99% of all the old “don’t wash cast iron!” shit you hear is antiquated information from back in the day when they used lye for soap.
There is absolutely no reason today to not wash your cast iron today. That doesnt mean you always have to, though. Often just wiping it out with a damp rag is more than enough, and if you have a lot of really stuck on shit… You can scrub it with a slurry made up of salt, water, and soap (Make sure you use little water so the salt doesnt dissolve into the water and disappear). The salt will provide some abrasive scrubbing without damaging the cure.
outside of that, again, if you choose to, you can absolutely wash it. Warm water and soap, dry it off, put it on a hot burner for a bit to dry off any remaining water… and if you are using it again tomorrow, you’re done. If you’re not gonna use it for a while, then a very very light coat of oil would be wise until you use it next time.
and just in case anyone wants a good way to cure… I cover my cast iron in a thin layer of lard, and put it on a rocket hot grill, and leave it until it stops smoking. then i take it off, let it sit until i can handle it again… put another coat of lard on, and repeat. a couple coats should give you a great starting base to build your cure up from… and its not something you have to do often unless you really abuse your cast iron.
Unless you live in a humid area, a microscopic amount of water isn’t going to harm anything before it dries. Clean it with soap then use a dry towel to dry it and leave it on the stove, it’ll be fine.
99% of all the old “don’t wash cast iron!” shit you hear is antiquated information from back in the day when they used lye for soap.
There is absolutely no reason today to not wash your cast iron today. That doesnt mean you always have to, though. Often just wiping it out with a damp rag is more than enough, and if you have a lot of really stuck on shit… You can scrub it with a slurry made up of salt, water, and soap (Make sure you use little water so the salt doesnt dissolve into the water and disappear). The salt will provide some abrasive scrubbing without damaging the cure.
outside of that, again, if you choose to, you can absolutely wash it. Warm water and soap, dry it off, put it on a hot burner for a bit to dry off any remaining water… and if you are using it again tomorrow, you’re done. If you’re not gonna use it for a while, then a very very light coat of oil would be wise until you use it next time.
and just in case anyone wants a good way to cure… I cover my cast iron in a thin layer of lard, and put it on a rocket hot grill, and leave it until it stops smoking. then i take it off, let it sit until i can handle it again… put another coat of lard on, and repeat. a couple coats should give you a great starting base to build your cure up from… and its not something you have to do often unless you really abuse your cast iron.
Unless you live in a humid area, a microscopic amount of water isn’t going to harm anything before it dries. Clean it with soap then use a dry towel to dry it and leave it on the stove, it’ll be fine.