Cooking Question...Chef, you out there?

[Tick]

So I love to cook with my cast iron frying pan. Makes so many things just awesome. Best way to make a cheeseburger at home!
BUT...
They say just don't wash them, just wipe them clean and keep them lubed. I'm sorry, I just can't do that!
I use it, I wash it thoroughly, then wipe it completely dry and lube it again with oil.
Does anyone really use a cast iron pan and not clean it? Just wipe it out?
I need some feedback from fellow cooks in the house, and our resident chef!

[Prog Snob]

What you WILL find on a prog forum is more people knowledgeable about lube, but not the cast iron pan.   

[Tick]

What you WILL find on a prog forum is more people knowledgeable about lube, but not the cast iron pan.   

I need no advice on that either as I'm here with you on this prog board!

[Prog Snob]

 

So just wait for RJ or Coz to see this, or someone else informed enough.

[Podaar]

You absolutely should wash your cast iron pans! Otherwise, oooo gross. Just don't let it soak in water and/or soap solution. A rinse, a quick scrub with a plastic scrubber and dish soap won't hurt the seasoning (if it is seasoned).

Dry it well afterward, put it on the stove and get it hot enough to smoke a bit, rub or brush it with oil and let it cool naturally. You'll find that you don't need to do this every time but you probably should do it once in awhile to keep it seasoned.

[Podaar]

I just went to Lodge's website to see what they say, and this video even skips the heating up stage.

[millahh]

The other trick, when water and a brush won't adequately remove the grease (which is sometimes the case after cooking beef or occasionally chicken) is to throw a handful of kosher salt into the pan, and work it around with a paper towel.  It will abrade off the grease w/o damaging the surface or stripping the seasoning.  After that, a quick rinse will be all you need.

[Tick]

I just went to Lodge's website to see what they say, and this video even skips the heating up stage.

Cool! That's exactly how I clean mine!

[Tick]

I know I have seen cooking shows where the host says just wipe it out. I always thought...ummm no way.

[millahh]

I know I have seen cooking shows where the host says just wipe it out. I always thought...ummm no way.

If all you're ever doing is bacon and eggs, that could probably work.  Otherwise....eww....

[bosk1]

I know I have seen cooking shows where the host says just wipe it out. I always thought...ummm no way.

Yeah, it depends what you are cooking in it.  Sometimes, that may be fine.  Water and a scrubber should almost always do the trick.  There is almost never a need for soap, and if you use any at all, it should be a VERY mild soap that you want to use sparingly and rinse out almost immediately.  But if the pan is seasoned properly to begin with and you don't burn whatever you are cooking, you can almost always get it clean with just water and a scrubber, especially if you heat the pan with the water in it to get it nice and hot (and between that and the fact that you are heating it again after you put your oil in it to keep it seasoned, you are killing anything that could potentially grow germs).  But don't take our word for it--Lodge has been making some of the best cast iron for well over 100 years.  Those guys know what they are talking about.

[jasc15]

If I'm just cooking eggs or something else light with butter or oil, I just leave it until next use after scraping out any solid stuff left over.  If I make something like a burger in it, I will scrape out whatever I can with my steel spatula and continue to scrape under running hot water.  This usually is enough to make it look like new, though it is often dull looking after that so i will rub a tiny bit of oil on the cooking surface.  That's all I've done to my cast iron pans and they are just fine.

[El Barto]

I know I have seen cooking shows where the host says just wipe it out. I always thought...ummm no way.

Yeah, it depends what you are cooking in it.  Sometimes, that may be fine.  Water and a scrubber should almost always do the trick.  There is almost never a need for soap, and if you use any at all, it should be a VERY mild soap that you want to use sparingly and rinse out almost immediately.  But if the pan is seasoned properly to begin with and you don't burn whatever you are cooking, you can almost always get it clean with just water and a scrubber, especially if you heat the pan with the water in it to get it nice and hot (and between that and the fact that you are heating it again after you put your oil in it to keep it seasoned, you are killing anything that could potentially grow germs).  But don't take our word for it--Lodge has been making some of the best cast iron for well over 100 years.  Those guys know what they are talking about.

That's the key for me when it comes to stuff really burned onto it.

[lonestar]

What they all said. Of course you don't just want to "wipe it off and move on", you're courting a nice case of the squirts or something worse there.

[TioJorge]

GAWD, I had an ex who just downright mauled me when I cleaned hers, just about went all Cat Woman crazy circa Batman Returns, screaming that I ruined it and how expensive it was. I just stood in stunned silence and after a minute was all..."Okay so...you literally DON'T clean this thing at all...??" ... She looks at me like one of the Kardashians look at a blue collar worker and said "Um.../Kardashianvoice YEAUH /Kardashianvoice".

I broke up with her the week after. To her credit, she did look about as good as a Kardashian, but she also had the brain of one. *Sigh* Me and my penis...

WHAT WILL WE GET INTO NEXT, BUDDY!?



On that note...ONTO THE OVER EATING THREAD!

[Stadler]

What they all said. Of course you don't just want to "wipe it off and move on", you're courting a nice case of the squirts or something worse there.

But think about it; what would you get? 

Honestly, I'd be more worried that not wiping it thoroughly would change the taste of things I cooked, not getting sick.   

[bosk1]

What they all said. Of course you don't just want to "wipe it off and move on", you're courting a nice case of the squirts or something worse there.

But think about it; what would you get? 

I was wondering that very thing.  I mean, you're going to be heating the cast iron enough to kill anything that could potentially be growing in there anyway, so... 

[Chino]

I never let soap touch my cast iron stuff. Ever. I'll only use water if it's getting flash boiled away pretty quickly.

[Stadler]

I never let soap touch my cast iron stuff. Ever. I'll only use water if it's getting flash boiled away pretty quickly.

There's a joke in there somewhere, I'm sure of it!

[Chino]

I wish I was that clever.

[TioJorge]

I wish I was that cleaver.

FTFY.

[Podaar]

Honestly, I'd be more worried that not wiping it thoroughly would change the taste of things I cooked, not getting sick.

This.

You heat it up the next time enough to kill anything germy, but your pan cobbler is going to taste like fried trout if you don't clean it thoroughly between the two dishes.

[senecadawg2]

I use a chain mail scrubber on my cast iron and it works really well. Don't need any soap with that in hand. And then re-season, if it's been a while since I've done that.

[TempusVox]

Yeah...it is perfectly fine to use soap. Once cast iron has been seasoned with a drying oil like flax oil, and THEN heated- the oil changes its composition due to polymerization. It becomes like plastic or glass, and is no longer soluble with dish soap- so the soap won't damage or un-season the pan- it only washes out the gunk and cleans it.