About the paper towel usage 😂 I had to pause and write this; the last 3 days I've been seasoning my De Buyer pans and Craft Wok carbon steel wok. I can attest to the increase in paper towel usage so far 🤣 Gas and electricity usage are not bad either 🙄 I really enjoy your videos; they always have a sense of humor, but always contain a huge amount of actual information. Thank you for all your efforts in reviewing these products and sharing your experience with us.
Great video, instead of the steel wool for my cast and steel for deep cleaning I like to use kosher salt with paper towel in a warm pan. Some times a little oil. Cleans all the bacon stuff off.
I have a carbon steel wok that I have never been able to season properly. This video is the best of all the many videos I've watched on how and why to take the steps that will result in a good seasoning. Thank you.
One method to consider is baking plain table salt in your pan every once in a while. Scrub the hot salt in the pan. This will remove all proteins. Also very useful after baking fish to remove the fishy smell from the pan.
Stop perpetuating the confusion around not using soap! While it's absolutely true it's also true that basically NO ONE uses soap anymore; we all use detergent. It's not just a semantic difference. When people say "don't use soap" it's because traditionally soap had lye in it. It's that that strips the seasoning. Read the ingredients on your "soap" and you'll probably find something like laurel sulfate as the active ingredient. In other words... don't be so afraid to use a little detergent on your carbon steel or cast iron.
I use Scott blue shop towels for seasoning cast iron and carbon steel. The blue towels are much tougher, so you don't go through so many in a cleaning session. BTW, if you like to make skillet pizza in cast iron, try it in a large carbon steel pan. Bake it as you usually would, it may finish baking a little sooner.
I have not tried the pizza in carbon steel but I will put it on the List. The other thing I want to do is a head to head comparison of corn bread in CI vs CS.
I was today years old when I learned that sticky burnt on food comes off my cast iron like magic when I pour hot water into a hot pan. It worked incredibly well! For that matter, the whole channel is great, I've been slowly binge watching it. :) The only thing I'd add is that I always pour my extra fat into the trash, before I start to rinse and wipe the pan. That much butter and bacon grease slowly clogs up pipes over time, which can be expensive to resolve...
For me, if there's not too much I put it right int he trash, or maybe into an empty can. When I use the deep fryer and empty it, I put the oil back into a plastic jug. if I'm using hot water and dish soap that cuts grease, I feel like it doesn't clog too bad, but who knows.
Hey Uncle Scott, I've referred to this video many times over the last year and half since obtaining a carbon steel Made In pan. Tonight, I burned onions onto it so bad, I thought the belt sander was on the way! Thanks, best carbon steel series on You Tube! Mike
I think people worry to much about the "look" of the seasoned pan. My pan is uneven, the color comes and goes. I've used a green scrubby on it and some of the seasoning has come off, didnt hurt it a bit. As long as the pan cooks well, go with it.
I've been using chain mail and just hot tap water, no boiling of liquids on the burner, discard the glaze and rince...once that's done I dry the pan over the burner on high setting, set aside to cool (warm is good enough), then apply a thin coat of oil, reheat on high till smoking for a minute or two, let cool again, then apply a final thin protective coat of oil. Done no sticky gummed up oil. Very similar to your method only slight differences. A couple of things I do to conserve on paper towels is to not use them to dry the pan since I use the burner to do that anyway. I also wad up a ball of one full sheet of paper towel and put it inside another twist the tag end closed, fold it over and secure with a rubber band which is used to apply oil. Works for several applications.
I have 3 carbon steel skillets. The small one is dedicated for omelettes. I use it almost every day for a 2 egg french omelette . After making the omelette I just wipe out the pan with a paper towel and put it aside . Then it’s ready for next morning omelette. No hot water needed as I use it every day. The bacon I fry in the microwave. For the bigger pans, which i use for steaks etc, I sometimes have to clean with hot water, put it back on the stove, let it cool down and add a thin layer of oil as you described. If I cook something sour (with wine or tomatoes) a touch up seasoning as you described is sometimes needed.
Hi Uncle Scott, truly enjoy your humorous and informative videos. Question - what is that brown residue that the paper towel picks up when I'm wiping oil onto my Matfer before storing it away? Is this toxic? I also noticed it on my carbon steel wok too
Finally explained. - I have two little iron oven dishes that were always sticky and never knew why it was always sticky. Oil after the cooling! Thank you!
I happened to buy a cheap carbon steel wok for the first time after 15 yrs of marriage for chinese cooking and i am absorbing your tips! Thank u and thank u for the fun too!
It also works great to Heat up the pan, after heating the pan, add 2 parts of salt with 1 part of oil. Use this mixture to scrub the sticky areas. Works great for me.
Very helpful videos! Thank you! I'm getting my first Matfer Bourgeat today. I have a few questions for you: 1) How often do I need to do maintenance/touch-up seasoning? After every time I cook? 2) Does the pan need to ALWAYS be at room temperature before I add the oil (like for touch-up seasoning after cooking and cleaning) to prevent the sticky residue or can it be warm? It looks like you were heating the pan while adding the oil for the touch-up seasoning. 3) You mentioned at the 3:15 mark, that you add a "protective layer of oil" if you like how the seasoning looks (after rinsing, drying, and letting it cool to room temperature). Do you not heat that "protective layer of oil" or just wipe it on then store the pan?
