# Cleaning a cast-iron skillet **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 3, 2010, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-a-cast-iron-skillet/523489 "2010-01-03T05:31:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jaledin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jaledin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaledin)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-a-cast-iron-skillet/523489/21 "2010-01-04T21:52:33Z")
> [@Contrapuntal](#): > > Actually it’s neither. A pan that has never been washed with a detergent and has been cared for properly will, over time, have a far superior surface than one that has. Nothing pretentious or fetishist about it. I’ve never noticed this. Given that I use a few cast-iron pans really super frequently, is this something I should try, or is this just a dogmatic POV? It’s probably not practical for me to do a real show-down of the result, but I’d accept some good folk wisdom and try it the OG way, if you’d give some propers for this method. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-a-cast-iron-skillet/523489/22 "2010-01-04T22:02:44Z")
> [@Contrapuntal](#): > > A pan that has never been washed with a detergent and has been cared for properly will, over time, have a far superior surface than one that has. A pan that was washed with detergent in April '09 and then oiled & heated after each use (several uses per week) since that time would have a surface _far inferior_ to the one that has never been touched with the Dawn? :dubious: I stick to my assertion. Pretentious fetish. My assertion is fact-based in the time-honored tradition of Cecil Adams. I first kept a nice Wagner 10.5" skillet completely isolated from any soap and used it for breakfast fried eggs and for fried chicken and whatnot for 4 years; the control pan, another 10.5" skillet, was washed with soap as need be, and was the preferred skillet if I made milk-based gravy or made grilled cheese sandwiches or otherwise cooked foods more likely to scorch or coagulate. Every time I washed with soap the one designated as soapable, it cooked less well for awhile then recovered. Its cooking characteristics were fundamentally indistinguishable from the “pristine” frying pan after a few weeks away from the soap. Around the 4 year mark, the “pristine” pan became a _less desirable_ pan to cook in because flakes from the top strata of oil-and-whatnot were occasionally cracking loose and ending up in the food. I poked at the mica-like areas where this was occurring with a knife tip but there was no clearly demarcated area that, if peeled off, was going to leave me with a flake-free pan. So I did the inconceivable: I took an old destroyable table knife and a hammer and later a paint stripper, a razor blade, and other tools and worked on it, carving my way down to the base metal, swapping off with brillo and hot water, and finally got rid of everything that wasn’t Fe. Washed it, dried it, heated it and poured oil on it and oiled up that raw iron realy good. Cooked like shit. But over the course of _months_ I kept using it, sometimes sticking it in a 400° oven all oiled up, sometimes just oiling it on stovetop after using it, and… it got better. Slowly, very slowly. Things would cook fine then a day later would burn or stick. At 3 months I was thinking I’d have to toss it out but then it sort of turned a corner and started behaving like a frying pan. Today it’s back to being my regular go-to breakfast eggs frying pan. It doesn’t stick, it doesn’t tend to burn unless I do something stupid like forget to turn off the burner after removing the food, …it cooks great. I wash it occasionally (with soap) but I try not to because it cooks so much nicer when I don’t have to do that. ---
**Author:** ![DC\_Hiker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e5b9ba/32.png) [@DC\_Hiker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DC_Hiker)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-a-cast-iron-skillet/523489/23 "2010-01-04T23:52:22Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > Ultimately, it’s iron. It’s not spectacularly fragile. You have to really work at it to truly destroy a cast iron frying pan. You’re right. But it’s not the pan people are worried about protecting. It’s the oil seasoning that they’re trying to protect. The oil that the soap is specifically designed to break down. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-a-cast-iron-skillet/523489/24 "2010-01-04T23:59:31Z")
If properly done, the seasoning should not be oily, and so it shouldn’t wash off easily, even with mild detergent. If it were oily, it wouldn’t be a big deal to replace it after washing it off. I’m pretty much with **AHunter3** on this - the EEK! Never! thing is OTT ---
