{"id":959,"date":"2012-10-07T16:11:00","date_gmt":"2012-10-07T16:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theshanty.us\/?p=959"},"modified":"2025-08-06T16:18:07","modified_gmt":"2025-08-06T16:18:07","slug":"clean-a-cast-iron-skillet-without-water","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.theshanty.us\/index.php\/2012\/10\/07\/clean-a-cast-iron-skillet-without-water\/","title":{"rendered":"Clean a Cast Iron Skillet Without Water"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>This is quick and simple. I don&#8217;t know where I learned this trick, but it works so well I had to share it. It makes cleaning and treating your cast iron cookware simple without risking rust or removing the seasoning from the pan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I start by wiping the big chunks out of the pan by hand. Then I use a board scraper (or a putty knife (I keep one with my camping gear just for this purpose)) to scrape the cooked on gunk out of the bottom and level the surface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"320\" height=\"240\" src=\"http:\/\/theshanty.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/20121006_172316_result.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-960\" srcset=\"http:\/\/blog.theshanty.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/20121006_172316_result.jpg 320w, http:\/\/blog.theshanty.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/20121006_172316_result-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 320px) 100vw, 320px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Then I pour about one tablespoon of kosher salt into the center of the pan. It acts as an abrasive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"320\" height=\"240\" src=\"http:\/\/theshanty.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/20121006_172401_result.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-961\" srcset=\"http:\/\/blog.theshanty.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/20121006_172401_result.jpg 320w, http:\/\/blog.theshanty.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/20121006_172401_result-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 320px) 100vw, 320px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>I then dump some cooking oil into the salt, about one tablespoon. This is the lubricant that the abrasive (salt) moves around in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"320\" height=\"240\" src=\"http:\/\/theshanty.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/20121006_172414_result.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-962\" srcset=\"http:\/\/blog.theshanty.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/20121006_172414_result.jpg 320w, http:\/\/blog.theshanty.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/20121006_172414_result-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 320px) 100vw, 320px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The next step is to, using 3 or 4 paper towels (one at a time) go in circles around the pan from the center to the outside, rubbing hard on the bottom of the pan loosening the fried on gunk. Repeat as needed (usually takes 3 to 4 times) removing some of the salt each time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"320\" height=\"240\" src=\"http:\/\/theshanty.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/20121006_172437_result.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-963\" srcset=\"http:\/\/blog.theshanty.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/20121006_172437_result.jpg 320w, http:\/\/blog.theshanty.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/20121006_172437_result-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 320px) 100vw, 320px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally wipe the last of the salt out of the pan. Then use that lightly oiled paper tower to wipe down the outside of the pan to treat it as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"320\" height=\"240\" src=\"http:\/\/theshanty.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/20121006_172727_result.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-964\" srcset=\"http:\/\/blog.theshanty.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/20121006_172727_result.jpg 320w, http:\/\/blog.theshanty.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/20121006_172727_result-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 320px) 100vw, 320px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>You will be left with a perfectly coated cooking surface ready for use or storage. If you happen to miss some of the salt, that&#8217;s no problem unless you are storing the cookware for 3 or more months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"320\" height=\"240\" src=\"http:\/\/theshanty.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/20121006_172732_result.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-965\" srcset=\"http:\/\/blog.theshanty.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/20121006_172732_result.jpg 320w, http:\/\/blog.theshanty.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/20121006_172732_result-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 320px) 100vw, 320px\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This is quick and simple. I don&#8217;t know where I<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":965,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[84,52],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-959","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cleaning","category-cooking"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["http:\/\/blog.theshanty.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/20121006_172732_result.jpg",320,240,false],"thumbnail":["http:\/\/blog.theshanty.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/20121006_172732_result-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["http:\/\/blog.theshanty.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/20121006_172732_result-300x225.jpg",300,225,true],"medium_large":["http:\/\/blog.theshanty.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/20121006_172732_result.jpg",320,240,false],"large":["http:\/\/blog.theshanty.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/20121006_172732_result.jpg",320,240,false],"1536x1536":["http:\/\/blog.theshanty.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/20121006_172732_result.jpg",320,240,false],"2048x2048":["http:\/\/blog.theshanty.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/20121006_172732_result.jpg",320,240,false],"chromenews-featured":["http:\/\/blog.theshanty.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/20121006_172732_result.jpg",320,240,false],"chromenews-large":["http:\/\/blog.theshanty.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/20121006_172732_result.jpg",320,240,false],"chromenews-medium":["http:\/\/blog.theshanty.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/20121006_172732_result.jpg",320,240,false]},"author_info":{"display_name":"chuckularone","author_link":"http:\/\/blog.theshanty.us\/index.php\/author\/chuckularone\/"},"category_info":"<a href=\"http:\/\/blog.theshanty.us\/index.php\/category\/cleaning\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Cleaning<\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/blog.theshanty.us\/index.php\/category\/cooking\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Cooking<\/a>","tag_info":"Cooking","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.theshanty.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/959"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.theshanty.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.theshanty.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.theshanty.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.theshanty.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=959"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/blog.theshanty.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/959\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":966,"href":"http:\/\/blog.theshanty.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/959\/revisions\/966"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.theshanty.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/965"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.theshanty.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.theshanty.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=959"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.theshanty.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}