Thank you for the compliments! In general, after I get any water on the pan I heat it on the stove and evaporate any moisture off. If you do that, I'd let the pan cool back down to room temp before adding the protective oil. It'll be fine for a little while without the oil. Just don't let it sit days if you live in a humid climate. I'm in arid Utah, so I have little trouble with ambient humidity causing rust, but if you are in the hot and muggy Deep South, it could happen. For me, adding any oil to a hot pan results in stickiness, so I always let it cool back down. I don't do the touch-up seasoning every time I cook... maybe once every two weeks. If something starts sticking or if you use a metal utensil and scratch it up, then by all means more often. I cook eggs about four times per week, so I'd say I touch it up every 8 - 10 uses or so. I did another video on this subject if you want to check it out: ruclips.net/video/Wdh5gSiAMIY/видео.html
@@UncleScottsKitchen Thanks for the reply! Do you just wipe it on and leave it? Don't need to heat up the oil for the protective layer? Also, how often do you do the touch-up seasoning vs regular ol' "protective layer"?
Got my first carbon steel pan yesterday; BK Cookware of Holland. It is a 10" black carbon steel with ceramic glazed cast iron handle oven safe to 660f. I made your hash browns & a slippery single egg with butter. To help season pan I cooked canned corn beef hash. Pan is 2mm black carbon steel on induction. Power applied gently & pan is rotated during cooking. Enjoy Channel
Thanks! I was trying to figure out why my new matfer pan kept getting super duper sticky after my initial seasoning. The company said it was still the protective wax remnants but i scrubbed it with a green brillo HARD before i seasoned. Must be because of when im adding my light coating of oil. Thanks again!
If all you did was wipe it clean, you just put the pan away as is. If you used water, you should dry it on the stove top and wipe on some protective oil once the pan is cooled. I think he's kind of a fanatic (and we love him for it), so he does a touch-up seasoning once every day. It's not necessary. Once you use the pan the next time, your protective oil will polimerize while you're heating up the skillet. So, in essence, you are doing a touch-up seasoning every time.
As I'm becoming better acquainted with my Matfer Bourgeat CS pan, I ran into a dilemma after frying up some home fries. The pan had the remains of oil, which obviously couldn't be washed down the drain. So, I used coarse kosher salt to absorb the oil and scrub the cooled pan before tossing the oil-salt concoction into a plastic bag for the trash. Wonderful! I then rinsed out my pan, gave it another scrubbing with hot water (no soap), towel-dried it, and put it on the burner to dry out any excess moisture.
@@UncleScottsKitchen - Will do. Thanks. I originally seasoned it per the guidlines on the pan (2x's with salt, oil, potato skins for 15 minutes). Since then (about 2 weeks), I've been just wiping it out well with dry paper towels. In the beginning it was pretty good. Lately it's been sticky. So today I did as you suggested and heated up the pan, added hot water and then scraped the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon (flat). Then dumped out the water, dried with paper towels, heated it on the stove top to 400 degrees, and oiled it a bit. Let it cool and now it's in a 400 degree oven that just finished being used. So it'll heat up a bit there. Tonight when it's cool I'll reoil and then see how the eggs turn out tomorrow AM. I'll let you know. I really want this to work so I can get off the Teflon pans.
Hello Uncle Scott: I am a newbie to the world of carbon steel. Thanks for the video! I have some questions: 1. Do I need to wash the pan *immediately* after finishing cooking with it? 2. I made a mega mess with cooking protein with a wine/fruit (specifically port and plum) sauce in my pan. Needless to say, everything stuck. I couldn't get the stickiness off. How do I clean this mess without nuking the pan? Thanks 😊!
As ever thanks for the video & wisdom. My biggest question: I have experienced "medium mess" which seems worse than the rest. But why does this happen if the pan is (as yours) correctly seasoned & super non stick? Thanks vm.
With the popularity of these carbons teel pans these days, there have been a lot of people saying they can be made completely nonstick like a Teflon pan. But in reality, they won't get as nonstick as some chemical surface like Teflon. SO sometimes you might get some egg white sticking on there. If you brown beef, there will be some sticky bits on the bottom (that can be made into a fond). Bacon seems to be a big offender for leaving some sticky bits, even though the bacon doesn't stick. But I have never had any mess so bad that it wouldn't clean right up with a scrubbie, and usually I don't even need that. Just paper towels. I think the pans are at least as non-stick as a good seasoned cast iron pan. I'd still rather deal with a little mess every now and then than use Teflon.
Question I seasoned my crafted wok the first time and I don’t know where I did wrong but I created a sticky gunk. Please help me how to fix it. You’re video is really helpful.
I have not used a wok but if it is carbon steel I will try to help. If you have a sticky gunk, you probably didn't get the wok hot enough or hot enough for long enough. Try heating it back up until it smokes and see if the gunk hardens. If that doesn't work, maybe simmer some tomatoes and the acidity should eat that gunk off and you can restart. Hope that helps!
Appreciate you talking about bacon and how tough it can be. I cook bacon and eggs afterwards in the same pan and have been having a heck of a time keeping this non stick. Assumed bacon with all of the fat would work well that way but maybe cooking both in the same pan doesn't make sense.
Bacon is one of the worst offenders for leaving gunk in a pan. Even if the bacon itself is nonstick there is always a bunch of stuff in the pan. If you can swing it, try getting one carbon steel exclusively for eggs and another for a jack of all trades pan.
For a bad mess, I use the Chainmail Square I got from the net. It works great...then heat and Crisco shortening (very thin coat) and more heat, then let it cool..... Done. BTW, my pan is a Lodge, so call me cheep, but it works.
I have four now: a 14" Mauviel (which is HUGE), an 11 5/8" Matfer, a 9.5" De Buyer (omelette pan version), and an 8" Lodge. I like the De Buyer best for eggs. If I had to pick one "jack of all trades" pan, it'd be the Matfer, because its handle can go in the oven. The De Buyer handle is coated, so it can't go in the oven. But I cook more eggs than anything else (4 - 5 times per week), and I mainly use the De Buyer for that. I love them all though!
