# Carbon Steel (pan) maintenance



## rickbern (Jul 23, 2019)

In another thread we got a little sidetracked talking about carbon steel pans, I thought I'd start a maintenance thread. Sorry, nothing sexy here like jnats, just squeeze bottles and salt.

There was mention of the Cook's Illustrated initial seasoning procedure with potato skins, here's the link:

https://www.cooksillustrated.com/how_tos/9588-how-to-season-a-carbon-steel-pan

I don't season my pans this way, see post #59 of this thread for my method.

Anyway, the rule of carbon steel (or cast iron, exactly the same rituals) is to deal with it right away. I empty the skillet and rinse it immediately, then dry it on the flame. Oil it (see below). If it needs a little more attention I come back to it the next morning, but I want to get it stable right away.

The Toolkit

I use two squeeze bottles one with water, one with canola oil. Paper towels and salt







After I use a pan and dry it on the flame, I may decide to squeeze some water in and scrub it a little with a paper towel. If I do or if I don't, I then squeeze a few DROPS of oil into the hot pan and wipe it around with a paper towel. Just so it barely glistens

The Facial

If the pan needs help, I give it a "facial" by putting in a bit more oil and a bunch of salt. The salt rubs away any scaling on the pan and gets the surface smooth again. I scrub this salt in thoroughly with paper towels. Usually, I do two doses of salt





The Beauty Queen

Here's the finished product, pretty damn smooth.






Hope this helps, love to hear about other people's processes.

Now I gotta go clean the salt off my stove.


----------



## Carl Kotte (Jul 23, 2019)

Much appreciated! Great stuff! Ready to present my results in a few weeks!


----------



## TB_London (Jul 23, 2019)

I’m building up the seasoning on my new pan. Fried off some mushrooms but didn’t wipe and dry straight away and was surprised the next morning when I took off the seasoning where the mushroom juice had been.
Process is normally very similar, wash with hot water, dry on stove, wipe of oil, up to smoke then cool and put away.


----------



## Paraffin (Jul 23, 2019)

I bought a DeBuyer crepe pan a while back, haven't been too happy with the seasoning. I don't use soap or metal tools, and haven't done anything heavily acidic. I mostly use it for crepes, pancakes, and eggs over easy or scrambled. I use the heavier Lodge cast iron fry pan for things like high-heat searing steak or fish.

Crepes and pancakes work fine without sticking, but eggs tend to stick. I get much better release cooking eggs on a well-seasoned Lodge cast iron griddle.

To be fair to the pan, part of my problem with the eggs may be heat control. On our Aga stove, there is only the "boiling plate" and the "simmering plate" running at fixed temperatures for stove top cooking. The boiling plate works fine for pancakes with the carbon pan and a good amount of oil/butter. The simmering plate is always my go-to for eggs, and works fine with a Lodge cast iron griddle, but the eggs stick with the carbon pan. It might be that the cast iron moderates the heat a bit before it gets to the eggs, while the transfer is more immediate with the carbon pan. Not anything I can do about that (this stove isn't going anywhere), but I'll keep trying to see if I can get a seasoned surface slick enough to keep the eggs from sticking.


----------



## Marcelo Amaral (Jul 23, 2019)

I've got a pretty pourous steel pan last year and after some manual sanding it became smoother, but i realized the irregularities in its surface are deeper than i imagined. Anyone tried using an orbital sander or a car polisher sander to smooth things out?


----------



## HRC_64 (Jul 23, 2019)

DeBuyer crepe pans ...Are thin, light single-purpose use pans and don't have the corrext amount of thermal mass for eggs or pancakes. For eggs & pancakes, recommend that 10in lodge griddle which is maye $12 at ACE hardware store. If you want a thicker crepe pan with more thermal mass there are other options, including a cast griddle pan from Matfer, and also a thick ALU+ nonstick crepe pan from Matfer that is pretty good...

https://www.matferbourgeatusa.com/cast-iron-crepe-pan-2
https://www.matferbourgeatusa.com/crepe-pan-3

I'm sure Matfer and/or Maviel have fundamentally similar pans with slight variations if those brands interest, as well as a partial sidewall specialst pans for eggs. ...Keep in mind that people who do alot of omolette have "set aside" pans that never see other uses, avoiding acids and scratches from metal utensils, etc...keeping the seasoning perfect.


