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How to Clean a Cast Iron Pan
Harry Rosenblum, co-owner of the Brooklyn Kitchen, cleans out his cast iron pan by adding salt (which acts as an abrasive to get rid of bits of food, and will soak up oil), rinsing it, and then drying it over heat. A well-seasoned cast iron pan is something to be proud of, a history of meals cooked. A dirty, rusty cast iron pan is not something to be proud of.
No wonder folks get confused with seasoning and washing their cast iron woks/pans! Even "experts" have vastly opposing views. Full disclosure, I have been teaching wok cooking for over 20 years on and off and also market a cast iron wok kit because of all the issues with seasoning correctly.
Here's how I clean my cast iron wok:
I soak my wok after cooking in hot water while eating and unless...+READ
No wonder folks get confused with seasoning and washing their cast iron woks/pans! Even "experts" have vastly opposing views. Full disclosure, I have been teaching wok cooking for over 20 years on and off and also market a cast iron wok kit because of all the issues with seasoning correctly.
Here's how I clean my cast iron wok:
I soak my wok after cooking in hot water while eating and unless there's a hard fond (crust), it's just a swish with my sink brush or green scrubber is all it needs. I sometimes use diluted soap if there's strong flavors like tomatoes and curry. I wipe oil with paper towel if there are tiny rust spots or looks dry. It's that simple. Patina will build up as soon as you start cooking in it.
Then dry, 3 options: air dry upside down, wipe with paper towels or heat on stove.
Seasoning:
A good seasoning becomes better and better so less oil is needed and less sticking. That's why PROPER seasoning is so important and lasts a lifetime. The more you use your cast iron wok/pan, the more patina it builds and becomes a natural non-stick. So, I encourage people to use it for cooking everything not just Asian stir frys. Helps build patina.
P.S. Asians use a spatula specially designed to use in a wok with a curved edge and scooped sides (for scooping liquid). People are constantly amazed to see 'metal on metal'. We have been using this for decades and it does NOT scratch the pan. Wooden spatulas are useless for stir frying, it's too thick to flip under the veggies or meat and just makes stir frying frustrating. I call this stirring, not stir frying. Just pushes food around in your pan. When people use the spatula in my cooking class, I have to show them how to hold it. They love how it makes wok cooking so much fun because it's functional.-COLLAPSE
I have to tell you, I've used cast iron all my life, first my mom's then my own that my mom gave me when I moved out in 1978. My pan doesn't look anything like the one in the photo...I'd be horrified...that is a pan that needs to be reseasoned. I have never once oiled my pan after using. 2x I reseasoned, once after someone ran it through the dishwasher, and another after someone had a good old...+READ
I have to tell you, I've used cast iron all my life, first my mom's then my own that my mom gave me when I moved out in 1978. My pan doesn't look anything like the one in the photo...I'd be horrified...that is a pan that needs to be reseasoned. I have never once oiled my pan after using. 2x I reseasoned, once after someone ran it through the dishwasher, and another after someone had a good old scrub on it with soap, trying to do me a favor and "get the black off it." Mine is shiny and black, and all I ever do is rinse it when it's warm and give it a swipe with a paper towel or cloth towel. If it's really bad with stuck on residue, I put about 1/2 an inch of water in it, bring it to a boil, let it boil a minute or so, take it to the sink and run cold water on it. That seems to shock the residue off, then I scrape it gently with a hard rubber spatula if needed. (I'd been doing this for about 39 years when someone told me you aren't supposed to do that.)After so many years of build up, it's pretty much nonstick. I've simmered tomato based sauces in it for hours, cooked eggs in it, etc. I've never used salt, although I've heard others doing so, and I've never used soap. I don't even worry about it being dry, although I don't leave water sitting in it. I just leave it on the stovetop. The first 20 times or so after it's seasoned, it's still a little vulnerable, but after you get a real good coating on it, it's pretty impervious. I think people tend to overthink these things. And remember, people are always more important than things - I knew the people who washed my cast iron had good intentions! As for seasoning, when I got my pan in '78 it said to oil and put in a 259 oven for 8 hours. The seasoning directions are different now, perhaps to appeal to a population that is used to having things faster.-COLLAPSE
You don't need soap at all, that's the thing. Dissolve any burned on food by boiling some water in the pan for a few minutes, scraping if you absolutely have to with a soft plastic utensil, then dry completely on a warm burner and grease down. Lard does work better than oil, and I think Crisco works pretty well, too. But if you have to use soap, your pan probably needs to be reseasoned.
I like to use a little bit of soap. I never use a grease cutting soap like Dawn. I buy unscented mild detergent, and I don't go crazy on it.
Sponges and scrubbers never work well for me if the pan was used for any serious cooking. You need very hot water to clean a cast iron pan effectively; with sponges and scubbers, you merely end up scalding yourself.