Uncle Scott's videos are very well tested. They are to the point without being uppity smell me ! Look at me! I'm a professional! You belong in a dunce cap sitting in the corner of the kitchen! But the best feature by far is when you screw up and Uncle Scott takes a few days off and comes to your house with a jug of oil and a few grocery sacks of food to walk you through where you went wrong in person, only requiring you have Coors light.
If you are stuck with using electric, after properly seasoning a Matfer pan in the oven, can you do the maintainence seasoning you demonstrate on the cooktop? Also, could you quantify “low and slow” for the heating up of these pans on electric cooktops. And are coil, which is what we have, pretty much the same as flat tops?
I have not tested that with the Matfer on a coil, but I **think** you should be OK with the maintenance seasoning if you heat it very slowly... don't crank the eye up to high with a cold pan. I will see if I can test that more thoroughly though. To heat slowly, just start out on low, let the pan get warm for a minute or so, then turn it up to med-low, let it warm a little bit more and on and on. Just don't put a cold pan on a screaming hot burner.
I would love to see you review single or double portable flame units (butane, etc). All I asked for when house shopping was a gas stove. Nope. It came with a flattop and I absolutely will not use any if my carbon steel pans on it. So....portable flame units are the solution, until I replace the stove. Thanks!
@@UncleScottsKitchen Yes. So many videos on the benefits of carbon steel, but few mention the cleaning method and oiling every day. I never use expensive paper towels. Paper waste and cost and many old buildings have insects so all food smells have to go into the frig. So for my once a day stove cooking of meats and eggs, I'll try a normal pan and add oil and food at the right temperature (newly learned) that can be washed. Also I newly learned that egg pans are easier to clean after you run the pan under cold water.
Finally, issues of different levels of 'dirty pan' addressed, in the youtube realm. Thank You so Fn much. And,,, Ostriches are people too😝😀😀😀🏁 im useing electric stove, that sucks, so its time to bring the coleman propane campstove and set it atop the apartment stove
Hello, thanks for the video. I still have one issue though: my paper towel never seems to come clean in the end (even though I wash the pan with hot water serveral times). Do you know perhapss why is that so? Is there any way I can make it clean?
Hi Miha. If your paper towel has brownish stuff on it, it might be a little food left in the pan. If you've washed the pan several times and are really rubbing it with a paper towel, you can actually rub off some of the seasoning. If it's a little darker, that might be seasoning you are rubbing off. If it's clean, don't obsess too much!
Thanks for your videos, I've learned a lot about carbon steel pans. however, as a plumber I don't recommend throwing all that grease, or water mixed with grease down the sink drain, as grease is the worse thing for your drain pipes. instead I would throw it in the garbage.
For steel wool, I generally use a Scotch-Brite steel wool balls (they come in big packs from Costco or Sam's), or if I need some soap along with it I will use an SOS or Brillo pad.
Got my first ever CS pan. It's the 11" de Buyer. Followed to the letter and did not get a good seasoning. I have lots of clarifying questions. How high a heat should I put the pan on? My stovetop is an electric coil, is that messing me up? How long should the oil smoke for? How long do I buff the pan once I Dump the oil out? How long do I leave the pan on the burner once I've finished buffing?
OK... we'll get it dialed in. For the heat, if you are seasoning on the stovetop, turn it on low for a minute or so just so you don't shock the pan, then crank it up to high to get the oil smoking. I let the oil smoke for 20 - 30 seconds or so. You want a good smoke, but you don't want to keep going and start a grease fire. Then CAREFULLY dump that oil out. Then I usually set the pan back on the burner and wipe it out (again CAREFULLY) until it looks dry while on the burner. Shouldn't take more than 5 - 10 seconds of wiping, if that. Then I immediately set the pan aside and let it cool to room temp. If you have lots of trouble on a flat top stove AND if your pan has an uncoated handle, you can season in the oven, in which case wipe it until it looks dry before putting it in the oven. If you can't use the oven, you can use a camp burner, outdoor burner, or find a friend of family member with a gas burner and make them dinner if they let you season on their stove. Hope that helps... if not, post back and we'll figure something out.
Hi, I am just getting into this Carbon steel pan thing, I love the idea of going away from Teflon. Just a question, Is it really safe to cook with those layer of oil stuck on your pan and you cook it over and over again??, (everyone calls it well used or seasoned?), has anyone has done studies on this? Just curious to know.
Hi. I watched your video on seasoning carbon steel but can't find it now so posting this question here. I seasoned my new pan according to the instructions but it was patchy and sticky. So cleaned it and did it by your advice and now it's much better, smooth but the colour looks a little patchy still. Is that ok or should I do another layer of seasoning and get a more even colour?
Patchy color is just fine... it will darken in over time. You'll be amazed how much it changes the more you cook. Cook twoo r three times per week and in a month or two it should be really dark.
Ive noticed in your videos you use a wooden straight edge spoon. Yours doesnt look burned at all. Mine got burned the first day. Where did you buy yours? I love your videos. I made the schiacciata and bought 8, 10, and 14” Matfer pans. They are awesome. I have nice Tramontina stainless pans but the Matfer are so much better. Keep the videos coming. 👍
Thank you very much for the compliments! My spoons are not anything special... not even sure where I got them. I probably ordered them online but I can't remember. How did you schiacciata turn out? Best bread in the world!
It was wonderful first night. Then second night we put a bunch of garlic on a few pieces for garlic bread. Then breakfast the next morning put cinnamon and sugar on it and toasted it for cinnamon toast. It was very good. I love the texture. The chew and the crunch and its just tasted great.
For my cast iron I heat the pan up to pretty hot, heat up the faucet to as hot as it goes, the put the pan right under the hot water. That always pulls off all stuck on gunk then just requires a quick wipe. Would that work for carbon steel as well?