----------



## ojisan (Jul 23, 2019)

I use flaxseed oil for seasoning, but to be honest, seasoning is not so important . It can be removed easily when you put acidic stuff like red wine. Washing with soap is also not a problem as well. The temperature of the pan is the key.


----------



## HRC_64 (Jul 23, 2019)

A note on French Steel vs Cast Iron pans



> Cast steel has a different microstructure from forged steel and usually has some porosity to it



So its critical to not blindly follow online tutorials for CAST iron pans (loge, etc) when seanoning FORGED steel pans (DeBuyer etc). Anything cast has a porous microstructure. When you put oil+heat on it, it will polymerize in a different way than a non-porus structure. Here's larrin's article quotaion in context, cast iron is also obviously different that steel in ints chemical makeup as well...



> Cast vs Forged Steel
> 
> Doing a general search online for the benefits of forging will likely bring up references to cast vs forged parts. In that context they will make claims about increased strength or toughness from using forged parts. However, even in that context some claims are misleading. In one article I found they were making comparisons between “forged steel” and “cast iron.” Cast iron is not the same as cast steel, “cast iron” refers to a specific type of iron which has a very high carbon content (greater than 2%) and usually high silicon additions. Comparing forged steel to cast iron is not the same as comparing forged vs cast steel.
> ....
> Cast steel has a different microstructure from forged steel and usually has some porosity to it. The cast structure which is made up of dendrites, columnar grains, eutectic, etc. is eliminated by forging


----------



## ojisan (Jul 23, 2019)

HRC_64 said:


> ...Keep in mind that people who do alot of omolette have "set aside" pans that never see other uses, avoiding acids and scratches from metal utensils, etc...keeping the seasoning perfect.



Yeah I have dedicated steel pans for omelette as I heard this and to pretend like a pro.
However everytime I check at open kitchens and (decent) hotels, they use non-stick psns... Sad


----------



## HRC_64 (Jul 23, 2019)

Non-porous surface of steel pan needs a unique approach to seasoning.

DO: Prep before initial seasoning 
- do acid etch to clean (use potato skin methods, etc...be sure to rinse)
- do scour with green scotchbrite to smooth surface (jis #600 grit equivalent)

DO: Lots of thin coats seasoning 
- do ONLY thin coats of oil (ie, wipe with paper towel)
- 1 TSP of water between coats (to avoid buildup of impurities)

DON'T
- don't use thick coats of oil
- don't bake in the oven

When Shopping
- DO BUY - Carbone Plus (uncoated) DeBuyer pans >https://www.debuyer.com/en/products/carbone-plus
- AVOID - beewswax-coated pans (like Mineral B)...wax tends to gunk up and is hard to remove


----------



## rickbern (Jul 23, 2019)

I do have a smaller pan, like 24 cm that’s got a beautiful black finish that I only use for omelettes. The one I facetiously called the beauty queen (30 cm) is my most used, most loved pan. I put anything in there and then I just take care of it afterwards. I also have a 34 that looks pretty good, depends how much you baby it how consistent the finish is. 

I make a fair number of Spanish tortillas in that pan I showed, it’s the perfect size for six eggs and a kg of potatoes and I’ve never had them stick.


----------



## rickbern (Jul 23, 2019)

...and I gotta reinforce hrc’s point. Thin oil. There’s a reason I showed my toolkit having squeeze bottles. I’ll hit a big pan with 2-3 drops.


----------



## inferno (Jul 23, 2019)

I have refinished a few rusty and crusty cast iron pans. and also smoothed the surface.

I use a orbital sander. right now i have the smallest blue bosch 125mm. start with 80 grit then 240 or similar. done. as good as new. (having a small orbital sander is very handy for very many reasons)

then i simply put some oil in the pan and put it on 4-5 or so for a few minutes. wipe the oil off. done.


----------



## inferno (Jul 23, 2019)

Marcelo Amaral said:


> I've got a pretty pourous steel pan last year and after some manual sanding it became smoother, but i realized the irregularities in its surface are deeper than i imagined. *Anyone tried using an orbital sander or a car polisher sander to smooth things out?*



YES! takes 10 minutes.


----------



## Marcelo Amaral (Jul 23, 2019)

Nice to know it works. Thank you!


----------



## rickbern (Jul 23, 2019)

Marcelo Amaral said:


> Nice to know it works. Thank you!


I think inferno may be talking cast iron. I think if you want to start from scratch on a carbon steel you could just put it upside down in your oven on a self cleaning cycle and you’ll have a bare pan again. I may do this to the beauty queen one day.