Typically, I use extremely hot water from the faucet and a wooden-handled dish brush. As others have noted, if the pan has a ton of grease in it, soap sparingly used does no harm at...+READ
Sponges and scrubbers never work well for me if the pan was used for any serious cooking. You need very hot water to clean a cast iron pan effectively; with sponges and scubbers, you merely end up scalding yourself.
Typically, I use extremely hot water from the faucet and a wooden-handled dish brush. As others have noted, if the pan has a ton of grease in it, soap sparingly used does no harm at all.
After I've washed them, my pans tend to be rather warm, so I just leave them on the stove top and let them dry with their residual heat. I've never had a problem with rusting.
"The only time I've ever soaked or scrubbed the skillets is after someone else cooked in them and let the pans cool with the bits of food and fat still in the pans. Re-seasonong was required, of course. The offending party was banned from the kitchen."
I'm lazy and do this all the time. It makes it a bit harder to get stuck-on bits of food off the pan, but it's not really a big problem. In fact, I find a bit of grease sitting on the pan for a few hours just adds to the seasoning.
If the pans are well-seasoned, they take a substantial amount of abuse. The biggest no-no is scraping the surface with metal utensils, but even then, you have to apply some force to damage a well-seasoned surface. I've even had an absent-minded friend filling a pan with water and leaving it in the sink overnight with no serious consequences.
As a side note, frying bacon is an excellent way to break in a new cast iron pan!-COLLAPSE
"Heat with water and SCRUB it with a nylon scrubber."
Best advice and simplest approach. The real key is not to rush the seasoning process like many people try to do.
StriperGuy and Tullius are right. A little soap and using a soft scrubber doesn't damage a well-seasoned pan. We just rinse with hot water (and a little soap if necessary) while the pans are still hot from the stove top. Towel, then air dry to make sure the pans are completely dry before storing.
The only time I've ever soaked or scrubbed the skillets is after someone else cooked in them and let...+READ
StriperGuy and Tullius are right. A little soap and using a soft scrubber doesn't damage a well-seasoned pan. We just rinse with hot water (and a little soap if necessary) while the pans are still hot from the stove top. Towel, then air dry to make sure the pans are completely dry before storing.
The only time I've ever soaked or scrubbed the skillets is after someone else cooked in them and let the pans cool with the bits of food and fat still in the pans. Re-seasonong was required, of course. The offending party was banned from the kitchen.-COLLAPSE
One of the WORST things you can do to cast iron cookware is put it in a fire to burn out food or other gunk. It can warp or crack your iron if if cools improperly. It also breaks down the iron and will eventually cause the iron to flake when you heat it cherry red.
Heat with water and SCRUB it with a nylon scrubber. That should do it if it need cleaning.
Alton Brown suggests putting kosher salt in the bottom of a ridged pan. When you are done pan frying, you can just dump out the salt. I tried this but found that my food was too salty.
If you have truly burned on gunk, the first thing to do is soak for a short time, then boil and wipe. If that doesn't work, then you will need an abrasive. Sand, salt, tinfoil, brush, whatever works. But that does mean you will have to build up some of the seasoning again. If you do use salt, then make sure to rinse it well. Unless you live in a very dry environment the salt will eat thru the...+READ
If you have truly burned on gunk, the first thing to do is soak for a short time, then boil and wipe. If that doesn't work, then you will need an abrasive. Sand, salt, tinfoil, brush, whatever works. But that does mean you will have to build up some of the seasoning again. If you do use salt, then make sure to rinse it well. Unless you live in a very dry environment the salt will eat thru the coating and the pan will rust. It takes a while, but salt is one of the most corrosive elements in a kitchen.-COLLAPSE
Interestingly enough, butchers use salt to clean their wood cutting boards, or at least they used to; it kills all nasties and absorbs all moisture.
Oh, and iron + salt does not equal instant rust!
I disagree with this method, but then I like my cast iron pans to be as non-stick as a new teflon one. The salt (or baking soda) is only for extreme conditions and then the pan must be reseasoned. I clean my pans by letting them soak briefly in soapy water and then rubbing with a washcloth and rinsing. I also dry my pans upside-down on the burner and then wipe them with lard. Veggie oil makes...+READ
I disagree with this method, but then I like my cast iron pans to be as non-stick as a new teflon one. The salt (or baking soda) is only for extreme conditions and then the pan must be reseasoned. I clean my pans by letting them soak briefly in soapy water and then rubbing with a washcloth and rinsing. I also dry my pans upside-down on the burner and then wipe them with lard. Veggie oil makes them sticky.-COLLAPSE
When they get too-ooo-ooo bad, put them in self -cleaning oven, but you have to re-season them slowly again. There's a whole Google site for cleaning pans too. :-)
I saw the salt trick on alton brown and used to always do it until recently when I had a meal come out tasting very salty, not sure if the pan was the cause of it or not though. I also tend to think salt + iron = instant rust but haven't had that happen to me yet.
