"Stained" Cast Iron??

Hi there! I see you have many responses & didnt read them all aaaaand I know it a bit "late" but I clean my cast iron skillet, grill pan & dutch oven w/ a little hot water & salt, to scrub as a less harsh abrasive. I do dry them upside down in the warm oven & normally put a little coating of oil in them after each use, letting them in the warm/hot oven. Hope it helps! ;)

I know this is late but all is not lost!
One of the advantages of cast iron is it's durability, I recently rescued a cast iron frying pan that had been sitting outside for more than 2 years.
Here's how I managed that:
1. Thorough cleaning. Of course I had to use a wire brush to remove the rust but you should be able to get away with a good scrubbing with soap and hot water. Of course this removes the seasoning, so...
2. Heat your oven to 450 degrees. Place the pan or in your case the griddle in the oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
3. Carefully remove the pan/griddle from oven and carefully wipe shortening on both sides. I prefer clean cotton cloths but paper towels work very well. At 450 todays shortenings are close to their smoke point so don't be alarmed if you see some smoke.
4. Put the pan back into the oven for another 45 minutes to an hour.
5. Turn off the oven and Carefully remove the pan and put another coat of shortening on the pan.
6. Put the pan back into the oven to cool overnight.

Your pan/griddle should now be well seasoned and ready for use. When cleaning DON NOT USE SOAP! A good stiff smallish brush and HOT water will be all that is necesary to clean the pan. For extra stubborn stuck on foods i use an older scothbrite pad with no soap. After washing I put the pan on a medium heat burner for a bit to dry the water then rub on a coat of shortening while it is still hot. Store the clean cool pan in a dry place.

As far as the "Pre-seanoned" pans go I feel they are ok but from experience I've found that I still have to season the pan myself before use. The manufacturer sprays oil on the pan after casting but I feel one coat is not enough. With the 2 sided griddle I've found that the side that is on the burner tends to char a bit so I have 2 that I use.

You have many responses on "seasoning" cast iron cookware. Here is what I do for normal usage & cleaning.
I always spray with cooking spray no matter what I am cooking, even meats that will create their own grease or oil. This helps keep the pan seasoned. Cooking bacon works great at seasoning while you are cooking. For cleaning, I do clean in soapy dishwater, but only use a plastic netting type scrubber. For tough stuck on food, I use a plastic scraper that came with my pizza stone. After washing, put on the stovetop & heat until dry. If you ever get any rust, scrub with a steel wool pad wash dry & reseason as needed. Coloring of the pan or griddle should be almost black when well seasoned.
Hope this helps.

I know this is a little late, but I use Cast Iron cookware. I have both the old and the new. I don't like the fact of not using soap on my things I have cooked with especially chicken, so I have done many different trials. I found that if you soak in just plain water (sometimes I do over night) it cleans well in the morning. I put water in while it is still on my stove on the heat and it helps it to clean better was well. But when I actually clean it I use dishsoap. The trick is not to let it soak in soapy water, then it eliminate the oil that it needs to keep from rusting. The biggest trick is to season it before using. I put oil on them lightly, turn them upside down in the oven 250 degrees - 300 degrees for a few hours (sometimes 5). This seasons it well, and I repeat if I accidentally allow it to get rusty again. I love my iron pans, good luck.

http://whatscookingamerica.net/Information/CastIronPans.htm

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It sounds as if you just need to re-season your pan.

Hi T.. I see you have got alot of advice on cast iron pans. I bought a set a few years ago. They had to be seasoned before I used them. The direstions said to use unsalted lard and bake at 250 degrees for 4 hours. They have lasted me a long time and I love using them. For cleaning I just wipe them out and dry them with low heat on the stove. Sometimes I feel I have to scrub them and then I reseason them if needed. It will smoke some when being seasoned so open the windows...lol..It works. The best thing to use is the UNSALTED Lard. That is also what my mom used for hers when I was a kid.

Good Morning,
LOL I have to laugh at this one. My husband bought a set of cast iron.Well,I scrubbed and cleaned it like you did a ruined the whole set.lol It's gross But you're not supposed to clean them! Jusy brush off the crust. He also seasoned it first. You supposed to rub cooking oil on it before use then heat it a little. He since bought another set. I don't touch them.lol With cast iron the more you use it the better it cooks.But never clean them.just brush off the crusty stuff and wipe out with a paper towel. I rusted out his whole entire set last time.He was so furious! LOL

What you need to do is to stop scrubbing. You are supposed to have a "season" on the griddle before you use it. What you need to do is to take some veggie oil on a dish towel or paper towel (just enough to make a small spot of oil on the towel) and rub the cooking surfaces of the pan. Then you can either heat it up on the stove top or put it in the oven for a a bit (I always do this on the stove top). Then you must never use soap. I know it sounds gross but if you are skeeved by germs you can scour clean then re "season" the pan on the stovetop to "clean it". I know this sounds corny but when I have home making questions that I am unsure sound right I always go to marthastewart.com to double check.

