Easily Clean your Cast Iron Like a Pro!
There's a big myth that cast iron is hard to clean and take care of. Stick around because we've got some easy methods to clean your cast iron.
#castironcooking #cowboycooking #castiron
Stay in touch with more recipes and upcoming events in our email newsletter: kentrollins.com/email-sign-up/
Used in this video:
Mesquite wood spatula www.kentrollins.com/shop
Rode wireless mic: amzn.to/2ShDyEq
For more suggested products seen in our videos click here: www.amazon.com/shop/cowboyken...
Check out our BEST SELLING cookbooks, A Taste of Cowboy and Faith, Family and the Feast. Get your copy here: www.kentrollins.com/shop
Also available at bookstores nationwide, and Amazon amzn.to/2uBl4EM
---------------------------------
Connect with us!
/ cowboykentrollins
/ cowboykentrollins
/ kent_rollins
---------------------------------
Kent Rollins
Cowboy Cooking, Cast Iron, Outdoor Cooking, Grilling, Dutch Oven Cooking
Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links, meaning at no additional cost to you, we may receive a commission for your click through and purchase.
I'm 68 in a month and my mother always cooked with iron. She cleaned it the same as you do Sir. I showed my two daughters and they do it the same way. Can still remember her telling me "if I catch you washing your cast iron with soap or using metal in it I'll get the wood spoon"! And Sir you never wanted to see that wood spoon! LoL thank you Sir for all your hard work and time. 🤠
Ohhhh I wish I had someone around to educate me on my first set of cast irons. I usually go on a week or 2 hunting trip every year. I was at the sporting goods store picking things up. They got a whole set of cast iron cookware on sale at what seemed a good price. It was $35 for a Dutch oven, a skillet, a flat skillet, and a really tiny skillet. I have zero idea what cast iron even is as far as cookware goes. I just knew I could cook on a fire with it. So I get the set and am just absolutely miserable with it the whole entire hunting trip. Everything is sticking in it and I’m burning everything 🤦🏻♂️ 😆. I was sooooo pissed off at that crap! I get home and I think, I ended up selling that cast iron in a yard sale. This was a long time ago before the internet had really gotten going, it was around but it was early on. Anyways bring in the internet and KZhead and Cowboy Kent. I see the videos on cast iron and decide I’m going to give it another shot. I got a skillet first and followed all the steps built a nice seasoning and all was good. I slowly started adding pieces and have a decent set now. It really sucks that I got rid of the first set I bought. It was a really cool Lodge set that had wildlife scenes like embossed on the bottom of the pans. I have pretty much gotten all the pieces that were in it plus a few more pieces. The only one I still don’t have that was in the set was a Dutch oven. Eventually I’ll probably get one but I haven’t went hunting in a few years now, and I’m not sure whether I would use it at home much. I use the other pieces all the time and am a big cast iron fan now that I learned how to start it, how to cook in it, and how to clean it.
Oh, the wooden mixing spoon! It never hurt but it did send a message.
I use metal in mine without any problems.
I've got my biscuit and cornbread Irons and nothing , I mean nothing else is cooked in them, the bread is perfect every time and the Irons are wiped out ,seasoned and put away. Then I have my other Irons and they all have their own story but I will only mention my hamburger or fried chicken Iron because its depressing, they get so bad that you can forget washing them , they require a sharp steel spatula scraping like a wild man with brute force........after boiling the Hell out of it ( I believe Satan is in there ) Then I dry it and season it again , put it away knowing that within a week or so.........Hell will once again be unleashed and the battle will rage on !🤪🙏🤣🤔
Happy birthday!
