cleaning a cast iron skillet

[bluto]

i have a cast iron skillet but i regret to say i dont use it very often. if i knew the proper way of cleaning it i would use it much more often. im pathetic, i know.

 

[Donny]

You can make a paste out of Kosher salt and a bit of water. Just use that as an abrasive. Dump out the salt and just wipe it dry. Don't use detergent on it.

Once it is good and seasoned (from much use), it is virtually non-stick.

My castiron skillet is almost 10 years old and I use it almost daily.

 

[S197HQQKEM]

USE NO SOAP!!!

heat the thing up and then run some water in it and scrub it out with a stainless or copper scouring pad (not SOS or Brillo, no soap allowed) and rinse and repeat if necessary. If it's really bad you can run some water in it and let it boil a bit to loosen the stuff up. and then do the scrubbing thing.

once it is clean you season it by rubbing veg oil on it and put it in a 250 degree oven for an hour or so.


If it is really really bad you can build a fire and put it in it and burn all the gunk out of it and then let it cool and wash and season it.

 

[Longhorn Al]

So what does soap do to it?

 

[utexas_61]

soap messes it up

 

[VacantlyOccupied]

I suck at taking care of my cast iron skillet.

I usually clean it out with kosher salt and water and then dry it inverted in a warm oven. Apparently I didn't dry it properly at least once, because it's got tiny bits of rust now.

 

[Longhorn Al]

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[flaco]

If you have not really used it much there probably is a layer of wax that kept it from rusting from the factory that needs to be burnt off. The best place to do this is your bbq pit as it will smoke like hell doing it in the oven. Get your pit nice and hot and leave it in there for an hour or two.

Did anyone mention not to use soap? Evar? I just use hot water and a metal scouring pad.

 

[S197HQQKEM]

soap washes away the oil that seasons the skillet.

If you do use soap or ZUT ALORS!!! run it through the diswasher, just rinse it good and reseason it.


and rust? rust never hurt anything, just scrub it off and season again.

Mine must be 30 years old, got it a a garage sale, it's a chicken fryer, very deep and with a lid. I use it for all sorts of stuff.

 

[77horn]

cast iron is porous. seasoning it essential seals these pores with oil.

Soap washes away the oil and exposes the pores, which then get filled with soap. Which then gets on your food, which can then give you the trots.

 

[CelisHorn]

Rubs some dirt in it and rinse it off in the river.

 

[Bookman]

I usually let mine sit in soapy water for an hour or two and then run it through the dishwasher. I then let it drip dry.

 

[bluto]

****, might just be easier to go buy a new one and start all over.

 

[TimHorn]

77horn = we have a winner. I "clean" mine with warm water and a bristle brush. Towel dry and put it on the burner to heat it up to evaporate any leftover water and let cool on the stove top.

 

[DoobieWah]

Stiff plastic brush. No metal scouring pads, no soap.

Towel dry. That's all it needs.

It was good enough for Grandmama, it's good enough for me.

 

[alma]

my cast iron skillet puts out a ton of smoke? will that always be the case or will it subside the more seasoned the skillet becomes?

 

[BrûléeOrange]

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[Longhorn Al]

The only ones I've ever used are my dad's. We always used a bit of dish soap to clean it out. Scrub it down and rinse it out, then set it on the stove to let the flame dry it.

Those pans are so old that I don't even remember them having much of that cast iron texture left on the inside. It's totally smooth on the bottom now, and the sides are getting there.

 

[TXSNOS]

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[wild_turkey]

My cast iron skillet has some rust patches on it. Can I just scrape these off and keep on using it? I think I probably made the soap mistake once or twice too, but it just means I need to reseason it right?

 

[MaximumBarnes]

Yes. As noted above, use soap and a scouring pad to scrape the rust off. Then melt about a tablespoon of crisco in the skillet. Take a paper towel and spread the Crisco all over the skillet, inside and out. Then place it, upside down (you might want to line some foil on a lower rack), in your oven and bake it at 400 degrees for about an hour. Then turn your oven off and let it sit in there until it's cool. Don't mind the smell, everything is okay.

 

[wild_turkey]

Thanks MB. I've got another pretty dumb question for you guys - What's the real benefit of using the iron skillet? I use it for sausage or bacon, but that's about it. From the sounds of things though, a lot of people use it for everything. Is there really that big of a difference? Thanks again.

 

[bluto]

so i cooked a steak in the cleaned skillet yesterday. it was about an inch thick boneless NY strip. i seasoned with salt pepper and a lil crushed red pepper. put a decent amount of canola/veggie oil in the skillet.

seared it on the stove for a few minutes each side. after taht i put it in the preheated oven set to broil. the steak put a HELLUVA cloud of smoke out but it wasn't burnt. im talkni enough smoke to creep out of the oven through the stove burners. it set off all four smoke alarms. is that normal? it was a very simple way to cook a steak w/ relatively little mess. i would like to do it again, but the amount of smoke makes it not worth it in this f'n apartment.

 

[MaximumBarnes]

Right idea, wrong ingredient. See my post here.

edit: something I didn't mention on that other thread is that clarified butter keeps pretty much forever so you can do a lot at a time and keep in in a plastic container in the fridge for future use.

 

[Woland]

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[flaco]

And it won't give you the "Teflon Flu" if you overheat it.

 

[Tex Pete]

Also, cast iron adds iron to your diet(seriously), and adds flavor to foods that cook in it for a while (chili, soups, stews, etc.).

I have several skillets, pots, and Dutch ovens. I use a cast iron pot almost every day at home.

 

[bluto]

thanks for the help folks, i did a few chicken breasts in it and they came out very well.

 

[Tex Pete]

Do yourself a favor and get one of these:

Mine doesn't have that bail, but is the same otherwise.

It is the best piece of indoor cooking equipment I own; even better than the KitchenAid mixer.

 

[VacantlyOccupied]

HEB has some pre-seasoned cast iron sets on sale right now. For $9.99 you can get a set of 3 skillets (10", 8", and 6.5"), or a 10" chicken fryer with lid, or a 5qt dutch oven.

They're 4mm thick - not as heavy-duty as my big-*** Lodge skillet. I bought the skillets - if nothing else I figure one of them can be a cornbread pan.