How to Clean a Cast Iron Skillet

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Over the years of owning a cast iron skillet, you simply develop a routine to cleaning your skillet as a means to ensure your cast iron skillet lasts a lifetime. While there are many tips online showcasing how you can clean your cast iron skillet, I wanted to take a moment to share a few tips that work every time.

How to Clean a Cast Iron Skillet

Step One: Warm Water

Wash your skillet by hand with warm water after each use. This ensures any leftover grease, debris, etc. from cooking is removed quickly and efficiently. Once you have washed your cast iron skillet by hand with warm water you can move onto the next step. You can use a stiff brush or stainless steel dish sponge to remove debris with this method.

Step Two: Kosher Salt

If you find that the warm water scrubbing didn’t work 100%, then you can use kosher salt to place on the pan, rub it around and watch as the salt works its magic to remove excess debris. Be sure to remove the salt completely from pan before moving onto next step.

Step Three: Dry Your Cast Iron Skillet

Be certain to thoroughly dry your cast iron skillet before putting in the cupboard or hanging on a rack in the kitchen. Cast iron can rust up easily if any water is left on the surface. Consider putting your cast iron skillet over low heat to make sure all water is dried before storing.

Step Four: Season your Skillet

Many people like to put healthy fats oil on their cast iron skillet before storing. This is completely fine and a great way to ensure your skillet maintains non-stick properties. Place oil on the skillet and rub it around, careful to remove any extra oil before storing.

There you have it, a few ways you can make sure your cast iron skillet stays clean while ensuring it lasts for years to come. Owning a cast iron skillet is certainly a good investment to ensure you have kitchen pans that last much longer than the average non-stick option in stores today.