America's Test Kitchen LogoCook's Country LogoCook's Illustrated Logo

How to Remove Burnt-On Oil From Pans

We tested four methods for getting burnt-on oil off of pans to see if it could be done without resorting to harsh chemicals.

hero image

In the test kitchen, our stainless-steel pots and pans get a daily workout in many high-heat applications. Over time, a layer of baked-on oil and grease often develops that is difficult to remove without the aid of harsh, toxic cleansers. This scorched residue is the result of heating oil or other fats to high temperatures. When oil or other fats are heated to or above their smoke point, their triglycerides break down into free fatty acids, which then polymerize to a resin that is insoluble in water.

Is there a way to remove this residue without resorting to caustic chemical cleansers? To find out, we abused four stainless steel skillets by slicking them with several tablespoons of oil and heating them until it smoked and burned onto their surfaces. To further solder this resin to the pans, we then baked the skillets in a 500-degree oven for a few hours.

Easy Methods for Removing Burnt-On Oil From Pans

To rehab them, we let the cooled pans sit overnight with the following treatments using baking soda, vinegar, and soap, all of which contain compounds that help to dissolve the fatty-acid resins and help them release from the metal surface.

  • coated with a thick paste of baking soda and water

  • filled with straight vinegar

  • soaked in a 20 percent vinegar and 80 percent water solution

  • soaked in hot, soapy water

Key Takeaway

None of these treatments was 100 percent effective; we still needed scouring powder—Bar Keeper's Friend is our favorite—and a chain mail scrubber to remove the most tenaciously burnt-on bits of oil. But somewhat surprisingly, the hot, soapy water was the best treatment of the bunch, loosening the residue enough so that it required the least amount of elbow grease and a minimum of scratching of the pan’s finish to fully release.

This is a members' feature.