Easy way to clean Cast Iron skillets

[Chicken Rustler]

Well I discovered tonight a very easy way to clean the build up off cast iron skillets. It was by mistake of course but worked great.
I decided to try the :self cleaning" feature of our oven. Well we store our C I skillets in the oven and silly me I fergot to take em out. When the oven got done and the door finally unlocked I just had to see if the self clean really worked. That is when I discovered the skillets. They have a dusty residue on them that I am sure will wash right off after they cool. O and for the oven well I ain't wastin any more time trying to scrub stuff outta there any more. SELF CLEANING OVEN

 

[jojo54]

Would you cure them after that?

 

[SarahFair]

I have to use steel wool!
jk

They can be hard to clean. Mostly cause I dont use soap..

Love mine though. Fry chicken in it. Fill up with shortening and put it in the oven till it reaches 350

For me self cleaning makes my house super hot so I rarely use it.
Ill probly do it more this winter though.

 

[jafo]

Try "boiling" them. I put water in them after each use, and boil whatever residue is in there out of them. Works real well for me!

 

[Chicken Rustler]

Quote:
Yes I will have to season them again. I know there must be other ways to clean them and I am interested in knowing how others do it. I just thought I would share what I found by accident.
I have tried steel wool and other scrubbers but with little luck and I have actually considered putting them in my sand blaster.
Yes I would agree I don't think the self clean is a good plan in the summer since it adds so much heat to the house.

 

[DawnSuiter]

Of course I'm a yankee.. never even saw a cast iron skillet until a few years ago, except on some country restaurant wall decor.
After they were seasoned, I just pre-spray with cooking spray... haven't had a problem yet. Course I don't use it everyday.. just a few times a month for cornbread & what little frying we do. Is that abnormal use of a skillet? Have I committed a foul?

 

[peeplessinNC]

When I finally had to clean my grandmother's cast iron skillet, this is what I did:

1. spray the skillet well with oven cleaner, put it in a heavy duty plastic bag, set the skillet in the bag outside in the sun for several days (put it where animals and children can not get to it -- I set mine on top of the trash can)

2. bring skillet inside, take out of plastic bag, scrub really well at sink with a grill brush with metal bristles, dry well, examine pan to see how much of the burned on crud still remains

3. repeat #1, then #2 as many times as necessary to get the pan down to a smooth dark gray surface with no black, scaley crud remaining (my grandmother's skillet is very old, she used it for 60 years or more and I used it for another 20 before I decided to clean it)

4. when all the old black seasoning crud is removed, the pan needs to be re-seasoned before using: wash the pan well in hot water with a scrub brush, dry really well; take some Crisco or other shortening or lard (no oil, no cooking spray) and spread it all over the inside of the skillet, massaging it into the open pores of the iron; you want to seal up those open pores with the shortening/lard to make the iron pan less prone to sticking;

5. put the greased pan in a low oven set at 300 degrees and bake it for 2-3 hours, turn off heat and keep pan in oven to cool down; wipe out any excess melted fat with paper towels

6. before using pan, repeat #5, and repeat again if needed to get a smooth, dark, burned on finish to the pan

7. you can turn the pan upside down and repeat #4 and #5 as many times as necessary to get a good seasoned finish on the outside of the pan.

Remember: NEVER let cast iron pans soak in a sink of water. NEVER use brillo pads to scour a cast iron skillet after you have done all this to put the seasoning on.

For the past year I have not used any non-stick cookware - only my collection of cast iron pans. This morning I scrambled an egg in a small CI skillet and cooked it using only a fork - even lifted the entire scrambled egg out of the pan with the same fork. No sticking at all!

 

[rainplace]

This is what my mom taught me. Once a week she would brown flour in the cast iron. Once the flour reaches a dark brown most of the bottom is clean. To clean up the sides, just act like you're making gravy using the browned flour. She did it every week because she used your cast iron stuff all the time.

My mother in-law does it differently. She washes with soap and water after every use and then heats them up on the stove, wipes with oil, lets them cool, and puts away.

 

[Andi]

Quote:
I've never heard of the flour method before. So, do you start out with a flour paste and brown that? I guess I don't understand how it works. Can you expand on it for me?

 

[MandyH]

I've never had to clean any of my cast iron and I use it all the time. What I do is rinse with hot water while the pan is still hot, then heat it on the stove until it's dry, then rub it down with oil on a paper towel. I've always been taught that you NEVER clean your cast iron with steel wool or soap or any cleaners.