Here’s how to clean a burnt pot or pan. It’s not east to clean a burnt pot, especially if it’s very burned and greasy but this method should help.
How To Clean A Burnt Pot Or Pan?
Mary asks:
“Can you tell me the quickest way to remove years of burned on grease on the bottom of my flat pan.”
“I’ve used Awesome, Scrub Free, and Dawn Dish Detergent (the one used for cleaning oil from the birds during Valdez oil tanker that ran aground in Alaska).”
“With the combination of the three, some has come off with hard elbow grease, but would like to use one product that would make it easier.”
Tawra: I am the queen of burning things. One time I even melted the tea kettle to the burner! No kidding, Mike and mom still tease me about it. I have tried over the years many things to save my pots and pans. Here’s what I do.
I wasn’t clear if you meant the bottom of the inside of a pan or the outside, so I’ll address both.
If you mean to clean the inside of the burnt pan, these two things work the best:
- Place a generous amount of baking soda (about 1/2 cup) in the bottom of your pan. Make sure it covers the bottom of your pan. Fill with water and then simmer for an hour or so. Most of the burned of stuff should come right off. You can do this more than once if needed.
- If the grease doesn’t all come off the burnt pan with the first method then I take a razor blade and scrape off the last of the burned on food. I scrub with an SOS pad and after that the pans are usually good as new!
If the burned on grease is on the outside bottom of the pan, then go straight to the SOS pad and scrub hard. Unfortunately, the only easier way we have found to deal with this is to buy a new pan, which was the first thing Mike recommended when he noticed “quickest” and “easy” in your question ;-).
Tawra
Easy Swiss Mocha Recipe
I used to have some really nice french pans that I brought back from Germany and my renter (a neighbors daughter stayed in the apartment for almost a year during her divorce) burned stuff on them an threw them away. I didn’t know until she moved out and found them gone. I was so mad. they were really nice ceramic coated pots. I have some at my house and use them all the time but I have never burned anything on them yet.
I have a nonstick pan with some sort of baked on layer of mystery crud on it. Been there for months. I didn’t think food could stick to nonstick pans but it absolutely can. I’ve just accepted the layer of crud as part of the pan now… ? Is it salvageable or should I trash it?
Robin if I have a pan that I am debating on tossing anyway I will pull out a good old fashioned SOS pad and have a good scrub at it. I use and SOS pad on even my non stick pans with a light hand all the time and don’t seem to have a problem at all. Now when I do have to totally get rid of a pan it us usually because I have burnt something really bad in it and from that point on any thing I cook in it seems to burn so then I know it is time to toss. But if you are going to toss anyway try the SOS pad
For a pan that is burnt on the inside, I just fill it with water and boil it. Works like a charm every time. I don’t even have to put anything in it.