Just bought my first Lodge cast iron pan.

I never really "wash" mine. I wipe it clean with a damp rag and then coat with a bit of oil. If something is actually stuck on there, I use kosher salt and a little oil and wipe wipe wipe until it is clean.

Enjoy it, you'll have it for a long long time!

The best thing you can do is use it. Everything tastes better in cast iron. I love to bake in mine. Cornbread, apple crisp, biscuits, brownies. It's also great on the stove top for porkchops, chicken, gravy. I like to start on the stovetop, get a good sear on my meat & then stick it in the oven.

Am I the only one who hates cast iron? Dh uses it all the time, but the only thing I cook in it is bacon. It's heavy, I hate having to handwash it, I feel like it never gets clean is always grimy.

I must be doing something wrong if all the peas love it, hopefully you'll love yours too, OP.

I has bought myself one last Christmas and I still have not seasoned it!
I think I need to do that this week, I will go read what Cooks has to say! I have cooked in cast iron before, but I have never bought a brand new one.

I love mine and although I don't use regularly all the time cause it is heavy... it really is an awesome pan... I wouldn't trade it for anything. I need to start using it more for other things like baking..

I love my Lodge cast iron, I have quite a few.  I have the grill pan and I do like it, but this one is trickier to clean because of the deep grill lines. It is a great pan, the grill lines get nice and hot and really sear your meat well. The extra effort it requires to clean is worth it to me.

First, I recommend you go to the section where you got your grill pan and see if they sell the pan scraper cleaning tool specifically for that pan. I wouldn't be without it. 

You would want to heat it up really well, then add some neutral oil like canola oil all over it the first few times you use it, to help season it. Then cook your meat.

Immediately after you are done cooking, add enough water to almost the top. Let is bubble and get the gunk all off of it. I use that little tool right on in there while it's bubbling on the stove still. I know its plastic but I do this quickly and really get the stuff worked off. Then I carry the pan (yes, heavy) with pot holders right on over the sink, and douse it with the spray attachment. Anything that is still stuck on, I get in there with the cleaning tool or sponge and get what remains.  

I then pop it back on the burner and heat it dry. I add a small drizzle of oil again.  I make sure it is totally dry before I put it away.

If you let that pan sit, it's a bear to clean. You basically have to reheat the whole pan all over again, let it come to a boil again. To me its just easier to do it right at the time of.

My pan is at least 10 years old now so I never have to put oil in it anymore. When I wash it, I do use a teeny bit of Dawn. I don't recommend this though until after you've had it a while and its well seasoned. 

here is the scraper I recommend.

Lodge Griddle Pan Scraper


Don't give up on these pans. They are cooking gold once you've got them seasoned. 

I mostly feel like this too. But cast iron is superior for searing or browning on very high heat. I hate lifting and cleaning cast iron. 

i have the grill pan too....and this is exactly how i make my steaks

and cleaning it is kind of a pain in the ass but it's worth it

gina

This is all we use now, we have probably 6 or 7 pans and 2 dutch ovens. 3 of which were his great grandmothers.

Don't use soap, if something is sticky on it we use copper Chore Boy brand scrubbers. Dry on the stove top, I usually set mine on 5 (medium).
Then wipe with real lard from Goya or pork fat or duck fat from Epic (I get this from Whole Foods). DH is not a fan of using vegetable oil like
Crisco, he prefers rendered meat fat.
And let cool on the back of the stove. Once cool, wipe with a dry paper towel and it will be good to go for the next time.

i gotcha

i wasn't condemning the method - just never heard of it

i learned from my husband's gramma

i bet she had never heard of flaxseed oil!

gina

elaine, every tip or review from ATK has been spot on. I love my Lodge dutch oven. My favorite part is how easy it is to clean.

if you make cornbread in it - grease the pan-heat it to sizzling - then pour in the batter

it makes the nicest crust

we had it over the weekend

gina