Since soapy water can strip the seasoning off of cast-iron cookware, our standard cleaning method is to heat a little oil in the pan, add salt, and use this coarse paste to rub away cooked-on food. This chain-mail scrubber promises to make the scrubbing part easier while keeping your cast iron well-seasoned.
Gadget name: CM Scrubber
Price: $19.98
It looks like: A sheet of steel rings cut from a medieval knight’s jousting gear.
How we tested it: We passed this 4-inch square of stainless steel chain mail over a cast-iron pan encrusted with charred bits of sausage and another that we’d used for frying bacon.
How it actually works: The linked steel rings effortlessly lifted away any stuck-on bits without damaging the pan’s finish.
Good to know: The scrubber itself took some scrubbing to become completely grit- and oil-free for the next use, but it dried quickly and didn’t rust.
My favorite part: We’re not too keen on cluttering our kitchen with single-use gadgets, but this little tool works just as well on any other cookware surfaces (besides nonstick).
Overall: We’re even fonder of our cast-iron skillet now that we have a faster, tidier cleanup tool.
About the Author: Lisa McManus
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This seems too easy to be true…I’ll look for it but the price makes me wary….and I don’t usually have situations where there are cooked on food particles that a little hot water and paper towel won’t clean up…
I like using crinkled aluminum foil. It seems to work pretty well, though I’ve noticed some cheaper brands leave flakes of aluminum in the pan after heavy scrubbing. =\
I recently switched from non stick to castiron. I restored 2 smaller castiron skillets and bought a 13? inch one at target for 20$! I have been using a “kurly kate” (it looks like a bath pouf but made of steel) without soap to clean them. it was like 3-4$ at the grocery store. I have been using it for a few months with no problems at all. In fact, I have noticed those pans are becoming MORE non stick over time! I wash them in hot water scrubbing as little as possible, then heat them on low to dry and give them a quick wipe with a tiny bit of oil. The only problems with cast iron pans are that they are heavy suckers.
@mishaligirl I too do the same like you for way less than $19.98
This has made me use my castiron pans much more !
I love cooking with my cast iron! I not only use it in my home but I always use it when we are camping & cooking over an open fire! It’s indestructible! I start trying to clean it with a rubber scraper. However, if I have anything hard) crusted that I can’t easily get off, I fill the pan with some water, heat it up & then use a steel scrubber pad (it has a hard plastic handle on it—kind of like the shower puffs).
How do you use this scrubber on a hot pan without burning your fingers?
@James: use tongs! Or let it cool a little till you can handle it.