**Author:** ![DC\_Hiker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e5b9ba/32.png) [@DC\_Hiker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DC_Hiker)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-a-cast-iron-skillet/523489/25 "2010-01-05T00:12:12Z")
Lodge Cast Iron Cookware : [Cleaning](http://www.lodgemfg.com/use-care-seasoned-cast-iron.asp#2) > [@](#): > > _After cooking, clean utensil with a stiff nylon brush and hot water. Using soap is not recommended, and harsh detergents should never be used. … If for some reason your utensil develops a metallic smell or taste, or perhaps rust spots (maybe a well-meaning relative washed your utensil in the dishwasher or with soap thinking they were being helpful), never fear. Simply scour off the rust using a very fine grade of sandpaper or steel wool and refer to our section [Re-seasoning Your Lodge Cookware](http://www.lodgemfg.com/use-care-seasoned-cast-iron.asp#3)._ Lodge Cast Iron Cookware : [Q&A](http://www.lodgemfg.com/use-care-help.asp#8) > [@](#): > > _ **Why should soap or detergent not be used to clean cast iron cookware?** > Soap and detergent are used to break down and remove oils. Since the seasoning of your cast iron consists of oil, cleaning with soap will strip or remove the seasoning from cookware._ Lodge has been in business for over 100 years. I would take their word for the proper care and treatment of a frying pan than some random internet guy’s anecdotal opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Purd\_Werfect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47c2d/32.png) [@Purd\_Werfect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Purd_Werfect)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-a-cast-iron-skillet/523489/26 "2010-01-05T00:17:47Z")
I have a Lodge and that dark residue worried me as well. If it comes off when I wipe it with a paper towel, then it gets in my food as well. Hence, my view of the pan is that it’s dirty. Mayhaps I’m too cautious. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-a-cast-iron-skillet/523489/27 "2010-01-05T00:22:50Z")
My mother-in-law’s ancient skillet has such a hard, old layer of black that nothing affects it. She has always washed it in the sink with all her other dishes, soap and all. I would imagine the OP’s is the same way after 55 years. One of my iron skillets, however, also gets that residue that the OP is talking about. I just wash it off as best I can in hot water and re-oil it. Someday, my pan too will have a thick black layer of impenetrable non-stick. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-a-cast-iron-skillet/523489/28 "2010-01-05T00:27:10Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > A pan that was washed with detergent in April '09 and then oiled & heated after each use (several uses per week) since that time would have a surface _far inferior_ to the one that has never been touched with the Dawn? :dubious: Yes. > [@](#): > > I stick to my assertion. Pretentious fetish. Whatever it is, it’s not pretentious, and it’s not a fetish. Unless you are using non standard definitions for these words. > [@](#): > > Around the 4 year mark, the “pristine” pan became a _less desirable_ pan to cook in because flakes from the top strata of oil-and-whatnot were occasionally cracking loose and ending up in the food. Then you weren’t caring for it properly. > [@](#): > > I wash it occasionally (with soap) but I try not to because it cooks so much nicer when I don’t have to do that. Yes, it does, doesn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-a-cast-iron-skillet/523489/29 "2010-01-05T02:05:11Z")
> [@Contrapuntal](#): > > Actually it’s neither. A pan that has never been washed with a detergent and has been cared for properly will, over time, have a far superior surface than one that has. Nothing pretentious or fetishist about it. Here, I think AHunter is right. Yes, it’s true that you do not want to use detergents, etc on properly seasoned cast iron. It ruins the seasoning, and it takes a while to get back right. But it _does_ come back, it’s not a forever thing. Mind you, it takes time and effort, so it should not be done. However, I have several cast iron pans, including one “rescued” from a “use a Brillo pad on it” dudette. :eek: Now, _some years_ later, it is indistinguishable from those I have “properly” used for decades. ---