I know hrc talked about using a green scrubby, I never did that. Sounds interesting.


----------



## inferno (Jul 23, 2019)

I guess the sander option will work on steel too.

I noticed some steel pans have painted handles. its not bare steel. wouldn't that melt in the oven? all paints are plastics i mean.


----------



## rickbern (Jul 23, 2019)

None of mine are painted. There’s not the same pebbly surface like lodge puts on cast iron.

Seriously, the best advantage these guys have over ci is that nice long handle.


----------



## Paraffin (Jul 23, 2019)

HRC_64 said:


> DON'T
> - don't use thick coats of oil
> 
> - AVOID - beewswax-coated pans (like Mineral B)...wax tends to gunk up and is hard to remove



Too much oil when seasoning might be part of my problem, being more used to seasoning cast iron. My pan is a Mineral B, but after two seasoning attempts and a scrub-down I doubt there's any wax left. I'm going for another attempt with removal of gunk to bare (or almost bare) metal and very little oil, just a matte appearance for the oil and not glossy.


----------



## Marcelo Amaral (Jul 23, 2019)

rickbern said:


> I think inferno may be talking cast iron. I think if you want to start from scratch on a carbon steel you could just put it upside down in your oven on a self cleaning cycle and you’ll have a bare pan again. I may do this to the beauty queen one day.
> 
> I know hrc talked about using a green scrubby, I never did that. Sounds interesting.




My problem is not simply start from scratch, but take off surface low spots (as small as pitting would be) my cheap steel carbon frying pan has. I have already tried manual sanding, but i realized it would take a great deal of time to truly smooth things out.


----------



## inferno (Jul 23, 2019)

isn't the de buyer ones painted, or at least clear coated?


----------



## inferno (Jul 23, 2019)

Marcelo Amaral said:


> My problem is not simply start from scratch, but take off surface low spots (as small as pitting would be) my cheap steel carbon frying pan has. I have already tried manual sanding, but i realized it would take a great deal of time to truly smooth things out.



this one is go*od*


----------



## rickbern (Jul 23, 2019)

I think there’s a wax coating so it doesn’t rust.


----------



## inferno (Jul 23, 2019)

and the filter/vacuum thingy actually works.


----------



## inferno (Jul 23, 2019)

rickbern said:


> I think there’s a wax coating so it doesn’t rust.



i see. Last time i saw a de buyer it looked like the handle was painted or at the very least clear coated.


----------



## Talim (Jul 23, 2019)

The handles on the mineral b have some sort of coating on it. It will discolor if you put it an oven. As far as seasoning it, the best I found is to just keep using it. I use soap and green scrubbies all the time on my pans and the seasoning never comes off unless I apply real pressure. No need to baby these pan. The same with cast irons. Best pan for the eggs is the debuyer omelette pan.


----------



## HRC_64 (Jul 23, 2019)

inferno said:


> isn't the de buyer ones painted, or at least clear coated?



Yes, but only modern DeBuyer pans...its an epo paint and is good to 10 minutes @ 400F/200c. 
My older DeBuyer Carbone Plus don't have it, but Mineral B definitely do.

https://www.debuyer.com/en/faq


----------



## rickbern (Jul 23, 2019)

Mine are matfer bouregart.


----------



## ian (Jul 23, 2019)

inferno said:


> this one is go*od*



I used an orbital sander on my Lodge cast iron pans a few years ago. Doing the 10'' was a bit of a pain, since the pan had high sides and it was hard to get the sandpaper to fully contact the bottom of the pan without the body of the sander hitting the side of the pan.

Anyway, something to think about if you're buying a sander expressly for this purpose.


----------



## Marcelo Amaral (Jul 23, 2019)

ian said:


> I used an orbital sander on my Lodge cast iron pans a few years ago. Doing the 10'' was a bit of a pain, since the pan had high sides and it was hard to get the sandpaper to fully contact the bottom of the pan without the body of the sander hitting the side of the pan.
> 
> Anyway, something to think about if you're buying a sander expressly for this purpose.



Do you have a suggestion for something better? I appreciate the help!


----------



## ojisan (Jul 23, 2019)

The Carbon Plus I have had beeswax coating just like Mineral B Element. It seems they ship Carbon Plus with beeswax coating these days. Mine has a special black handle that resists 2 hours at 250C (model 5190), good for cooking in the oven. Anyway, it was not so hard to remove the coating, I just put it into the oven (low temp) to melt it and washed with soap and hot water, but maybe you can skip the oven, it was soft. My Mauviel M'Steel had robust beeswax coating much harder to remove.


