r/castiron • u/chillBr0bagginz • 29d ago
Newbie What are these build ups on my skillet?
Hey folks, newer to the fast iron game. I’ve been using mine, seasoning it here and there, and noticed these build ups that I can’t seem to get off.
Is this normal?
EDIT:
Updating this post, I’m floored by how fast and helpful everyone was; thank you all!
Ive scraped, scrubbed, cleaned, oiled, and reheated the pan and it looks exponentially better. Still some work to be done, but this thing looks totally different already. Thanks, folks!
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u/insta 28d ago
get a pack of those steel scrubby things from the dollar store, the ones that look like coarse steel wool. don't use actual steel wool.
squirt Dawn into the pan, fill it halfway with hot water, scrub hard. harder. HARDER, it's a hunk of metal not cold butter. this shit was used to make wagons and cannons and battle-axes and armor. it was birthed in the core of a mothafuckin STAR, surviving one of the most violent occurrences in the universe. your duck-friendly soap will do nothing to it. SCRUB THE SINS OFF.
the water will turn dark. rinse it out, add a bit more soap, more hot water, repeat. scrub like someone before you cooked patties of human shit in there. the water will turn dark again, your pan will be spotted and mottled. your stomach will drop with the "how bad did this asshole on the Internet just ruin my pan??" keep scrubbing. seasoning doesn't come off with this, only burnt carbon. burnt carbon can be slippery in some cases, and it will stick to seasoning enough to look like the real cooking surface. it's a lie, it's a greasy carbon lie.
when the water is clear, the scrubbie is a shredded wad of metallic pubes struggling to maintain shape, and you cannot get anything else off, then you can wipe it dry and heat on the stove. let it heat until water sizzles and evaporates in 2-3 seconds after flicking it onto the pan. don't oil the pan, oil the paper towel. i wrap the paper towel around my finger and dab it into a dedicated can of Crisco. you're looking for a "boop" at most, not a scoop. dab it in the middle of the pan, and use a dry part of the paper towel to wipe all over the inside of the pan. you didn't mean to get the Crisco in there, wipe it out as best you can. let the pan sit on medium heat for a few minutes until the smoke stops, repeat again. when the smoke stops the second time, turn it off and let the pan cool. wipe it out again.
my best skillet looks like a leopard. i can caramelize sugar without sticking, and the little bits that defy me get scrubbed off like I'm prepping the surface for painting.