From Zonga’s post, at the Bullpen:
The other day I seared a pot roast before I threw it in the crock pot. I was left with my searing pan covered in burned on meat and fat.
Chemistry to the rescue let the concoction sit for a few hours. the formula: Some water, a squirt of Dawn and a dryer sheet floating on top, let the chemicals do their magic. Wait for a few hours and all of the burned on mess cleans off with a paper towel.
There is a mathematical equation to explain the water tension, the release of atoms, and the answer is 42.
This really works for burned on crud.
You’re welcome.
That’s a very helpful hint!
Dadof4 had a few observations/ideas on that post as well. I love this type of stuff. I’m not some eco-loon or anything but I love to save money
*cough* I’m Broke *cough* and I’m really into the DIY stuff .
So, if you out there have some helpful hints of your own- Get to scribbling and help us out!
120 psi Bead Plaster. Next.
42 wow that’s the same answer to life, the universe and everything.
Using a pan similar to the one pictured, after searing the roast on all sides I use red wine to deglaze and capture the flavor. I have not tried the dryer sheet as my pan has always come clean with the wine. I’m sure it is just a matter of time before I will be using that trick. I tend to burn pans on a fairly regular bases.
Red Devil Lye laughs at any biological contamination, baked on or not. It’s not for your average idiot however. It sees you as just one more knot of congealed protoplasm it knows exactly how to take apart.
Why are you wasting all that flavor?
I was worried for your le creuset dutch oven. Great tip, thanks.
dryer sheet brand please? i usually put burned on stuff into an atmosphere of pure ammonia for an overnight stay before scrubbing (in a plastic bag), but it still takes some elbow grease.
That is not the residue of sear aka fond. That is the charcoal aftermath of an incineration. The www is replete with video demonstrations of searing meat. Perhaps this will help: http://bfy.tw/BsTn
I live alone and don’t cook much, but kitchen tip is this…
I just use one pan, fork, plate, cup, etc.
Makes doing dishes real easy
Boil Coke in a hopelessly burned pot. I tried it with a burned up stainless steel pan and it cleaned right up.
This won’t save you money but it could save you frustration. If you are calling a corporation (cable, bank, power) and want to talk to a human when they give you the menu hit #0#0 (that’s a zero). It has worked for me but I have only done it for a few months.
I’ve got two dogs that take care of all of the dish washing. It’s unfortunate that I’m starting to lift my leg as I pee…
1. For leather furniture past its prime (the color is rubbed off, etc.) equal parts olive oil and vinegar. Soak a soft cloth in the mixture, rub over leather and rub off with another clean cloth. Just tried this on a friend’s green leather sofa cushions. It works.
2. For everything that needs cleaning outdoors: 30 Seconds Wash. Cleans everything. Spray on, spray off.
3. For every kind of dirt and grime indoors: Oil Eater liquid concentrate. Buy it at Costco if you can’t find it in a local store. You can dilute to suit whatever you’re cleaning.
4. Alcohol-based hand sanitizer gel (get the cheapest you can find), will take dried paint off all types off vinyl and plastic. The only thing that worked to take the deck stain off the hot tub cover, and it’s easy! Blob some on, let it sit for about 10 mins. Wipe off. Will also remove the sticky backing on product labels from glass, plastic items.
5. Spots on your butter knives from the dishwasher? (Or any knives) Turn them so that the blade is facing up (if you have a sliding tray for utensils, cutlery, etc.
6. Toothpaste on a soft cloth removes heel marks on floors and scuffs on luggaqe.
7. Do not brush your teeth with Nutragena soap, even if their advertising tells you it’s so pure you can brush your teeth with it. Don’t ask me how I know this.
loshonhora,
I use Publix unscented dryer sheets, any brand should work.
I use ammonia to clean the micro wave. I put a small bowl with some ammonia in the microwave, leave it in overnight, next morning everything wipes clean with a paper towel. Just the ammonia fumes melt all the crud.
Try this, it works. Don’t stick your penis on an electrical outlet.
Water up to rim with about 1/3 oz. of palmolive with oxy for an hour or two for Le Creuset. Spill water and scrape gunk out with silicone spatula. Rince and attack any stubborn bits with baking soda on a wet microfiber rag. Rince and wash in hot soapy water.
I throw my decades old and my new Corning ware in the dishwasher. If some stubborn bits are still there when the cycle is done, I wet it, dust it with baking soda, and rub it with a damp microfiber, rinse. Same thing with pots that go in the didhwasher.
Don’t panic, grab your towel.
Bob Loblaw,
That was helpful advice, but I usually just let the smoke alarm be my guide.
@ bongopoofter
My last statement was for you. 🙂
Despite what you’ve heard, eating a diet consisting of nothing but broccoli and tuna fish for four months WILL NOT enlarge your breast. (Don’t ask me how I know, just trust me.) 😉
Use Arnica gel, to heal injuries quickly – to drasticly shorten visible Bruising and stop Inflamation. It’s a Botanical, so your skin stays heathy !
