Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kosher salt, light scrubbing, rinse in water, than put on a hot burner to dry quickly. Once cool, rub lightly with oil, place a paper towel on top and put away. NO SOAP!

why kosher salt? can sea salt be fine?

Kosher salt is less expensive the sea salt plus the granules are larger and seem to scrub better. You could probably use table salt as well. Do not use BATH SALT! Read the news!

No soap.

Anonymous wrote:Kosher salt, light scrubbing, rinse in water, than put on a hot burner to dry quickly. Once cool, rub lightly with oil, place a paper towel on top and put away. NO SOAP!

why kosher salt? can sea salt be fine?

No soap on ours. Op if it gets rusty you need to go through the whole curing process again. If you really want to use soap get a Le Creuset pan, which is enameled cast iron so easy to clean.

New poster here, thanks, I do all of the above except I hadn't thought of the salt.

Kosher salt, light scrubbing, rinse in water, than put on a hot burner to dry quickly. Once cool, rub lightly with oil, place a paper towel on top and put away. NO SOAP!

I heard you can use salt as an abrasive if you need to get stuck-on food off. But soap's a no=no.

No soap touches my precious skillets. The seasoning builds up over time and provides the non-stick qualities that make it the best cooking tool ever. I inherited some of mine from my grandmother and they just get better and better with age.

I use hot tap water and a firm bristled brush that is used only for this purpose. Then dry it over a burner.

I use a little soap on mine too.

You can wash lightly with soap but don't scrub too hard and do not put it in the dishwasher or else you will have to season it again.

Anonymous wrote:Someone posted in the sausage discussion about this and I was wondering if others don't wash with soap too. I wash with soap and then dry with a towel before air drying. I know that is not what you are supposed to do but I can't bear not to wash the thing. I've had the thing for 15 years and it occasionally gets rusty but I wash the rust out then use and it's fine. Am I missing something?

In theory, the soap will penetrate the cast iron (cast = porous) and then seep into the flavor of the food.

Personally, I do not use soap. Instead, if it needs to be 'cleaned' I will soak a rag with oil and use it to rub down the inside of the pan.

If you are using a cast iron skillet, odds are the temp is high enough that it will burn off any bacteria etc that may be left behind.

This is just me though, and other may have different opinions or procedures!

I don't wash with soap. I rinse it well and then put it on the stove on a low flame until all the moisture is evaporated.

No way! The cast irons will retain the soap..

I do the same as you, and I've read online that it's fine to use a small amount of soap.

Someone posted in the sausage discussion about this and I was wondering if others don't wash with soap too. I wash with soap and then dry with a towel before air drying. I know that is not what you are supposed to do but I can't bear not to wash the thing. I've had the thing for 15 years and it occasionally gets rusty but I wash the rust out then use and it's fine. Am I missing something?