Cleaning Any Oven with Steam

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Cleaning Any Oven with Steam

Thanksgiving is over and Christmas is coming, my oven like many of yours probably still has so remnants of the Thanksgiving meal still clinging to the bottom of the oven and smelling terrible when you cook nightly meals. Mine is still there because I hate to use the self-clean on my oven. It smells awful, and takes forever. I will be cleaning it before I make dozens of Christmas cookies and my Christmas meal, I will not be using the self-clean mode however. I will use a steam clean mode, because it is faster (will not even have time to watch the entire Christmas Story movie,) smells better, no harsh chemicals, and makes my oven easier to clean.

If you are lucky enough to own a combi steam, steam, or steam assist oven your life has just gotten so much easier. If not here are the 6 easy steps to cleaning your oven using steam.

  1. If you have an oven with an exposed coil element on the bottom use an oven safe dish with 1 cup of water and some citrus slices (lemon, lime, orange and/or grapefruit) totally optional just removes fish and other odors, if you have an oven without exposed coils you will not use an oven safe dish just pour the water and the citrus slices into the bottom of you oven right on top of that burnt on turkey juice.
  2. Turn your oven to 450 degrees bake (convection bake is better if you have the option.
  3. Let the cycle run for 10 to 30 minutes after it has reached the 450 degrees (30 to 60 minutes total) depending on the amount of soilage your oven has
  4. Let oven cool slightly so that you are able to wipe the sides and bottom without burning yourself.
  5. Remove the citrus slices, wipe the oven walls, door, and rack, lastly wipe the bottom removing any excess water that may not have evaporated.
  6. Make repeat once or twice more if the soilage is extremely cooked in.

Now your oven is clean and ready to be enjoyed again. Steam cleaning can be down as often as you like. I try to clean mine with a little steam after I have cooked fish or anything that is incredibly potent in smell, and at least once a month.
Have a safe and happy holiday.
From our kitchens to yours,
Chef Brandi