How to Clean Fat From Pans
I hate it when I've cooked something fatty and then have to deal with the frying pan. Particularly because I'm vegetarian and usually the fatty food is meat, but because it's just plain unpleasant. Wash it down the sink while its hot and it'll maybe clog your drains. Leave it til it's cold and you have to scrape and wash and rehash and still the taste of some things seem to hang around on the metal for ages. Here is a simple way to clean the fat off your frying pans which is eco friendly, cheap, quick and of no risk to your drains.
All you need for this is a fat covered frying pan (still hot!) and some soda crystals. Also something to scrape with. Either a spatula or wooden spoon.
Sprinkle soda crystals into the hot fat. As you can see here my soda crystals had started solidifying in the cupboard so I had to break them up in my fingers. At this point it will fizz a bit.
Make sure you put enough crystals in the frying pan to cover all the fat.
Use the spatula/wooden spoon to move the crystals around and make sure they are mixed in well with the liquid fat.
Leave the pan to cool and the soda crystals will have combined with the fat to look like this.
Simply pour/scrape this into your food recycling bin. No risk of drains clogging, no need to ruin your washing up cloth/sponge with greasy lard. Simple.
Give the pan a dip and a quick wipe over with a sponge or cloth.
There you have it. One clean frying pan for a fraction of the effort of other methods.
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If you have fried something using flour or corn meal, do not throw it away. After you are finished and are ready to clean up, pour all the grease out like usual then stir the left-over flour or corn meal into the pan to absorb all the left-over oil residue. After this you can wipe with a paper towel and wash as usual. Another tip. If you spill something oily or bacon grease popping on you, just sprinkle some flour on the place and wipe it up. It is gone. If it is on your clothes, just rub flour in, shake it out and do it again until the spot no longer looks wet. Let the clothing set at least overnight then wash it whenever you do your regular washing. Grese is gone.
Done this for years. Even taught these things in my home making class when I taught.
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Thanks for all the tips
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
what are soda crystals? Baking soda? or Washing soda?