I'll weigh in here - my experience with new cast iron pans is that they
do stick more for a while. Or maybe you didn't season the thing
properly - it has happened to me. If you have to scrub with steel wool,
do so, and then just season it again. I'll bet it will all go better
after the second round.

Now I was taught somewhere to coat the pan with a thin film of veg. oil
AFTER you wash and dry it, then heat it on the stove for a couple of
minutes. Sort of post-seasoning. I don't do this anymore because the
pans are so seasoned. My main skillet dates back to the Reagan
administration.

Has anybody tried the pre-seasoned pans? They aren't that much more
money...

Leila


> Charlie S. wrote:
> > On the recommendations from either this group or another cooking group I
> > bought some cast iron frying pans. (I have to blame someone:-) From a
> > cooking point of view I've been very happy. The meats cook evenly and there
> > is plenty of heat. The problem I'm having is cleaning.
> >
> > I initially followed the seasoning directions. Cleaning wasn't that
> > difficult. My biggest problem was determining what I should wipe the pan
> > down with afterwards. I found the paper towels left a lot of lint behind.
> > A soft cotton cloth leaves a lot less. When these is a lot of grease in the
> > pan... I'm at a loss as to where to begin.... paper towel or cloth?
> >
> > I'm finding it more and more difficult to clean the pan. It seems even a
> > little meat burning leaves a lot of crud on the pan and I can't scrape it
> > off. I guess you are not suppose to use steel wool. So, cleaning is nearly
> > impossible.