Can I grind stuck on candy off a cast iron skillet?

[scotchleaf]

My son tried to make candy using our cast iron skillet. He left a nasty black residue which seems impervious to traditional dishwashing methods or steel wool. Would I do any harm just taking the power sander to the spot and grinding off the gunk? My wife wants to throw the skillet away...

 

[legato1]

I usually sand a new cast iron down to very smooth bare metal before i season it anyway so i dont see how sanding would hurt. Try a rotating wire brush on an angle grinder and then sand it until its very smooth and season it. Should be fine, i love cast iron.

 

[mete]

You can always start the finishing process from scratch with those.Have you tried to boil water +washing soda for a while ? That's how I clean pans that have a layer of that black stuff. Try that first.

 

[555]

I keep one of these by the sink to scrape off heavy carbon or burnt food. Just soak in water first to soften what you can. With this method, I don't find that the pan needs re-seasoned, unlike scrubbing with something does.

 

[SuzukiGS750EZ]

You can always start the finishing process from scratch with those.Have you tried to boil water +washing soda for a while ? That's how I clean pans that have a layer of that black stuff. Try that first.

I was going to suggest this as well. Turn the candy back to liquid and then maybe scrape it out with a spatula or something while it's soft.

 

[smokinbasser]

Not candy but I have had veggies in with a roast that charred to the bottom. I just put fresh water in and add heat till it softens up and can be scraped off.

 

[Gollnick]

In the worst-case scenarios -- and carbonized sugar is a really bad case because it is insoluble in water or most common solvents -- is use an abrasive to remove the residue, then sand the area smooth and re-season the pan. It's a lot of work, but it can be done with no real damage to the pan. Contrast that to a Teflon pan which would be irreparable.

 

[CrufflerJJ]

Don't throw the pan away. Put it in your oven & run it through a "self clean" cycle. That should turn the carbon stuck-on crud to ash.

After doing this, you WILL need to re-season the cast iron pan.

 

[De Plano]

Or start a fire and throw it in. You will obviously need to reseason it after and maybe sand or scrub it. If it 4usts. I have done this when a pan got too much build up on it. Well technically my buddy did it to my pan

 

[fishface5]

maybe try putting it in the freezer for a day & then knocking the residue off while frozen & brittle?

 

[stvpourciau]

Ive burned caramel in my cast iron and had it come up with boilng water In the pan many times

 

[beau5278]

The selfcleaning oven method or better yet the open fire method is the only way to go for something like that. If you sand or scrape you risk scratching or making a divot that will affect how the pan cooks. Just build a small fire outside in the open and set it in when you see the pan starting to turn red take it out and let it cool, just don't try cooling it faster with water. Anything on the skillet will turn to white ash that will brush off easily then reseason.

 

[Shotgun]

Have you tried to boil water +washing soda for a while ? That's how I clean pans that have a layer of that black stuff. Try that first.

This is how my wife and I clean ours. Never tried making candy though.

 

[zcd]

The selfcleaning oven method or better yet the open fire method is the only way to go for something like that. If you sand or scrape you risk scratching or making a divot that will affect how the pan cooks. Just build a small fire outside in the open and set it in when you see the pan starting to turn red take it out and let it cool, just don't try cooling it faster with water. Anything on the skillet will turn to white ash that will brush off easily then reseason.

You can also BBQ it if the fire idea is less than ideal for your location

 

[oof]

I'll +1 on the oven, or BBQ method. My old lady used to stick my cast iron in the broiler drawer under the gas stove for storage. Every time I pulled them out the season would be cooked off and laying in the bottom.
I'm not too sure about bringing them up to red hot or even close. There is a chance of warping or if not brought up evenly, cracking your skillet.

mark

 

[beau5278]

I've cleaned a lot of cast iron skillets in the past 10 years or so, I used a lye bath until people started to worry about chemical residue from the lye. I had heard of using a self cleaning oven but everyone that tried it said about how bad it smoked up the house. I had also heard of just putting them in a fire and I was leary of trying it on a good skillet so I tried a couple of cheap ones first, since then I've done Wagner and Griswold as far back as large block and slant letter and haven't had a problem with any of them. In the winter I just put them in the woodburner and in the summer months build a fire in a fire ring and lay them in there. It takes about 15-20 minutes to start to see the red, they're still far from melting point. I do usually turn them over for a few minutes on the other side but most time it's not necessary.Cooling is where you need to worry about cracking and I always cool them slow,I have yet to have a problem with any and no hint of warping. Doing it that way you can totally clean and season a skillet in about 2 hrs time no matter how bad they are.

 

[12345678910]

Try heating it up and scraping out the liquid first.
Then

If you have an outdoor propane barbecue, use that to do the self cleaning oven thing and keep the smoke outside.

Once it's all ashed = use a cupped wire brush in an angle grinder or handdrill to brush it out.




Of course re-seasoning is needed.

 

[jimh0220]

Burn, Baby, Burn! Cleaning cycle on the oven, or fire, or pour a little liquor in it and look like a French chef and all. A torch? Dunno if that would screw things up, but seems fun. Never tried the BBQ, but like the idea. You can reseason the pan in the bbq when you're ready to.

 

[heavyfoldersarebest]

Try boiling vinegar, might work.

 

[T. Erdelyi]

I've got a 70 year old Griswold 18 inch cast iron skillet, seasoned to perfection, on the rare occasion something gets stuck, pasta, caramelized onions, sausage or chicken skin, what I do is get the skillet screaming hot. Usually that allows me to get under it with a wooden spatula and scrape it off. This works most times.

I've had burned on cheese that I couldn't get up even with that method, asked an old Hungarian, (my 78 year old mom) how to get it off and she told me get the skillet screaming hot and then carefully poor warm water into the skillet, it gets underneath the burnt/melted lump and let's you scrape it off.

Then use coarse salt and paper towels to get any smaller residual leftovers off, rinse, dry and reseason. If your lucky you didn't do much damage and a light coat of oil on a hot pan is all you'll need, wipe of any excess oil and put into a warm oven till the oil isn't wet anymore.

Next time you pull it out heat it up, wipe it with oil and cook. Cast iron skillets are versatile cooking tools with a long heritage, Google the subject there are plenty of sites out there on the subject in regards to recipes and care and seasoning.

If your lucky you have an old relative or neighbor whose has one, I bet if you ask nicely they would tell you everything you need to know about care and use of a pan and if you're really lucky they might even pass on their 60 year old week seasoned skillet.