How do we make use of a griddle after we've mistakenly put it in the dish washer and made it rust?

Question

We just moved into a new apartment and my parents gave us, among many other kitchen things, a griddle to grill things on the stove. Well, we put the griddle into the dish washer, not knowing what might happen, and it seems to have rusted. Any ideas how to deal with this?

Answer 1

I saw those How Clean is Your House ladies clean a cast iron griddle with regular dish soap and a sponge.  She just put the dish soap on a damp sponge and rubbed it on the griddle without water.  The rust came right off.  

It was in London but I assume the dish soap in England is more or less the same as anywhere else.  

Answer 2

if it's cast iron, scrub it with steel wool, rinse & dry. put a thin layer of cooking oil all over the interior then put it in the oven & bake it @ 300 for an hour. this is known as seasoning the pan.

just gives it a non-stick coating--you still need to add oil for cooking tho

Answer 3

Steel wool the rust off.  Cast iron things like this rust a bit all the time.  You could try heating it up a bit and rubbing in some cooking oil with the steel woo.  Use plain steel wool, not the soap pads... well, I suppose you could use them... or else a stainless steel pad.  The surface rust will come right off.

Answer 4

I assume that you are talking about a cast-iron griddle.

1) You need to scrub it with a wire brush, and then maybe steel wool, to get all the rust off.

2) Then you need to wash it with a drop of soap, rinse, and dry it very well.

3) Then season it: rub some regular cooking oil all over the inside and out, and put it in the oven at 250 F for 20 minutes. Or see the direction on this link. http://whatscookingamerica.net/Informati...

Different folks have their own favorite way, but you must somehow season or cure the surface to protect it from moisture.

4) Cook with it!

5) Washing a recently seasoned pan: Wash it after it cools by scrubbing with a little salt and a paper towel, but no soap. (The first few times, scrub gently so you don;t remove the cure) Rinse with very hot water. There will be some oily residue, this is good. DRY WELL!!  I usually put it on the burner to dry for a minute, or in the oven if that is already warm. Wipe a teeny bit of oil in it to protect from moisture during storage.

6) Washing a well-seasoned pan: After you use it a few times, you can use some water along with the salt scrub. After it's very well-seasoned you can even use a little soapy water *once in a while* if you need to after cooking fish or meat, but don't do it often, and don't scrub it with soap or you'll remove the cure.  ALWAYS DRY WELL. Wipe a teeny bit of oil in it if it begins to feel too dry, to protect from moisture during storage.

7) And, of course, as an experienced person like you knows, don't EVER put it in the dishwasher  ;-)

Answer 5

No big problem.  Wash, use steel wool, and coat with veggie oil.  Good as new.  Besides, you can eat rust.