Twenty-some years ago, when I was a camp counselor, I recall the camp director instructing us to coat the outside of our cast iron Dutch ovens with a thin layer of liquid dish soap before placing them in the coals, or on a grate over an open fire. He said it was an old Boy Scout trick he learned, and would allow all the ash and smoke to rinse off easily, to save us a lot of scrubbing. Now, these many years later, I realize that seems counter-intuitive, as I rarely use any soap or detergent of any kind to clean my cast iron, for fear of ruining the seasoning.
The Dutch ovens we used at camp were blacker than black, not a bit of rust anywhere, inside or out, despite frequent use in less than ideal conditions. We usually ended up by cleaning them with salt and oil, and drying them over the remnants of our fire. We had to carry in any water we wanted to use, so cleaning up our cookware involved as little water as possible! :chuckle:
Has anyone else heard of this method? Any thoughts on pros/cons?
The Dutch ovens we used at camp were blacker than black, not a bit of rust anywhere, inside or out, despite frequent use in less than ideal conditions. We usually ended up by cleaning them with salt and oil, and drying them over the remnants of our fire. We had to carry in any water we wanted to use, so cleaning up our cookware involved as little water as possible! :chuckle:
Has anyone else heard of this method? Any thoughts on pros/cons?