I'm recently the proud new owner of what I appears to be a Le Creuset "Skinny Grill" which is an enameled cast iron grill pan.
I fairly new to cast iron but I'm accustomed to the no-soap cleanup and maintaining a season. This pan, however, is making me crazy. The little ridges make it difficult for me to get anything down in there. They are higher and spaced more closely together than the photograph below may indicate. I can barely get a fingertip down between the ridges, let alone a paper towel or rag. If you do manage to get something in there for wiping, little bits and fibers get torn off because of the rough surface. That's clearly not good eats.
Most of the "advice" I've read online (mostly message board conversations between folks who are facing this exact problem) say to use soap and water and scrub it down like it's any other pan. If I'm reading it correctly, the general advice on the Le Creuset website even suggests a ride through the dishwasher! I'm worried about ruining the season. It's tempting to dunk the whole thing in warm soapy water and go at it with a scrubby pad but that just feels wrong.
Incidentally, the previous owner abandoned this pan for this very problem. It "made a mess" and they "didn't know how to clean it."
Do I just treat it like a regular cast iron skillet?
It makes a tasty burger…
Edit: After playing around on the Le Crueset website a bit I'm finding separate instructions for cast iron and something they call "Satin Black Enamel." Is this not a cast iron surface? Now I'm extra confused.
Best Answer
I own a similar square grill pan and have always had luck cleaning it with a stainless steel scouring sponge and lightly soapy water. The spongy texture is very effective at getting down into the grooves. No need to be especially vigorous - a couple quick passes will take out accumulated residues, and you can use a regular sponge afterward if you like. I've no idea how they season these, but it seems to hold up quite well over time. As near as I can tell, you can also re-season these just like any other cast iron when it does degrade.
Their statements about enamel are probably referring to the outer, colored finish - I also own a Le Creuset dutch oven which has the same enameling inside and out. Care and feeding of that surface is of course totally different from cast iron.