**Author:** ![DC\_Hiker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e5b9ba/32.png) [@DC\_Hiker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DC_Hiker)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-a-cast-iron-skillet/523489/30 "2010-01-05T03:24:53Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > Around the 4 year mark, the “pristine” pan became a _less desirable_ pan to cook in because flakes from the top strata of oil-and-whatnot were occasionally cracking loose and ending up in the food. I poked at the mica-like areas where this was occurring with a knife tip but there was no clearly demarcated area that, if peeled off, was going to leave me with a flake-free pan. So I did the inconceivable: I took an old destroyable table knife and a hammer and later a paint stripper, a razor blade, and other tools and worked on it, carving my way down to the base metal, swapping off with brillo and hot water, and finally got rid of everything that wasn’t Fe. Lodge Cast Iron Cookware : [Q&A](http://www.lodgemfg.com/use-care-help.asp#6) > [@](#): > > **There is an area of the cookware that does not seem to be seasoned and is beginning to flake. What is this and is it normal?** > The area of concern is most likely caused by a seasoning bubble… A seasoning bubble may appear during the seasoning process and is not a cause for concern. Additionally, flaking and slight discoloration or a rusty color may appear. The flaking is carbonized oil and the rusty color is the first layer of seasoning. Rubbing oil into this area will improve appearance and seasoning. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-a-cast-iron-skillet/523489/31 "2010-01-05T03:32:48Z")
Another cast iron skillet care tip is to never cook highly acid foods in it. I once sauteed some fish and added lemon juice, and it stripped a big patch out of the seasoning. Vinegar is out also. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-a-cast-iron-skillet/523489/32 "2010-01-05T06:18:33Z")
> [@butler1850](#): > > I usually just go and cook some good oily food in it for it’s next few uses. I break in new iron (and reseason old iron) by making a few rouxs in them, which get tossed. High heat, nice and oilly contents, low risk and low cost. My mom has her **grand** mother’s chicken frying pan. A great pan with extra-high sides and a lid. This is iron that must be at least 100 years old. It is as black as Satan’s heart and as slick as snot on a polished brass doorknob. When she passes, that thing will be mine before her body is cold and well before my siblings could do anything about it. (Insensitive? Perhaps. But I love me some good cast iron cookware.) ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-a-cast-iron-skillet/523489/33 "2010-01-05T06:26:31Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > We have a skillet which lately seems difficult to clean. We go through the usual cleaning routine with soap and water (and sometimes scouring pads), and consider the skillet clean; but lately we dip a paper towel in cooking oil and rub the surface of the skillet and get a vague black residue! We’ve had the skillet for about 55 years, and used it regularly all that time. Is it age, or are we missing something when cleaning it? 😕 The OP states that **after _55 years_ of using soap, water, and sometimes scouring pads he is only just now having a slight problem.** When a cast iron pan is fully seasoned like my mother-in-law’s (and I would presume the OP’s), it has a thick layer of black on it. This layer is a lot like the plasticky yellowish-brown burnt-on grease that forms on pans like baking sheets or broiling pans. You can’t hardly blast it off with a sandblaster. Once you’ve got this, it makes little difference if you wash it with mild dish soap or not. The important part is to make sure it’s completely dry. If it’s beginning to leave a bit of residue behind, he probably just needs to reseason several times and not use soap in that time. Maybe it isn’t drying all the way before it gets put away and is oxidizing slightly. But hollering that one must never never never use soap is somewhat ridiculous considering the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-a-cast-iron-skillet/523489/34 "2010-01-05T10:39:27Z")
> [@Contrapuntal](#): > > > [@AHunter3](#): > > > > A pan that was washed with detergent in April '09 and then oiled & heated after each use (several uses per week) since that time would have a surface far inferior to the one that has never been touched with the Dawn? > > Yes. If a soap-washed-once pan is still inferior after many months of normal seasoning again, how is it even possible to season any pan, ever? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-a-cast-iron-skillet/523489/35 "2010-01-05T11:03:16Z")
{got way too mad} ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-a-cast-iron-skillet/523489/36 "2010-01-05T11:41:31Z")