----------



## Paraffin (Jul 23, 2019)

Marcelo Amaral said:


> Do you have a suggestion for something better? I appreciate the help!



If you need to take a cast iron pan or carbon steel pan down to bare metal, I like a small handheld angle grinder with a stiff wire brush attachment. Mine is a small DeWalt, can't remember the model but something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DWE4120-2-Inch-Paddle-Grinder/dp/B00E3AOBVC

Get a heavy and stiff wire brush attachment that fits in the chuck, and you can work it around any angles in pans much better than a flat grinder/sandpaper wheel. Or you can use a "flat" wire brush for heavier duty jobs like the one in the photo below. I bought one of these originally to refurbish an old wok that had built up too much crud, and it took it down to bare metal very easily. Used it again for a Lodge cast iron pan that a guest had baked on too crud on high heat. It will take a while, but a stiff wire brush can help knock down the pebble finish on Lodge cast iron pans so they're a little smoother. Works much faster than sandpaper.

Here's my refinished wok job:


----------



## HRC_64 (Jul 23, 2019)

Last one I got had some kind of handle coating like Ojisan mentioned, its different than the vintage ones. 
https://www.debuyer-brandshop.com/W...F/23D4/4745/8945/2484/C0A8/2AB8/F352/5190.jpg


> Special iron handle coated with a black epoxy for oven cooking at high temperatures (280°C). Riveted : unbreakable.



Here is the mineral B handle, looks different (maybe rated slightly lower heat)
https://www.debuyer-brandshop.com/W.../C0A8/2AB8/7E4B/de_buyer_mineral_b_pfanne.jpg


----------



## Paraffin (Jul 23, 2019)

HRC_64 said:


> Here is the mineral B handle, looks different (maybe rated slightly lower heat)
> https://www.debuyer-brandshop.com/W.../C0A8/2AB8/7E4B/de_buyer_mineral_b_pfanne.jpg



That's what mine looks like. The handle isn't bare steel, it has some kind of coating. And it has that small round insert in the handle that looks like plastic or rubber ? Doesn't look very heat-safe for oven but I've never tried using it in the oven.


----------



## ojisan (Jul 24, 2019)

My seasoning examples with heat treatment and flaxseed oil coatings. But keeping those is not so easy...


----------



## boomchakabowwow (Jul 25, 2019)

My pan was hell. 

It’s finally non stick after using it solely as a roasting pan for a loooonnnggg time. 

Now. I cook in it. If anything does stick, I dump out the food and pour water in it. That usually does it. If not, do a short simmer. Dump the water, rinse with hot water while swiping with my new dish brush, put it back on the heat to dry, wipe with oil and shut off heat. Done. 

I’m agonizing about buying a 15” carbon paella pan. That’s a lot of real estate to season


----------



## rickbern (Jul 25, 2019)

The seasoning is easy, it’s the cooking to worry about.

I have a 14 1/8” pan, I think the cooking floor is smaller percentage wise than the paella pan and a ge profile range with one super duper hob for high heat. I have no problems with this pan and often use it on the second fastest burner. I think if your stove is okay you’ll be fine. Just give it a chance to come up to heat.

Use it with protein to start


----------



## Talim (Jul 25, 2019)

For paella pan that big, use the grill. I use my Weber charcoal grill. I don't even think it's necessary to season paella pans like you would CS pans. You're going to put tomato purees in it and then simmering for a while.


----------



## HugSeal (Jul 25, 2019)

I use pretty much the same approach for carbon and cast iron for maintenance. While the pan is till warm but not hot I rinse or scrub it depending on whether anything is stuck. Then just back on the heat and add a very thin layer of oil after it has dried.

Works fine and the pans are a joy to use for most things non acidic.

I usually use metal utensils in it mine I simply like them better and can live with the scratches of the coating. Looking at the picture I realize I need to scrub the bottom edges a bit better though.






Bonus pic of my kitchen lamps


----------



## YG420 (Jul 25, 2019)

I use tawashi from Jon
https://www.japaneseknifeimports.com/products/tawashi-medium
And a lodge pan scraper to clean up my ci and cs pans and they do a great job.


----------



## rickbern (Jul 25, 2019)

YG420 said:


> I use tawashi from Jon
> https://www.japaneseknifeimports.com/products/tawashi-medium
> And a lodge pan scraper to clean up my ci and cs pans and they do a great job.