Found a campfire chard up cast iron in a thrift store. Bought it for $9.00. Took it home and cleaned it up. Turned out to be a 1940 Griswold. It's now my favorite skillet. Love the videos. Keep it up.
i just found an old wagner that looked like that. lye bath took it all off and it looks brand new now
I have my grandmother's cast iron set and I am soon to be 80 years old myself. This set has 2 skillets, one is made to turn upside down as a lid for the other one,or use as a separate skillet. I just love it
👍
I found a great skillet for $3 at a thrift store.. Someone burned it and made a mess. I restored it and now it lives a different life. Thank you Cowboy
Sometimes those campfire chard cast iron pieces get ruined because they get too hot. Sometimes they get warped and a lot of times they will never take a seasoning. Stay away from a reddish colored piece of cast iron. My husband uses electrolysis. Much safer and does a really good job.
Years of cooking with cast iron and it was last year watching your how to clean/season cast iron that improved my cooking and preventing things sticking 100%. You are a legend sir! Thank you.
God no never use water I use aluminum foil and that's it and my cast has been nonstick since my grandfather
@@mkingsley050967 No. Just no...
@@mkingsley050967 then you don't need cast iron then
Nothing I appreciate more than advice from a cowboy 🙏🏻💪🏻
You should check out the K R documentary on Gallery America .
@@tedcorey3054 I will do that! Thank you!
No belt buckle. NOT a cowboy
Been cookin on cast iron for 40 plus years, and the one thing I found that cleans really well is a bamboo cleaning whisk from restaurant supply places. They are used for cleaning Woks at Chinese/Asian restaurants. Hot cast iron, hot water and the whisk, it's abrasive enough to remove anything stuck but doesn't hurt the seasoning. Seeing that Dutch oven makes me want to go make some peach cobbler or apple crisp.
good idea, thanks!
Was at my cousins last night and we were discussing cleaning cast iron. Then this morning I get up and there is a new video from Cowboy Kent Rollins on what? Cleaning cast iron. Epic! God bless y’all.
Google knows
Not a coincidence. Snowden told us all about this over a decade ago.
When my grandmother passed there were a number of us grandchildren that were dividing up her possessions. Everyone was going after the jewelry and such. I came across her cast iron skillet that she used to make fried chicken for us in and someone had put it and left it in the dishwasher and it was just as Rusty as you can imagine but that is the number one thing I demanded that I got. I had to take my drill and a metal bristle brush on the end of it and Polished it down to where is actually shiny and then do the whole re-seasoning process. It worked
I bake w my hubs grandmother all the time. She’s not doing very well memory wise now but before she got so forgetful, she gave me her wooden spoon and it is a treasure in my kitchen. I’m a foodie anyway but I think food memories w family is the best!
I say you made the right choice.
😮
Oof..... 😢
I would like to see an actual demonstration of cleaning a camp 12" dutch oven. I find doing one difficult and then I am not sure I get it seasoned well afterwards. The visual would really help. Thanks for all your advice. See ya down that dusty trail!
My grandma cooked for seven boys and seven girls and my grandpa, I have two of her skillets, been using them for 25 years, still going strong. I use a metal spatula and scrape it, keep them oiled and seasoned.
I got started with cast iron several years ago after watching your videos. Just love it. The steam method is an awesome way to clean cast iron. Your absolutely correct that everyone will fight over the cast iron when you are gone!!
At 6:19 glad you brought that up. I'm a single guy and frequently I'll eat immediately after the food is out of the skillet because I don't want my food to cool down while cleaning. Particularly fried eggs or just anything that you don't want to cool down too much. However if it's something that will stay warm for a while, or that doesn't matter if it cools down, I'll go ahead and clean my pan while it's already hot. Now I know you can put your food in a warm oven to keep your food warm while you do the cleaning, but personally I'll just clean it later most of the time. I've found that sometimes an oven used for warming stays on for a while longer than you anticipated for various reasons, particularly if cleaning more than one pan, and depending on how much cleaning is required. Sometimes it would use less electric/gas to eat your food and just re-heat and clean the pans later.
Mr Kent, your wisdom and country boy humor is the BEST!! I enjoy all the videos so much. I’m a outdoor cooking cast iron loving Italian Cowgirl from southeast Texas Hugs to you BOTH 😊
Thanks so much
I love your videos Cowboy Kent. Me and my 3 year old daughter watch you together every week. She says "I love Cowboy Kent".
