Lifestyle

How To Clean Skillet (When It Seems Impossible)

February 17, 2021February 16, 2021 by Azilde Elizabeth

I’ll start by saying, I LOVE my skillet pan! I have had it for a few years now and I can’t believe how I survived without it! It will last a lifetime. I use it for everything. From cooking vegetables, meat, fish, grilled cheese, pancakes and more. The only thing I don’t make in it is making eggs. I like using my non-stick pan for that. There are many articles on how to clean skillet pans. When it seems impossible, there is a way. I’ve tried many different ways from boiling water in the skillet, to adding salt to scrub the food stuck to the pan and scraping the pan! Here are my tips that always work for me!

How To Prep a Skillet for the First Time

Before you use your skillet for the first time, wash it with soap. Make sure you dry it completely and season with oil, all over. I’ve read canola oil is the best but since I don’t purchase canola oil. I use extra olive oil or coconut oil and it works, just as well. Bake your pan at 400 degrees, face down for an hour. Turn the oven off and let the pan cool overnight or for a few hours. And done!

First Time Using Skillet Pan

Once you’ve completed your first cooked meal using the skillet pan, add a cup of water to the pan. This helps break up any food stuck to the pan, if any. Once the pan cools down wash the pan WITHOUT SOAP. Make sure to always dry your skillet and seal the pan with oil. I add about a teaspoon of oil into the pan and use a napkin to spread the oil evenly all over the pan and handle!

How To Clean A Skillet

Overtime, a skillet will need reseasoning, especially when you use it everyday. Sometimes I get really bad burns on my skillet from cooking with honey or making chicken very well done. The pan ends up getting very crispy and even cleaning it with a brush the pan still has burnt pieces of food that won’t go away. Which at this point, I have to just re-season my pan. I do admit I tend to put this off, just because. The good thing is you don’t have to re-season your pan often.

Time To Reseason Skillet Pan

As you can see in the before and after picture below, my skillet now looks brand new! I had some pretty bad burnt food on there. It was time to reseason my pan a while ago but I kept putting it off and so those were the results for lack of caring for my pan. Whenever I have really bad burnt marks, I rinse the pan and remove what I can. I dry the pan well and add a thick layer of oil to the pan. I let it sit for a day to let the crispy food that is stuck, dry up. By doing so, it curls up and starts to remove itself from the pan (see pictures). It is sooo satisfying! Once it starts to pull apart, pull the pieces off and scrape off the rest.

Same Steps As Above

Once all the burnt pieces are gone, go ahead and wash the skillet with warm water and soap (optional). Dry it well. Oil the pan and bake it for 400 degrees for one hour. Turn oven off and let it cool in the oven for a few hours or overnight.