OK Seniors, I just bought a bodagious iron skillet, how do I clean it?

Question

I got it for three dollars at the salvation army, it is in excellent condition, no rust, but a little sticky, I want to clean it up, but the ladies there, said no soap, no water. They said to just grease it. Will some stranger has used it and I first want to sterilize it before I cook in it. Someone said I could burn it, I guess heat it up until red hot and then put oil in it. Also I have a smooth top stove, afraid if I heat it to red hot, it will cause my stove top to break. I know some of you seniors have used iron sklllets to cook in. What do I do?

Answer 1

I have always cooked in iron skillets and have a selection of 6-varying sizes. All but one were purchased used - rusty and old. All made in the U.S.....don't use the imports, while they are cheap, they are not made well and can crack easily.

The best best is to light your outdoor grill, get a good, hot fire going and shove the skillet into the hot embers.... leave it there. You might occasionally remove it, bang it on the ground a coupla times and replace back into the embers. Make the fire as hot as you can and make sure the entire skillet is enclosed.

After several hours, most of the gunk should come off the outside and, fer sure, your skillet will be sanitized.

Let it cool naturally for several hours until you can pick it up with your bare hands. Using steel wool, remove anything else that remains...on the inside and outside (if the outside bothers you). A wire brush that is used to clean grills is another good tool.

Then, put a tiny bit of dish soap in it and, using hot water, quickly swish around to clean it and remove any residue. Dry it immediately and quickly, then set in on one of your burners, turn up the heat and let the heat completely dry the pan. While it is still warm (not hot) use a good quality vegetable or olive oil. Start with a small amount - you can always add more. Rub the oil on all inner surfaces and rub it well, making sure all sides and the bottom are completely covered. Using clean paper towels, "shine" it by rubbing it really good to remove excess oil.

The best way to further season the pan before general use is to fry potatoes in it. Use a goodly amount of high quality oil or - the best is bacon fat. Using it strictly for fried potatoes seems to season it faster. After frying, while skillet is still hot, scrape the bottom of the pan to remove anything that has stuck. It's ok to add a little bit of water to help...the pan is hot enough and the water will evaporate quickly.

Treat it with the oil routine again.

A newly seasoned iron skillet should be used several times cooking "fatty" foods like bacon, ham, pork chops and such. The fat from those products help with the seasoning process-and they just taste better somehow!

Your used skillet should be ready for everyday use after a coupla months. I don't recommend you use the skillet for fried eggs though. Seasoning an iron skillet for frying eggs without them sticking is a long process and that pan should be used only for eggs, omelets and scrambles.

Good luck. It's a process worth doing. Nothing beats an iron skillet. I bake all my roasts and stews in them, fry chicken and even bake cornbread in them. Pancakes are delicious. About the only thing I don't use them for are for "saute" thingies...like shrimps or stir-fry things. I have a 14 inch heavy aluminum saute pan for that.

Answer 2

If you live where you can build a bon fire, do like your foremothers used to do, and toss it in the fire to clean it. That does take off all the seasoning and junk off of it. If you can't do that, put oven cleaner or grill cleaner on it and get all the junk off that way, then scrub it good with a Brillo pad, and wash it. When you are done with that, set it on a hot burner and dry it, that will help keep it from rusting. But you are not done yet, you need to season it so things don't stick to it. You take some lard (vegetable oil will not work, it will just make it sticky all over again). Put the lard in the skillet and put it in the oven on low heat and let it bake all night. Next day, drain the rest of the lard, let it cool and then wash it in soapy water and let it dry thoroughly. Now it's ready to use! I have about a dozen cast iron skillets and dutch oven, and corn meal pans,and I use them every day. Every day that I can be convinced to cook, that is, lol. When they get stuff cooked on them, I just let them soak for awhile , then wash them, if I need to, I use a plastic (not metal) scrubber. Eventually they will build up a new crust on the outside, but I think that just makes them cook better, something about the carbon buildup making them heat more evenly. (And that will be your crust, not some stranger's!) Be sure you get it dry after using, nad it doesn't hurt to take a paper towel with some olive oil and wipe it with it before you put it away.

