Cast Iron Tip

I burned a huge pan of lentils while watching back episodes of Fringe* the other night. I soaked the pan and scrubbed it with my cast iron brush for what felt like forever (ok, probably 15-20 minutes) with absolutely no progress in removing the layer of burnt on stickiness. I finally gave up and have just left it sitting on the stove for the last two days. But, I want pancakes for dinner tonight! So, I went on a search for ways to clean it without having to use soap and reseason it all over again. I found this method on wikianswers and it worked perfectly. I had to use a ton of salt, but it removed every bit of the burnt on grime without hurting the nice seasoning that I've been building up over the last six months.

Exfoliate your iron pans.
This is good for getting the little burnt stickies off the bottom of the pan. You will need kosher salt, paper towels and vegetable oil. First set the pan on an oven burner on low heat. Add only enough oil to lightly coat the bottom of the pan. Heat pan till warm to the touch but not hot, then add a generous amount of kosher salt. "Scour" the pan with the paper towels and kosher salt until the burnt stickies are removed. Wipe away excess oil and salt with a clean paper towel and rinse with water only. Dry immediately.

(oh, J.J. Abrams, I read that Josh Jackson auditioned to play Kirk and that Adrian Brody was interested in the part of Spock...why did you not make this happen?? After the "Damon might be Kirk, but no" tease, my patience is wearing thin. I'm choosing to forgive you because this season of Lost has been excellent and Fringe might be the new Lost, which would be excellent.)