How Exactly Do You Wipe Out a Hot Skillet? Good Questions

Q: I'm all but brand new to cooking so this may be a rookie question. Since I got married I've been working with my husband's cast-iron skillet more and more. I love it!

Several of my favorite recipes, however, are "one-pot recipes" and call for the skillet to be wiped out between cooking two things — the meat and the veggies, for instance.

How does one go about wiping out a hot skillet, exactly?

Sent by Janice

Editor: Janice, that isn't a rookie question at all! It's always intimidating to be faced with a hot skillet that needs to be wiped out. In this situation we generally scrape out all of the first ingredient as thoroughly as possible with a strong rubber spatula. Then we grab a wad of paper towels and assertively wipe out the skillet, trying not to burn our fingers in the process. (This is one operation that just necessitates , in our humble opinion.)

If you want to put an extra layer between your fingers and the skillet, ball up a small amount of aluminum foil around the wad of paper towels, and use the foil as a handle. (Then reuse the foil for future one-skillet meals!)

Readers, do you have any tips on this tricky hot-skillet process?

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Related: Technique: Seasoning Cast Iron

(Image: Sara Kate Gillingham-Ryan)

Comments (11)

I wear a potholder on my hand when wiping with paper towels to avoid burning myself.

Hold the wad of paper towels with some sturdy metal tongs.

My methods developed out of trying to find ways around using paper towels at all.

I give our cast iron skillet a good scrape with a strong flat edged metal turner to get a flat surface. I clear off and dump out any food debris left from the last step and then proceed to the next step. If it needs any more attention than a scraping, I give it a quick rinse with hot water and a once around with a coir brush. Back on the heat and good to go.

Oh, and if there's a lot of fat, I pour it off first.

As Slow Lorus, I also scrape with my metal spatula, washing quickly if needed.

The only reason I can think of to wiping out between cooking two things is so that anything that may be sticking to the pan doesn't burn. I hate washing between ingredients since I feel this washes away the flavour in the pan from the first ingredient cooked in it.

I've never worked a recipe that called for wiping midway. However, after cooking I usually do a quick run with a damp sponge while my skillet is still hot. Cleans it out quickly, the sponge acts as a buffer between my fingers and the pot, and the dampness both helps lift off food and keeps the sponge from getting burnt. Alton Brown does something similar on the grill with a pair of tongs and a damp rag. Seems like it would be adaptable to mid-cooking procedure.

I think there is a word missing "This is an operation that just necessitates WHAT in our opinion"? Otherwise, great post, it's nice to learn these "basic" techniques, especially with the handy pictures illustrating the point.

How exactly do you wipe out a hot skillet? very carefully....

if you use lower fat meats like ground turkey instead of ground beef you can skip this step! or turkey cutlets instead of pork chops - i do that and save time.

Pour off excess fat. Use an old, clean kitchen towel in preference to paper towels if you have a washer. These wash out just fine and are thicker, more absorbent and protective of your hands.

Typically, I use a scrap piece of sponge that I use just for wiping out hot pans— swishing around a bit of hot water in the pan will loosen up the gunk, and wiping with the sponge will finish the job. (Don't use soap, though.)