Carnivorous Moms: The All-Important Pan

by Monika Bartyzel, Posted May 7th 2008 @ 7:00PM

It's all well and good to have a perfectly cut and dry-rubbed piece of meat, but if you have nothing to grill it on, what's the point? For indoor grilling, there's nothing like the simplicity of a cast iron grilling pan. You don't need a free outlet to plug it in; it'll last forever; and it stores away easier than any other indoor grilling method. (It's also perfect for super-tasty grilled cheese, and other grilled wonders.)

Now, the one challenge with this pan is cleaning it. However, I've always found the following to work, so just write out the directions and include it with the pan.

To clean the pan, it must be warm or hot. If you can't clean it immediately after cooking, while your meat is resting, then just reheat it a bit when you are ready to clean. If there is an over-abundance of oil, get it out first, but otherwise, pour some thick salt crystals (or small in a pinch) in the pan, grab a paper towel, and rub between each grill bar -- making sure to have the salt rubbing against the stuck on bits of food. If some pieces still don't come off, carefully scratching it with something like a butter knife should work. After your first pass across the pan, rinse it, then look for missed spots, add more salt, and rub again. After a few passes, it should be clean. Then, dry it with a paper towel, take a little bit of vegetable oil and rub it into the pan with some more paper towel. Viola! One clean and shiny pan awaits the next grilled meal.