Help - I HATE my omelet pan- the steel pan thread

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Can you ever get the seasoning to the point that you can cook sauces in a carbon steel pan? I've got an 11" that I seasoned per the instructions, and thought I had a nice even seasoning on it, only to have it flake off into my sauce. So, I scrubbed it bare, and tried again. It's fine for meat, and sticking isn't much of an issue, but the seasoning still seems weak...like I've got a layer of carbon rather than a truly bonded layer.

I managed to warp the base a little on my crappy old stove, so I'm tempted to just start fresh with a new pan.
 
aintnojive said:
Can you ever get the seasoning to the point that you can cook sauces in a carbon steel pan? I've got an 11" that I seasoned per the instructions, and thought I had a nice even seasoning on it, only to have it flake off into my sauce. So, I scrubbed it bare, and tried again. It's fine for meat, and sticking isn't much of an issue, but the seasoning still seems weak...like I've got a layer of carbon rather than a truly bonded layer.

I managed to warp the base a little on my crappy old stove, so I'm tempted to just start fresh with a new pan.
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Welcome to KKF!
Its worth a shot to strip it bare and reseason as discribed above. I like to do it outside on the gas grill to keep the smoke out of the house.
 
I think that sometimes it is best to be patient and let the seasoning build on it's own over time, that allows it to really permeate the pores of the metal and become part of the pan, rather than sitting on the pan. Fry lots of bacon, hamburgers, pork cheeks, and when in doubt slide the product around as it goes into the pan so it can dry the surface instead of bonding. My Griswold #9 developed this way. (got it for a dollar in 1971)
 
I've only had my De Buyer for about a week but it's my favorite pan. It's really light compared to cast iron, but not wimpy like cheap pans and it browns meat much better than my CI pans and is already much more non-stick than anything else I have. I can't believe I didn't get one before.
 
Jim said:
Welcome to KKF Hanzo!

One trip to the heat with oil is more than likely not enough, I would strip it with oven cleaner and wipe down with bacon fat heat it up to 500, remove wipe down again and so forth every 15-20 min. Remember to flip it upsidedown so you get no pooling
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Thanks for the reply! Could I use peanut oil or Crisco for this? Dont know if I have access to bacon fat
 
Hanzo said:
Thanks for the reply! Could I use peanut oil or Crisco for this? Dont know if I have access to bacon fat
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I use Crisco for my seasoning and it works like a champ, and I have had no issues with flaking. I also believe peanut oil works great because of its high smoke point.
 
Hanzo said:
Thanks for the reply! Could I use peanut oil or Crisco for this? Dont know if I have access to bacon fat
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My local grocery store sells "bacon ends" that are basically just the edges of the sliced bacon that have been cut off because they're too fatty. They sell this pretty cheap, I would imagine if you fry this up a couple times you'll get a good seasoning.
 
Alright, stripped it bare last night and reseasoned with lard this time. In the past I've used olive oil (all I had), so I'm hoping that was part of the problem. I went ahead and broke it in this morning with a nice 3 egg omelet using the techniques suggested here...came out great. It's still too early to tell how it will hold up, but I'm gonna "baby" the seasoning a bit and take my other pans out of rotation so this one gets lots of use.
 
Made the trip to Williams Sonoma yesterday to buy the 12" De Buyer Mineral pan. It was the same price as Amazon so in that case I just wanted to go get it now rather than wait. The Mineral pan is definitely VERY heavy and thick. The weight is right there with my 12" Lodge cast iron skillet, but I'm so used to the cast iron stuff that the weight doesn't bother me. The girl behind the counter couldn't get over how heavy it was.
 
apicius9 said:
[video=youtube;LWmvfUKwBrg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWmvfUKwBrg[/video]

'nuff said!

Stefan
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+1 on Julia's old egg show. After watching it many times, and Pepin's method from his Complete Techniques series (also watched many times) I have ZERO problems with omelets in a seasoned iron or nonstick (and some practice of course). As for seasoning pans.....pork fat...nothing better. Also should add...I find that it helps a great deal to make sure the eggs are well mixed. I beat mine with a fork between 60-80 times.
Pepin:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57afEWn-QDg
 
Smarcus said:
I purchased a 12 inch frypan from a William Sonoma store and it's a Mineral 3mm.
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How do you like the mineral pan so far? I love my force blue 9.5 that I got at world market for eggs. I am planning to get a mineral 12.5 and a 14.5 country fry pan. Planning to replace my nonstick 14" saute pan, and the 12 stainless for meat searing and frypan. Found a cheap place to buy deBuyer.

http://www.bakertowne.com/1753/de-Buyer-5510.32--12.5"--Mineral-Round-Frypan.html
http://www.bakertowne.com/servlet/the-1635/country-fry-pan,-country/Detail
 
FYI, Just stopped by Cost Plus World Market.