I think it might work better to pour some hot water in while the pan is on the stove and deglaze first, BUT no reason it shouldn't work. I would just take double extra sure the tap water is HOT so you don''t run the risk of putting cold water in a hot pan and causing any warping.
Hi Scott, I didn’t like the pan after cooking so Daily or weekly touch up at 3.36 minutes. You put your pan on the burner. Are you putting a cool pan on the burner and adding oil then bringing it to smoke point?
If you can get some chain mail -- yes, the stuff from which suits of armor are made -- that is much, much better than steel wool. It can move the sticky junk without doing nearly so much to the seasoning.
Great video and it was really helpfull for mee as a new carbon steel pan user! I have a question. Sometimes afterparty kooking i have these sticky spots like you can get when you seasoned with to mutch oil. You can feel a high differance and it sticks a bid. None of your mentioned cleaning methodes worked except nuking. Which seems a bit excessive for hoe smal but anoying the spots are. Do you know hoe i prevent thema and clean thema up afterward? Keep on ging!
I had two carbon steel pans. they were good and cooked nicely with very little stickyness. However I did not use them enough and they would rust, even thou they had a thin layer of oil on them. They would rust. Once rust showed up I had to clean it again and this happened just about everytime I went to use it. I had other pans that I would use so I didn't use the carbons often enough to put a new layer of seasoning or oil on them. Interestingly enough: the bottom of the pan had a hard black finish on it that NEVER rusted, but the handle and the inside of the pan would rust after a week or two of sitting there. I eventually threw them both out from frustration.
Very helpful video - and all the others on your channel. Wanted to ask a quick question on when to clean the pan. I've seen folks recommend letting cast iron cool after cooking before getting it hated again and cleaning. Is this what you do for the carbon steel pan too or you usually clean it right away? Thanks!
Great question! If I have seared something like a steak or browned meat and have any sticky bits in there, I will deglaze the pan with a little hot water while it is still hot and scrape anything out with a wooden spatula. If the pan has cooled (say after cooking bacon) and the grease and stuff has solidified, you can reheat and then deglaze it. For most anything else, it doesn't matter as much but I would avoid trying to clean the pan while it is very hot. Let it cool a little and then use hot water. The main thing you don't want to do is put cold water in a hot pan, as that could kind of shock it or make it warp. Warm pan is OK.
I don t have hot running water. Sometimes i m in a rush and i don t have time to heat up some water. What should I do? Leave the mess in the pan and heat up water later?
If you use your carbon skillet fairly often there is no need to ever oil it. That gives the skillet the opportunity to get sticky. I use my carbo skillet at least 5 times per week, often 7 days per week. I have never ever oiled it after it's initial seasoning. After ever use I add like 8-12 oz water to a non-hot skillet (I don't want to warp my hot pan by adding water while pan is hot) bring to a light boil. Scrape a little if necessary with a spatula but 98% of time bits will boil loose. I then take skillet to sink and rinse w water . I give skillet a quick over with a dish towel then sit skillet on a burner adding medium heat for 5 min to dry it totally then turn heat off and let skillet sit there and cool. I use my skillet so much it often just sits on the burner for storage, I feel my skillet gets enough oil in daily use and has created a perfectly seasoned smooth bottom and never needs oil. Now, if you seldom use your skillet and store it away in a humid environment I could see storing in a very light coat of oil but that oil can grow rancid. I have a ceiling suspended pot rack and none of my cast iron suspended in air and are seldom used, none have any rust (dust maybe) and none have been oiled in years and they are all well seasoned. Yes I have several Griswold's and Wagner's. Use fewer pans and use them more frequently. Just learn how to cook w carbon. Don't cook with too high of heat, You can sear on med to med/high. Never add water to a very hot pan.
Using a few drops of dish soap will not hurt a properly seasoned cast iron or carbon steel pan. Several CI sites say that when soaps were lye or vinegar based this was true as the lye in the soap will remove the seasoning. Todays soaps are not lye based so go ahead and use some dish soap if needed it will NOT hurt your seasoned pan. This is from the Field Company: “The old conventional wisdom around cast iron is that soap is the enemy. Back when soaps were commonly made with harsh compounds like lye and vinegar, this was true, but most modern dish soaps, especially eco-friendly varieties, are perfectly safe so long as they don’t contain any polishing agents. If you have residue or strong flavors in your pan that you can’t eliminate with a stiff brush and some water, by all means lather up.”
Totally agree. i occasionally have to use a drop or two, but usually stuff doesn't stick too bad and I can get most of it with hot water and paper towels and maybe a light hit with a scrubby.
Hi Scott, thanks for your videos ...and the touch of humor. I have a question for you: do you use oil to avoid the rust in the outside of the pan? ...mine is brand new, I followed all your recommendations...but, the outside of the pan has small rusty spots just after a few days of use...
Hi Xavier. When I put the protective drops of oil on the pan, I wipe them all over the cooking surface AND the bottom of the pan as well. That should help prevent any rust, Make sure you dry your pan thoroughly too... sometimes there can be a little water on the bottom that you miss.
Hello, I have a question! I put AVO oil on pan just after cleaning but I noticed when the pain heats up it’s leaves oils spots. How do I get rid of the spots without nuking the entire pan and starting over?
Bought pan, seasones, fried steak today.. omg I will never use carbon steel pan inside again😁 only saw that much smoke in a night club before😁 i better wait till my outdoor gasone burner arrives
Hey uncle scott. I have been doing well with my carbon steel pan and seasoning it well. The bottom of my pan feels nice and smooth but for some reason the sides walls seems to get sticky and gummy from oil splatters during cooking. I have a gas stove but the temp on the side of the walls are never high enough and the sides stay sticky. Any suggestions on how to avoid this?
