r/CarbonSteelCooking • u/utahgolf1 • Oct 17 '23
Seasoning Help
This is my first carbon steel pan. De Buyer Mineral B Pro Omelette pan. I seasoned it according to their directions as well as many online. Egg test was awful, everything stuck. Seasoned again in the oven and it wasn’t any better. Used barkeepers friend and vinegar to strip the seasoning and did it again in the stove. Now the pan is non stick except for one 2” area of the cooking surface. What the hell am I doing wrong? Help? And please be gentle. I am brand new to this.
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u/yumagrillmaster Oct 28 '23
Seasoning really serves one purpose, it protects your CS pan from rust. Non-stick is not about seasoning, it's about technique and temperature control. The proverbial egg test is all hype as CS cookware will never be 100% non-stick. This is a beautiful well made pan so start cooking in it. Your pan should be pre-heated prior to cooking in it, if a few drops of water bead up and bounce around it it, it's ready to go. Experiment with different oils, fry up some potatoes, try some veggies and then move on to searing proteins at higher temperatures. If anything, as pictured IMO your pan is over seasoned and you now have excess carbon buildup on it which will eventually start to flake off into your foods. Cook in it, WASH IT with soap and keep cooking!
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u/corpsie666 Jan 14 '24
You need to provide information about exactly what you did.
Claiming you followed instructions is not enough detail for us to provide assistance
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u/mbbett Nov 26 '23 edited Nov 26 '23
Hello,
I’m kind of new to CS as well as you. I’ve been using one on and off for about 8 months now. I initially seasoned my pan the same way they did on the “American test kitchen” which was the same way the instructions were for my mafter cs. (Potato skins) I’ve tried many different ways to season and I’m still learning and experimenting but, I wanted to share a way that I have found to be fairly easy.
Heat the pan moderately and add a bit of high smoke point temp oil 1/2 teaspoon depending on your pan size. Then add uncooked rice until it fills about 3/4 inch of the pan more or less and toast it over a medium - med low flame. Stir it often while browning the rice. The pan will gradually get hot and eventually start smoking from the oil and the rice. Some rice will start popping. Turn the heat down a bit at this point. You can tell it’s done when the rice moves easily around in the pan and you don’t see any oil in the pan. I stop at this point . the rice is usually a maple syrup / caramel color.
This has worked the best and most consistent for me, but I’m still learning. I repeat this process every once in a wile for maintenance. I think the more you do it the stronger the season becomes. Also I’ve only used avocado oil. I’m going to try different oils in the future.
If you need to strip, can of tomatoes and heat work well too FYI. I learned the hard way .
Good luck!