Be sure and tell he howdy for me
@@CowboyKentRollins yes sir I sure will. God bless you
Love how specific and detail this video is!
This video on cleaning and maintaining cast iron cookware is the best on KZhead!!! You answered ALL of my questions in this video. Thanks so much, Kent! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
These periodic updates and reminders on cast iron care are the best way to keep the quality of cooking at its best, and who better to explain it than the true expert himself. I am one who bought my first cast iron because of Kent and Shannon and truly enjoy my slowly expanding collection which means taking care of them. Great video again from the best.
Thanks Kent, appreciate all the great information and recipes that you give out.
There's definitely a lot of chemistry going on there with the cast iron. It's a labor of love to get the pan to consistently perform and look great too, but with the good tips and tricks it's worth the effort. Thanks Kent, you rock.
Had the privilege of listening to you give some of this advice, at Silver dollar city a couple years back. Thanks for the good information.
I am so glad I found you on KZhead. My dear grandmother did her cast iron the same way. Thank you for reviving the memories.
Loved this. Such great advice. Ones I've used for sure before on all kinds of different pieces. Thanks Kent for such great CLEAN content for all to view and that are family friendly. God Bless my man.
Valuable information for sure. I’m still new to cast iron and I really look forward to getting better at cooking with it.
That's exactly how my Granny Hodge showed me when i spent summers with her, seeing you doing it brought back many a fond memory ! Thank you Mr Rollins and keep em coming !
Well, bless your heart, Kent and Sharon! We appreciate y'all so much! ❤😊
I've used cast iron all my life,and your steam cleaning method is the best I've used Bar None
Yet again, love the the way you teach cleaning cast iron , you are the best!! Semper fi
the calmness in all his videos, God bless you cowboy
I love my cast iron! I have my Grandmothers and its way over a hundred years old and still looks new and we use it all the time. Blessings.
Just last night I was watchin your channel and almost left a comment asking if you can please make a "how to clean cast iron" vid! And like magic, here it is!!! Thank you!
Great video and tips there Kent 👍 I remember discovering your channel years ago while looking up some restoration videos on cast iron. Been a proud subscriber every since 👍
My family has grown to love using cast iron for most of our cooking 😊
I apreciate learning this stuff when my dad passed away when I was really young... Not trying to get emotive, but I'm thankful for this content.
Hello Cowboy Kent. I do love every cast iron skillet, dutch oven, kettle, and so on. You are so right that cleaning right after cooking is the best. Just as you described it, hot water with a sponge and re-seasoning it after every use. You are the reason that I stopped using paper towels to rub them clean. In one of your older videos, you explained that using a paper towel leaves the material in the bottom. Thank you for all the videos that you and your wife share with us. God bless you both.
Never use a paper towel for anything. They are very wasteful and messy. You can get shop rags from an auto parts store (usually red ones) or you can get white ones. They are cheap, washable and reusable.
@@wastrelway3226 I picked up some cheap restaurant cloth napkins in white for holidays and then some red ones because they hide some of those BBQ stains better. I also got some bar towels and kitchen towels in white. I save a ton of money on disposables and now my white laundry loads a better size without changing the cost of my laundry or water use (finally made a real small load instead of a 1/4 load). I still use paper towels for some animal "accidents". Besides them paying for themselves in no time, my kids feel fancy LOL. I also use those shop towels and micro fibers, they last a long time and are great for many things. I thought it would be a big inconvenience and it is not at all, just throws off some guests LOL. But I save over $50 a month and have less trash.
@@wastrelway3226, I use the auto rags too!
Glad I came back for a new video. You're my cast iron idol!
Tremendous job sir! I was one of them that would boil the water in the pan, no more! Thank you very much for your channel!
Love this!!! How to use and treat cast iron is how I discovered your channel in the 1st place, many years ago ❤ thanks for all the advice
I’ve been binge listening to every video on this channel while I drive since I’ve found it. Really feels like family is gathered round and time just flies. Thanks Kent and Shan!!
