How I Maintain My Cast Iron Cookware

To clean my skillets, I scrape with a Lodge polycarbonate pan scraper (if needed) and then scour with a ScotchBrite non-scratch plastic scouring pad. These are green in color and have a wavy shape to them. I NEVER use soap and I never boil a skillet. (Boiling a skillet is when you put a dirty skillet back on a hot burner with water in it. You boil the water and it tends to soften the cooked on food in the skillet. This is not necessary, and I believe it is harmful to your seasoning.) Then, I place the skillet upside down on a burner on high (gas stove). Once the skillet heats a bit, I coat it with a very light layer of Crisco Shortening. Wipe it off REALLY GOOD with an absorbent paper towel and then place black on the burner upside down. Let it remain until it smokes lightly. Allow to cool. I do this just about every time I cook in a skillet. If skillet cools and it is still a bit tacky, let it stay on the burner a bit longer. Do this every time you clean a skillet and it will be drop-dead gorgeous in no time!