Cast Iron Pans

[sjk99]

I'm a wipe out only guy but the wife likes to scrub with soap and water, that's why I have my pan and she has hers (although I try to get to hers first & wipe and put it away if I can )

One thing I've noticed is if you have a flat cook top (say, a glass surface with the electric coils underneath) and you let the pan sit for too long moisture will condense and collect under the pan as it cools. You want to either store it on a wire rack or trivet or move it half off the cooktop so air can circulate underneath. That could be what's causing the rust under yours.

 

[Black Dog]

I've used cornmeal and a paper sack to clean a dutch oven after cooking because I didn't have anything else to use too.

 

[spressomon]

Thankx I'm going to try that! I would assume that the salt would increase the heat ten fold or so like salt fired ceramics and completely glaze the oil......hmmmmm. Can't wait!:wings: How do you clean the pan after using?

One of the great things about cast iron cookware is the relative easy cleanup process once you get it seasoned properly (and maintain it with proper care). What gets deposited onto the pan surface from the cooking process is, of course, dependent upon what has been cooked, the type of cooking and the heat involved. So for something like fried eggs all that is needed is a quick warm water rinse and dry with a towel...and then a very light coat of veggie type oil before storing away for the next use (as/if necessary...the older and more seasoned the pan the less often it needs a topical treatment).

For tougher cooking leftover residue I'll just let the pan soak in warm water for 1/2 hour or so and using one of those little plastic pan scrapers everything just lifts right out. And if its some really nasty fried crud that has become fused to the pan you can do the same but simmer it on the stove for 1/2 hour to loosen and hit it with the same plastic scraper tool.

The better the pan becomes seasoned the easier the cleanup process will be. But never, ever put a cast iron away wet or even damp...and of course you don't want to store it in a highly humid/wet place

 

[Tacovendor]

I have 6 skillet/pans at the fire station I work at and it's all we cook on the pans have been used fo 60 years. If we can't ruin them nobody can! After cooking they must cool off completely and then they are washed w/ the dishes in the sink with soap. They are then put on the gas range heated/dried and a thin layer of vegetable oil in applied. I use salt to scrub at home and it works great.

 

[Mamontof]

I Clean the same way as in Old Days my cast iron....what ever if at home :

sea stone salt , sponge , steel wool ctr on trail : sand , wood , flat stone ,

left to animal leak or ant do the dirty work

What to use to clean = what ever clean properly food left over , if rust show

off simple dry clean and apply oil


use Pam Cooking oil and have less cleaning , afther finish cook simple wipe out by paper towel with out using water

 

[PhulesAU]

www.camp-cook.com

If you don't find enough answers there, burn the computer.:chef:

 

[rusty_tlc]

I just got a cast iron pan and I cook on a electric stove. It came pretreated and now there is a rust color on the bottom. When I clean it I was using dish detergent and then used a brillo pad. The pan said that it was pre treated.

Well that's your problem right there. And who cleans the outside of a cast iron skillet? Let the grease and crud build up and carbonize into a durable coating.

 

[INSAYN]

Thoroughly wash and scrub the pot with whatever mean you like ONCE!

Then dry it with a towel, and place in the oven at 200ºF.
Allow it to dry and heat up completely.
Wipe inside and out with PEANUT oil.
Put back into the now 475ºF oven, and until it stops smoking (roughly an hour).
This will bake the oil on perfectly.
Allow to cool completely.
Heat the pot back up to 200ºF.
Pull out and apply PEANUT oil to all surfaces again.
Repeat the 475ºF round until it stops smoking again.
Allow to cool completely.

Now go cook with it! :chef:

NEVER use any kind of soap or brillo on it after you season it, otherwise you have to start over.