They've got the de Buyer 9.5" Force Blue on sale for $19.99 (50% off). Looks like the price is good through 4.20.11. Picked one up but haven't tried it yet.

James
 
Yep, that's the pan that has me going on this craze. I'm getting a carbone plus 12.5 and a 14.5 country fry pan within the next week or so. Chose the carbone plus over the mineral because it had the second handle, that may come useful. It is the same one that Jim had pictured earlier.
 
chazmtb said:
I'm getting a carbone plus 12.5 [...] Chose the carbone plus over the mineral because it had the second handle, that may come useful.
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Got the 12.5 a while ago and that second handle sure is useful, that sucker weighs 2.8 kilos...
 
You guys are getting luckier than I am! Went to World Market today to have a look at the 9.5 inch pan since I want something nice for making tortilla espanola but no dice--the pan was there (and looking good) but full price and no discounts in sight! Guess I'll have to keep looking!
 
chazmtb said:
I am planning to get a mineral 12.5 (...) deBuyer.
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FYI: Mine weighs just about spot on 6lbs when empty. That's a lot of weight at the end of that long handle, esp. with something in it.
I don't mind it so much, but the Mrs. can't wield it at all.

Fantastic pan though, fries country potatoes like nobodies business. All that mass keeps the heat up when you need it!
 
They have the 9.5 at world market here for 20 plus a coupon I have so I am gonna go pick one of these up this week sometime. I have been meaning to try one for a while at that price I might get 2.
 
Amon-Rukh said:
You guys are getting luckier than I am! Went to World Market today to have a look at the 9.5 inch pan since I want something nice for making tortilla espanola but no dice--the pan was there (and looking good) but full price and no discounts in sight! Guess I'll have to keep looking!
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You should try taking it up to the register & having them scan it. When I bought mine the price was adjusted automatically at check out, so the discount should be in their system.

James
 
rahimlee54 said:
They have the 9.5 at world market here for 20 plus a coupon I have so I am gonna go pick one of these up this week sometime. I have been meaning to try one for a while at that price I might get 2.
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I just got a $10 off a $30 in store purchase coupon. I'm thinking of getting another 9.5" pan plus something else and taking advantage of the discount. It's a great pan, I could always use an extra.
 
I am in the same boat, can't decide 2 pans and 1 coupon or 1 pan and some food products. Perhaps 2 coupons and 2 pans and food stuff?
 
Looks like some of you have had the De buyer pan for a few months now. How are you guys enjoying it?
Let see some pictures of some seasoned pans!
:thumbsup:

Anybody know of any good deals on the pan? World market doesn't have them on sale anymore
 
What's a 9" blue steel run in the States? I think mine was $25 a few years ago. It is by far, my favourite pan!
I'll take and post a pic soon (if I remember).
 
I had some free time this week and brought two pans and an 8 qt dutch oven down to bare metal and polished them back up to 600 grit. I am trying the flaxseed oil season. More to follow.
 
You guys rock. My finance' and I were just talking about making omelets this morning. Going to have to buy one of those.
-M
 
Jim said:
I had some free time this week and brought two pans and an 8 qt dutch oven down to bare metal and polished them back up to 600 grit. I am trying the flaxseed oil season. More to follow.
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Please post pictures when you're done. A before and after would be great if possible.

Just curious, how coarse did you start and did you sand by hand?

My 12" De Buyer Mineral pan is a joy to use and is so non-stick that a fried egg just slides around, but it hasn't turned black yet, its just a very splotchy brown, even after 2-3 months of use. It doesn't bother me because, as I said, it's non-stick, but sometimes guests will see me cooking it and think I'm using a dirty pan. I don't think I ever seasoned it in an oven, I'm pretty sure I just burned some oil on a stove and started using it. Perhaps I'll try oiling it and then put it in the oven or on the grill to see if that helps give it a nice black patina, because so far it hasn't turned black through use.
 
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