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Rule number one in cast-iron skillet care is that you shouldn't let your pan soak for hours in soapy water. Great! But how exactly do you clean a cast-iron skillet?
For low-maintenance cast-iron cooking tasks like caramelizing onions, toasting spices, or sautéing vegetables, it's sufficient to simply wipe the skillet with a towel. But when you break out your skillet for more substantial projects like making a giant chocolate-chip cookie, macaroni and cheese, or even crispy chicken thighs, food is likely to stick to the bottom of the pan—food that's begging to be soaked off and scrubbed away with only the most powerful grease-cutting dish soap that exists. Resist! Think of that nonstick patina you've spent years—generations!—honing.
I had always used coarse salt or an abrasive sponge without soap to clean the stubborn food that stuck to the bottom of the pan. Sure, I dreaded cleaning my cast-iron skillet when I used it for messy cooking tasks, but I thought that was the inevitable Achilles heel in what was otherwise the world's greatest pan. But then I read about a little cleaning tool called The Ringer and it changed my life—or at least my dinner cleanup routine.
Granted, the name sounds a little sinister (and it could easily be the name of a prestige HBO show featuring a strong female lead). It looks a little sinister, too. It's a small piece of chainmail that resembles a tiny but powerful weapon—and it is! A weapon for cleaning your cast-iron skillet. The textured metal surface allows you to scrub your cast-iron forcefully and remove any caked-on food without scratching the surface or damaging the nonstick coating you've created through years of scrambling eggs. It lays flat against the surface of a pan, and as you move it up and down, its tough links quickly and fiercely remove any grease. Scrub, rinse, repeat. Then make sure to dry your cast-iron very well to prevent rust (and maybe rub on a touch of vegetable oil). Voila, you're done.
Of course, you don't have to limit your Ringer to cast-iron. It can tackle difficult tasks like removing layers of baked potato from your sheet pan and burnt popcorn kernels from the bottom of your Dutch oven. (These examples are fictional. Any resemblance to real scenarios is purely coincidental.) Plus, the scrubber is small, unobtrusive to store, and easy to clean. And since it's not a sponge, you can run it under hot water and it won't become bacteria-laden after only a few weeks.
Essentially, anything that's prone to getting stuck to the surface of a cooking implement is a task destined for the Ringer. I go to battle with my steak-and-pan-sauce dinner remnants boldly and proudly with my secret weapon. It turns out the cast-iron pan has no Achilles heel—so long as you have the Ringer.