Your spatula is fantastic, I have been using it for some time and love it.
My wife has a large skillet she got from her mom. I have no idea how old that thing is, but it's from way back. I know that. I have always wondered about the buildup on the outside, and now I know it is possible to remove and without causing any damage
You've been a great help to me. Acquired my cast iron skillet from 86 year old dad. It's been passed down a few generations. You are so helpful, Kent... THANK YOU! I messed up right from the start. I knew not to wash but boiling hot water really started the rust. I had to start over and I appreciate you letting me know I could fix it. Will be watching some of your other cast iron videos to learn as well. New subscriber too. You are awesome!
Back in early 2002 we had a house fire and my dad lost almost all of my grandmother's cast iron skillets they meant a lot to him, it's taken us all these years but we've slowly been getting him new ones. We love your videos, it's nice to see someone cook in cast iron like he does. Thanks and God bless you and your family.
I didn't mean to be insensitive, but I can't help but think. They're cast iron skillet. They should outlast a house fire, if you can dig it out of the ruins, I'd think they'd be usable again.
@@benedictjohannesikr I think the same 😢
I've followed this channel for YEARS now... Tried a few of the recipes... DE-HEE-LICIOUS! ✌ from Norway!
Due to my son’s food allergies and concern of cross contamination of foods, I do have to use soap in my cast iron skillets from time to time. But I ALWAYS follow that up with steaming off the water and then reasoning it the way you show. Thank you for showing us how care for our pans!
Thanks Kent and Shannon and the Gard House Dogs, great video!! Stay safe around there and keep the camera rolling. Fred.
I AM Still here , watching all these years , better than ever ! GOD BLESS ! KEEP ON KEEPEN ON !
Neat video. Stopped it toward the end to check out the store, playlist & signed up for the emails. Thanks again.
I put off using cast iron for too many years, because I didn't want to bother taking care of them. Once I finally broke down and got my first pan, I can't imagine cooking without it now. I love them and they really aren't that hard to clean and season. Thanks for the great tips, I will definitely benefit from them.
You, my friend. You are a National treasure. God bless you and your family. Looking forward to my purchase of your cookbooks.
Love your content. I am new to cast iron and was making lots of mistakes, started watching you on here and things started going smoothly for me after. Just bought me one of them mesquite spatulas from your site. Can’t wait to get it and try it out. 🍳🥘👨🍳
I hand wash cast iron in the sink with soap and water. Afterwards I dry it by putting it on the stove with a rubbing of olive oil. Then it hang it up in the kitchen. Now, I was digging in a destroyed homestead on a trail back woods in Richmond Virginia. I found an old cast iron skillet about 2 feed in the dirt. It was super rusted needing a lot of work. I took it home to Houston and started my restoration. I first placed it in the oven and used the oven cleaner method. When it cooled off I hit it with steel wool but that wasn’t enough. I used some rust remover as well. I finally hit it with a metal brush on a dermal. It took a week of cleaning to get it back down to metal. Once cleaned I started the seasoning process, which took lots of time but successful. I cook with that skillet all the time. I also found a Dutch oven in a backyard sale. It was also rusted needing a lots of elbow grease and seasoning. That one stays on the stove because I use it about every other day. I use it to fry French fries. I half cook them first and then take them out. Once they cool off I fry them again until the outside is golden brown. I add spices after they come out of the oil. The best fried on Earth. Great and easy cast iron cooking. Thanks for the video!
Great explanation on how to clean that cast iron skillet I thank you mr. Kent and may God bless you and yours.👍🏼
Another good video. We basically do our cast iron cleaning much like you do. On a side and perhaps positive note you now have the Original Seasoning in stock. So now and placing an order of your seasonings which will also have the Mesquite Wood Cast Iron Spatula. Gotta take advantage of the 15% off price by tomorrow!
I appreciate the video. I like to cook breakfast scrambles, steak, and bacon in my 12-inch cast iron skillet and this video taught me a thing or two.
Thank you Kent for a great and informative video!