I always have this in my Med cabinet. Great for family Vacations.
Love shared-tips threads.
Long ago I thought a good title for a book of these things would be: Tricks of Life.
Let us be the judge of that!
Before and after pictures, please. o.0
@Plain Jane
funniest book I ever read.
I’m not a hitchhiker but I’m well traveled and always keep a towel in my saddle bag.
Someone I knew needed extra money and offered to *really* clean my house when I was laid up and immobile from my accident.
OK. Have at it, I said.
One thing I learned – oven cleaner will take the markings off the front of your euro-oven. I have no idea what the other settings are after bake now. It’s never good to hear “Oh Shit!” from someone else who is doing you a favor.
Electrolytic rust removal can save your old cast iron cookware. It’s cheap and easy. It will also remove rust from other cast iron objects (ss well as most types of paint, so be wary if you don’t olan on repainting whatever your working on). There are videos on tbe net that explain it well. All you need is a battery charger, a plastic bucket or tub, a few pieces of scrap iron, some wire (I use old electric cords from broken household appliances or lamps), and a box of Arm and Hammer Super Washing Powder (it’s sodium cabonate) that costs about $3.50 a box. It’s a great way to get excellent results for those who don’t own a bead blaster.
@ even steven
I’ll have to find that and give it a try. I have all those things already and a slightly rusty iron skillet.
AA’s nickname Is Bubbles.
7. Do not brush your teeth with Nutragena soap, even if their advertising tells you it’s so pure you can brush your teeth with it. Don’t ask me how I know this.
Use toothpaste for minor burns. Use the old actual “paste” type (you can buy old style Pepsodent paste at Dollar Tree). Apply it as a fairly thin covering over the affected area as soon as you burn yourself and it will prevent a blister from even forming as well as practically eliminate pain pretty quickly. I have used it after a blister forms and it helps it heal more quickly too.
Searing a pot roast that bad? Good god!
For non oven roasts I now use a nice pot
called the Instant Pot. It’s got damn near every
mode including pan searing, slow cooker, pressure
cooker, etc……
Next to my Wife, it’s the best kitchen tool
I have. I bought the 8 quart size for over kill
and love the darn thing. Goggle it, worth the money
and built to last.
Half cup Cascade in 160 degree water for one hour.
I use plain old cheap white
vinegar and let it sit overnight. Works fine.
I always keep an extra gallon
or so around for glass cleaning,
disinfecting surfaces etc,etc.
and cooking/seasoning food.
I don’t use dryer sheets, but dishwasher tab or oxyclean does the trick
Candle wax in carpets: iron on high setting, place brown paper bag or even white notebook paper over wax, slowly iron in one direction til wax is absorbed onto paper.
Fever blisters: rather than expensive Breva, use a capful of any amber colored liquor in a
Monkey dish (vodka/gin doesn’t work), dab w q-tip several times per day. Dries/heals the blister quicker than ointments, sometimes next day if you catch it soon enough.
Nail polish/lipstick on fabric: generous amount of hairspray (no water), toss in laundry.
reboot, you really know your way around the kitchen! Excellent suggestion.
Here’s a recipe from my grandmother for roast chicken.
First you steal a chicken….
Washing a full slip that has adjustable straps, you know the straps sometimes get jumbled and twisted in the washer dryer. Wash them in a mesh bag and set the straps at the longest setting. That will make each strap single thickness, not double and they won’t get tangled up.
Tell the clerk you want to take that new dress home on the hanger. You can use the little cut outs to hang things with narrow straps to dry – how about that full slip that you shouldn’t put in the dryer, and your bras, and that spaghetti strap negligee.(not recommended for cheapo Walmart hangers )
When you’re cooking whatever, put a kitchen towel under the cutting board – you can just shake it out when you’re done and probably not make a mess on the counter top.
Keep a bowl of hot soapy water on the counter for your hands, with a submerged paper towel, does quick clean up.
Making cookies? Position the cooling racks on the counter over the dishwasher, just brush the crumbs into the dishwasher when you’re done.
Zonga, while not in use every day, that
Instant Pot is gonna retire my counter top
slow cooker early.
Soak a lb of pinto beans overnight, then
sear ham with a bone the next day in the pot,
add onions and garlic while doing that, and
then the beans and top off with water. Put it
on pressure cook for 90 minutes and it is heaven!
I’ve a friend who’s wife is making beef
brisket in it like a pro.
We don’t need to steal chickens here, the wild
ones are in the yard. If you like lean bony roosters
that weight maybe four pounds at best.
I’m glad I checked back reboot. I looked up the appliance you recommended and though it is expensive it does a lot, as my grandmother would say: It does everything but fly like a stolen chicken.
I love ham soup, though I don’t make it like my grandmother, over a corn cob fire in a hut with a dirt floor, I make it over an electric stove with lentils that cook in about half an hour.
I can tell you are a great cook and I appreciate your enthusiasm.