How to Clean and Season a

Cast Iron Skillet

WHY ARE IRON SKILLETS SO GREAT TO COOK WITH?

Iron skillets are a versatile kitchen tool. They heat food evenly and retain heat well. Your food will even absorb some of the iron from the pan, increasing the iron content of your meal.

CAN YOU RUIN A CAST IRON PAN?

Our skillet came with some instructions that we ignored that said you aren’t supposed to use soap or harsh scrub brushes because it will remove the “seasoning” that coats the pan and makes it non-stick. After a couple of mornings cooking eggs the poor skillet was all crusted up with eggs 

HOW TO SEASON A CAST IRON PAN

What is this “seasoning” you ask? Well it’s not just a layer of oil, it’s a layer of polymerized oil. What this means is that in a properly seasoned cast iron pan that has been rubbed with oil and heated repeatedly the oil has broken down.

HOW TO USE A POTATO AND SALT TO CLEAN A CAST IRON SKILLET

If your skillet is rusted or has burnt or caked on food that won’t come off you will need to deal with that first.  Try pouring a little oil into the pan and sprinkling the pan with salt. Then take a potato cut in half and use it to scrub into the salt to remove anything yucky.

HOW DO YOU CLEAN A BURNT CAST IRON SKILLET?

If that isn’t strong enough then you will have to bring out the big guns. Steel wool and soap. Normally you are not supposed to use either of these things on an iron skillet because it will remove the seasoning. 

HOW DO YOU CLEAN A BURNT CAST IRON SKILLET?

However, if the pan wasn’t seasoned properly to begin with you will have to redo that any ways so you must get all the crap off the pan by any means necessary.

How to Clean and Season a

Cast Iron Skillet