> [@DC\_Hiker](#): > > Lodge Cast Iron Cookware : [Q&A](http://www.lodgemfg.com/use-care-help.asp#6) When it chips off into the food, are you supposed to just sit there and eat it? And when it only happens on the one that was cleaned, is he supposed to use the one that has more problems? Anyways, I have to agree with the fetishistic part. A guy does an experiment that produces results that weren’t expected by the purists. And rather than admit that they might not have all the data, we get this: > [@](#): > > Then you weren’t caring for it properly. I also don’t get the appeals to the past. So what if it’s been used for years? So has water witching… Just looking at the subject analytically, it seems obvious to me that there’s going to be a point of limited returns. After the pan is completely saturated, why would it need to be seasoned more? It makes a lot more sense that the general pattern is seen early on, and that people fetishized it to assume that even more must be better. After a certain point, it can’t matter much. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-a-cast-iron-skillet/523489/37 "2010-01-05T12:00:39Z")
That’s pretty much what I want to know. My cast iron pan is (as far as I can tell) fairly well seasoned - I typically clean it by pouring a little water in after cooking, while it’s still hot, then brushing it with a nylon brush. If there’s anything left stuck to the surface, it gets a further scrub while dipped in the dishwater (containing normal hand diswashing liquid), then a rinse and a wipe to dry. Now maybe I’m doing it all wrong, but why does it matter? Eggs don’t stick to the seasoned surface. Nothing really sticks unless it gets burned on. So what effect could I possibly be missing out on by sometimes using soap? The thing just works - how could it work _more_? ---
**Author:** ![butler1850](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@butler1850](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butler1850)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-a-cast-iron-skillet/523489/38 "2010-01-05T15:07:13Z")
> [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](#): > > I break in new iron (and reseason old iron) by making a few rouxs in them, which get tossed. > > \ > > When she passes, that thing will be mine before her body is cold and well before my siblings could do anything about it. > > (Insensitive? Perhaps. But I love me some good cast iron cookware.) Great advice! Some oil, and some flour are certainly cheap. And you’re not wrong about the desire to claim that iron. When Mrs. Butler and I were first together, she threw away a bunch of old cast iron, which admittedly, needed some TLC. She thought it was ruined. ☹ Once I explained the glory of the seasoning process, she was properly chastized, and we replaced it in short order. Makes great gear to bring camping as well. Cleanup riverside without soap is much more earth friendly, and easier than carting water away from the river and cleaning up in campsite. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-a-cast-iron-skillet/523489/39 "2010-01-05T15:44:00Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Now maybe I’m doing it all wrong, but why does it matter? Eggs don’t stick to the seasoned surface. Nothing really sticks unless it gets burned on. So what effect could I possibly be missing out on by sometimes using soap? The thing just works - how could it work _more_? That’s pretty much what it comes down to. If the way you use it works for you, then go for it. For me, the whole point of using soap is to dissolve and rinse away oil, which seems counter-productive to seasoning. Also, were someone to helpfully scrub out one of my cast irons with soap & water, I’d assume they also wouldn’t dry it thoroughly. I don’t wrathfully guard my pans’ seasoning so much as I want to avoid rust. Re-seasoning a pan isn’t really difficult, and in a way, “enameling” the bugger in a really hot oven is kinda fun. ---
**Author:** ![LVBoPeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/858c86/32.png) [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-a-cast-iron-skillet/523489/40 "2010-01-05T15:50:53Z")
I just bought my first cast iron grill skillet a few months ago (Lodge, pre-seasoned) and so far I like it and have been dutifully not using soap on it :). But it’s so dang smoky? Last night I made venison with a butter/mushroom sauce, filled the house with smoke (tasted ok, I screwed up and burnt the garlic, but it was smoking before that). Is that normal? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-a-cast-iron-skillet/523489.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-a-cast-iron-skillet/523489.md?page=3)