That's a good point. I definitely use a paddle style wooden scraper to deglaze the pan whether I'm making a sauce or not as a first step to cleaning them up.

Thanks for the reminder.


----------



## ojisan (Jul 25, 2019)

I found Oxo (GoodGrip|Steel) Dish Brush are useful to clean up pans. They have a long handle and also a scraper behind the brush so you don't need to put your hands to oily hot water.


----------



## Migraine (Jul 26, 2019)

Carbon pan arrived yesterday. Still unsure the right way to go about the initial seasoning.

First step is obviously to get rid of any protective coating.

After that I've seen both the potato skin method (as seen in the link in the OP - seems quick and easy) and a method which involved applying multiple thin layers of oil and heating between (as seen on serious eats https://www.seriouseats.com/2019/06/how-to-season-carbon-steel-pans.html - seems long and smoky).

Is the latter method worth the extra effort?


----------



## HRC_64 (Jul 26, 2019)

Migraine said:


> Carbon pan arrived yesterday. ...
> Is the latter method worth the extra effort?



Yes. THE most critical steps are to get first layers of seasoning on the pan ABSOLUTELY correct.

1. clean.
2. wash.
3. dry.
4. season.

There is no reason this should take very long, either. 

There are a couple more sophisticate ways to do each step, but they all have the goal of getting the first layer correct.

As outlined earlier, its useful to "clean" the pan in 3 steps

- remove manufactures coating (follow directions)
- acid wash (boil potato peel)
- 3m pad (green scotchbrite)

The purpose of these 3 steps to to

- remove gross contamination 
- remove un-seen residues 
- remove oxidation

To put this in perspective, the pan comes from the factory with an anti-corrosion coating (beeswax, etc). This coating will leave residues in the pores or micro-structure of the metal, even if you "Wash it off" (or whatever physical removal method is used). However, this coating is often slightly imperfect and can be scratched somewhat easilty, and thus there can be small-scale oxidation in places where ther OEM coating is "wounded" (including initial attempts are removing it). 

You need to do all these steps so the "seasoning" is done on bare steel. Imagin you are repainting a car...you would never paint over anything other than bare metal because the paint wouldn't "bond" correctly...eg you would never pain on top of wax or rust....so all of the "work" of painting a car is preparing the bodywork. The actual painting is easy, but getting a perfect surface is the measure of a good paintjob.

The good news is your new pan is alot easier to prep than a car body work. But you need to keep in mind its a similar process.


----------



## rickbern (Jul 26, 2019)

HRC_64 said:


> Yes. THE most critical steps are to get first layers of seasoning on the pan ABSOLUTELY correct.
> 
> 1. clean.
> 2. wash.
> ...


Great post, HRC


----------



## ian (Jul 26, 2019)

The 5th rule of using cast iron or carbon is:

5) chill out about it.

If you need to use a little soap once in a while, do it. It’s not the end of the world. 

My life was much more stressful before I learned this.


----------



## HRC_64 (Jul 26, 2019)

(continued)

Ther serious eats article talks about washing and drying in a good way (soap and water+heat). IN particular they talk about avoiding flash rust-- drying quickly with towels and also with heat. Keep in mind bare still will flash rust in the presence of mere humidity--you don't need standing water. Just quickly dry your pan between washes with lots of truly dry rags like you are taking care of a good, iron clad knife...warm it up on the flame to finish, etc

You wold never half-ass wipe-down Shigefusa iron cladding (let it drip-dry on a wet towel for 30 mintues...etc) don't do that with your steel pan either. Unlike the shig, you can heat/warm your pan without ruining it. SO do that too.

Once you have your pan perfectly clean, dry, and warmed up to eliminate any residual humidity issues...you're ready to start.

At a minimum, I would do the first (at least) 3 layers using the individual layer approach with paper-towel wiped-off THIN layers of oil. This really won't take that long on a gas or modern hheat source, your talking 10 minutes or something trivial. But these intial layers are what will provide your base seasooning and prevent flash rust and other issues. Consider these layers a sort of "protectivion" for the life of the pan. 

It will take closer to 10 layers to get a color-dark seasoning, but once you've made it this far the later couple steps won't take long. You can also probably safely use one of the other variations (cooking food, etc) if you are wanting to experiment or attempt to save time or just diversify (try other mehtods) and don't want to follow one single approach.


