How to Clean Cast Iron

I’ve been on a cast iron kick lately! First, it was my mom’s cast iron apple pie recipe. Then, it was how to season cast iron. Now, I want to teach you how to clean cast iron.

Much like seasoning cast iron, there is a lot of stigma around the process of cleaning cast iron. People make it so much more difficult than it needs to be! It really only takes a few simple steps.

Let me preface this by saying that there are two types of “dirty” when it comes to cleaning cast iron. The first kind of dirty is the easy kind, my favorite kind. It’s the kind that only requires wiping with a clean, hot rag to clean the pan. (Remember, the more seasoned your pan is, the easier the cleaning process will go). The second kind, the hard kind, is the kind I will be explaining now.

Here’s How to Clean Cast Iron

After removing your food, and while the cast iron pan is still hot, add 1 cup of water.
Let water sit in the pan while you eat.
After dinner, use a metal spatula and scrape the stuck-on bits, pulling up as much of the stuck-on food as possible.
Drain the nasty water.
IF no stuck-on bits remain, simply wipe the pan well with a very hot, clean rag. Let the pan dry.
IF stuck-on bits DO remain, add 1-2 tablespoons of table salt to the pan.
Using your fingers, rub the salt all over the stuck-on bits and scrub them away. A little elbow grease goes a long way!
Scrub, scrub, scrub until the bits are totally off the surface of the pan.
Once the bits are pulled up, simply rinse the pan with hot water.
Wipe the pan thoroughly with a clean, hot rag.
Dry and put the pan away!