Doh! Sounds like you used way too much oil. I have not tried almond oil, but canola, vegetable and grapeseed are good ones to use. When you season, if using the oven, wipe the oil around the pan and then wipe it until it looks dry. Some oil will still be there. You don't want any drops, runs, streaks, or shiny visible oil. On the stovetop, if you heat 1 mm of oil up to smoking for 30 seconds or so and then pour the oil out, immediately CAREFULLY wipe out the pan again until it looks dry, and you should be good to go!
@@UncleScottsKitchen Woops! Thank you for your response. While not beautiful, the subsequent seasoning has worked very well. Should I start over or just keep it as is? Which of your cleaning methods would you recommend for starting over? The Acid approach?
Good video! Curious though, my carbon steel isn’t very non stick, i seasoned it a few times before use even. I just seasoned it again today and when i pulled it out of the oven after it had cooled it had that sticky tacky layer you had mentioned. Whats the best way to get rid of that?
Maybe stick it back in the oven for another hour and see if that helps. Depending on what temp you were using, you might try increasing it 25 degrees too, but just be careful that you don't get up too close to 500. If that doesn't work, scrub time!
You can see the silver in the middle of the bottom of the pan at 5:24. That´s exactly my problem: I have a steel pan and I seasoned it and it was completely black. But after I cleaned it, the patina was gone, it was silver again. So I wonder how I ever get a lasting patina on it. I saw another video claiming that it depends on the thickness of the steel and the quality of the pan (my pan was cheap) but I can´t imagine that. In general I wonder why they don´t sell more pre seasoned pans if so many people find it difficult to use steel pans.
If you have a good seasoning then a tiny little but of dish soap won't hurt anything, but I think lots of people go crazy with it when they are new and they are still learning carbon steel cooking. I try to not use it unless I have to.
I keep getting people writing and telling me to beat it back into shape with a mallet, but I have not tried that yet. I think I have a mental block about beating a nice pan with anything!
I bought a carbon steel pan for pancakes and put it in my kitchen. After taking away the wax layer I cleaned my pan with hot water and thoroughly dried it with paper towels. When I was going to season it there were many oxidation dots inside my pan. Apparently there has been some wet damp in my kitchen. I seasoned the pan but the oxidation spots are still there. Before using the pan to prepare my food I want to remove the oxidation. Do you have any tips how I can remove the oxidation?
If it is really rust spots, you can either scrub them off with a steel wool ball, or if that doesn't work, then some sand paper. Then clean throroughly and re-season. But you might not really have rust...early on the seasoning can look a little brown and spotty. The pan will get blacker and darker over time the more you use it. So the first thing is to make sure it is really rust or not. If you just washed it after removing the wax and dried it, I doubt you got a lot of rust.
I have one question regarding this daily light seasoning. Are you still putting some oil in it after doing that? I guess this is not necessary since you are practically covering it with a layer of burned fat?
Hey Scott, I've passed the egg test a few times, but fried a burger tonight and most of my seasoning seemed to come off cleaning in hot water with a silicon spatula. After that, paper towel seemed to be rubbing off dark. This has happened a couple times now and I don't seem to be getting past eggs without damaging my seasoning. Any guesses? I'm shooting for 25 deg over smoke point and using grapeseed oil, but probably exceeded that at times - I wouldn't doubt if over reached 500 some points along the way. Should I strip it down, make sure it's clean and just start over? Will going much over the smoke point damage seasoning, or do you have to go way over? Thanks.
I would maybe dial the temp back down a little bit.... maybe try 475. I think seasoning actually starts to burn off form 500 and above. You could also try vegetable and go with 450 and see if that is any different. I would not strip it down... I'd just give it a good wash wash and do a maintenance seasoning. If you can do it on the stovetop (if you have gas burners), just go with 1 mm or so of oil, bring it up to the smoke point for 30 seconds or so, CAREFULLY pour it, wipe it until it looks dry and then you should be good to go. Or do a standard oven seasoning. Best advice is just get it seasoned and cook cook cook.
@@UncleScottsKitchen Thank you sir! That is what I've done. Now I need to try cooking in it again. Maybe eggs for breakfast and burgers for dinner tomorrow - round two.
Scott GREAT VID! is that a Sardel Pan Made in Italia? I use Vintage Farberware original Alluminum Clad from the 60's and 70's also have a Sardel Italia Saute pan Stainless Steel for Chicken Marsala's etc - I use a USA made Cast iron Skillet for meats when called for. I don't have a use for a Carbon Steel at the moment that i can't use the Vintage Farberware for but loved the vid!
I think they decided "canola" was a little more marketable here! It works very well for seasoning and cooking I think. It's one of the four oils that Mauviel recommends for seasoning as well. Great oil.
Uncle ostrich, I have 2 questions for you. First, does non stick spray (Pam or other) qualify as an "oil" after the cleaning? Second, and most importantly, how fast can you run the 40 yard dash?
I'm looking at a can of Pam right now and the ingredients are canola, palm and coconut oil. Those seem fine. Then it lists "lecithin". I'm not sure what that is. It'd probably be OK for the protective coat but I don't think I would season with it. If you try, post back and say how it goes. I'm not sure about my 40 time, but I assume it would be really, really fast. Like an ostrich on the Serengeti.
I maintained my de buyer pan with as much care as you do but one day I just got tired of these post cooking steps and since then I just stop wiping my pan with oil... That said, I use it daily (only lightly most of the time tho), wash it with only hot water and avoid everything acid and to my surprise actually it works just perfectly and the layer just gets better and better...
That's a great way to do it. I don't always do the oil wiping either. I live in Utah where it's dry, so there isn't much rust worry. Where I grew up in Alabama, it was so humid that I think the oil would be necessary there. I think people also mess up their seasoning when they put the oil on a pan that has just been dried on a burner... it gets sticky if you put it on a hot pan but not season it all the way. I like your method!