Great informative cast iron cleaning video!! Thanks Kent & Shannon God bless you both!!🙏
Thank you again for another awesome video Kent Thanks to you I now have a respectable cast iron collection and I have no other skillets... ❤😊
My wife tried to hide/throw away my flat, wood spatula, which is perfect for my cast-iron griddle. I'm gonna show her this video!
Great tips! I do occasionally use one of those chain-mail scrubbers on my Wagner skillet for stubborn stuck-on food and it works great for me. I sort of “burnishes” the pan to a nice sheen. Course Kosher salt is my go to though most of the time.
Good to see you again Cant wait for the next one you are working on Take care!
Great video, I use cast iron quite often. Thanks for the tips on cleaning!
Thanks Kent! Keep the videos coming!
LOVE ALL OF YOUR VIDEOS GOD BLESS YOU BOTH AND THE PUPS
Gday from Sydney Australia, just seasoned my camp oven using your method,thanks cowboy 😊
I've used the nylon scrubber and hot water method for about 15 years. Works perfect for me. I also use a tiny bit of dish soap once in a while.
I have that mesquite spatula and it is AMAZING! Use it all the time with my cast iron and it really works!
🖐️ 72 yr old and still learning. Did not know about the soft scrubber but need to try on two 8" lodge skillets given to me. God bless y'all!
Scrubby is great on cast iron
Thank you! I will try that.
...a refresher! Great. Thanks for sharing.
I like using my cast iron so much :) Thanks for this video Kent! Love you and your videos!!! God bless you!!
Thank Ya Kent and Shann, I learned a lot about my cast iron today, I am much obliged!
I’ve have my grand moms 20” cast iron skillet since she died. It’s probably over 70 years old. I use a soft sponge with NO soap. Then I season it every time with bacon fat that I save. Just a small coating like a teaspoon for the inside and outside. Then in the oven at 350° for 35 minutes. That’s my grandmoms recipe and I always go buy it. And my cast-iron skillet is perfect! It adds flavor to whatever I cook. This has been used at least 5 days a week for over 70 years and it’s a special cooking instrument and I’m lucky to have it
20 inch cast iron skillet? That would co error my whole stove top, I bet it weighs 50 ponds.
I'm glad in the beginning you mentioned using soap. I wag mine with a little hot soapy water, rinse well, put it on the heat to dry well, and put a thin layer of oil everytime. No issues. Thanks for the video
I have a skillet that has been handed down for 5 generations. The hand written instructions that came with it includes everything you mentioned . But it says to put a big pot of water on the stove to boil for cleaning. Also one last thing and I quote" This aint no husband trainer unless you run out of cord wood"
exactly the kind of video I looked for a few years ago before I got my skillet and dutch oven great video, I've heard both. some act as though its a irreversible mistake to clean cast iron with soap, but my grandmother used a cast iron skillet all her life and always scrubbed it after so. to each their own
The space bit had me laughing, thanks kent. Your a gem
Kent! I was about to research this very thing. Thank you so much.
I inherited several pieces of Griswold cast iron and they look ok, however I would like to clean them up. Your video helped me figure out what I needed to do. Thank You!
Well, I love anything to do with the cast-iron. I just bought the cheap Walmart brand and I have to start from scratch. I was hoping this would show me but I’m sure it’s in your playlist. Thanks for sharing.
Perfect timing. Was needing to clean day after use making cheeseburgers. Worked great with little effort.
Love your videos and this one is a good one. I'd definately love to see one on rust removal. This is perfect timing. I picked up a couple CI pans at a yard sale that has rust on them and my house mate decided to soak my good CI fry pan in soap and water in the sink and it is worse than the ones I picked up. I've though about taking a wire wheel or wire brush to them to them and then re season, but I've held off the urge so far.
Best video on the 'net about this. Great presentation!
I got my hand up! Thanks for the share, Cowboy!!
