Cleaning burnt Le Creuset DO

16 years ago

Hi All,

I'm a regular over on the kitchen forum but this is my first time posting here.

We made meatballs in a tomato based sauce for dinner on Friday night. They are a fairly long simmer, over an hour, and when we were ready to eat and poured the meatballs into a serving dish we saw the entire bottom of the pan was BURNT on tomato sauce.

I have been working on the dutch oven since Friday. I've tried Baking soda, (paste overnight then adding vinegar and cooking for 10 minutes, allowing to cool and scraping - nada), fabric softner (overnight and TONS of elbow grease but not much to show for it.)

So a question... as a LAST resort can I put my Le creuset in the oven on the self clean cycle or will that ruin the pot forever? Any other suggestions to get it clean? I am going to try soaking in ammonia next.

Comments (7)

jannie
16 years ago
Trying spraying it with a thick layer of Dawn Dissolver. This stuff always works for me!
iasheff
16 years ago
Whenever I have anything that has burnt on to any of my pots or pans, I cover the burnt area with water and about a teaspoon to tablespoon of DISHWASHER detergent. Let it soak overnight and it will wash right out. It has worked every time. If you use powder, it might be beneficial to dissolve the powder first. I specifically have gel or liquid dishwasher detergent on hand just for this purpose since I use gel-pacs or tablets normally.
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lindac
16 years ago
Do NOT put your Le Cruset pan into the oven during the cleaning cycle.
Cover the bottom with water, add a couple of tablespoons of Dishwasher detergent, as Ia sheff said.......bging it to a boil, cover and let sit for 24 hours.
Use a plastic scraper to remove the crud....and finish cleaning up with a Magic Sponge.
Linda C
jcrowley99
16 years ago
I would agree with Jannie, try Dawn Dissolver. I was able to clean the burnt on residue off my porcelain coated grill grates with it. It does have a strong smell (flowery), but I manage to use it without too much bother with my severe allergies. Spray it on and let it sit. Check it every so often to see it it is drying out. If it does not come completely clean, try again.
lisa_ryedalemeadow_co_za
13 years ago
What is Dawn dissolver? We dont have the product in South Africa.
I burnt grape jam in my le Creuset pot and am still struggling to get it off.
alison_sunnyday
13 years ago
OMG, the thought of risking my most precious and expensive pan to the oven self-clean cycle?! Perish the thought!

One of my favorite remedies is to sprinkle baking soda thickly over the burnt on food, add a fairly small amount of water, bring the pan to a boil, and if desired use a scrub brush to help loosen the gunk as it boils. It can be really miraculous how quickly even the most cement-hardened crust can lift and big black chunks bubble right up within seconds with this treatment. Good luck!
jannie
13 years ago
When I recommended Dawn Dissolver I didn't realize ( or remember) not everyone lives in Long Island NY with a half dozen supermarkets within driving distance. My goof.