Carbon Pan Seasoniong Question + Pictures

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As I've been increasingly creeped out by nonstick pans, I've moved more and more towards other types. What's been surprising me is how nonstick these other types of pans actually are. I can cook just about anything in my carbon, cast iron, or enameled cast iron pans. Seriously--in my experience, things just slip around if you heat the pan well enough. Here's one method for seasoning you can check out if you're still interested: http://sherylcanter.com/wordpress/2010/01/a-science-based-technique-for-seasoning-cast-iron/
 
Made eggs today the way I like it. I call it kinda like open omelet, you drop eggs and then raise sides gently so raw egg can fall on the skillet to cook. No turning, no breaking, no folding, nothing

Cooked off some bacon, removed most of the grease; left just enough to coast the pan. It was pretty hot, lightly smoking.

Poured 3 eggs, added cheese, waited 30 seconds, gently raised sides. Another 30-45 seconds, took it off. Pictures show the progress.

Pan passed the egg test!

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The eggs look great, butt boy is that an ugly pan!
 
I decided to buy a mineral b de buyer 12.5 pan. Seasoned it per the instructions and cooked up bacon, potatoes, and eggs. The bacon and potatoes stuck on me a bit, but it was manageable. Frying the eggs was not bad at all, I hit the pan with some butter and I didn't have much sticking at all. Here is what the pan looks like now.

xxSSf.jpg
 
It will be black as night if you use it every day in like 3 months. Or you could use a turkey fryer or if you have access to a commercial hood and range and just add some lard (thin layer) and let it rip. it will blacken up to non stickish pretty quick that way.
 
Been using it the past two days and I'm starting to get some nice patina in the inside and outside. It is quickly becoming my favorite pan.
 
So is it a total no go to deglaze in this pan as another poster mentioned?? I like to make pan sauces and I just got an 10 inch skillet was planning on doing minute steaks with red wine and shallot sauce would that be ok ????
 
Moses the armenian said:
So is it a total no go to deglaze in this pan as another poster mentioned?? I like to make pan sauces and I just got an 10 inch skillet was planning on doing minute steaks with red wine and shallot sauce would that be ok ????
Click to expand...

You can do it if you have a really really nice and established cure on the pan but you will always be fighting to keep the skillet to retain that cure if you aren't using the pan for lots and lots of other things too. I have done it to great and tasty effect but it will flake off some carbon.
 
I've never had an issue deglazing in my cast iron. Well, once, but that was because I did a terrible job seasoning.
 
I think the comment was more that the particular seasoning pictured would flake while deglazing, because it is laid on thick and is flake prone in general. I have found that to be true as well, my first seasoning on my Debuyer looked similar and had that issue. I stripped it and started over, it's now thin and smooth and not so flake prone.
 
Thanks for all the help guys!!!!!

Just curious who here has the de buyer 9inch deep country pan ? How do you like it and what does it do that. the shallow skillets won't do ?
 
I tried to do some potatoes last night. Big failure. I preheated the pan, added plenty of oil. Cut them home fries style, stopped them in to cook (fry not deep fry). Waiting 10 minutes. Turned and few were sticking... However, after next turn, whole pan was sticking. Big Failure :(
 
ptolemy said:
I tried to do some potatoes last night. Big failure. I preheated the pan, added plenty of oil. Cut them home fries style, stopped them in to cook (fry not deep fry). Waiting 10 minutes. Turned and few were sticking... However, after next turn, whole pan was sticking. Big Failure :(
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That sucks. I had a similar experience my first time out with making fried taters, but I kept moving the potatoes to minimize the sticking. The second time I fried up bacon first then put in the taters. Turned out much better.

Do you think the pan was too hot or perhaps not hot enough?
 
Shinob1 said:
That sucks. I had a similar experience my first time out with making fried taters, but I kept moving the potatoes to minimize the sticking. The second time I fried up bacon first then put in the taters. Turned out much better.

Do you think the pan was too hot or perhaps not hot enough?
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It was definitely hot enough and I dried potatoes before putting them in. Also rinsed through 3-4 water cycles to remove excess starch. I think after I turned them, the starch just grabbed it :(
 
eggs wouldnt stick to well seasoned pan. Potato either

Season again.
 