Answer 3

By "no soap, no water", the good ladies meant not to throw it into soapsuds in the sink, etc. You certainly can take a soapy dishrag [wrung out pretty much] and scour around until the sticky goes away...followed by clean damp cloth wiped around. Best 'seasoning' is to wipe the inside with regular cooking oil and let it bask in the oven at about 300F for a few hours. The 'red hot' is a little extreme for domestic life...works great around the campfire or out on the prairie, and will guaran-dam-tee you won't have any resident bacteria or harmful debris...but your 'excellent condition' with no rust and a 'little sticky' just needs basic scrubbing, drying off [thoroughly] and then seasoning in a regular oven. The 'no rust' is a good indicator that someone loved it properly...but who knows what the 'sticky' came from. Any odor? Oftentimes oil left in and not wiped off will turn to sticky, which may be what happened prior.

Answer 4

I have used them for years. My dad showed me how to season them. The key is nothing in the skillet it has to be clean. I wash mine with tepid water and soap. Dry it out and put it on the stove with a bit of cooking oil in (virgin etc. will sour) once it is hot I take it off the burner, use a wad of paper towels and wipe out--it is ready to go the next time. If you just cook bacon or something greasy then I use a razor blade to scrape the 'stuff' off and scrub out with paper towels, no need to do the heat and oil. I have skillets, chicken friers and little ones I use for eggs. Hope this makes sense 'cause it works.

Answer 5

Once my cast iron cookware has been seasoned, I normally only wipe out the debri from cooking...sometimes I'll rinse with clean water and then hand dry right away.

You could wash your skillet with hot soapy water, once. Then you will need to season it. Wash the skillet. Dry it with a paper towel or cotton rag, don't worry if you see black marks on the rag. Then lightly coat the inside and outside of the skillet with cooking oil (I use peanut or sassaflower oil). Then line a rack in your oven with a bit of aluminum foil. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Put the skillet in the oven, bottom side up, and leave it bake for one hour. When you remove it, be sure you use a trivet that can be washed or stand up to any excess oil.

The seasoning process keeps foods from sticking, prevents rusting, and will kill any germs...:)

Answer 6

Cast Iron skillets do not come with a non stick surface,
they get that way from "seasoning", this is done from heating the skillet with oil in it, we have had a lot of iron cookware some new and some used, while we would prefer to have the cookware "seasoned" we prefer to have it sanitary, and the old ones we would give a clean scrubbing before using, and then season it but heating it with oil in it.
however the best way to clean one after it has been "seasoned" is to turn it upside down over the fire and heat it.
a high heat will kill and bacteria that is on it.
but if you get it to hot it will also take all of the "seasoning" out of it.

Answer 7

Take another pan put some water in it, put skillet on it put table salt and load the skillet with the salt put it in the oven on a high temp, until the salt turns brown and swish it around and toss the salt away then oil it never wash in dishwasher and dry it right a way every time its washed retreat often the same way

Answer 8

Good grief...so much bad info about iron skillets...wash the damned thing like you would any other skillet, dry it well and smear Crisco on the inside with a paper towel...just a thin layer..the sticky stuff is old oil that has gone rancid...get rid of it and NEVER overheat an iron skillet! Us PAM to spray it before you cook in it, but other than that, you can wash them whenever you want, just remember to apply some "grease" to it before putting it away. There is nothing magical about an iron skillet, that is for sure, AND there is a very good reason they invented Teflon skillets! After you have used an iron skillet for a while, you will know why! Goldwing

Answer 9

Do not heat it till red!! Just heat it till really hot and keep it there for a few minutes and your fine. Using water to clean is fine in itself but you run the risk of rust. Using soap will distroy the fine non stick quality thiese have, but this will come back with use.

Answer 10

I use my mother's old iron skillet and totally love it. It is very heavy, true, but its wonderful nonstick surface makes up for it. I won't use cookware that has Teflon, and I have trouble with food sticking to stainless steel. To clean mine I just put oil or water in it and heat til it bubbles, then use a spatula to scrape it clean, then wipe it dry with a paper towel.