Best way to clean a scorched pot?

I know it is unlikely that this has happened to you before but can anyone suggest the best thing to use to clean a scorched pot? I did an PM recipe last night, and I think I scorched the LME. Anyways, there is a lot of scorched residue on my SS pot that I want to remove before I brew my AG hefe-weizen tonight.

So, any suggestions on what works best? Oxyclean, TSP, dishwasher detergent, PBW, elbow grease?

Thanks!

Honestly, go get yourself some fine steel wool (or even a Scotch-Brite nylon scrubbie), and a product called "Barkeeper's Friend." It's a light abrasive cleaner that works GREAT on stainless.

I'd throw an inch or so of water in the pot, bring it up to a boil and try to scrape as much off as you could as it's boiling. Then, dump out the muddy water, and go to work on it with the Barkeeper's Friend and the Scrubbie. ...a little elbow grease later, and it's a done deal.

I"m only on my 2nd batch, but I did the same thing with my first one. (it sucked). ...Now, I've got myself a HUGE 24" Wire Whisk that I use to make sure that the LME is completely dissolved with before I put it back on the heat. No problems on batch #2.

Good luck!

mikes65 said:

Now, I've got myself a HUGE 24" Wire Whisk that I use to make sure that the LME is completely dissolved with before I put it back on the heat.

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Bow down to the mega-whisk. They are awesome. Good for aeration too.

You could try baking soda and water along with a scrub pad. I've used it with good results cleaning up stubborn stains in the oven and in a skillet.

Oldest trick in the book for a long-time kitchen guy...

Two drops of bleach in about 1/2 cup of water. Boil the pot on the stove until it's almost gone. The crud will cake right off.

Tony

I had that happen to me once and I soaked and scrubbed and boiled and all of that stuff for a few days. I finally gave up and put it in the garage dry. When I came back a week later all the black stuff had peeled off all by itself.

It's worked a couple more times for me and didn't work a couple of times. Worth a try though.

My $0.02

A solution of oxy-clean heat it up and then let it soak over night.

I would not soak SS in bleach it can cause pitting.

Then after soaking scrub with the Blue 3 m pads (the Green and steel wool can scratch SS).

If it still needs more after that Bar-keepers friend and more blue 3m pads and scrub like crazy. Bar-keepers friend does a great job of making SS look great and also helps prevent rust and remove rust.

I cover the bottom with some vinegar and let is sit for 30 min. then was as normal. I have been told to never use steel wool on a brew pot.

DO NOT use bleach on a SS pot. Bleach damages the finish on SS.

I use barkeepers friend and a plastic dobie pad to clean all my SS pans, including my brew pot.

Sometimes just boiling some water in the scortched pan for 10-15 minutes will really loosen that baurned on crud up enough to scrub it off.

Several times I brewed a mead and it was gone afterwards.

If you use the blue pads I recommend putting it on a palm sander. That's what I used for the outside of my kegs. Saves a lot of elbow grease.

Lots of great ideas, guys -- thanks! I really like HB99's idea about using a scrubby and a palm sander -- maybe I can combine that with the vinegar and boiling trick, then throw in some baking soda too!

What did your scorched mash taste like? Was it almost charcoal like? I don't understand. You must raise the wort back to a vigorious boil before adding hops, so how do you not scorch mash?

glass, stainless, cast iron: oven cleaner. NOT for aluminum.

hophead420 said:

What did your scorched mash taste like? Was it almost charcoal like? I don't understand. You must raise the wort back to a vigorious boil before adding hops, so how do you not scorch mash?

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This thread is over 2 years old!!! Flyguy has cleaned his pot or ran over it with a dozer by this time. Do you think he remembers his scorched pot??