We Tested 4 Popular Methods For Cleaning Burnt Pots

We’ve all been there – you leave a pot on the stove for just a minute too long, and suddenly your dinner and your pot are burnt to a crisp. Removing those pesky stains can seem like a herculean task. Our lifestyle expert Shoana Jensen tested 4 different methods of cleaning burnt pots to see how they stack up, and delivered a verdict on the best method.

Method #1: Deglazing

After soaking the pot in dish soap and warm water for an hour, you’ll likely still have some burnt pieces left in the pot. Deglazing is the process of boiling hot water and dish soap in the dirty pot, and slowly scraping off the charred bits as the water boils. Shoana used Mrs Myers Dish Soap – and said it worked like a charm! Even before the deglazing, this eco friendly product was able to remove a good deal of the burnt remnants. After deglazing the pot was looking good as new.

The Verdict: This method definitely works well.

Method #2: Chef Randy’s Secret

You may know one of our frequent guests, Chef Randy Feltis. He suggested his own method for cleaning charred pots, and since chef’s know best, we gave it a whirl. After the hour of soaking, Randy’s method calls for boiling vinegar and baking soda in the dirty pot for about ten minutes. After pouring this mixture out, add a coarse salt (like kosher salt) and a bit more vinegar to scrub the pan. Rinse and dry, and you should have a squeaky clean pot!

The Verdict: This method also passed the test!

Method #3: Dry Heat

This method is a bit of a Shoana Jensen invention! After this method worked on her cast iron pot, she needed to know whether the same could be said for stainless steel. After the customary one hour soak, she put the empty pot back onto the stove, turned up the heat and added a lid. When she came back to the ppot after a few minutes, not much had changed, and the pot remained dirty.

The Verdict: While this method seemed to work on cast iron, it’s certainly no magical solution for stainless steel. It fails our test.

Method #4: Dishwasher Tabs

This one comes directly courtesy of an internet craze. After the one hour soak, Shoana scrubbed the dishwasher tabs along the side of the pot. This is supposed to lift charred remnants off the bottom of the pot, but instead, the tabs just entirely dissolved! Curious, Shoana added a few tabs and let them soak for a few more hours, but the pot remained stubbornly dirty.