For some reason I never worry about the outside, I guess because I have a gas burner and I figure it will all get scorched anyway. For length of seasoning, not trying to be wishy washy but it stays until you cook something that pulls some off, either a steak or something acidic or something sticks. For my egg pans, it lasts darn-near indefinitely. If I cook lots of proteins like beef, I can get a patch or two that pulls off and then I just hit it with a touch-up/maintenance seasoning.
@@UncleScottsKitchen Thanks a lot for your response. Anyway, my deBuyer still unfortunately have some spots/"maps" of slightly varying color, even after a treatment with vinegar (boiling!) and some wire wool. Stayed after one cycle of seasoning in the oven. My oven doesn't have a self-cleaning program but I wouldn't want to nuke it, anyway. After that, not sure what my last resort is.
How do you prevent that grease and carbon built up. I scored my pain and cooked with butter and the built up came instantly. Only cooked at medium on electric
First thing, don't panic! We'll get it dialed in. If you have stickiness, there are a couple of main culprits. First is, did you use too much oil? If you season in your oven, wipe the pan until it looks almost dry... no beading or streaks or droplets. If using the stovetop, when the pan is smoking and you pour out the oil and wipe it out, wipe it really dry and let it smoke 10 - 15 seconds more and let it cool. After the pan cools, if it is still sticky to the touch, don't add oil but heat it back up to smoking again and let it cool, or run it through an oven seasoning again. Make sure that sticky oil hardens on there. Next, if you are applying a protective drop of oil, make sure you let the pan cool before adding it, else it turns sticky on a halfway hot pan. If this doesn't help, let me know and we'll figure something else out.
Thank you for your helpful video. I have a Matfer carbon steel pan that I seasoned according to the manufacturer’s instructions. After a few weeks of use it looks awful, in some parts it looks heavily seasoned and in others not at all. What can I do?
Dont worry about it. Just use it. I've had mine for 2 years and the seasoning level comes and goes. As long as you are caring for it correctly, it doesn't matter what it looks like.
If you have Matfer with am untreated handle, you can season it in the oven.... here is a link to a video on it: ruclips.net/video/XJTd_9RBZUI/видео.html
Appreciate the detail in the video..Regarding the paper towels, do you find black residue on the towels after wiping the pan? I have and this is quite disconcerting!
Yes I do... you don't want to overrub. Just clean and dry the pan. If you rub and rub too much, you can actually rub off a little seasoning which will look dark on the paper towel. So if the pan is halfway clean and you rub it and see stuff on the paper towel, that's probably food residue to clean off. But if you have the pan clean and keep rubbing, you can take off a little seasoning. Paper towels are darn near almost like sandpaper. I put swirl marks in my stainless steel backsplash with one batch of paper towels.
Nah... I only do a big seasoning every now and then. After each use, all I normally do is wipe the pan with paper towels, run it under hot water, and dry it for 30 seconds or so on a burner. It's not too much.
Do you always clean the pan while it's still hot? After I'm finished cooking I just wanna eat and not clean. So sometimes, especially after a long and nice dinner, should I just reheat the cooled pan before washing off lets say a light mess? Or shall I just take the cool pan, rinse it with hot water and dry with paper towels + heat on the stove?
About the paper towel usage 😂 I had to pause and write this; the last 3 days I've been seasoning my De Buyer pans and Craft Wok carbon steel wok. I can attest to the increase in paper towel usage so far 🤣 Gas and electricity usage are not bad either 🙄 I really enjoy your videos; they always have a sense of humor, but always contain a huge amount of actual information. Thank you for all your efforts in reviewing these products and sharing your experience with us.
Thank you very much. Thank goodness for warehouse club bundles of paper towels...not sure how we survived without them.
Great video, instead of the steel wool for my cast and steel for deep cleaning I like to use kosher salt with paper towel in a warm pan. Some times a little oil. Cleans all the bacon stuff off.
I seasoned my new pan according to this guy, fried some eggs and cleaned as shown here. Everything was spot on perfect! 10/10, will cook again!
EGG-celent! I am glad that it worked and hope you make many many more good meals with your pan.
I have a carbon steel wok that I have never been able to season properly. This video is the best of all the many videos I've watched on how and why to take the steps that will result in a good seasoning. Thank you.
thank you for the kind compliments!
Scott, I love your videos, I’m just starting my journey with carbon steel pans. Your videos are very entertaining love the humor. Have a great day.
One method to consider is baking plain table salt in your pan every once in a while. Scrub the hot salt in the pan. This will remove all proteins. Also very useful after baking fish to remove the fishy smell from the pan.
Good advice. I will try that.
@@UncleScottsKitchen well does it work?
I would suggest kosher salt. bigger chunks.
Came here to say this. NEVER use a scrubber when kosher salt can be used to scrub.
Stop perpetuating the confusion around not using soap! While it's absolutely true it's also true that basically NO ONE uses soap anymore; we all use detergent. It's not just a semantic difference. When people say "don't use soap" it's because traditionally soap had lye in it. It's that that strips the seasoning. Read the ingredients on your "soap" and you'll probably find something like laurel sulfate as the active ingredient. In other words... don't be so afraid to use a little detergent on your carbon steel or cast iron.
I use Scott blue shop towels for seasoning cast iron and carbon steel. The blue towels are much tougher, so you don't go through so many in a cleaning session.
BTW, if you like to make skillet pizza in cast iron, try it in a large carbon steel pan. Bake it as you usually would, it may finish baking a little sooner.
I have not tried the pizza in carbon steel but I will put it on the List. The other thing I want to do is a head to head comparison of corn bread in CI vs CS.
