Carbon steel is killing me


 
For carbon steel pans (woks and otherwise), I use the following method which is somewhat similar to the one described by Tane Chan (of Wok Shop fame) in Grace Young's Breath of the Wok. There is a whole chapter in that book devoted to different seasoning methods for carbon steel woks, so this is not the only way, but this worked for me:

Bake off any factory oil/coatings/old seasoning. I actually just throw it in the Genesis and let it rip for about 20-25 minutes as if I'm doing a cleaning burn.

Scrub the pan in the sink after it cools down, dry, and apply a thin coat of your preferred cooking oil. I mean thin, as in barely perceptible. Wipe off the entire pan over and over again with a paper towel until there's just a barely-there sheen over the whole pan.

Bake upside down at a temp around the smoke point for about 30 min. I usually use peanut oil to season, so I'm using my Genesis outside at around 450 F.

After the pan cools, take it to the sink and scrub the living daylights out of it with a stainless scrubbie, almost as if you're trying to remove the seasoning by hand. I think this abrades the surface to allow the next coat to stick, and also ensures there are no thick spots to gum up and cause issues down the line.

Dry the pan, and repeat the oiling process twice more for a total of three layers. Then start cooking!

As others have mentioned, acidic foods are not a good choice for carbon steel pans, but after enough cooks, I've found that while the seasoning might look like utter trash to the point where it appears to have been stripped away, the pans are actually quite nonstick with just a little bit of oil used. I only consider reseasoning if I run into problems with rust.

(I have a bunch of carbon steel woks, the 11-inch version of the Matfer Bourgeat linked in the first post, and a tiny Japanese carbon steel fry pan)
 
Matfer Bourgeat Black Carbon Steel Fry Pan, 11 7/8 Inches

Seasoned sooo many times and it doesn't hold up. I understand the seasoning process as I have several cast iron pans that I love and work great. This guy however just doesn't seem to hold the seasoning for some reason... Any suggestions???? I season per the instructions that came with the pan........ UGH don't want to go back to Teflon.
Do you know a farmer? Probably get an old one for free. No better CS.57F2FC59-231A-45A9-9E9C-B199D9AFDA48.jpeg
 
Depends on what you are cooking in it, you still need to use oil or butter. It will not ever be as nonstick as a nonstick pan. I use nonteflon nonstick to cook my eggs and I use butter, the eggs fly out when done.
 
Matfer Bourgeat Black Carbon Steel Fry Pan, 11 7/8 Inches

Seasoned sooo many times and it doesn't hold up. I understand the seasoning process as I have several cast iron pans that I love and work great. This guy however just doesn't seem to hold the seasoning for some reason... Any suggestions???? I season per the instructions that came with the pan........ UGH don't want to go back to Teflon.
No reason to go back to Teflon. I can’t speak to carbon steel myself, because I heard enough complaints to stay away from it. I can speak to stainless Tri-ply skillets like the All-Clad D3 skillet. Preheat, add butter or oil right before adding the food, and most ingredients do quite well, with the exception of sugary foods, which require a lower temp. I even use it to fry eggs with no problems. There are other brands that are similar at a fraction of the price. Good luck.
 
Depends on what you are cooking in it, you still need to use oil or butter. It will not ever be as nonstick as a nonstick pan. I use nonteflon nonstick to cook my eggs and I use butter, the eggs fly out when done.
I didn’t say I was frying and browning using nothing. The point was there’s no seasoning loss with this carbon steel and eggs will fly out of this nonteflon nonstick just the same. 😉
 
I cook eggs and sausage in my Lodge carbon steel pan every day. I choose it over the cast iron as it heats up much quicker, but as you noticed it is not as non-stick. I have tried many different oil/fat combos and the best is bacon fat. I cook a package of bacon every month or 2 just for the fat to put into a container in the fridge for my eggs. Every few uses I squirt a little water in the pan right after cooking and use the spatula to scrape the pan and wipe out with a paper towel. Every once in a while I do give is a good washing with soap and water, dry, put back on the stove, heat up, rub a little grapeseed oil and heat up until is starts smoking and it is ready to go again. Hope this helps.
 
+1 on Grace Young's (keep wanting to call her Grace Jones) method and books.
Another way of seasoning is to deep fry in it. At least a couple of times.

I use my small cast iron wadjan (wok) for this. And it works a dream.
Just be careful and don't fill it too full. And pay attention
 
For carbon steel pans (woks and otherwise), I use the following method which is somewhat similar to the one described by Tane Chan (of Wok Shop fame) in Grace Young's Breath of the Wok. There is a whole chapter in that book devoted to different seasoning methods for carbon steel woks, so this is not the only way, but this worked for me:

Bake off any factory oil/coatings/old seasoning. I actually just throw it in the Genesis and let it rip for about 20-25 minutes as if I'm doing a cleaning burn.

Scrub the pan in the sink after it cools down, dry, and apply a thin coat of your preferred cooking oil. I mean thin, as in barely perceptible. Wipe off the entire pan over and over again with a paper towel until there's just a barely-there sheen over the whole pan.

Bake upside down at a temp around the smoke point for about 30 min. I usually use peanut oil to season, so I'm using my Genesis outside at around 450 F.

After the pan cools, take it to the sink and scrub the living daylights out of it with a stainless scrubbie, almost as if you're trying to remove the seasoning by hand. I think this abrades the surface to allow the next coat to stick, and also ensures there are no thick spots to gum up and cause issues down the line.

Dry the pan, and repeat the oiling process twice more for a total of three layers. Then start cooking!

As others have mentioned, acidic foods are not a good choice for carbon steel pans, but after enough cooks, I've found that while the seasoning might look like utter trash to the point where it appears to have been stripped away, the pans are actually quite nonstick with just a little bit of oil used. I only consider reseasoning if I run into problems with rust.

(I have a bunch of carbon steel woks, the 11-inch version of the Matfer Bourgeat linked in the first post, and a tiny Japanese carbon steel fry pan)
This is exactly how I did my wok. Dunno about pans, but my understanding is that brands might matter more with cs. There's a lot out there on this.
 
Matfer Bourgeat Black Carbon Steel Fry Pan, 11 7/8 Inches

Seasoned sooo many times and it doesn't hold up. I understand the seasoning process as I have several cast iron pans that I love and work great. This guy however just doesn't seem to hold the seasoning for some reason... Any suggestions???? I season per the instructions that came with the pan........ UGH don't want to go back to Teflon
I had one of these. Unfortunately it didn't fair well on my induction cooktop and turned into a spinner . Gave it to my daughter who has a gas cooktop and she loves it. I opted for a better grade and use it daily. I purchased mine through here....https://blanccreatives.com/collections/cookware-bakeware/products/skilletmedium11

Yes, its pricey but you wont have to worry about buying another one!
 

 

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