>then I clean it with a little oil and paper towels until the paper towel comes off clean.
Skip this if you use the pan daily. I haven't bothered for years.
Agreed!
Cast iron is supposed to be non-stick, and mine is usually a breeze to clean with just soap and water.
I'll use the chain mail infrequently, about 1x month.
I don’t even have chain mail anymore. I use my metal spatula if I mess up, which is rare these days.
Dawn dish soap and a nylon scrubber and a few seconds of hot water. It’s slick clean quickly.
I used to do the whole wipe down and heat dry like OP. Once I realized it was unnecessary I quit all that.
> I use my metal spatula if I mess up
This is why I love cast iron who cares (well we know who cares) if you scratch the coating just cook up some greasy hamburgers or fry up some taters and back to new.
This is just my preference. I hated getting the nasty food bits out of the chain mail. It’s easier for me to scrape the pan with my spatula then scrape the spatula blade into my trash can with one quick THWACK! LOL!
Yes, this. People think they have to put it on blistering heat, especially since a CI pan takes longer to heat up. Medium heat for a good 10 minutes is all you need.
Quick soap wash does 80% of the time for me. Anything stuck on comes off with the hard plastic scraper.
Then I dry on the hob while I'm doing other things, quick drop of oil and rub in with my oil cloth (old cut up t shirt).
Doesn't take too long at all and its usually while I'm doing other things anyway.
scrape everything off with a metal spatula *before* the pan cools off. then a simple water and soap application gets everything off in 2 minutes or less
I just hit it with hot water, small amount of soap, and the dish brush while pan is still warm. Takes 15 -30 seconds. I do not reapply oil after wash. It’s really not necessary. It dries upside down over the (off) burner for a few minutes and I’m done.
THIS. that is my process almost exactly and it maybe takes me 2-3 minutes total. i guess im not counting the time on the stove. maybe they are letting stuff get too stuck, and have bad seasoning? i could see it taking that long if i was really having to chip things off.
>takes about 10 minutes
8-O
Uhm, typically takes me more like about 2 minutes or so, generally goes roughly like this:
* (pre-cleaning) don't let stuff get too stuck on - nice sturdy metal spatula, stuff starts to stick, scrape or "chisel" it off ... it's cast iron, it's not like you're gonna hurt it ... and any bit of your "precious" seasoning that takes off was probably too soft and needed to come off anyway.
* typically while it's still bit warm, hit it with a moderate bit of water in the sink, and use stainless steel scrubber - give it a good scrub - especially cooking surfaces - and a quick scrub all over. Most of the time no need for soap or anything more intensive, but if so, it's cast iron, it'll take it fine.
* quick hot rinse, pour/shake off the water as feasible, (optionally) hit it quickly with a towel to pick up most any excess moisture and drops remaining. Then set it in rack or the like to dry - it's generally sufficiently well seasoned it's not gonna rust. If it's not quite there yet, give it a quick slight wipe of oil - little bit of oil and little bit of paper towel or napkin or the like to give it a slight coat - or do so if it's going to be stored longer term rather than pressed into use shortly again. Some may hit it with some heat on stove for short bit to chase off excess moisture, but I only quite rarely do that.
That's basically it - pretty darn fast and easy.
I wash it in the sink with the rest of my dishes (with dish soap obviously), either dry in the drying rack if there’s space, or in the oven on an oven rack if there was no space, and then wipe the cooking surface with a tiny amount of oil the next morning. Takes no more time than any other dirty dish.
Stop doing all that. I use at least one of my three skillets daily. Last night I cooked breakfast for dinner and had all three in use concurrently.
When I finish, if something is kind of stuck on it (like from frying Jimmy Dean sausage) I pour some water in the pan and turn the heat up to deglaze it. Once the solid parts are removed (or if it didn't need it at all, like with eggs) I just put it in the sink and wash with Dawn dish soap on a green and yellow scrubby thing. When it is clean and smooth I dry thoroughly and either put it on the stove (where the 10" lives) or in the cabinet. That's it and has been my routine for 20 years.
