Be sure to check out these videos for other questions about cast iron and some of the problems that may arise from time to time: ru-vid.com/group/PL_5hc4Ydo7FlkzUVed7ztP_m8wP7K7isT
Thanks, Mike, this video should help most people with the black residue problem. I'm a member of a cast iron collection and cooking club and one of our members said it best: each pan is different, and each pan has its own learning curve. The important thing is to keep cooking with your skillet and do the post-cooking maintenance each time. The problem will eventually resolve itself. Whatever you do, don't throw away your pans.
Hi Mike! After watching lots of your videos, I started stove-top re-seasoning with avocado oil after every few uses. I have also started making cornbread in my 10". So far, it is working out very well. My Lodge skillets are turning dark black, have a mild shine to them and chicken breasts no longer stick to the pan. I have also started washing them after each use with hot water and a small amount of the "blue" dish soap. I have not noticed any degradation in the seasoning. I also started using a wonderful microfiber sponge with a non-scratch scrubby side that I bought from "WallyWorld". They come as a six pak for $10. Made by Scrub-it. This is all working much better than the labor intensive olive oil and salt cleaning. Much cheaper too. It seems the less I follow the RU-vid know-it-alls cast iron "rules", the better the cast iron pans perform. You seem to have a less is more attitude about CI care which works well for me. THANK YOU MIKE!
This was so helpful! I thought I was completely failing at caring for my pans. They're only a few months old and I've been using salt and mild detergent to clean. They're still slightly sticky when I cook so I'll just keep at it and follow these tips. Thank you so much. This earned a follow!!
I think the most common cause of black residue on your food when you are cooking is burning your cooking oil. If you use an oil with a low smoking point you are more likely to burn the oil faster. Try cooking on a lower heat and with an oil with a higher smoking point. Cast iron typically heats up much faster and more evenly than conventional pans.
I bought a cast iron skillet at a thrift store, it is in pretty good shape. I didn't know I'd have black come off on the paper towel. I burned off all grease, on top of the stove. It takes a long time, but it sure gets clean. Then you just have to season it. I also do that on top of the stove.
I have been fighting the black residue on a beautiful Griswold skillet I bought recently on a trip. I've scrubbed it, scrubbed it some more, used dish soap, scrubbed it again. No matter how many times I've scrubbed it, when I go to apply a layer of Crisco, my paper towels get black. They are getting less, but I've lost count of how many times I've scrubbed this pan. I was beginning to think that the seller had applied stove black to it in order to make it look beautiful! I'm leery of using it until I can season it without getting black on the towels!
I have usually seen that my newish cast iron rubs off a lot of black when i wipe it down while drying off water with a paper towel and after wiping off excess oil. But my well seasoned and much older Wagner skillet for sausage 😊 almost always wipes clean even after cleaning out all the burnt stuff left from sugars etc.
one thing that helps removes that black stuff from the cast iron, from what i find out, would be using salt and oil clean out that black residue from the cast iron considering the salt would show you that its clean, but that is what i have learned from those who does that route
A short order cooks grill top will be shiny smooth and clean. I sand my cast iron every year or so. I scrap them with my SS spatula and clean them with soap and water every use. I file the spatula sharp and have ground the corners to fit the pan corner. I do not have a black build up on the bottom. I mostly cook with olive oil and control my heat.
Could the black residue be related to the new pans being sold that come, "pre treated?" I have been dealing with the same issue. After two years of trying everything, the problem persists. This is not an issue with my old Wagner and Griswold pans. Something is wrong with these new pans and no amount of scrubbing removes the black residue. How are these pans being manufactured and what are they treated with? What are we eating?
NONE of these work for me. I can clean & scrub, clean & scrub all I want to with a mega amount of elbow grease and it STILL remains black. It's a Lodge and I've been wondering if the brand is the problem. My parents, aunt & uncles NEVER have this problem with other brands. I've tried the soap, salt, proper seasoning methods both on the stove top and in the oven and what a waste of oil, paper towels, and gas!
When i bough mine it had black residue. Ive seasoned it many times and it still has black stuff. I did get it from dollar general i dont know if buying it cheap is the reason why
I have been trying to use cast iron for years, and I absolutely hate it. I get so tired if trying. EVERYTHING sticks. They need to teach cast iron in high school. LOL! Thanks for the video!
