Not sure I'm doing it right. No, I'm not "obsessive about seasoning" as someone mentioned in the carbon seasoning thread, but I first fried up some bacon this morning. The bacon slid around nicely, but when I tried to wipe the excess grease before the eggs I noticed quite a bit of sticky crud. Added some oil and fried up two eggs. They stuck quite badly, but I finally managed to get them out without destroying them. I prefer over-easy, but that would've been impossible. There were lots of proteins stuck in the pan, and it took lots of hot water to start loosening. My pan-dedicated nylon brush did nothing so I resorted to a well-used "green sponge" (De Buyer's term for a 3M ScotchBrite?) which did the trick with some effort. But now it looks like the pan has a very pretty blue patina, but the seasoning appears to be gone. Attempt number three?
As others have mentioned, the sugars from the bacon will often lead to little bits sticking, but it shouldn't be big deal. I created a pretty solid, flake-free patina on my pan using a combo of the peanut oil soak method and then the lard & paper towel wipe method and I still get little sugary-sticky pits of bacon goo stuck after I'm done cooking bacon.
Here's what i do:
-with all of the bacon out of the pan, but the bacon grease still in the pan, adjust the heat so that you're just below the smoke point of the bacon grease.
-use your metal spatula like a paint scraper to remove all of the burnt / gooey / sticky bits. A narrow and flexible one works best for getting into corners and around the sides.
I like this one:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0006A03TW/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 - I actually sharpened the leading edge like a chisel and flattened the underside -it does a really great job of getting under the gunk. Removing a few scrapes of seasoning here and there is not a big deal. The key to making / keeping a good seasoning is to keep it thin and smooth. Thick, chunky bits will flake like a bad paint-job.
- I have found that having the hot grease in the pan makes removing stuck-on stuff much easier than with water.
-once you have liberated all of the gunk, dump the grease out (or reserve it for use later)
-wad up a small bit (maybe 1/4 sheet) of paper towel and wipe around the pan. This will help to remove the last little flakes of burnt stuff and also spread a thin / even layer of grease.
- for extra anti-stick / to repair the scratches left from your spatula, you can add back in a little oil or bacon grease and wipe again with the paper towel wad.
-The surface of the pan should look shinny/glossy and smooth, not dull and smoking (again, too much smoke= too much heat).
The pan is ready for eggs. (you will probably want to turn the heat back up a little bit to help the pan recover from the raw eggs pulling the heat out). Adding just a pinch of butter or a little of the bacon grease will even further increase the non-stick (and add flavor).
I would say that the biggest learning curve with these pans is heat management and realizing that you don't actually need that much. Electric burners are always a PITA and add to the "challenge." I really miss cooking with fire...