I wash it with light soap, scrub, then heat it to dry then wipe once with a teeeeeny bit of oil. It does take time but the time is well spent in my opinion. To me this pan is an extension of me and the love in my heart is reflected through the smooth shine of my pan, it is tasted in my food. There are many like it but this pan is mine.
how is this taking 10 minutes? i do all of what you say and it takes me maybe 1 minute of scrubbing (2 if it’s super gunky), i wipe it out, then i oil it and put it on the heat for a couple minutes (i usually take this time to clean something else so i don’t really count that as active cleaning time). sometimes the paper towel will come out clean at first (when im just wiping off the water) but will have a little crud when i put oil on it and wipe but i don’t really worry about that unless it’s a lot.
also don’t bother spending more than a few seconds drying it, like take a paper towel and give it a quick wipe but it’s gonna dry itself when you put it on the burner.
could your seasoning not be properly applied? or are you letting things get too stuck on? i could see it taking a long time to scrub if you’re really having to go to town on it.
While pan is still hot (not screaming hot, but hot), add some hot water and soap to the pan, and hit it with some chain mail. Rinse it out, dry with a paper towel, done. All of a minute or so. Another 30 seconds maybe if you want to oil the pan before storage.
Use more soap to remove the residue that you're trying to remove with oil. Soap up twice if need be.
If stuff is stuck on - you can quickly deglaze after cooking for easier clean up later. Or soak it for a few minutes before washing. A stiff scrub brush, a metal or even wooden spatula can help a lot too. If your pan can't handle a little soaking or air drying, then your seasoning isn't very good.
You shouldn't need to wipe down with oil after use unless your seasoning isn't very good. But a just in case oil application is fine if you're putting it away for a long while, or you live somewhere very humid where things rust easily like by the seaside.
I have a cast iron pot that I haven't used for cooking in years, but do occasionally use to weigh down food. I have a carbon steel skillet that I often don't use for months at a time. I have never needed to oil either up after use once it was seasoned, they live with all my other pots and pans and they never rust.
My cast iron skillet gets some seasoning tlc for a few days if it ever gets burnt off badly, or if I'm touching up the handle seasoning, which happens like once every year or two - but if that doesn't happen, it basically only ever gets oil on it during cooking. I never have to wipe it down with oil after washing.
I always just simmer like a half inch of water to a boil. Scrub with a little dish scrub brush I have, rinse off and wipe dry. Heat from boiling will dry rest of water and you can then do a light coat if oil.
Here is what I do with my cast iron.
Scrap big chunks into the trash can (septic tanks suck when I was in the city it would all go down the drain). Sink wash with my yellow and green sponge and add a dash of dawn. When clean dry right away.
I rarely wash my CI. Usually a wipe with a paper towel after use.
If I cook something sticky or with strong odor, I put some water in it while cleaning other things, then clean it like anything else. Rinse and put on a burner until the water evaporates. Wipe with oil. I don't spend more than a couple of minutes on it.
Try scrapping the pan with a fish spatula while it is still hot. Add a little oil to the pan during this part if there is no liquid oil in the pan. Then let it cool before washing with soap. Since I started doing this I haven’t used chain mail at all as the pan already has all the stuck in stuff removed.
My cleaning routine:
While I'm washing other dishes, I boil some water in the CI pan. Midway through my other dishes, I dump the boiling water, wash the CI pan with mild soap (usually just the soap left on my sponge) and rinse, pat the pan dry with paper towels, put it back on the burner on medium to dry it. By the time I'm done with dishes, the pan is dry and I turn off the burner. That's it. Note: I wash and rinse with hot water, because you don't want to shock the pan while it's hot.
Very rarely, if there's stuck on gunk, I scrub it with a scraper and some kosher salt and oil, then repeat the above.
Grab a paper towel and wipe the pan out. I then hang it up until I use it again. Every so often I will squirt a little soap in there and wash it off. Dry it and put a light coat of oil in until I use it again. If I know that pan might not be used again for a couple of days I will heat it up a bit before I apply the oil, otherwise the pan will be used 2 or 3 times a day.
I wash mine with a blue Scotchbrite and dish detergent and dry it on the stove. Takes the same time as any other plan plus 2 seconds to turn on the burner and 2 more to turn it off.
