cleaning...

[Freeeating]

while enjoying all the fatty taste of my meals, I hate the messy and dirty part of cooking and all the oily plates after each meal, what do you guys do to prevent oil splash? what kind of dish detergent or natural method to use for clean?

[amberino21]

I have a dishwasher! My plates are never that oily, and I tend to add fat after cooking so my cookware doesn't require more than a wipe on most occasions. If stuff gets baked on I simmer some water in the pot and get the bits off before cleaning.

You can get metal mesh covers for your pans to stop splatter during cooking

[Freeeating]

Amberino21, you always intrigue me! What do you do by "add fat after cooking"? All the recipes ask for cooking the fat in the pan first, then add protein/vegetable to the fat, how do you get around this?

[amberino21]

I don't use a lot of fat to cook - I usually bake, or just add a bit of water, or rely on the fat in the meat I'm cooking. I add a bit when I'm cooking eggs as they always stick

Adding fat after cooking just means I get to add more mayo or make dressings/sauces for salads vegies and meat.

[Freeeating]

Like your approach! I should bake more and skip the searing step too....

I don't use a lot of fat to cook - I usually bake, or just add a bit of water, or rely on the fat in the meat I'm cooking. I add a bit when I'm cooking eggs as they always stick

Adding fat after cooking just means I get to add more mayo or make dressings/sauces for salads vegies and meat.

[sheisaclerk]

Noooooooooo. Don't skip searing!

Sure, it's sometimes messy, but searing is where flavor (and satiety) is made. It makes your meats hold their moisture, helps you develop complex flavors via maillard reaction (which is, basically, caramelization but for amino acids, instead of sugars), and it gives you enough textural interest to keep your mouth entertained. 

 

Just give the stove a quick wipe while it's still warm (if you do it after every meal with your dish sponge, you don't get a build up), invest in one of those mesh splatter guards if you can afford it, and make sure your meat is super dry before it hits the pan (messes up your sear and the exterior liquid spatters all over).

 

Roasting veg, though, is where its AT. Good luck keeping your kitchen under control! I've simply given up hope on mine 

 

<3,

a (non-paleo) food blogger on her first whole30

[Bet]

We have a dishwasher that does a great job. But for stuff that can't go in the DW, hot water is best. We've even used our electric kettle to pour boiling water into pots with lots of gunk on them. Then let it sit. I do use Dawn, which cuts grease. But you can also use lemon juice if you want to go natural. The best grease cleaner is ammonia, I used that on the cabinets and counters and stove, but obviously you have to be careful with it.

[Lizzard77]

I keep a jar of vinegar in my cupboard and when ever I have a lemon rind I drop it in there.  After sitting for a couple of weeks I have a fabulous lemon vinegar cleaning solution.  The combination smells wonderful and cleans sooo well.  I simply spritz it on the stove top and counter tops when cleaning up after dinner, quick wipe and everything is under control.

[Jenn B]

while enjoying all the fatty taste of my meals, I hate the messy and dirty part of cooking and all the oily plates after each meal, what do you guys do to prevent oil splash? what kind of dish detergent or natural method to use for clean?

oil splash, i find if i wipe it with a cloth moistened with just super hot  water immediately, it is way easier to clean.  Do i ever get all of it, no, but less to look at. Othertimes, I just grin and bear having to look at it. (and mine is usually brown because i am heating chocolate chili on the skillet.

 

splash covers work, but those have to be cleaned to, and i am lazy.

 

this is gross, and may be unhealthy, but sometimes i don't clean the pans, and let them sit and use that as the oll for the next day. tasty. kind of like the wok back in the 80's.  i have not gotten sick yet.

 

and then there is the cleaning woman that comes occasionally. i spend so much time preparing food and tending to life that  i have to pick and choose where my time goes. 

[praxisproject]

They're hard to find these days, but if you don't have a "splatter cover" or "splatter guard" and don't always cook with a lid on your pan, these will save you additional splatters to clean up.

 

It's like a flat metal sieve and stops things from popping out of the pan, while letting steam out.

[trezkholl0806]

I found from Pinterest that the nasty oily, grimey stuff that gets on the stove and especially the vent above the stove, should be cleaned with oil - oil will remove oil... it works amazingly. I use vegetable oil just for this since I don't cook with it anymore. It comes off so easily. But on the actual stovetop, I use sometimes Clorox cleaning wipes or vinegar that I put in a spray bottle.

 

Just learned about the lemons in vinegar solution and bought a bunch of lemons to use to make this.

[Rebelle Engineer]

I cook most meals in animal fat and it makes a right mess all over the cooker and wall behind, occasionally I use avocado oil, or I might add olive oil to a salad dressing but I've not felt like eating salad as it's the middle of winter, and I'd rather have some cooked green leafy veg. Plus I found if I don't use quite a bit of fat in my cooking, then I have zero energy to do anything (then really nothing is going to get cleaned!). I'm trying to ignore the state of my kitchen right now, I think I'm going to have to go in there and blitz the place later, especially as I have a guest coming this week. I should probably also clean out the oven, since I think the fat splashes in the oven too when I'm roasting things, and this seems to set off my smoke alarm when I don't shut the kitchen door - there isn't any food burning when it goes off, so must just need cleaning! I'm also just incredibly good at making a mess when I cook anything  At least I have my own place, so nobody to moan at me when it's a mess

[moeshe]

One idea that I didn't notice, although this is close

 

this is gross, and may be unhealthy, but sometimes i don't clean the pans, and let them sit and use that as the oll for the next day. tasty. kind of like the wok back in the 80's.  i have not gotten sick yet.

 

Cast iron pans?  All I need after frying up some chicken bits in ghee or stir fry with coconut oil and milk is a quick rinse, dry with a cloth towel, and the oils just build to help the pan fry better.  yummy.  I have, left happy bacon grease in it for part of a day just to fry up an egg or two later for fun.

 

Dawn dishwashing soap was mentioned, which, I know does the job of working out grease on pans, but I'd challenge everyone to look for a dishwashing soap that does not contain triclosan.  I think Dawn may, at least a quick internet search reveals it does.  I really, really like the oil on oil idea, great way to use up that grapeseed oil sitting around!