1) Hot water only, not cold water for hot cast iron frying pan
2) chain mail scrubber for food sticky clump
3) Throw "Kosher Salt" as an abrasive cleaner at sticky spots. [This video gave terrible advice for long term care of a pan. Don't use salt if you've got a chain-mail (or any other metal scrub) and hot water. Salt adds no benefit here but increases the risk of rust. Ironically, salt helps remove rust, so some users think the salt is helping keep it look clean, but it's the only reason there was rust in the first place.]]
Note that "he rinses the salt out afterward. So it isn’t left to eat at the pan. Salt is fine.
4) Out of the pan , it's a hot water rinse, dried, and a very light coat of Grape seed oil.
5) Blue paper towels work well to wipe out. No lint.
Today is the introduction of 3 Minute Thursday and the first lesson is cast iron cleaning after cooking. In this video, I will show you my quick and easy way to clean a cast iron skillet after cooking with it. Cast Iron pans are amazing tools but its very easy to let them go uncared for. With these cast iron maintenance tips and taking care of your cast iron properly, you'll have it forever.
I am 72 and have pretty much cleaned my cast iron as you did but when I’m finished, I heat it on the stove and then do what my mother did to her pans, I run a balled up sheet of wax paper around the inside and outside of the pan! It seals the pores and prevents rust! I never had an issue but my pans are well seasoned! By the way, does not effect the flavor!
Tallow is a great alternative for coating the pan after cleaning. It has a higher smoke point than canola without all of the negative health consequences that come with canola.
canola oil!
What is the healthiest cooking oil, then? Avocado oil?
? @RMG50cal actually, the best oil on the market would be organic coconut oil, I'm on keto and I live by it.
I'd start cleaning with a brush and hot water. The chain mail cleaner (with or without a sponge) is a nice tool for cleaning cast iron, but I only use it if a brush doesn't do the job. I also disagree about olive oil. It is actually fine to protect the skillet from rust, and it takes a lot longer for it to become rancid compared to most other vegetable oils. If you let it smoke for a few seconds, you can leave the skillet unused for months without the olive oil becoming rancid. In my experience, sunflower or canola oil becomes rancid much quicker.
This was a fantastic, no frills, how to video! One thing I’d like to mention for those that don’t have time to clean your iron immediately after cooking (which I usually don’t because I’m always finishing up a few other side dishes), is that you can always heat it up again later to melt the fat to pour it off and finish the rest of the cleaning steps. I have 2 irons at the back of my stove right now (skillet and a griddle), which I will be warming up to finish cleaning in the morning.
Thank you. I was soaking my 6.5 “ Dutch Baby crust off the bottom of the pan in cold water. My daughter noticed and said, “I don’t think you are suppose to put cast iron skillets in water.” You came to the rescue with your carefully made video. I think I saved it.
I have been using my same cast iron fry pan for over 30 years. After cooking I take a small vegetable brush and use hot water to loosen food right away. No soap. Season the way you do and completely dry it out. Mine is like using teflon pan. Nothing seems to stick. I love my skillet
Nice video. Still, I'd like to add a comment and a correction. First, there is not really a need to use salt if you're cleaning the skillet with a chain mail cleaner. The chain mail will get rid of sticky stuff easily. Secondly, I'd like to disagree about using olive oil for maintenance. I use it exclusively to protect my iron cookware from rust after cleaning it. The low smoke point makes it easy to apply a touch up seasoning at the same time. You should pre-heat the skillet anyways before applying the thin layer of oil (to get rid of all moisture and the skillet will 'accept' the seasoning better if it is applied to a warm skillet). Instead of putting the oiled skillet away, crank up the heat and let it smoke for like 30 seconds. Then put it away.
Due to the low smoking point of olive oil, that process takes even less time. On top of that, in my experience, olive oil does not get rancid after a while like other vegetable oils. I have skillets, which I only use once or twice a year. I never experienced one of them getting rancid when using olive oil for maintenance. That only happened once, when I was using sunflower oil. I never had that problem again since I switched to olive oil afterwards.
Saying you are moving from using non-stick pans to cast iron is like saying you are done with wrenches because you bought a socket set. Pans are tools. Having both is great. I wouldn’t cook a steak in a non-stick, and I wouldn’t cook an omelette in a cast iron.