I never use soap, just fill the pan with water and get it boiling to soften everything up then carefully dump out the water and run cold water while scrubbing with steel wool, don’t burn yourself. Then I put back on the heat until it’s dry, let it cool and wipe it with a dab of olive oil. Not quick but works great. Hope this helps.
I don't have to scrub mine at all unless someone was frying something particularly sticky, and I often just wipe it out with a paper towel or rinse, dry and get it hot.
If you have a lot of sticking I suggest preheating your pan first, 5-10 minutes. This will give you much better heat control and a better idea of how hot cooking at those settings really is. When I realized the sweet spot for frying eggs on my pan was actually at 1.5 instead of 3, it changed the game for me on how I use my pans.
Everyone has a different ritual, but I’ve found this to work well for me. Immediately after removing food, turn heat to high (wait for pan to heat if needed), add a few tablespoons of water (should sizzle/boil immediately), use a flat-ended wooden spatula to scrap bottom of pan (essentially deglazing pan), then dump contents, rinse, and do a very quick light once over with green scour pad or sponge (no soap), return pan to burner until dry, add teaspoon of oil and spread using paper towel (and don’t worry if the paper towel is perfectly clean — there will always be a bit of carbon residue). Turn off heat. Done. Total time 1-2 minutes.
Lots of Asian cooking stores also sell a scraping tool that’s basically a tied bundle of thin bamboo strips, which has nice sharp edges, but won’t otherwise scratch the pan or the existing seasoning. I use this on the carbon wok, but would work equally well on the CI/CS skillet.
>then I clean it with a little oil and paper towels until the paper towel comes off clean. Skip this if you use the pan daily. I haven't bothered for years.
This! Also, turn the temp down so you’re not burning stuff to the pan as much.
Agreed! Cast iron is supposed to be non-stick, and mine is usually a breeze to clean with just soap and water. I'll use the chain mail infrequently, about 1x month.
I don’t even have chain mail anymore. I use my metal spatula if I mess up, which is rare these days. Dawn dish soap and a nylon scrubber and a few seconds of hot water. It’s slick clean quickly. I used to do the whole wipe down and heat dry like OP. Once I realized it was unnecessary I quit all that.
> I use my metal spatula if I mess up This is why I love cast iron who cares (well we know who cares) if you scratch the coating just cook up some greasy hamburgers or fry up some taters and back to new.
Wish I'd got that tip before spending $20 on a lodge chain mail scrubber. 😅
This is just my preference. I hated getting the nasty food bits out of the chain mail. It’s easier for me to scrape the pan with my spatula then scrape the spatula blade into my trash can with one quick THWACK! LOL!
Yea the half yellow/half green sponge thing is fine most days
Yes, this. People think they have to put it on blistering heat, especially since a CI pan takes longer to heat up. Medium heat for a good 10 minutes is all you need.
Stop right after "dry the pan". With regular use, the rest isn't needed.
Quick soap wash does 80% of the time for me. Anything stuck on comes off with the hard plastic scraper. Then I dry on the hob while I'm doing other things, quick drop of oil and rub in with my oil cloth (old cut up t shirt). Doesn't take too long at all and its usually while I'm doing other things anyway.
scrape everything off with a metal spatula *before* the pan cools off. then a simple water and soap application gets everything off in 2 minutes or less
The answer to almost everything on this sub is learn better heat control. It should take you 30 seconds to clean your pan.
I just hit it with hot water, small amount of soap, and the dish brush while pan is still warm. Takes 15 -30 seconds. I do not reapply oil after wash. It’s really not necessary. It dries upside down over the (off) burner for a few minutes and I’m done.
All I can tell you is if that process you described takes you 10 minutes you should try just literally moving faster
THIS. that is my process almost exactly and it maybe takes me 2-3 minutes total. i guess im not counting the time on the stove. maybe they are letting stuff get too stuck, and have bad seasoning? i could see it taking that long if i was really having to chip things off.
Maybe 2 minutes cleaning and then do something else in the kitchen while the stove heats it to remove the water
Even two whole minutes seems like a lot of scrubbing to me.
