Pam, wipe with a papertowel and store.
I have heard from some of the elders ladies in town that to recondition a cast iron pot (not the non stick kind, the old fashioned kind) you simply place in the fireplace for an hour. I don’t know what this does other that burn off anything that isn’t the pot. I imagine a good cleaning is in order afterwards. I have the seen the posting about NOT using soap…but I wonder why? I have never heard of this.
You don’t use soap, because soap is a surfactant and removes the oils that the cast iron collects to become non-stick…This is the same for the stoneware that has become popular. Both will absorb the oils (fats) in the items cooked, and then become non-stick. By using soap you will rfelease the oils that you are trying to keep. The second reason for avoiding soap is that the pans can absorb the soap and you will have a soapy taste to what you cook in it next.
To clean crusty build-up and burnt-on food, soak in a solution of lye (sodium phosphate) and water. About one can of lye to five gallons of water and soak overnight. Then wash and scrape off the built up crud. Lye will loosen the build-up and you can wash it right off. For rust removal, soak in a vinegar-water solution of half and half or stronger. Careful with the vinegar, it will pit the cast iron if left in too long. About eight hours and check it. Then scrape and scrub. Also be careful with the lye solution – use rubber gloves and eye protection. Lye is very caustic and will burn the skin. Lye won’t hurt the iron however. It can be left as long as needed, well, almost. E-mail me for more info on sleaning and re-seasoning cast iron pots and pans.
Use oven cleaner and wrap in plastic wrap or in zip-lok bag overnight instead of lye solution (oven cleaner contains lye). See earlier tip for using lye solution or vinegar.
Correction: 100% Lye is sodium hydroxide, not sodium phosphate.
If you have a piece of cast iron that is real dirty, you can put about an inch of white playground sand in the bottom and top off with water and boil it. Just keep an eye that it doesn’t boil dry. Make sure you re season after you boil it and wash it out.
Oh and do not put the sand down the sink drain. Take it out back and dump it.
To clean my cast iron skillets, I use hot water and steel wool. Never, never use soap! This is a very good way to ruin them. When I need to season them, I use a little oil on a paper towel. I wipe them, then put them in the oven on a slow heat for an hour. After the hour is up, I turn the heat off and leave them in the oven.
Fireplace method works great
I once took a cast iron skillet camping. After cooking on it, I’d just turn it upside down in the fire. I also would kill the fire in the evenings by putting the skillet upside down in the coals and then covering the whole thing with two inches of sand. If there was food caked onto the skillet I’d scour with sand before putting it upside down on the fire again. Before each use and when I broke camp, I coated the skillet lightly with olive oil and rubbed it down to remove any ashes clinging to the inside. The skillet loved that treatment and came home perfectly seasoned. The food tasted great, too (but then camp food always does).
At home, where the tyrannical smoke alarm will not even let me use the broiler, I’m stuck cleaning my cast iron with hot water and a bristle brush, and seasoning on the stove or in the oven; it doesn’t like this nearly so much, but it’s usable anyway. I always finish up any cleaning by coating the pan with oil and heating it on the stove to kill anything still on it before it can multiply.
cleaning cast iron
I just got a really rusted cast iron pan. I read that soaking in vinegar and water it will remove the rust but leaving it too long can damage the pan. I’ve had to soak this pan for a week and has removed all the rust finally. My question is how does it damage the pan? The pan looks to be fine and smooth. The only thing I noticed is that you get iron on your towel when you wipe it.
Vinegar damaging the pan
Hi,
The vinegar contains acid which will eat into the metal. Once you’ve got all the rust off it’s important to soak it in an alkaline solution to stop the effects. Something like washing soda does the job. If you’re getting iron on your cloth the pan may not be seasoned properly – try reseasoning it and never use soap to clean it as this removes the seasoning.
Hope that helps
Cleaning Cast Iron- The ONLY WAY
Never, never, never use soap! To clean, use hot water and a brush or scrubber. Afterward, coat lightly with oil. To season cast iron, forget about using vegetable oil, use only BACON GREASE!
Coat the utensil with bacon grease, put upside down for about 2-4 hours on your BBQ grill outside on high, let cool, repeat this 2 to 3 times. Your cast iron will look and feel 100 years old and be non stick! As a Scoutmaster for 14 years I have seaoned dozens of cast iron cookware and this is 2nd to none! Remember, never use soap to clean, if it is dirty beyond cleaning with hot water and a brush, cook it on high in a BBQ grill for a few hours, clean and re-season with bacon grease.
cast iron pan
When I wiped my cast iron dutch oven, I get a black residue on the cloth. There is no rust and I have never washed it with soap, just hot water and dry it by placing it in the oven. What did I do wrong and can I correct this?
Black Residue is OK
You’re doing nothing wrong. The black residue is just carbon from your cooking. If large amounts of black carbon build up in the pot, just scrap lightly while wet with a spatula, don’t try to get it all off. Just remember never clean it with soap, use hot wate and brush lightly with brush, rinse, wipe dry and coat lightly inside with oil. That’s it from beginning to end!