Greasy cast iron pan
Another cast iron question: In my parents things, I found a cast iron pan with many layers of grease cooked on it. What do you think I should do to clean it up ?
Forum Discussion
The Mad Norsky wrote:
There are many, many sites that promote removing stuck on foods and such with a paste made of water and salt (up to 1/2 cup on some). Soap removes the seasoning in many cases, unless one wants to go through the seasoning process again.
For IRON Salt is a corrosive that produces iron oxide (rust) and when combined with water it will significantly increase the speed of oxidation. Chemistry 101.
Example: That's why road salts corrode the undercarriage of your car.
You should check those sites again. They're either wrong or they're referring to steel alloy pans that can resist rust. You can't believe everything you see on the internet as some of it is either poorly researched or poorly written; sometimes both. Go to the reputable cast iron cooking websites.
NEVER let salt come into contact with your cast iron ware for any length of time. Many Cast Iron Chefs do not salt their dish until after it's out of the pan for this reason.
The cast iron pros recommend 3M pads for light cleaning and for a thorough strip down/re-seasoning, the CI is either place on a hot fire to burn off the accretions or placed in the self-cleaning oven cycle. Allowed to cool until it is warm to the touch, it's then re-seasoned with oil.
