"Your cast iron skillet should be washed after every use, but never soaked in the sink or put in the dishwasher." To help you care for your cookware without damaging it, we're sharing how to clean a cast iron skillet or Dutch oven — including techniques using coarse salt and dish soap.
Clean your cast iron pan after every use. Most of the time, wiping it down with a paper towel will do the trick. However, if your skillet is still dirty, wash it briefly by hand in soapy water before patting it dry for storage.
Not washing a cast iron pan after use can result in the accumulation of leftover food particles and oils, leading to rancidity, off-putting flavors, and potential bacterial growth. This neglect can also compromise the pan's seasoning, making it more susceptible to rust.
Boil 1/2 inch of water in the cast iron pan to loosen the stubborn food residue. 2. Rinse, pat dry, and season. 3. If food residue still remains, add kosher salt and a small amount of water and heat your pan to medium to create a paste. Scrub with a sponge using a pair of tongs or wooden spoon to remove stuck on food.
A cast iron skillet only needs to be seasoned once. If it is properly cared for, the seasoning will improve with use. Even after misuse that damages the seasoning it may need only a touch-up. Complete re-seasoning is almost never necessary.
Fat, oil, and bits of food will stick onto the surface and rot if not washed properly. If you want to keep your cast iron performing like new, consider reseasoning for that classic coating that rivals your favorite nonstick cookware, and will maintain your pan for years to come.
You should only need to fully re-season your cast-iron cookware one to two times a year, but you may also want to give it some extra seasoning love anytime you cook something that requires a heavy-duty cleaning.
Common cooking oils like olive oil will gradually produce seasoning, but won't be as effective as grapeseed oil. Canola, other vegetable oils, and shortening are a little better.
They are most likely carbon deposits. This happens due to overheating of fats and oils. Using an oil with a low smoke point will carbonize at high temperatures and cause residue from the pores of your pan to rub off onto your food. While unappealing, they won't hurt you in such a small amount.
Start with Vegetables
Any seared, sautéed, or pan-roasted vegetable recipe is a great place to start breaking in your skillet. Vegetables won't stick to your cooking surface like fatty proteins, and are easy to spread out over the entire cooking surface, helping to build even seasoning.
Will Soap Ruin Cast Iron? Using soap will not ruin your pan. It is totally fine on enameled cast iron, and on plain cast iron, too. It's not going to destroy your seasoning.
Rinsing your skillet with cold water while cleaning off rust will help prevent new rust from forming quickly. After scrubbing and rinsing your skillet, make sure you dry it thoroughly by heating it for a few minutes on the stovetop. Once dry, coat the skillet all over in a thin layer of seasoning oil.
Cooking with cast iron can increase iron intake, potentially benefiting iron-deficiency anemia. However, frying in cast iron can lead to the formation of trans fats. Teflon (PTFE) coating in nonstick cookware has raised health concerns due to the release of toxic gases and chemicals at normal cooking temperatures.
While you can use soap on cast iron, you don't have to. So if you're hearing your grandmother's voice warning you against sudsing up that skillet, you can heed her advice and feel perfectly safe.
Start the process soon after cooking to prevent any food remnants from getting stuck as the pan cools. While your pan is still warm, take it to the sink and wash it with a drop of dish soap. (Yes, despite popular belief, a little soap is fine if you remember to re-season your cast-iron skillet as needed.
Occasionally, the seasoning on your pan may break down and leave black specks, especially if the cookware is not well-seasoned, but it is not harmful in any way.
Caring for Cast Iron
With soap if it needs it. Scrubbing with the rougher side of a sponge if it needs that to remove food particles. Don't use steel wool, and do dry it completely. Then, put another tiny bit of oil in and rub it all over, wipe it away, and put it over a burner for a few minutes.
Oil, especially canola oil (bad, unhealthy oil), should not be used. If a quick oiling (not seasoning) in between is desired, it's best to use a high temperature oil like avocado. A quick rub can do the trick, if your pan looks a bit dry. I have one pan that is about 100 years old!
When using carbon-steel and cast-iron pans, some people like to heat the dry pan first, then add the oil. This is because high heat causes the oil to oxidize and polymerize, allowing it to bond to the metal, filling in any small pits and divots—a process that seasons the pan, essentially giving it a nonstick surface.
We get lots of questions about this, so we thought we'd share our guide on how to properly season a cast iron pan: Wash the pan well and rinse, then dry completely. Coat the interior of the pan with a thin layer of vegetable oil, lard or shortening. Avoid using butter or a low smoke point oil such as olive oil.
Place the oiled pan upside down, on a baking sheet and place both in the oven. Then set the oven to 350° F. Heat the pan at that temperature for two hours. Turn off the oven, but leave the pan inside and allow oven and pan to cool completely- about two hours.
Stainless steel pans are known for their smooth surfaces, which can make them easier to work with when cooking delicate items like eggs or fish. They are also less prone to sticking than cast iron pans, which can make them a better choice for tasks like sautéing or frying.
Lard and bacon are the best seasoning oils
This layer prevents water-soluble proteins (eggs, meat and cheese) from sticking to the pan.
The more you use a rusted pan, the more iron you'll consume in your food. It's best to avoid cooking with a rusty cast iron pan. If it's reached the point of corrosion or deep rust, throw it away rather than risk your and your family's health.