----------



## HRC_64 (Jul 26, 2019)

ian said:


> The 5th rule of using cast iron or carbon is:
> 
> 5) chill out about it.
> 
> ...



Totally agree with this as well...


----------



## Migraine (Jul 26, 2019)

Boil the potato skins, just with water? Are potato skins acidic (you've called that an acid wash)? Didn't know that if so.


----------



## HRC_64 (Jul 26, 2019)

Migraine said:


> Boil the potato skins, just with water? Are potato skins acidic (you've called that an acid wash)? Didn't know that if so.



Pretty sure you can use oil or water (there is water in the potato skins anyway). RAW Potato skins will yield a mild acid (oxalic acid) into solution with water + heat. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxalic_acid#Cleaning)

These are the Matfer instructions, they use oil to boill the potato skins 


> INSTRUCTIONS FOR SEASONING
> YOUR MATFER BLACK STEEL FRY PAN
> 1. Before use, wash pan under hot water in mild detergent, using a bristle brush, if necessary, to
> remove all protective coating. Thoroughly dry the pan.
> ...


----------



## HRC_64 (Jul 26, 2019)

There are a bunch of variations on this, but the key thing is to remember why they are doing this... 


> Cleaning
> Oxalic acid's main applications include cleaning or bleaching, especially for the removal of rust (iron complexing agent). Its utility in rust removal agents is due to its forming a stable, water-soluble salt with ferric iron, ferrioxalate ion.


The peels should change color as they boild -- turn a grey/black -- that coloris iron particles cleaned by the acid wash

Its probably a good idea to stop here, and we can have a discussion about why you might want to follow these instructions closely or more loosely. Again, there are a couple of ways to do this.

You'll see the Matfer instructions here us multiple steps of boiled peels. Once the iron oxides are in solution, they need to be removed. The miultiple steps allows for the removal of the discoloref peels from the pan, with the next set of peels being alot cleaner, and then also removed etic.

There are more iterations, like boil peels in water, then scour with 3m, then start seasoning with oil, etc. Agian the peels will turn black, the 3M will remove the particles and re-surface the forged steel, and the goal is CLEAN and dry and flat and smooth STEEL to now begin your seasoning process.


----------



## HRC_64 (Jul 26, 2019)

There are pro and cons to these slight variations, but the key is to understand the logic, to not leave out critical steps.


> Matfer Bourgeat’s Black Steel Pans are designed for the foodservice industry and professional chefs. As with any metal manufactured product, slight color variations, minor imperfections and irregularities, such as scratches, are normal and will in no way affect the performance of your pan.



Note that 3M (Scotchbrite) is really the only way to deal with these "minor imperfections and irregularities, such as scratches" prior initial seasoning.

SOME POSSIBLE ITERATIONS
1) Matfer method - used the used up potato peels (2-3x) to absorb and transport the particles to be reomved.
2) Matfer w/ 3M scour - Boil per matfer, remove as per matfer (1-2x), but then scour using 3M pad. Then continue Matfer method.
3) H2O method - boil peels in water (not too much), 3M scour to clean, begin seasoningmethod of your choice etc.


Hope this is helpful, sorry its such a long explanation.


----------



## Migraine (Jul 27, 2019)

It's absolutely fantastic and thank you so much for your time. Never apologise for being helpful.


----------



## Migraine (Jul 27, 2019)

Don't think I got it quite right. Doesn't look quite right.

Second picture is the extent of stickage I got with a fried egg.


----------



## rickbern (Jul 27, 2019)

Keep at it and keep the oil layers thin. These pans constantly evolve. 

Does it feel smooth?


----------



## MrHiggins (Jul 27, 2019)

rickbern said:


> Keep at it and keep the oil layers thin. These pans constantly evolve.
> 
> Does it feel smooth?


Yeah, that's a fine start. Just keep cooking on it. In a month it will be more than bomb proof.


----------



## ojisan (Jul 27, 2019)

Migraine said:


> Don't think I got it quite right. Doesn't look quite right.



It looks good to me. As long as you don't feel bumps in the surface and it's smooth, your pan is fine. 
Preheat your pan well before putting ingredients. 180C is the target temperature. It takes time as your pan is thick.


----------



## gman (Jul 31, 2019)

i have both debuyer and lodge pans, and there is definitely more of a learning curve in maintaining the steel pans than the iron, but worth it, imo.

fwiw, when i took the beeswax off the debuyers i used boiling vinegar, a green scrubby, and a lot of elbow grease, and the pan that took a seasoning the fastest is the one i used to do blackened catfish.