Aside from the potato incident, how is the pan working out for you? I'm enjoying mine and the seasoning is coming along, but only one part of the pan has a darker black spot. The rest of the pan is taking on a brownish color, with some areas being darker then others.
 
Shinob1 said:
Aside from the potato incident, how is the pan working out for you? I'm enjoying mine and the seasoning is coming along, but only one part of the pan has a darker black spot. The rest of the pan is taking on a brownish color, with some areas being darker then others.
Click to expand...

I really really like it. I still keep my cast iron for 2 things: sausages and tomato based sauces. Everything else, that's not starch based, is in this pan:)
 
thread revival!!

just about dipped my big toe into the pool of carbon steel. ordered my first DuBeyer. really agonized and decided to match the size of my current (brand new) restaurant supply store TEFLON pan..so i got a 10" pan. figured if this works, that is the pan i'll replace anyways. i think this will work because i go car camping all the time and i never feel brave enough to bring any teflon..only my vintage Griswold which is pretty silly on a backcountry trip. i'll be comfortable running the dubeyer in a campfire. and it wont kill me if it gets stolen. :)

cant wait to overthink and agonize over the seasoning process..(like i did with the Griswolds and Wagners i have) :D
 
Some time ago I purchased a bunch of carbon steel de Buyer pans for work. After much trial and error I found that the best method is using flax-seed oil.
Heat up the clean pan, put literally a couple drops of the oil and distribute it evenly with a paper towel over the pan, so that you have a barely visible shine on the pan. Then you keep the pan on a medium heat till the oil starts to smoke.
From there there is two options, either you take the pan off the heat, let it cool down and repeat the process several times, or - what I found works better - leave the pan on a medium heat, and once the pan stops smoking add another thin layer of oil and spread with the paper towel. Its important to use minimal amount of oil, and wait till the oil stops smoking between the applications. This ensures the layers of oil properly polymerize before you add another layer
 
cain47 said:
Some time ago I purchased a bunch of carbon steel de Buyer pans for work. After much trial and error I found that the best method is using flax-seed oil.
Heat up the clean pan, put literally a couple drops of the oil and distribute it evenly with a paper towel over the pan, so that you have a barely visible shine on the pan. Then you keep the pan on a medium heat till the oil starts to smoke.
From there there is two options, either you take the pan off the heat, let it cool down and repeat the process several times, or - what I found works better - leave the pan on a medium heat, and once the pan stops smoking add another thin layer of oil and spread with the paper towel. Its important to use minimal amount of oil, and wait till the oil stops smoking between the applications. This ensures the layers of oil properly polymerize before you add another layer
Click to expand...

thanks!!

i also use flaxoil. i typically "bake" the thing in my weber gas grill. just did a very rusty dutch oven this way, and it came out looking black and beautiful. i'll abandon the dutch-O in my brother's camper for outdoor cooking. i dont need a CI dutch.

i kinda want to use the same method for my carbon pan, but i see a silicon plug in the handle that would vaporize at my weber temps :)
 
I do what America's Test Kitchen does:

[video=youtube;-suTmUX4Vbk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-suTmUX4Vbk[/video]

It works.
 
cain47 said:
Some time ago I purchased a bunch of carbon steel de Buyer pans for work. After much trial and error I found that the best method is using flax-seed oil.
Heat up the clean pan, put literally a couple drops of the oil and distribute it evenly with a paper towel over the pan, so that you have a barely visible shine on the pan. Then you keep the pan on a medium heat till the oil starts to smoke.
From there there is two options, either you take the pan off the heat, let it cool down and repeat the process several times, or - what I found works better - leave the pan on a medium heat, and once the pan stops smoking add another thin layer of oil and spread with the paper towel. Its important to use minimal amount of oil, and wait till the oil stops smoking between the applications. This ensures the layers of oil properly polymerize before you add another layer
Click to expand...

It would be really great if you could post a pic or two. Every picture I've seen, and every pan I've tried with flaxseed oil, ends up with a "mottled" appearance.
 
I still don't know how you guys stand that hot linseed oil smell all over the house. Even if I didn't mind it, my wife was way annoyed with me. Back to several coats of peanut oil in the oven.
 
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