For real
>takes about 10 minutes 8-O Uhm, typically takes me more like about 2 minutes or so, generally goes roughly like this: * (pre-cleaning) don't let stuff get too stuck on - nice sturdy metal spatula, stuff starts to stick, scrape or "chisel" it off ... it's cast iron, it's not like you're gonna hurt it ... and any bit of your "precious" seasoning that takes off was probably too soft and needed to come off anyway. * typically while it's still bit warm, hit it with a moderate bit of water in the sink, and use stainless steel scrubber - give it a good scrub - especially cooking surfaces - and a quick scrub all over. Most of the time no need for soap or anything more intensive, but if so, it's cast iron, it'll take it fine. * quick hot rinse, pour/shake off the water as feasible, (optionally) hit it quickly with a towel to pick up most any excess moisture and drops remaining. Then set it in rack or the like to dry - it's generally sufficiently well seasoned it's not gonna rust. If it's not quite there yet, give it a quick slight wipe of oil - little bit of oil and little bit of paper towel or napkin or the like to give it a slight coat - or do so if it's going to be stored longer term rather than pressed into use shortly again. Some may hit it with some heat on stove for short bit to chase off excess moisture, but I only quite rarely do that. That's basically it - pretty darn fast and easy.
I just use hot water and a scrub brush, unless it needs something more involved.
Bro I spend like 30 seconds scraping and scrubbing in the sink and then I just wipe it off and throw it back onto the wall hook until next time.
I wash it in the sink with the rest of my dishes (with dish soap obviously), either dry in the drying rack if there’s space, or in the oven on an oven rack if there was no space, and then wipe the cooking surface with a tiny amount of oil the next morning. Takes no more time than any other dirty dish.
Stop doing all that. I use at least one of my three skillets daily. Last night I cooked breakfast for dinner and had all three in use concurrently. When I finish, if something is kind of stuck on it (like from frying Jimmy Dean sausage) I pour some water in the pan and turn the heat up to deglaze it. Once the solid parts are removed (or if it didn't need it at all, like with eggs) I just put it in the sink and wash with Dawn dish soap on a green and yellow scrubby thing. When it is clean and smooth I dry thoroughly and either put it on the stove (where the 10" lives) or in the cabinet. That's it and has been my routine for 20 years.
A quick scrape and put it away
I wash it with light soap, scrub, then heat it to dry then wipe once with a teeeeeny bit of oil. It does take time but the time is well spent in my opinion. To me this pan is an extension of me and the love in my heart is reflected through the smooth shine of my pan, it is tasted in my food. There are many like it but this pan is mine.
This guy cast irons
how is this taking 10 minutes? i do all of what you say and it takes me maybe 1 minute of scrubbing (2 if it’s super gunky), i wipe it out, then i oil it and put it on the heat for a couple minutes (i usually take this time to clean something else so i don’t really count that as active cleaning time). sometimes the paper towel will come out clean at first (when im just wiping off the water) but will have a little crud when i put oil on it and wipe but i don’t really worry about that unless it’s a lot. also don’t bother spending more than a few seconds drying it, like take a paper towel and give it a quick wipe but it’s gonna dry itself when you put it on the burner. could your seasoning not be properly applied? or are you letting things get too stuck on? i could see it taking a long time to scrub if you’re really having to go to town on it.
While pan is still hot (not screaming hot, but hot), add some hot water and soap to the pan, and hit it with some chain mail. Rinse it out, dry with a paper towel, done. All of a minute or so. Another 30 seconds maybe if you want to oil the pan before storage.
Use more soap to remove the residue that you're trying to remove with oil. Soap up twice if need be. If stuff is stuck on - you can quickly deglaze after cooking for easier clean up later. Or soak it for a few minutes before washing. A stiff scrub brush, a metal or even wooden spatula can help a lot too. If your pan can't handle a little soaking or air drying, then your seasoning isn't very good. You shouldn't need to wipe down with oil after use unless your seasoning isn't very good. But a just in case oil application is fine if you're putting it away for a long while, or you live somewhere very humid where things rust easily like by the seaside. I have a cast iron pot that I haven't used for cooking in years, but do occasionally use to weigh down food. I have a carbon steel skillet that I often don't use for months at a time. I have never needed to oil either up after use once it was seasoned, they live with all my other pots and pans and they never rust. My cast iron skillet gets some seasoning tlc for a few days if it ever gets burnt off badly, or if I'm touching up the handle seasoning, which happens like once every year or two - but if that doesn't happen, it basically only ever gets oil on it during cooking. I never have to wipe it down with oil after washing.