I also use Scott blue shop towels- they're great.
This video helped me stop making sticky seasoning.
THANK YOU
I was today years old when I learned that sticky burnt on food comes off my cast iron like magic when I pour hot water into a hot pan. It worked incredibly well! For that matter, the whole channel is great, I've been slowly binge watching it. :)
The only thing I'd add is that I always pour my extra fat into the trash, before I start to rinse and wipe the pan. That much butter and bacon grease slowly clogs up pipes over time, which can be expensive to resolve...
For me, if there's not too much I put it right int he trash, or maybe into an empty can. When I use the deep fryer and empty it, I put the oil back into a plastic jug. if I'm using hot water and dish soap that cuts grease, I feel like it doesn't clog too bad, but who knows.
Hey Uncle Scott,
I've referred to this video many times over the last year and half since obtaining a carbon steel Made In pan. Tonight, I burned onions onto it so bad, I thought the belt sander was on the way!
Thanks, best carbon steel series on You Tube!
Mike
I think people worry to much about the "look" of the seasoned pan. My pan is uneven, the color comes and goes. I've used a green scrubby on it and some of the seasoning has come off, didnt hurt it a bit. As long as the pan cooks well, go with it.
Great comments! I think you are right. We need working pans and not work of art pans.
I've been using chain mail and just hot tap water, no boiling of liquids on the burner, discard the glaze and rince...once that's done I dry the pan over the burner on high setting, set aside to cool (warm is good enough), then apply a thin coat of oil, reheat on high till smoking for a minute or two, let cool again, then apply a final thin protective coat of oil. Done no sticky gummed up oil. Very similar to your method only slight differences. A couple of things I do to conserve on paper towels is to not use them to dry the pan since I use the burner to do that anyway. I also wad up a ball of one full sheet of paper towel and put it inside another twist the tag end closed, fold it over and secure with a rubber band which is used to apply oil. Works for several applications.
Great tips for applying oil! Thanks
I have 3 carbon steel skillets. The small one is dedicated for omelettes. I use it almost every day for a 2 egg french omelette . After making the omelette I just wipe out the pan with a paper towel and put it aside . Then it’s ready for next morning omelette. No hot water needed as I use it every day. The bacon I fry in the microwave. For the bigger pans, which i use for steaks etc, I sometimes have to clean with hot water, put it back on the stove, let it cool down and add a thin layer of oil as you described. If I cook something sour (with wine or tomatoes) a touch up seasoning as you described is sometimes needed.
Hi Uncle Scott, truly enjoy your humorous and informative videos. Question - what is that brown residue that the paper towel picks up when I'm wiping oil onto my Matfer before storing it away? Is this toxic? I also noticed it on my carbon steel wok too
I think it’s the carbon buildup (or, shortly, burned food that’s not oil).
Finally explained. - I have two little iron oven dishes that were always sticky and never knew why it was always sticky. Oil after the cooling! Thank you!
Isn't it crazy that they never told us that? No telling how many people in the same boat!
very informative uncle scott ... if there are spotted rust what do you do with it? do you have a video for that? thanks
I happened to buy a cheap carbon steel wok for the first time after 15 yrs of marriage for chinese cooking and i am absorbing your tips! Thank u and thank u for the fun too!
It also works great to Heat up the pan, after heating the pan, add 2 parts of salt with 1 part of oil. Use this mixture to scrub the sticky areas. Works great for me.
Thank you for fixing the sticky pan problem!!
I always use the smoking oil and wipe method, works great.👍
Very helpful videos! Thank you! I'm getting my first Matfer Bourgeat today. I have a few questions for you:
1) How often do I need to do maintenance/touch-up seasoning? After every time I cook?
2) Does the pan need to ALWAYS be at room temperature before I add the oil (like for touch-up seasoning after cooking and cleaning) to prevent the sticky residue or can it be warm? It looks like you were heating the pan while adding the oil for the touch-up seasoning.
3) You mentioned at the 3:15 mark, that you add a "protective layer of oil" if you like how the seasoning looks (after rinsing, drying, and letting it cool to room temperature). Do you not heat that "protective layer of oil" or just wipe it on then store the pan?
Thank you for the compliments! In general, after I get any water on the pan I heat it on the stove and evaporate any moisture off. If you do that, I'd let the pan cool back down to room temp before adding the protective oil. It'll be fine for a little while without the oil. Just don't let it sit days if you live in a humid climate. I'm in arid Utah, so I have little trouble with ambient humidity causing rust, but if you are in the hot and muggy Deep South, it could happen. For me, adding any oil to a hot pan results in stickiness, so I always let it cool back down. I don't do the touch-up seasoning every time I cook... maybe once every two weeks. If something starts sticking or if you use a metal utensil and scratch it up, then by all means more often. I cook eggs about four times per week, so I'd say I touch it up every 8 - 10 uses or so. I did another video on this subject if you want to check it out: ruclips.net/video/Wdh5gSiAMIY/видео.html
@@UncleScottsKitchen Thanks for the reply! Do you just wipe it on and leave it? Don't need to heat up the oil for the protective layer? Also, how often do you do the touch-up seasoning vs regular ol' "protective layer"?
Nevermind on my second reply. I apparently didn't hit "read more". Thanks for explaining! Can't wait to start using my new skillet!
@@UncleScottsKitchen Hey Scott, just fyi; the link you posted in your reply takes us right back to the video we're on right now.
