How to Clean a Burnt Cast Iron Pot

Even the most well-seasoned cast iron pot is susceptible to burned-on food, especially if the food is cooked too hot or runs out of moisture. While it may seem like a minor disaster, burned cast iron can be cleaned and ready for the next meal with very little effort. A burned cast iron pot should be cleaned as soon as possible, but even a long-forgotten burned pot can be cleaned.

Things You'll Need

• Wooden spoon
• Plastic kitchen scrubby
• Steel wool
• Oil
• Paper towels

Instructions

1. Fill the pot with water and bring to a boil. After the water has boiled five minutes, use a wooden spoon to begin scraping and loosening the burned-on food. This process may take 20 to 30 minutes to complete if the pot is severely burned.

2. Soak the pan overnight with hot water. Pour out the water and scrub the pot with a plastic kitchen scrubby to remove the burned-on material.

3. Scrub the pot with steel wool after soaking if the plastic scrubby can't remove the burned-on food.

4. Re-season the cast iron pot if the scrubbing process has removed the seasoning from the pan. Wipe the entire pot, both inside and outside, in a heavy layer of oil and place in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for one hour.

5. Coat the cleaned and re-seasoned pot in a thin layer of oil to store until needed.

Tips & Warnings

• Coarse salt and a sponge can be used to scrub burned cast iron pans if steel wool is not available. Cast iron pots that are heavily burned on the outside will require fire to burn off the encrusted material. Or the pot can be set over hot coals on the grill for several hours. Experts and cast iron manufactures have different opinions on the use of soap on a cast iron pan. Some say soap is fine; others say using soap requires re-seasoning the pan every time it is used. To thoroughly dry cast iron after washing, place the empty pot over medium high heat. Moisture remaining on cast iron can cause rust to form overnight. Cast iron should always be stored with a thin coat of oil. Lids should be stored separately from the pots.

References

• Cast Iron Utensils-Care and Cleaning, Michigan State University Extension
• Seasoned Cast Iron, Cleaning Cast Iron, Lodge Website