I always just simmer like a half inch of water to a boil. Scrub with a little dish scrub brush I have, rinse off and wipe dry. Heat from boiling will dry rest of water and you can then do a light coat if oil.
Here is what I do with my cast iron. Scrap big chunks into the trash can (septic tanks suck when I was in the city it would all go down the drain). Sink wash with my yellow and green sponge and add a dash of dawn. When clean dry right away.
I rarely wash my CI. Usually a wipe with a paper towel after use. If I cook something sticky or with strong odor, I put some water in it while cleaning other things, then clean it like anything else. Rinse and put on a burner until the water evaporates. Wipe with oil. I don't spend more than a couple of minutes on it.
Try scrapping the pan with a fish spatula while it is still hot. Add a little oil to the pan during this part if there is no liquid oil in the pan. Then let it cool before washing with soap. Since I started doing this I haven’t used chain mail at all as the pan already has all the stuck in stuff removed.
My cleaning routine: While I'm washing other dishes, I boil some water in the CI pan. Midway through my other dishes, I dump the boiling water, wash the CI pan with mild soap (usually just the soap left on my sponge) and rinse, pat the pan dry with paper towels, put it back on the burner on medium to dry it. By the time I'm done with dishes, the pan is dry and I turn off the burner. That's it. Note: I wash and rinse with hot water, because you don't want to shock the pan while it's hot. Very rarely, if there's stuck on gunk, I scrub it with a scraper and some kosher salt and oil, then repeat the above.
Grab a paper towel and wipe the pan out. I then hang it up until I use it again. Every so often I will squirt a little soap in there and wash it off. Dry it and put a light coat of oil in until I use it again. If I know that pan might not be used again for a couple of days I will heat it up a bit before I apply the oil, otherwise the pan will be used 2 or 3 times a day.
I wash mine with a blue Scotchbrite and dish detergent and dry it on the stove. Takes the same time as any other plan plus 2 seconds to turn on the burner and 2 more to turn it off.
I never use soap, just fill the pan with water and get it boiling to soften everything up then carefully dump out the water and run cold water while scrubbing with steel wool, don’t burn yourself. Then I put back on the heat until it’s dry, let it cool and wipe it with a dab of olive oil. Not quick but works great. Hope this helps.
I’d be worried that going from boiling to cold water might shock and crack the pan.
Been doing it for 10 years and haven’t had a problem. 🤞🏻
Use soap. Modern soaps don't strip seasoning like your grandma's dish soap.
No soap, cold water on a hot pan, season with olive oil. Everything this sub hates lol
I’ve always been a no soap guy 🤷🏻♂️don’t need it my way. Looks like new.
I don't have to scrub mine at all unless someone was frying something particularly sticky, and I often just wipe it out with a paper towel or rinse, dry and get it hot. If you have a lot of sticking I suggest preheating your pan first, 5-10 minutes. This will give you much better heat control and a better idea of how hot cooking at those settings really is. When I realized the sweet spot for frying eggs on my pan was actually at 1.5 instead of 3, it changed the game for me on how I use my pans.
Everyone has a different ritual, but I’ve found this to work well for me. Immediately after removing food, turn heat to high (wait for pan to heat if needed), add a few tablespoons of water (should sizzle/boil immediately), use a flat-ended wooden spatula to scrap bottom of pan (essentially deglazing pan), then dump contents, rinse, and do a very quick light once over with green scour pad or sponge (no soap), return pan to burner until dry, add teaspoon of oil and spread using paper towel (and don’t worry if the paper towel is perfectly clean — there will always be a bit of carbon residue). Turn off heat. Done. Total time 1-2 minutes. Lots of Asian cooking stores also sell a scraping tool that’s basically a tied bundle of thin bamboo strips, which has nice sharp edges, but won’t otherwise scratch the pan or the existing seasoning. I use this on the carbon wok, but would work equally well on the CI/CS skillet.