Cleaning the inside of a frying pan is easy. Just remove the remaining food, soak the pan if required, scrub a little, and voila! It’s all clean and good.
Unfortunately, it’s not that simple when it comes to cleaning the outside of the pan. This is especially true for burnt grease at the bottom.
You’ll need some serious elbow grease if you solely rely on scrubbing. The good news is that you don’t have to!
There are a number of quick and easy ways of cleaning burnt grease from the bottom of your frying pans. Let’s take a look at some of them.
How to Clean Burnt Grease from the Bottom of Frying Pans
Ready to get rid of stubborn that burnt grease and scorch marks from the bottom of your frying pans?
Here are a few methods that you can try.
Use Baking Soda
Baking soda is used in many cleaning hacks. It can be used to effectively get rid of burnt grease. Keep in mind that it may take a few tries to get rid of grease completely.
Regardless, this is one of the best methods out there to keep your pans clean and shiny.
Let’s a look at how you can use baking soda to remove stubborn grease from your frying pan.
- Make Baking Soda Paste: The first thing you need to do is make a baking soda paste. Take around 3 tablespoons of baking soda in a bowl and add one teaspoon of water. Use a spoon to mix the ingredients and form a paste.
- Adjust the Consistency: This amount should be enough for a medium-sized frying pan. You can adjust the quantity and consistency of the paste by adding more water or baking soda.
- Apply the Paste to the bottom of the frying pan: Once the paste is ready, slather it abundantly on the bottom side of your frying pan. Make sure that the pan is cold before you apply the baking soda paste on it.
- Apply the Paste Inside the Pan: You can use the same paste to clean the inside of the pan as well. If you plan on cleaning the entire pan, make sure you make enough paste to cover all areas.
- Leave Overnight: For the best results, wait for at least 12 hours before cleaning the pan. You can apply the paste at night and clean the frying pan in the morning. The grease will become loose by morning. You may notice grease deposits on the pan. However, if grease persists, it is best to repeat the second step.
- Wipe the Pan Clean: The only thing left to do now is clean off the grease. Use a damp cloth to wipe the grease off the bottom of your frying pan. Wash the frying pan thoroughly with soap and water before cooking in it again.
Remember, this method works only when the baking soda is wet enough. Don’t keep the paste too thick. It’ll be less effective if it dries off quickly.
Also, the method is time-dependent. So, give the baking soda plenty of time to work on the grease.
Along with grease, this method will also help you get rid of any lingering stains. You can use the paste to remove stains caused by baked-on sauces, cheese, and even water.
However, you may have to scrub a bit longer if the stains are stubborn.
Try Vinegar
You can use vinegar to degrease the bottom of a frying pan.
It is an acidic product with around 5 – 20% acetic acid. This is why it works like a charm to get rid of grease from the bottom of the frying pans.
Here’s how you can use it to remove grease.
- Make a Vinegar Solution: Add one part vinegar to two parts water in a big bowl or container. Make sure that the container you choose is big enough to fit your pan.
- Soak Overnight: Soak the affected frying pan in the vinegar solution overnight in the vinegar solution. Just like baking soda, vinegar needs time to cut through grease. The longer the frying pan is soaked, the easier it will be to remove grease.
- Wipe the Grease Off: Use a sponge to clean burnt grease at the bottom of your pan. Keep in mind that you may have to scrub a little to get rid of grease. Wash the frying pan thoroughly with soap and water before cooking in it again.
Vinegar does a lot more than just remove grease. It will bring a shine to your frying pan, making it look as good as new!
Try the Baking Soda-Vinegar Combo
If baking soda works and vinegar works, why not try them together? Well, for maximum effectiveness you can try this method.
It is a powerful double-action method that will leave your pans sparkling clean. Here’s what you should do.
- Sprinkle Baking Soda on the Bottom: The first thing you need to do is wet your frying pan. Then sprinkle ample amounts of baking soda on its bottom side. Baking soda should completely cover the affected areas.
- Add a Layer of Salt: Now sprinkle a layer of salt on the baking soda. Use salt abundantly, covering the entire bottom of the pan. Some people believe that sea salt works better than table salt when it comes to cutting grease. Therefore, it is best to use sea salt. However, if that’s not available, you can resort to using table salt.
- Spray Some Vinegar: Transfer vinegar to a spray bottle. Once you have added layers of baking soda and salt, spray some vinegar into the mix. Spray directly over the salt to make a paste. Make sure the mixture is not too runny.
- Scrub the Bottom of the Pan: Set the frying pan aside for at least 10 minutes. Then spray some more vinegar on it and scrub with a cleaning pad. You may have to scrub for a while to see the best results. It could take up to 5 minutes of scrubbing to remove the greasy gunk.
Since this method uses vinegar and baking soda, you will get first-class cleaning!
Bring Out the Oven Cleaner
Oven cleaners are formulated to battle stubborn grease.
This makes them a good solution to remove grease from the bottom of the frying pan. Many people are hesitant to use oven cleaners on their pans.
However, it is completely safe as long as you do it the right way.
Here’s how you can use an oven cleaner to get rid of grease.
- Apply the Oven Cleaner: Oven cleaners often come in spray bottles. It is advisable to use one of these to clean the bottom of the frying pans. All you need to do is spray some of it on the frying pan and half the work is done!
- Set the Pan Aside: For the best results, set the pan aside for at least 12 hours or leave it overnight. The oven cleaner will work through the night to loosen hard, burnt grease.
- Wash the Frying Pan: Scrub away the loosened grease using a sponge. Use a sponge or a damp piece of cloth for this purpose. You may have to scrub for a few minutes to get all grease out. Rinse with water to remove all grease.
- Thorough Cleaning: While the pan looks squeaky clean, your work is not done here. It is important to understand that oven cleaners contain strong chemicals. This makes it essential to clean your frying pan thoroughly. Use hot warm and soap to clean the pan. Clean the pan once and let it dry. Then repeat the process once again to make sure it is properly cleaned.
Using an oven cleaner is the easiest way of getting rid of burnt grease. The grease and stains will remove easily with hardly any elbow grease.
However, it requires thorough cleaning afterward. This is why it is better to reserve this method only for the most stubborn burnt grease.
In other words, use the oven cleaner as a last resort only.
Some Other Few Helpful Tips
Want to keep your frying pan in top-notch condition? Then check out these helpful tips.
- Soak the frying pan as soon as you finish cooking. The earlier you soak it, the easier it gets to remove grease and other stains.
- You can use ketchup or tomato paste to bring a shine to your frying pan. Keep in mind that ketchup may not help much against grease. However, it can make your pans look as good as new.
- Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions to keep your frying pan in the best condition. In fact, it is advisable to consult the manufacturer’s instructions before using any cleaning method. This will make sure that you never damage your pan.
The Bottom Line
Cleaning burnt grease from the bottom of your pan is easier than you may have imagined. However, sometimes it takes more than a single try.
So, try different methods to find what works best for you.
No matter how stubborn the burnt grease maybe, it’ll eventually break down!
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