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I clean all my cast iron pans with kosher salt. Rinse/scrape the big bits of food off, then dump about a TB of salt on the pan and scrub. Works like a charm!

ditto - i have a scrub brush i only use for my cast iron, and when it gets icky, i put one drop of soap in there and scrub away. then re-oil before putting away of course.

it's really hard to get / keep a good season on a cast-iron grill pan, because as you've learned, you have to scrub it way too much.

I have a bunch of cast iron I've seasoned myself, over the years, and it is a dream to cook with. But I've never really managed to keep a good season on the grill pan.

Salt is the best thing for cleaning, definitely. And a very light oil after every use.

I've never really understood where that "don't use soap" thing comes from. I grew up with cast iron pans and they all got washed in the same soapy water as the rest of the pans. Those pans were fabulous and I think it's really just a matter of being seasoned over the years. I wash my (much newer) pan with soa and it's just fine. Just make sure to dry it so it's not sitting with water and slowly build up the layer of seasoning. You can oil it after drying if necessary. If something gets really stuck and won't come off with the plastic choreboy, then I scrub it with steel wool and re-season, focusing on that spot.

I use soap on mine and it hasn't killed me yet. Cost plus had pot brushes a while back and I use one of those but even so, it's kind of a pain. If it's bad, but not so bad you want to use steel wool and reseason, try using a thick paste of baking soda and a cloth (or your hands). I've had really good results doing that, though it does take some of the seasoning off.

With my cast iron grill pan the key for me is getting the sticky stuff out of the grooves before it sets up. I lift it off the burner as soon as I'm done cooking and give it a quick rinse and scrub with a very firm bristle nylon brush. I dry it with a paper towel and put a little oil on if it looks too dry.

Soap won't kill a cast-iron pan, but soap and scrubbing and not-re-oiling it afterwards, will.

The key is to remember that you can use a bit of soap and elbow grease, but only if you remember to re-oil it afterwards. I tend to put the clean but slightly de-greased pan on a hot burner to dry it out, and when it's dry but still quite hot, rub a tbsp or so of oil (whatever I have handy -- olive oil is normally recommended against, but's that what I have handy, and it works fine) with a wadded up paper-towel.

oh, and make sure to cook alot of bacon in it. Great for seasoning the pan, and great for breakfast.

I have one of those Lodge pans and use it nearly every day; no problems at all cleaning it. I use hot water and a heavy duty scrub brush from Target (meant to use on floors) and scour it for a few minutes and it is fine. I've never used soap on it.

The kosher salt idea is interesting; I may give that a try some time.

I've never used the kosher salt trick; hmm...

But the 'no soap' idea came from dishwashers, I think. The heat-chemical combo of the dishwasher strips the seasoning right off. Regular dishsoap, on the other hand, is fine.

The key to avoiding the grimy film is making sure you don't put your cast iron pans away too oily. A lot of people rub their pans down with a thin layer of oil after use. That's great if you're going to use the pan again in two days, but if the pan is going to sit and collect dust for a couple weeks, it'll end up with a nasty, sticky film that's just about impossible to remove without ruining the season.

As for cleaning, I have much better luck cleaning my cast iron pans while they're still warm. Usually a paper towel will do it. If I let them sit for a few hours (worse, overnight), I'm in for a lot of scrubbing with a brush and hot water.

when i use my cast iron pan, i put a bunch of kosher salt and a small amount of oil in and use that to clean it. unfortunately, im using a little more kosher salt than i would like, so i don't use my pan nearly as much as i want to. :/

Clean it while it's warm and then put it back on the burner to dry out completely. Then put it in the cupboard with a layer of papertowels on top so it doesn't get all dusty or banged up by other pots.

Hot pan, cold oil. Always heat the pan first before you oil it and cook. Nothing sticks, it furthers the seasoning. Always let the pan cool before you wash it with soap & water. Don't soak it.

My mother gave me her cast iron pans before she died 13 years ago. She put a little handwritten note in them with the above info and it is all true. They are still going strong, some of them close to 60 years old. Sometimes I do something dumb like soak them, and then I just cook in them like nothing happened. It works. Occasionally I have to scrub or scrape stuff (I use a flat scallop shell for this).

PS. The salt trick works, but it's too expensive!

No soap! No steel wool! Definitely use coarse salt; nothing fancy, just coarse sea salt from the big grocery store. A couple tablespoons of that with a splash of water, and you've got a natural abrasive cleaner that won't harm the finish. After you've rubbed out the goo, rinse it and dry it immediately (to avoid rust).

For more reading, check out this post from Michael Ruhlman's blog:
http://blog.ruhlman.com/ruhlmancom/2008/07/elements-cast-i.html

I'm a big Lodge fan.

1. Even though a lodge pan may say it's preseasoned (the lodge logic line), I would still season it anyways before using. I use shortening.

2. I wait for the pan to cool and only use a sponge - no soap - to wipe clean. Towel dry immediately after. I don't oil it afterward.

3. I store all my lodge pans (3) in the oven.

David

I'm a heathen. I use soap and water and a regular dish brush. Sorry.

In fairness, I did manage to snag one in the garbage room of my apt building that someone tossed out a while back.

http://flickr.com/photos/rhoran/181812826/

To clean my cast iron pan, I also use kosher salt. I Just heat the pan, dump in some kosher salt and use a paper towel to scrub out the bits and the salt absorbs most of the grease. Once it's done most of it's job, I was it with water and then put it back on the heat to dry it really quick. Sometimes when its drying I'll wipe it down. If it's still hot you can re-season it really quick with some oil and that way it's ready to go next time.

It's a really quick process and you get a nice seasoning going without scrubbing it all away with brushes all the time.

I love cast iron . I bought a griddle from older gentleman at a garage sale for a $1.00 about 20 years ago. He told me they use to clean it with sand. I think he live near the ocean when he was kid. I never try it but have thought about it several times in the last several years. I still have the griddle and make my pancakes and grill cheese on it. Now I thinking about trying the salt.

Interesting kosher salt technique. I also layer paper towels between my nested cast iron pans.

Oh my, I had this problem with a brand new grill cast iron pan and it sat for a few years unused, as it was so much work trying to clean out gunk from the grooves. The salt didn't work and I think contributed to the problem. I finally just took a deep breath and used a combination of repeated scouring and patient cleaning with a toothpick to get it clean like new. I think the problem was I did not season it properly and stuff just stuck after I used it the first time. I did not have this problem with my regular cast iron pan.