Thank you 😊. You just answered my question about ridding the fishy smell in my cast iron. You are the fountain of knowledge for all things cast iron, from cooking to cleaning. So very glad I found your channel. 😊
🤚 This is my hands raised. I have learned and feel more confident! Thank you sir!
I just want to say, I have a cast iron that kept having everything stick. Saw your videos, switched to grapeseed oil and now it’s working like a charm!
I started breaking the soap rule…and I may never go back now…just a tiny drip on one of those scrub daddy sponges and that gets my skillet cleaner than it’s even been, without any seasoning damage that I can tell. I do use mine maybe 3-5 nights a week and I usually do a light season at the end so I use mine enough to have strong seasoning. Either way that little drop of dawn has made my life so much easier haha. Sacrilege!
Thank you cowboy I saw you on TV youtube clicked your screen. Your very good at teaching
I cooked Southern style hash browns on my cast iron almost every day for over a month. I just wiped it out with a cloth and re seasoned it. That built my seasoning super fast in that pan, so yeah that’s a good method if you didn’t make something that really dirtied the pan. I wasn’t new to cast iron when I did that with that pan and it’s absolutely the fastest I’ve built a good seasons like that. I’m glad I went on that weird kick of eating those potatoes like that everyday 🤣 Excellent video Kent, I didn’t need to watch this but come on, it’s a Kent Rollins video of course I’m gonna watch it 😆
I've cooked with cast iron my whole life! I've got about 8 skillets that are all sizes, a Dutch Oven, and a Grill pan! I cook all my food in them. I love my cast iron! Thank you Cowboy Kent! That's how I clean mine! 🙏❤🇺🇸 PS I Do have one that's got some rust on it that I've got to clean. Its one of my Grandmaws old pans that I had put away! I noticed it about a week ago so I've got to do that. I've been very busy bc we has really bad destructive storms that came through and knocked down about 50 trees! Alot of work! I'll get it done tho! ❤
Sending prayers
We got a new Induction stove and WOW.. i love my Cast Iron even more now. Re-seasoning is a dream now and hardly an inconvenience
Wonderful information...I raised my hand at the end...more confident...going to have a live cook along...I'am a Veteran thanks for the recognitio n
First I want to say I simply love listening to you. I have started a great collection of cast iron and love all of it. People who say it is hard to clean are just using and cleaning it incorrectly. I recently obtained a 6 inch skillet that needs some tlc. It will be perfect when re-done. I do enjoy finding and restoring old pcs. Your method of cleaning is absolutely perfect. Do it right every time and these are the best pcs of cookware out there. Plus they can last forever.
Thank you, Mr Cowboy. I’m a Marine Corps vet of thirty years service, and I love your channel and I love your patriotism.
Thank you Kent!! I needed a Good long Lesson on Cleaning up my Cast Iron Pans and Dutch Oven. The best Take away is the Wooden Spatula For Scraping off the residue...👍👏👏👏
My go to for when food gets stuck on is crank the heat to high medium, let it heat up for a minute, get hot water from the tap (about 12oz), pour into sizzling hot pan, and scrape with wooden spatula. Same concept as deglazing or making a pan sauce. So if I want to make a pan sauce I get a good stock and use it in place of the tap water.
Kent, almost two years ago you told me to go to that General-Dollar-Tree-Store and buy a Skillcraft hard plastic bristle brush. Awesome advice! I run the sink water hot while I reheat my cast iron. When the pan is hot and the water is hot, I take my glasses off (very important), and under the stream of hot water, the pan goes. Steam rises and I use that long-handled brush to easily scrub my pans. Best purchase I ever made to care for cast iron!
I REALLY need to season mine. Your pan looks incredible
This is exactly what I needed, just as I needed it. Thank you Cowboy Kent from a Dutch viewer!
Glad you enjoyed it
Thank you Mr. Rollins for the tutorial.
Good Afternoon My Good Big Bro Kent Rollins & My Good Sis Shannon Rollins
I think the biggest tip is less oil better results. First season is important and remember less is more. Bless you Ken! Have a wonderful summer sir! Love from New Hampshire 🇺🇸