Considering I do mostly frying in the cast iron pan, the salt trick just doesn't do it and so I switched over to just using the...+READ
I saw the salt trick on alton brown and used to always do it until recently when I had a meal come out tasting very salty, not sure if the pan was the cause of it or not though. I also tend to think salt + iron = instant rust but haven't had that happen to me yet.
Considering I do mostly frying in the cast iron pan, the salt trick just doesn't do it and so I switched over to just using the sprayer in the sink and make a light rub down with a sponge. I always throw it back on the burner at that point to make sure its totally dry and then am on my way.-COLLAPSE
here is the ting not mentioned- seasoning. Seasoning is that nice BLACK non-stick coating that forms from cooking in cast iron. It MUST remain after cleaning or you will have food sticking during cooking. To keep the seasoning, you must AVOID abrasives! Yeah, I learned about crumpled up foil in Boy Scouts too, but I gotta tell you- that is VERY abrasive. My best success is to do this: after you...+READ
here is the ting not mentioned- seasoning. Seasoning is that nice BLACK non-stick coating that forms from cooking in cast iron. It MUST remain after cleaning or you will have food sticking during cooking. To keep the seasoning, you must AVOID abrasives! Yeah, I learned about crumpled up foil in Boy Scouts too, but I gotta tell you- that is VERY abrasive. My best success is to do this: after you have finished cooking with the pan, pour out any leftover oils, and remove any loose food. Allow pan to cool somewhat- doesn't have to be cold, just cool enough not to cause water to boil or "pop" when added. Add enough water to cover the stuff you need to remove. Heat pan to a boil. Dump the hot water out- down the drain if there is little to no oil present- and wipe the pan out with a paper towel.
Assuming the pan is well seasoned, anything "stuck" will come out easily after boiling. If not, it is not properly seasoned yet. Next, I set pan over the hot burner (mine is electric and retains heat) to boil off any water to avoid rust. Allow it to cool somewhat and add oil, wiping it around to coat the pan.
OK, that seems like a lot of trouble. I admit it is. But NOTHING cooks like cast iron IMO. And once you get the routine down, it is pretty quick.-COLLAPSE
I too use soap. A small amount won't hurt the seasoning. Wash it away immediately. No soaking.
Grill pans ( any pan or dutch oven) are very easy to clean. Just add very hot water to hot pan, let water come boil, then dump. If still needs cleaning, add more H2O, bring to boil, use a brush like Lodge sells, rinse, dry, oil, and then store. If the seasoning is coming off, you are scouring too hard. Good luck, and keep using your pan, you will soon love it.
All this is fine and makes perfect sense, but I have a ridged grill pan. Cleaning it, even the right way, takes the seasoning off the ridges, which of course is where the food sits and it sticks every time, so I have pretty much stopped using the pan. Any suggestions?
StriperGuy is right a little soap won't hurt. The real enemy is scraping & scouring that removes the season like yakitat jack notes. I sometimes use Cameo aluminum & stainless steel cleaner with a sponge. It is a very mild abrasive.
The number one sin with cast iron cook wear is using metal, it just kills the season you worked to put on. Just boiling water and plastic spatula will do just fine and be nice to the coating. Old timers used sand (salt) and water, but what I like to do is use hay. I know, it sounds dumb, but it works better than all the other tricks and my horses like me when I am done cleaning.
At boy scout camp this summer, we cooked our meal in cast iron dutch ovens over a camp fire. Needless to say we had burnt food on the bottom of the pan. We put some soapy water in the pan. Heated it enough so you could work with it and used crumpled aluminum foil as a scraper. You would not believe how well this works. I take my cast iron that is in really bad shape hunting and put it in the camp...+READ
At boy scout camp this summer, we cooked our meal in cast iron dutch ovens over a camp fire. Needless to say we had burnt food on the bottom of the pan. We put some soapy water in the pan. Heated it enough so you could work with it and used crumpled aluminum foil as a scraper. You would not believe how well this works. I take my cast iron that is in really bad shape hunting and put it in the camp fire. Heat it to a cherry red and let cool. When I get home the wife reseasons the pan.-COLLAPSE
I was taught as the cajun women are taught in LA; salt over heat and then scour w/copper pad; wipe w/towel, then rinse, dry & add a little oil before returning to oven pilot lite. suzythe wanna be Louisianna!
I generally agree with sm1nts2escape above. Though honestly, the best way to clean it if it is really crusted up is to heat the pan, then, while very hot hold under the sink, fill with water, and scrub with a sponge scrubbie.
And heck, a little soap won't kill the darn thing. Really, I do it all the time.
He is right about drying it though. Don't leave it lying around damp, it will rust.
Way to much if you ask me.Just take a nice sharp spatula to it while its still warm ad some oil and scrape the pan.After that wipe it out with some paper towels and put it away.