----------



## rickbern (Aug 3, 2019)

Thought I'd write some notes about re-seasoning a pan.

I decided (in the interests of completion!) to knock the seasoning off the pan from the OP and build it up again from scratch.

1-Remove cruddy old seasoning (only for a used pan)

I started with 220 grit sandpaper, which was too coarse for the soft steel, next time I'll start with 320, and progressed up to 600 grit to remove most of the old seasoning. Basically, I was just looking for a satin smooth base to start from. Wash it off well and dry and season immediately

2-Re-season

I think this is where a lot of people go wrong. I don't use the potato skin method, I just apply a bunch of layers of light oil.

I bring the pan up to moderate heat and then drop a few drops (drops!) of canola oil from the squeeze bottle and wipe it in thoroughly with a wadded up paper towel. Thoroughly. 30 seconds of wiping each layer in, so there's no oil on the surface.

Repeat this operation. I don't let the pan cool, each layer is probably 15-30 seconds of wiping in a very thin layer of oil, and then I put the next layer on. If I had to guess, I did 15 layers in 20 minutes. Every so often I'll let the pan get a little hotter, almost smoking, then I take if off the heat for 2 minutes to let it cool a little and then start up again with the moderate heat. This repeated thin layer of oil is what you're looking for.

I generally do this at night, then the next morning (but could be only 20 minutes later) I do an abbreviated version of this routine, maybe 4-5 more layers of a little bit of oil.

As soon as I was done I scrambled an egg for the dog, it slid around perfectly.


----------



## boomchakabowwow (Aug 6, 2019)

I just bought a cheap dish brush. I seared salmon tonight and used hot water and only the brush to clean the pan. Whoa! It’s perfect got the pan clean and smooth without affecting the seasoning. I then just warned it up to dry and wiped it with a few drops of oil and a wad of paper towels. 

I also just ordered my 15” Matfer paella pan. I think it’s perfect for my needs. Roasting pan for small turkeys, big chickens and a 4-bone standing rib roast. I bet I can stir fry with it. Seasoning it is the wild card. Haha. I’ll get it done. But in how long. I’ll roast a few splattery chickens to get it started.


----------



## GeneH (Aug 7, 2019)

boomchakabowwow said:


> I just bought a cheap dish brush. I seared salmon tonight and used hot water and only the brush to clean the pan. Whoa! It’s perfect got the pan clean and smooth without affecting the seasoning. I then just warned it up to dry and wiped it with a few drops of oil and a wad of paper towels.



That’s how I’ve been doing my steel pans also, and finishing off once in a while with a thin oiling on the very hot pan like already described above. 

Lately we’ve been on a popcorn binge and that’s really adding to the black layer. Best popcorn I can remember ever having to boot.!


----------



## Migraine (Aug 7, 2019)

The woman chucked a load of fish + lime juice based marinade in the pan this evening before I realised and stripped the seasoning . Whoops. Was my fault, didn't tell her that she shouldn't put acidic stuff in it.

Never mind, redid it and it looks better than before!


----------



## HRC_64 (Aug 7, 2019)

Migraine said:


> The woman chucked a load of fish + lime juice based marinade in the pan this evening...



I did something like this once by accident, I was following along with a recipe step-by-step and didn't really look ahead...

needless to say the penultimate step (after searing/browing proetein) was "deglaze and reduce" which I robotically followed along with...cranked the heat to reduce the liquid and it took about 30 seconds to realize I was holding wine-vinegar in my hand...

TLDR I "deglazed" the pan well...including the entire seasoning


----------



## HRC_64 (Aug 7, 2019)

Just wanted to +1 this post below by @rickbern...when we are talking about "thin layer" method of seasoning...Recommend follow along with this for the (actual) step-by-step advice...



rickbern said:


> 2-Re-season
> 
> I think this is where a lot of people go wrong. I don't use the potato skin method, I just apply a bunch of layers of light oil.
> 
> ...



The only thing I do really different from rick is I splash a tablespoon of water at the time he does this step:



> Every so often I'll let the pan get a little hotter, almost smoking, then I take if off the heat for 2 minutes to let it cool a little and then start up again with the moderate heat.


