Am I ingesting iron from the pan?
I've been cooking steaks on my cast iron pan. Each time I cook on the pan, I'm left with an oily black residue (see pic). I have two questions: does ingesting some of this residue mean that I am ingesting iron from the pan itself? Also, how the heck am I supposed to clean this? I've been wiping it off with a paper towel, but there's always some left on the pan. I've seen people mention scrubbing the pan with salt, so as to avoid using soap. I have no idea how to obtain the mirror finishes I see on some posts. I am a cast iron noob, please help!
I've been cooking steaks on my cast iron pan. Each time I cook on the pan, I'm left with an oily black residue (see pic). I have two questions: does ingesting some of this residue mean that I am ingesting iron from the pan itself? Also, how the heck am I supposed to clean this? I've been wiping it off with a paper towel, but there's always some left on the pan. I've seen people mention scrubbing the pan with salt, so as to avoid using soap. I have no idea how to obtain the mirror finishes I see on some posts. I am a cast iron noob, please help!