Impossible to clean grill pan!!

amother

Slateblue

Sat, Jun 09 2018, 11:56 pm

Whats the best way to clean it? My cast iron grill pan is impossible to clean. Ive burnt chicken on it a couple of times and since then it has never cleaned properly!! I bought one of those scrapers on amazon. Any tips greatly appreciated!!!

amother

Apricot

Sun, Jun 10 2018, 12:24 am

I don't know if this will work if it's scratched but here's what I do: as soon as I am through grilling, when the grill is still very hot, I pour some water into it. The water boils furiously from the heat, and it seems to loosen up what's stuck on it. After the boiling dies down and the pan is cool enough to touch, I put it in the sink, pour out the water, add Dawn and more water, and scrub with a plastic "scrubby." If necessary I rinse, add more Dawn and water, and scrub some more. It works for me.

Bnei Berak 10

Sun, Jun 10 2018, 8:16 am

OP, are you able to place grill pan on your stove? If yes, fill it with a lot of water and add in regular plain sugar. Bring to a rolling boil and let it simmer for a while. Turn off heat and let it cool. Then clean with dishwashing liquid. That's all. Works every time if my cholent pot has burned.

amother

Brunette

Sun, Jun 10 2018, 8:24 am

Wow just Thursday I was cleaning mine and got frustrated, when I thought to myself, I gotta ask on Imamother!

PinkFridge

Sun, Jun 10 2018, 8:27 am

I don't do cast iron. But what I do is this: I have lots of old towels and shmattas. I rip off a length of towel, etc. and rub it off. If necessary, soak very briefly. (Sounds like a good idea to do when hot, as mentioned above.) Then rub, and dry well.
And throw out the strip or two of towel.

Amarante

Sun, Jun 10 2018, 11:00 am

I also find grill pans impossible to clean - especially since you are not supposed to scrub cast iron theoretically.

To get it clean now I would use one of those plastic scrubbier and just pinch it so that it scrubs along each of the grooves. It's very tedious.

Then I would follow instructions for curing the cast iron which is theoretically supposed to make it non-stick.

However, the difficulty of cleaning grills plans has made me stop using mine honestly because I dreaded the cleanup so much.

Mommyg8

Sun, Jun 10 2018, 11:07 am

Buy a new grill pan. I have the Calphalon grill pan (not cast iron), and I bought it years ago with a coupon from Kohls. It's pretty easy to clean.

amother

Apricot

Sun, Jun 10 2018, 11:16 am

I also find that if it's heated hot enough before you put the food in it, it sticks MUCH less. Also, I include a little olive oil in the marinade, especially when it's cutlets. I don't have much sticking.

amother

Apricot

Sun, Jun 10 2018, 11:21 am

One more thing: I've successfully cleaned VERY messy baked on ovens with baking soda and vinegar. It's MAGIC! I can't see why this wouldn't work just as well or better for a grill pan. You sprinkle baking soda liberally on the surface and then splash w white vinegar. (I am sure that if you care about exact amounts you can find them online but I just pour some on until it looks like a thin paste .) The bp/vinegar foams like crazy and at the end the gook is no longer stuck to the surface and can be wiped away.

Bluesky 1

Sun, Jun 10 2018, 11:59 am

amother wrote:

I used mine twice and I couldnt deal with it so I just threw it out. yes thats what I did. never buying one again

zaq

Sun, Jun 10 2018, 2:04 pm

Bluesky, you’re my soul sister! A dear friend gave me a “nonstick” grill pan as a gift. I was so excited, imagining delectable grilled fish and veggie kebabs every night. Ha! The food stuck, the heating was uneven, cooking took forever, and the pan was impossible to clean. You can’t scour coated cookware. I got rid of it.

PinkFridge

Sun, Jun 10 2018, 3:08 pm

Mommyg8 wrote:

Buy a new grill pan. I have the Calphalon grill pan (not cast iron), and I bought it years ago with a coupon from Kohls. It's pretty easy to clean.

My Calphalon (Pesachdik) is much easier to clean that my chametzdik one, which looks the same and is from Target, don't remember the brand. But even the latter one is holding up pretty well.