----------



## MrHiggins (Aug 7, 2019)

Migraine said:


> The woman chucked a load of fish + lime juice based marinade in the pan this evening before I realised and stripped the seasoning . Whoops. Was my fault, didn't tell her that she shouldn't put acidic stuff in it.
> 
> Never mind, redid it and it looks better than before!


No worries. That type of thing just gets rid of the weakly adhered seasoning, leaving only the good stuff behind to build on. Don't baby your pan and it'll reward you in the long term. Be patient...


----------



## Michi (Aug 7, 2019)




----------



## MrHiggins (Aug 7, 2019)

Michi said:


>



Oh, I like her! Spot on! Thanks for posting, Michi.


----------



## Paraffin (Aug 7, 2019)

Michi said:


>




Eeek! Ackk! 

Her method might work, but I cringed when watching the metal spatula on the freshly seasoned carbon pan with the fried egg test.


----------



## MrHiggins (Aug 7, 2019)

Paraffin said:


> Eeek! Ackk!
> 
> Her method might work, but I cringed when watching the metal spatula on the freshly seasoned carbon pan with the fried egg test.


Don't baby your pan. Like she said: if the seasoning is resilient enough to stay on through abuse, it's earned its right to stay. That, and flax oil is a sham and she calls it out.


----------



## Chips (Aug 8, 2019)

MrHiggins said:


> Don't baby your pan. Like she said: if the seasoning is resilient enough to stay on through abuse, it's earned its right to stay. That, and flax oil is a sham and she calls it out.



Like many, I fell into the flax seed oil trap several years ago. I did one large Lodge and a mini cupcake pan but kept the rest of my cast iron as is.. I think I did the cupcake pan more in terms of coats. Lots of damn work... Anyway, like everyone else found, the coating cracks under heat stress and becomes worthless on the big skillet. But it's so nice those few first times. My mini cupcake pan is still like obsidian though. I think if it slowly heats, and slowly cools, and doesn't get rough treatment from hard implements, it releases very well.


----------



## Migraine (Aug 9, 2019)

Cooked some lamb tonight and the seasoning didn't hold. Wondering if I never quite got the coating off properly. Going to have a go at stripping it down and going from scratch tomorrow.


----------



## rickbern (Aug 9, 2019)

Migraine, as long as it’s not bumpy keep going with it. Is the seasoning flaking off or is it just changing colors?

I made some hanger steak last night, deglazed in red wine dried it on a burner and rubbed in a few drops of oil. That’s my routine. I only strip and Re season if I feel deep scaling on the cooking surface


----------



## Migraine (Aug 9, 2019)

Didn't come off in flakes, seemed to sort of rub off. Changed from browny-black back to more silvery. It's still smooth.


----------



## rickbern (Aug 9, 2019)

Keep going. When you first start the color you get is bronze, not black. Keep going unless it’s scaled. Then either salt it (see post 1) or steel wool and start over. You’re not close to that. 

The only real reason I started over was to write about it in this thread.


----------



## Migraine (Aug 9, 2019)

Ok, will keep going.


----------



## Migraine (Aug 9, 2019)

So it was all looking the colour round the sides, but you can see the base has gone silvery again.


----------



## HRC_64 (Aug 9, 2019)

If your sidewall transitionas are good you're probably doing OK and not building on poor foundation in absolute sense.


----------



## MrHiggins (Aug 10, 2019)

Here's a good idea to build some seasoning, and getting a tasty treat, too. Potato kugle (fried in chicken fat) for breakfast!


----------



## rickbern (Aug 10, 2019)

Migraine maybe you want to let the pan sit at heat a bit longer when you wipe it down with the oil. 

Mr Higgins, soul food! When those pans are humming they’re the best.


----------



## boomchakabowwow (Aug 17, 2019)

Hottest day of the year is when I got my pan from Fedex. I used my bbq grill to do the seasoning. It’s primarily a paella pan and roasting pan for me so I didn’t need a perfect seasoning. I laid down a light one and called it good. Seasoning a pan in 100 deg heat isn’t the brightest move. Haha. I was seasoned!

All I did was scrub the Ian, heat it up and wipe it with grape seed oil when it was blasting hot. I let it cool down somewhat and repeated a few times.

I’m gonna try a huge paella tomorrow.


----------



## boomchakabowwow (Aug 17, 2019)

The game plan.


----------



## HugSeal (Aug 19, 2019)

I just scrubbed the outside of my pan with some steel wool, and it looked amazing. It's hard to get the colours right on a photo, they are more exaggerated in real life, but it could fit the patina thread


----------

