Clean up tips

[Gordie]

We all love our cooking expiditions (as my wife puts it) I thought we could post a few good clean up tips.

I sometime, have in the past burnt a few things and the wife tells me just throw that pot away. But I always manage to get the pan/ pot clean.

So I thought I would share my clean up tip for burnt pots and pans.

We still use some non stick pans.

I will put the pot/pan on the stove and put water in it about a 1/4 to 1/2 inch of water covering the bottom then add a 1/4 cup white vinegar and bring to a boil for about a minuet. The vinegar will get under the burnt food and help lift it off the pan without having to scrape it off . A lot off it will come lose during the boil and light scrubbing with a scoure pad has worked for me.

What clean up tips do you guys have?

[smurfy]

i make my wife cook!!!!!!!!!!

[nofishfisherman]

Parchment paper. Occasionally I will bake chicken wings/legs or other items that may drip some fat. When I do I lay them out on a cooling rack and then put them on a cookie sheet that has a layer of parchment paper on it. As the fat drips from the meat it lands on the parchment paper that you can just throw away when you're done. Saves alot of time.

When smoking i'll also line the water bowl with tin foil to speed clean up of all the fat that can drip into the water bowl.

Also using the right pans can help clean up. I'm not exactly sure what kind they are but the pans my wife bought are great. They can't go in the dishwasher but I've never had to do anything more than run them under water and wipe them out with a sponge.

The only other clean up tip I use is to clean things as they get dirty. Usually when I am in the kitchen I am using the down time between steps (waiting for something to boil, waiting for oven to get to temp, etc.) to clean. Much easier to clean it right away before things harden on the pans. Also the wife is much happier when I cook dinner and the kitchen is cleaner than when I start.

[harvey lee]

Don't burn the pot Gordie.

[ishy]

I line my cookie sheets with a piece of foil when making bacon in the oven. Let cool, pull foil off of pan and throw away.

[smurfy]

on a serious note, gordie.......................thanks for the vinegar tip. didnt know that. vinegar seems to be a jack of all trades!!!!!!!!!!!! i use it to deslime pike!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[leechlake]

here's a tip- when using a slow cooker take one of those oven roasting bags and put the food in the bag and then into the slow cooker. Pull the whole bag out and the slow cooker is clean or if you do get a small leak it's minimal work.

[ThunderLund78]

I will have to try the vinegar. Another good way to clean scorched pots and pan is to use dry dishwasher soap and a good scrubber rather than your standard Palmolive. Just be careful not to scratch non-stick, etc.

But my theory is to prevent a mess before it happens:

1. start with a clean kitchen - make sure you have plenty of room, access to all your utensils, appliances, etc

2. I'm a big believer in prep because messes usually happen when you're scrambling trying to multi-task while food is cooking. I pre-measure all my ingrdients, pre-chop all veggies and meat, etc. It allows you to be more relaxed and less prone to spills, sloppiness, etc.

3. clean as you go - much easier to enjoy a good meal knowing there's not a mountain of dishes, pot & pans waiting for you.

[govikes211]

I agree with all of those 3 theories ThunderLund.

[Gordie]

HL I try real hard not to burn the pots and pans but it happens .

I also use soft scub on pots and pans and that usually takes care of it . I let the soft scrub soak for a while but this time it didn't work.

Vinegar is a powerful tool it has a lot of purposes from cleaning to cooking. I also use water and vinegar mixture will pull the blood out of fish and game.

[randerson]

Another good one is to throw a fabric softner sheet in the pan and let it soak than just wipe clean with a scrub sponge

[Pinusbanksiana]

Put the pans in a large zip lock bag or some other seal-able bag, or a smaller trash bag that you can fold the open and seal. Pour in a couple tablespoons of ammonia. Let sit over night, the burnt stuff is gone, no rubbing hardly any scrubbing.

[Gordie]

Great tips guys keep them coming.

Thanks