How to Clean your Cast Iron

So every great kitchen has got some cast iron in it

whether it's a Dutch oven or a skillet or a hot plate or something like that

But the one common thread with these things is they get really, really dirty

And you can't use soap and water on cast iron because it'll rust, and you don't want that

So I'm going to show you different ways to clean your cast iron today. If you've got a cast iron item that's really dirty

and it's got some stuck-on stuff and you just can't get it off, a good tip is to turn your oven on to 325

and have a catch pan down inside the oven to catch whatever's gonna fall off

And your oven is gonna do all the work here. Just turn the cast iron over, put it into the oven

and bake it for about an hour. And your oven will do all the work

Another way to clean your cast iron, and I like this way as well, and it's also something you should just be doing anyhow

is vegetable oil. If you've got some nasty stuck-on items on your cast iron

a tablespoon or so of vegetable oil on there and wipe it with a paper towel or a rag and it get those stuck items right off Now you also accomplishing the seasoning of the cast iron

which is something you want to do each time you use it. You want to season your cast iron before you use it

One more tip. This is the way I like to clean my cast iron. I take a coarse salt

and wipe it out. and that roughness just scrapes out any extra tough, stuck-on items you might have on your cast iron

So remember the coarse salt tip. That's a good one as well. But if you season and take care of your cast iron like I'm showing you right now

you can pass this on for generations. In fact, I've got some cast iron that belong to my grandmama Paul at my house right now that I still use

So take care of your cast iron. Remember, no soapy water because that'll make it rust

And if you like this tip, stick with us because we've got tons of tips just like this right here on the Paula Deen Network