Olive oil actually does not tolerate high heat well. Maybe rancid isn’t the right word, but it is an unstableThat chain mail covered sponge is a perfect environment for bacteria. Better use one without a sponge inside. Oh, and olive oil actually does not tend to get rancid. It's one of the better oils to protect iron cookware from rust. While most food grade oils tend to get rancid within a week or less, I have skillets coated with olive oil months ago and they still are fine. The low smoking point also helps as you can easily bring the skillet to the smoking point and give it a quick touch up seasoning after cleaning. Pre-heat it to get rid of all moisture, give it a light coating of olive oil, crank the heat up some more. As soon as it starts smoking, reduce the heat, let it smoke for 30-60 seconds and turn off the heat. You end up with a new thin layer of seasoning and a skillet that can be stored for months without getting rancid. Of course you should not use olive oil to cook / sear at high temperatures. But for maintaining iron cookware, it is my preferred oil. oil that easily oxidizes due to heat (or even light) and can produce free radicals. So for health reasons, it’s best not to use olive oil with heat. I’m a nutritionist, and I don’t ever suggest that people cook with it or introduce any heat, really, unless it’s pretty low. Its best consumed raw, like in dressings. If it’s smoking, though, that’s likely way too hot to keep it stable. I know in this case it’s not actually being eaten, but it is still touching the food,
so residues can leech on to the food during cooking.
I use kosher salt in my carbon steel wok all the time
I own a Camp Chef Explorer Deluxe Face Plate 2 Burner Propane Stove and several Lodge cast iron skillets. I can cook a steak in 12-minutes outside, and that includes the time to pre-heat the pan. Great video of the cleaning process.
I'm really curious what's gonna happen if you clean it like normal dishes, with warm water and dish soap. Not that I want to, in just really curious what is the issue? I just don't understand it, somebody plz explain how come it could get ruined?
The soap can degrade the seasoning (but is okay in small amounts), if the water isn't as hot as the pan, it can crack, leaving it wet will make it rust, and not restoring the seasoning means you're going to have everything stick and damage the metal underneath
@AP-hv9ll Teflon emits deadly chemicals into food. So deadly, as a matter of fact, it killed two of my parakeets. I had no idea until I came across an article on how Teflon fumes are quite deadly for birds.
If it is toxic enough to kill birds, then long-term use for humans is also suspect to me. I threw them out, switched to cast iron, seasoned it well, and problem solved.
People say theres a way you must do it or you'll destroy it. My mom washes hers with soap and water and has since before I was born. I dont with my pans. I usually do something similar to what the guy does in the video. Is there a wrong way? Yes. Will it destroy your pan? My moms pans are still in great condition. So i really cant answer that
I believe as long as you keep water away from the pan it, stays robust. But using soap may change the chemistry of the surface of the pan which may then leach unknown harmful chemical in your food even though the pan looks ok with the naked eyes.
@HimanshuSharma-oy9ss idk. like i said. i dont do it. but my moms done it and she's been using the same pans since the 80's and last time ive seen them they were in good condition.
@HimanshuSharma-oy9ss are the unknown harmful chemicals you mentioned from the soap or the pan? What if the dish soap is a non toxic kind like seventh generation?
@monb7796 Any kind of soap we use is usually non toxic but if it used on a metal surface it increses the chances of that surface to get corrorded, become brittle and coarse. This happens inevitably in cast iron ( not when you don't use soap ) and its not healthy to cook in something like this as the corroded surface can leach high amount of iron in your food which one should definately try to avoid. It ultimately reduces the non stick property and life of the pan. That's why it is said that you have to be deciplined with you cast iron pan. After cooking, clean it with hot water ,using either you hands or a nylon brush only. You can also put water in the pan and heat the water in that pan itself to loosen up and free any stuck or burnt residue. Finally, after washing, THROUGHLY dry the pan( there must not be any water left anywhere on the surface of the pan ) and apply a light layer of any available cooking oil evenly on the pan inside out and store it in a dry place. Follow the routine and it will last you years!
@HimanshuSharma-oy9ss Thank you for your thorough response! We have been soaking our new cast iron pan in tap water it did leave a ring on the inside of the pan. Hope it is still safe to use once seasoned. Now we will take proper care of it.
@monb7796 No problem. I'm glad i could help. And don't worry about the ring. But still, if the food is sticking on the ring surface just season the pan now and then and use a little extra oil while cooking to prevent sticking. After sometimes it won't be a problem.. PS: i would recommend not to cook high acid foods like one with lots of tomato puree or lemon juice.
Great video! Many are afraid to use cast iron because of fear of the care process. While the steps are different, they are not hard, not even more time consuming, and become routine. Great looking steak, BTW!
it did leave a ring on the inside of the pan. Hope it is still safe to use once seasoned. Now we will take proper care of it.
. PS: i would recommend not to cook high acid foods like one with lots of tomato puree or lemon juice.
