How to Conquer Burned-On Oven Crud

I don’t know how else to describe what happens to beautiful sheet pans once they take up residence in my kitchen. All I can say is that in no time, they begin to get this nasty build-up of what I call oven crud—a burned-on incrustation of oven filth. It’s not that I don’t wash and scrub those pans. I do. But apparently not well enough. I’m just not willing to spend hours of my life keeping sheet pans and ovens looking clean and sparkly.

I’ve been on a rampage to conquer this problem once and for all. Call me idealistic, but I’d like my sheet pans and oven to clean up as easily as my dishes and dishwasher. Is that too much to ask?

I’m pretty excited to share with you what I’ve learned through much trial and error. Now, I won’t boast perfection, but I’ve come up with a protocol that’s working really well for me based on the task at hand.

Light crud

Soak the pan for a few minutes in hot water plus a little Blue Dawn. Next hit with a scrubby sponge such as this Scotch Brite (see Note 1) before putting it into the dishwasher (see Note 2). It works great if I consistently do this every time I use that pan. Done.

• MORE: How to Clean Cookie Sheet Pans So They Look New!

Medium-light crud

If the light treatment doesn’t easily remove the crud, I follow with a quick scrub using Bar Keepers Friend, then it goes into the dishwasher (see Note 2).

Medium crud

If it doesn’t come clean easily with Dawn and BKF, I have a problem. Provided the crud has not been baked on multiple times over a long period of time, a simple homemade process using hydrogen peroxide and baking soda should loosen and soften the crud so it can be scrubbed away. But there’s waiting time involved.

Cover the problem area with a generous sprinkling of baking soda. Next, spray the baking soda with fresh hydrogen peroxide (pour some into your own empty spray bottle), followed by another layer of baking soda. Allow this to sit for awhile, even overnight for tough situations. Using a wet sponge or Scotchbrite scrubber, scrub the area clean and rinse with water. This should not require a lot of time or a great deal of elbow grease.

 

 

Medium-heavy crud

To remove the burned-on mess from oven racks, cookie sheets, and other cookware, a quick soak in citric acid and water can break down the grease for easy cleaning.

Put two heaping tablespoons of citric acid into a bucket (deep-sink, bathtub) of hot water so the powder dissolves. Next, add the racks and let them bathe for 20 to 30 minutes. Ugly stains should come off quickly with a good scrubbing brush.

Heavy crud

When none of the above takes care of the problem fairly easily, it’s time to bring out the big gun—a serious degreaser. My favorite is Dawn Dish Power Dissolver, a remarkable cleaner because it melts baked-on crud without fumes, even leaves a pleasant fragrance. Dawn Heavy-Duty Degreaser is a good alternative, for the same reason.

A good oven cleaner like Easy-Off Fume-Free Oven Cleaner is also an effective oven crud cleaner. I’ve used them all and prefer Dawn Dish Power Dissolver because it does most of the work, and really fast. I don’t have time to wait overnight.

I use Dawn Dish Power Dissolver to clean the inside of my Cuisinart countertop oven, and my standard oven, and on on the glass doors as well. It “melts” all that crud, so I can wipe it clean within minutes, not hours.

Finally, there are two things I’ve stopped using in an effort to minimize oven crud.

Non-stick spray

I no longer use non-stick cooking spray directly on sheet pans or bakeware. I suspect that has been the source of a lot of sticky, gooey, baked-on oven crud. Instead, I line sheet pans with foil and then spray the non-stick cooking spray on the foil. In the case of muffin and cake pans, etc., I grease them with vegetable oil to prepare them for the oven.

Notes

1. There are two types of Scotch Brite sponges. The one that is green is “heavy duty” with tiny strands of metal buried in the scrubbing side. While this is great for bakeware, pots, and pans— never use a green Scotch Brite on your stainless steel sink or kitchen appliances. It will scratch them in ways that cannot be reversed or repaired. For those items use the blue Scotch Brite Non-Scratch sponge. The scrubbing side is only plastic, which makes it less effective on oven crud, but it is a good choice for sinks and appliances.

2. The sheet pans and bakeware I put in the dishwasher are stainless steel, not aluminum. Never put anything aluminum in the dishwasher as it will turn dark and nasty. If you have heavy crud on aluminum, scrub by hand, rinse, and dry.

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