My lodge gives off the black dust. Been trying to season it for over a year. Still does it. I got out sandpaper and sanded it smooth and seasoned yet again it's still giving black residue.
I got a brand new preseasoned cast iron skillet for christmas and it sticks really badly and has the black residue. I did the salt and hot water method and there is still black residue coming off on the cleaning cloth when i wipe it down
The sticking is probably because you didn't season it enough. If you can feel any of the texture of the metal and not the smoothness of the seasoning it won't be non-stick.
Hello Sir, Bought new cart iron vessel, its been couple of months haven't cooked anything in it yet because everytime I wash it, it turns the soap water black, washed it so many times with soap, liquid detergent, hot water, vinegar, baking soda, salt nothing seems to work, also seasoned it after every wash Please guide me
Mr. Cast Iron, I have an old cast iron skillet that I haven’t used in a while but recently fried some deer/ pork sausage in. I cleaned it with soap and water while it was hot and then swiped inside with a little olive oil on paper towel. My mama always said to dry it completely on top of stove low heat after washing. Problem is Mr. Cast Iron, I forgot it on the burner of my flat top electric stove ( not a fan of it) for over 3 hours. I smelled it and the inside of my skillet looked dry white. Some of the buildup on the outside was crumbling off the outside onto stovetop. I carefully slid it to the side to cool a bit. Finally when cooled I thought it needed re-seasoning and wiped inside with oil and paper towel. My paper towel was black as smut and continued to be so after many times of wiping it out. What should I do to save it? Also what do I do to clean the buildup roughness on outer sides of my skillet. Will using a grinder or chisel work? Please heI listened to your video on this but wasn’t sure if you meant outside with salt or not. I need your advice to save my precious cast iron skillet. Felicia😮
Great video Mike. I have found out that its either me not cleaning the CI good or I didn't have the CI at a good temp when I tried to reseason it . But that just might be me.
Outstanding video. I see that common issue almost every time, except on all of the Magical RU-vid how-to videos. I have found restoration to the anal standards I have to be a darned near Herculean task. Usually in the stripping process, I have found the culprit to be ancient black rust or stubborn japanning. The oils are long gone and the carbon comes off fairly easily. Black after seasoning is probably food or oil residue.
In all fairness, I only use Lye Bath and then Evaporust Bath and then Repeat if (when) necessary . I have not tried an E-tank yet, I"m spooked by the electricity, but that fear is quickly being replaced by laziness. LoL
I just bought a brand NEW Lodge cast iron skillet and when I cleaned it with a paper towel and soap the towel turned black. It has never been used so there is no food buildup.. What is this black residue ? Is it safe? thanks....
Has anyone tried wiping off the oil and carbon that loosens up while heating up your pan before cooking on it again? I noticed my cat fish fillet is dark after cooking it on my iron 🤔
I wish I could send a video or photo I can never not scrub my cast iron with a cloth and it not come off black. I have seasoned it so many times, tried different solutions. Nothing has ever worked.
Well, I hate to hear you are having such a bad time with your pan. You may have already tried this, but if not, I would give it a good salt scrub and then rinse it out. Let me know if that helps.
I've seen several videos on using Easy Off oven cleaner on a cast iron pan to remove old seasoning and whatever crud is on from years of use. Has anyone ever tried a product called Carbon Off? I've used it for years on stainless steel and it does a remarkable job. Just wondering if it might be another product to use on cast iron.
No, it won’t hurt you any more than a char-grilled hamburger would. Continue to clean your skillet really well every time, and be sure to lightly oil it. Over time the black residue should fade away.
The only thing that black residue should be is carbon, fats are mainly zig-zagging chains of carbon and hydrogen and as you add heat to them, you're gluing them together into plastic even though they can only mechanically adhere to the pan.
@@kodiack28 I had some coarse salt at home. First, I washed and dried the pan. Then, sprinkled coarse salt in it and used a couple of paper towels to rub/scrub the salt all over the inside of the pan. I wiped it all out. Rinse and dry it again and then repeat the dry scrubbing with more coarse salt. Sure enough, all of the black residue was gone. I didn't measure the salt. Just throw some in there and wipe. Repeat until you don't notice any more black coming off onto the paper towel.
I have one I’ve tried everything on and convinced officially lodge cast iron does something to theirs that just keeps wiping black my others don’t do this I came here looking for things I’ve not tried lol
