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time to start over with a cleaning to the base metal so you can reseason the grill.
so whatever works to accomplish that is fine.
you could put the pan in the oven cleaning cycle, where the high heat will burn off all the grease layer.
you could use an oven cleaner with lye (easy-off or similar). You can do this with a layer of the product on the pan and close it up with a plastic bag or two to slow down the evaporation rate, letting it sit for awhile before cleaning again. Rinse and scrub the pan thoroughly to remove the grease layer that will be water soluble after the lye exposure. Depending upon the results, you may have to dry the pan and repeat the process until the pan is completely clean.
of course, as soon as the pan is clean and dry, you'll want to coat it with your new grease/oil layer and start the seasoning process so that it doesn't rust.
I am reviving this useful thread as I have been looking for a way to rid my Lodge cast iron indoor grill of a burnt rancid grease smell that gets into the meats when I cook them. What i read so far hasn't helped.
I have not had the grill for too long and the first few times I used it, it worked fine. Having followed the recommendations to never use soap on it, the burnt grease never cleaned well from the very beginning..and eventually I had to use a bit of soap as I was getting desperate to get rid of the rancid burnt smell.
Still didn't help.
There is now very stubborn, glued carbonized grease or maybe just carbonized food that won't come out no matter what I do. I used hot water but no matter how much I wipe with the paper towels, there is still black carbonized stuff coming out on the paper towel and the rancid grease smell is still there.
What should I do at this point?
Should I place the grill pan in the oven at a high temp so all that the glued-in stuff can carbonize...and then start all over? Cleaning with course salt and then seasoning, etc?
Fontucky above says that you're supposed to get a "flavorful layer of cooked-on natural Teflon"...but what if this flavor is plain rancid? Then I want it off.
Any advice will be greatly appreciated !
Disclaimer: This is sort of sciency so be forewarned, dear reader, it contains nasty little facts that may disturb small minds
I collected and use antique cast iron cookware. Here's what I do:
I just think I will have to start from scratch by burning everything off of it first so that all the baked-in black grease can come off; and then I will re-season.
I don't have many opportunities for outdoor fires so I was wondering if I could leave it in the oven when I do an oven self-cleaning.
Thing is i hardly ever use mine. I think i use it maybe 2-3 times a year. I just never find myself cooking something that MUST be cooked in a cast iron. Guess its one of those better to have it deals.
I just think I will have to start from scratch by burning everything off of it first so that all the baked-in black grease can come off; and then I will re-season.
I don't have many opportunities for outdoor fires so I was wondering if I could leave it in the oven when I do an oven self-cleaning.
If you don't use oven cleaning chemicals I see no problems with that. Believe me I had my own problems years ago long before the WWW when first collecting cast iron. I bought old cast iron cookware used on ranches intended for outdoor cooking that sat in barns for years. Bringing some of that stuff back was a challenge in some cases.
Here's a different perspective, the site is well worth reading, imo. Hang in there!
If the pan is hot and lightly oiled before you put anything in it food won't stick, that goes for any kind of pan/pot. If something does stick to cast iron some oil and salt will do the trick. Again the pan should be at least med/hot. I have a cast iron wok which I use all the time, after I cure it I put it in a hot 400% oven for about 10 mins. Just shut off the heat and let it cool down before putting it away.
...I put it in a hot 400% oven for about 10 mins...
That's three times better than the oven I use.
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