I know this is late, but my family was a big user of cast iron cookware and now I like to use it as well, always told me to never soak it especially not overnight. I have always washed mine with a little dish soap, but not scrub with the soap and then dry off and coat with some oil and rub in with a paper towel. Hope this finds you well.

Hi T., Well, you washed it in soap and water...bad, but not termianl. Put your grill on the stove "stained" side up, oil it well and turn on a low heat for a few minutes. Long enough for the oil to soak in and the grill to get hot. Then let it cool completely and wipe it off with a dry papertowel and put it away. It should be fine at that point. You should never wash cast iron...all you should do is wipe it clean with paper towels. A lot of people keep their cast iron in their ovens when they are not using them (or the ovens). Best wishes.

I always use soap/water to clean my cast iron pans - I was always told to heat it on the burner to dry it instead of towel drying to prevent rust.

when cleaning those types of things it can be very tricky.the soap and water will oxidize and that will make it rust. I would use some baking soda and water. put more baking soda than water and make it very pasty. let it sit on there. i would then wipe it off with a paper towel and wipe it off with a dry paper towel or dishrag.
when you cook something again next time and use the baking soda and water thing i described. let it sit on the there and then rinse it and wipe it dry. i have a george foreman grill and this works the best.

T.,
You have to treat cast-iron cookware VERY differently from "regular" cookware. I grew up with cast iron but I'm a Teflon girl, my boyfriend loves (and knows how to PROPERLY care for) cast-iron, so I watch him and take notes. Never "wash" cast iron! it gains its special qualities by getting layers and layers of seasoning over the years, which is why daughters used to love to inherit grandma's cast iron cookware--it was already well-seasoned, and this patina shouldn't be removed! If you like "clean", well-scrubbed cookware, stick with Teflon (LOL)!

My BF has a special cast-iron cleaning thing--it looks like a chain-mail washcloth, made out of 1/2" rings of metal. I don't know where he got it, but you might be able to find it at a specialty cookware store.

Every time you use your cast-iron cookware, dry carefully over a warm burner then oil. And if cleaning, drying, and oiling bugs you, stick with Teflon (like me)--I leave the extra care of cast-iron to my boyfriend! Best of luck,
L.

You may have inadvertantly scrubbed some of the seasoning off. It will look like white/grey spots. so just be more careful and not scrub so much next time

I'm sorry to say you may have ruined your cookware. I am not very familiar with the newer cast iron cookware, especially a griddle, but I've used my grandma's old-school cast iron skillets for years. (The kind housewives knocked their husbands out cold with, lol!!) You are not supposed to "soak" them....at all. My grandpap would always wash them in hot soapy dishwater, then put it on the stove with the burner on to heat it till it was dry (usually about 40 seconds or so..) I would contact the manufacturer to ensure it is safe to cook on due to rust and who knows what else!!!! Good luck!!!

Hi-
Rub whatever kind of cooking oil you like to use on both sides of the cookware so that it shines. Put it in a 250 degree oven for 30 minutes. let it cool. this might help cook off the residue that you have, just open some windows if it gets smokey!
Whenever you cook something, the side you use needs to have some kind of oil/fat on it to help build up the patina/seasoning (oil a papertowel and then rub it on the pan). When finished cooking, wipe it clean with a papertowel for the first 10 uses or something, you just need to build up the seasoning. If it seems like you need to bake it again in a low oven with oil, do that. After some regular use, it'll be your favorite pan! Don't use soap, don't soak it, but after it gets its seasoning, you can use some water to help you clean just be sure to dry it.

T.,
I've had a cast iron skillet in the past. I think no soap and then you need to "season" it with oil after every use. Here's what I found on the internet:

Cast Iron Cookware
Caring For Cast Iron Cookware
By Sarah Aguirre, About.com

Cast iron cookware can stand the test of time if properly cared for, but many people don't know the few simple steps needed to wash, dry, and store cast iron cookware.
Wash in hot water Hot water is more effective at washing off dirt and grease from your cast iron cookware. Hot water also will dry more quickly, preventing your cast iron cookware from rusting.

Don't over scrub. Over scrubing cast iron cookware removes the healthy coating it has developed. Of course sometimes a piece of cast iron cookware will need to scrubbed. Follow the last step to reseason if you must scrub the cookware.

Dry over heat. Turn a stovetop burner on and place the cast iron cookware on it. The heat will cause the pan to thoroughly dry. Be careful when touching the hot pan.

Reseason the cast iron cookware. Rub a thin layer of shortening or cooking oil into your cast iron cookware to season it, keeping it from deteriorating and rusting. Then place the cast iron cookware into a warm oven that is off and allow it to sit there overnight.

Be wary of acidic foods. Acidic foods can spell damage for cast iron cookware. The acidic will dissolve the seasoning of the pan and create a mettalic taste on your food. Don't use cast iron cookware to store foods.

Take care of rust. Store your cast iron cookware with the lids off to prevent condensation and rust. If despite your best efforts, rust does appear. Try washing the pan with shortening. In some cases you may have to scrub and reseason a pan.

Theses steps can help you have generations of use for your cast iron cookware.