A cast-iron skillet takes special care in order to clean it the proper way. A stiff, bristly home-made pan scrubber really does the trick. Whether at home or at base-camp out in the woods, here is a cast-iron scrubber that is handy, quick to make and effective to use!
How do you clean a cast-iron skillet?
Folks who get into cast-iron are a tribe in their own right. Gradually, we switched to using cast-iron for most of our cooking. Do make sure to check out my wife’s growing list of recipes! The cast-iron lends its own special, homey flavor to the food. Truly, I had never had Swedish meatballs quite like how my wife makes them in the skillet. It take’s it to a whole new level! But if you switch to cast-iron, you quickly find out that there is a special method to using it properly. Don’t be intimidated. Just keep reading.
Seasoning your Skillet
First you need to make sure that your skillet is seasoned. Rub vegetable or canola oil over the entire skillet, both inside and out. Wipe out any excess pools of oil with a paper towel. Then place it face down in your oven for 1 hour at 350 degrees F.
Cleaning your Skillet:
That oil you just cooked into the pan helps serve as a “no-stick” film. To clean after cooking, use a little soap as possible. The main trick is hot water and an abrasive scrubber. The food should come off pretty easily. You should not need to re-season every time. If you do end up using soap though, you ought to re-season the skillet afterwards. Otherwise, you might end up with rust on your pan and food that sticks more stubbornly.
What Kind of Scrubber do you need to clean cast-iron?
A green Scotch-brite can work. Steel wool is also good. However, let me show you a neat, organic home-made scrubber that also does the trick.
This cast-iron scrubber is pretty straight forward. You can use it till it wears out, and make another in five minutes! Using hemp twine and sticks makes the product completely bio-degradable. Shall I call it a Green product? ooooh man, now we’re talking trendy! A pan scrubber like this is completely utilitarian and basic in its day-to-day use. Yet I find it attractive in its natural simplicity. Now you might say: “But Nathanael, it’s just a bundle of twigs…” Yes, yes it is. Could you just go buy a scrubber from the store. Yes. Yes you could. Go right ahead. Me, I get pleasure in providing some of my needs with something that takes a little bit of skill rather than a bit of money. And I assume you do too to some degree or another. That’s why you’re here reading this after all, isn’t it?
Step-by-step process:
All you need is hemp twine and the twigs. First, cut yourself a pile of straight twigs that is thick enough to fit comfortably in your fist.
In order to get a bundle that is not all thick one end and thin and wispy on the other, I like to alternate the twig bottoms. To do this easily, I divide the bundle into two piles. Then I switch the second pile around so that the twig-bases are facing the opposite direction. Now recombine the two piles into one.
Now to bind this loose pile of twigs into a bundle. Tie them tight with about 3-4 ft of hemp twine wrapped tight.
After you are done with that, trim the ends equally to size.
That’s all there is to it. As I said before, you can either use it in the kitchen or out in the campsite. Scrubbing stubborn food residue such as eggs or pancakes becomes much less a hassle! If you are out camping away from civilization chances are that you had forgotten to pack something as basic as a pan scrubber. Well no worries now! Knock one of these suckers up and your mates will be complimenting your ingenuity! Of course, you’ll tell them all where you got the idea from, right? (wink)–Nathanael
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