The other day, I did some experimenting using my French oven.  First of all, let me clarify what a French oven is.  Many of you have probably heard of Dutch ovens.  They are heavy duty pots, with tight fitting lids, often made out of cast iron.  A French oven is a type of Dutch oven.  It is a heavy duty cast iron pot, with an enamel coating over the cast iron.  They are easier to clean and maintain, since they won’t rust or require seasoning.

So anyways, I was making a version of Scotch egg the other day.  It was a medium boiled egg, wrapped in a layer of cheesy ground beef, wrapped in bacon.  I made these giant balls of fatty protein, then I fried them in my French oven.  They tasted great, but they left a huge mess in my pot.  After I dumped out the extra cooking oil, I found an appetizing crust of burnt bacon, cheese, onion, and beef stuck to the bottom of my pot.

I was quite annoyed.  I gave a few half-hearted swipes with my dish sponge, but that shit was not going anywhere.  Some of you might think the pot is ruined.  Some of you might go crazy with the steel wool, which will most definitely ruin certain types of pots.  Some of you (I really really hope not) might even throw away the pot.

But there is a much better way.  One that does not require any hard scrubbing or cussing (after the initial burst of annoyance).

Enter good ol’ sodium bicarbonate aka baking soda.  I sprinkled about half a cup of baking soda over the mess.

I poured enough water to cover the crusty bottom and turned on the heat.

After the water heated up, the baking soda mixture got real bubbly and foamy.  It also had a nauseating smell of really burnt meat, but that’s beside the point.  I let the water bubble for about 15 minutes and then gently scraped the bottom of the pot with a wooden spatula.  It was quite satisfying to feel the spatula peel off the bits of crust in that murky water.

I poured out the now chunky foam water.  After I washed the pot with regular dish soap and a sponge, it was once again shiny, crust free, and ready for another go.  And I also need to go to the store and buy a new box of baking soda.

There are other methods to clean burnt crap off pots.  But this method works well for me.  If you’ve had luck with other cleaning methods, do share!