Got my first carbon steel pan yesterday; BK Cookware of Holland. It is a 10" black carbon steel with ceramic glazed cast iron handle oven safe to 660f. I made your hash browns & a slippery single egg with butter. To help season pan I cooked canned corn beef hash. Pan is 2mm black carbon steel on induction. Power applied gently & pan is rotated during cooking. Enjoy Channel
Thanks! I was trying to figure out why my new matfer pan kept getting super duper sticky after my initial seasoning. The company said it was still the protective wax remnants but i scrubbed it with a green brillo HARD before i seasoned. Must be because of when im adding my light coating of oil. Thanks again!
Yep... that's the one thing no one ever tells you! Pan is probably fine but the protective oil is getting gunky.
O
Hey Scott,
Do you need to do the touch-up seasoning on the stove top after each use? Or can I just dry my pan well and put it away?
If all you did was wipe it clean, you just put the pan away as is. If you used water, you should dry it on the stove top and wipe on some protective oil once the pan is cooled. I think he's kind of a fanatic (and we love him for it), so he does a touch-up seasoning once every day. It's not necessary. Once you use the pan the next time, your protective oil will polimerize while you're heating up the skillet. So, in essence, you are doing a touch-up seasoning every time.
As I'm becoming better acquainted with my Matfer Bourgeat CS pan, I ran into a dilemma after frying up some home fries.
The pan had the remains of oil, which obviously couldn't be washed down the drain. So, I used coarse kosher salt to absorb the oil and scrub the cooled pan before tossing the oil-salt concoction into a plastic bag for the trash.
Wonderful! I then rinsed out my pan, gave it another scrubbing with hot water (no soap), towel-dried it, and put it on the burner to dry out any excess moisture.
Good advice. Thanks. Just got my first CS pan and am having some issues. I'll follow your advice. Appreciate it.
Holler if you need help and I'll try to help you get it dialed in.
@@UncleScottsKitchen - Will do. Thanks. I originally seasoned it per the guidlines on the pan (2x's with salt, oil, potato skins for 15 minutes). Since then (about 2 weeks), I've been just wiping it out well with dry paper towels. In the beginning it was pretty good. Lately it's been sticky. So today I did as you suggested and heated up the pan, added hot water and then scraped the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon (flat). Then dumped out the water, dried with paper towels, heated it on the stove top to 400 degrees, and oiled it a bit. Let it cool and now it's in a 400 degree oven that just finished being used. So it'll heat up a bit there. Tonight when it's cool I'll reoil and then see how the eggs turn out tomorrow AM. I'll let you know. I really want this to work so I can get off the Teflon pans.
Hello Uncle Scott: I am a newbie to the world of carbon steel. Thanks for the video! I have some questions: 1. Do I need to wash the pan *immediately* after finishing cooking with it? 2. I made a mega mess with cooking protein with a wine/fruit (specifically port and plum) sauce in my pan. Needless to say, everything stuck. I couldn't get the stickiness off. How do I clean this mess without nuking the pan? Thanks 😊!
As ever thanks for the video & wisdom. My biggest question: I have experienced "medium mess" which seems worse than the rest. But why does this happen if the pan is (as yours) correctly seasoned & super non stick?
Thanks vm.
With the popularity of these carbons teel pans these days, there have been a lot of people saying they can be made completely nonstick like a Teflon pan. But in reality, they won't get as nonstick as some chemical surface like Teflon. SO sometimes you might get some egg white sticking on there. If you brown beef, there will be some sticky bits on the bottom (that can be made into a fond). Bacon seems to be a big offender for leaving some sticky bits, even though the bacon doesn't stick. But I have never had any mess so bad that it wouldn't clean right up with a scrubbie, and usually I don't even need that. Just paper towels. I think the pans are at least as non-stick as a good seasoned cast iron pan. I'd still rather deal with a little mess every now and then than use Teflon.
Question I seasoned my crafted wok the first time and I don’t know where I did wrong but I created a sticky gunk. Please help me how to fix it. You’re video is really helpful.
I have not used a wok but if it is carbon steel I will try to help. If you have a sticky gunk, you probably didn't get the wok hot enough or hot enough for long enough. Try heating it back up until it smokes and see if the gunk hardens. If that doesn't work, maybe simmer some tomatoes and the acidity should eat that gunk off and you can restart. Hope that helps!
Appreciate you talking about bacon and how tough it can be. I cook bacon and eggs afterwards in the same pan and have been having a heck of a time keeping this non stick. Assumed bacon with all of the fat would work well that way but maybe cooking both in the same pan doesn't make sense.
Bacon is one of the worst offenders for leaving gunk in a pan. Even if the bacon itself is nonstick there is always a bunch of stuff in the pan. If you can swing it, try getting one carbon steel exclusively for eggs and another for a jack of all trades pan.
For a bad mess, I use the Chainmail Square I got from the net. It works great...then heat and Crisco shortening (very thin coat) and more heat, then let it cool..... Done. BTW, my pan is a Lodge, so call me cheep, but it works.
Thank You!
You are welcome.
what brand and size are your 3 carbon steel pans, how long have you had them and do you have a brand/characteristics, etc preference
I have four now: a 14" Mauviel (which is HUGE), an 11 5/8" Matfer, a 9.5" De Buyer (omelette pan version), and an 8" Lodge. I like the De Buyer best for eggs. If I had to pick one "jack of all trades" pan, it'd be the Matfer, because its handle can go in the oven. The De Buyer handle is coated, so it can't go in the oven. But I cook more eggs than anything else (4 - 5 times per week), and I mainly use the De Buyer for that. I love them all though!
Uncle Scott's videos are very well tested. They are to the point without being uppity smell me ! Look at me! I'm a professional! You belong in a dunce cap sitting in the corner of the kitchen! But the best feature by far is when you screw up and Uncle Scott takes a few days off and comes to your house with a jug of oil and a few grocery sacks of food to walk you through where you went wrong in person, only requiring you have Coors light.
Do you recommend the chain mail scrubbers?
If you are stuck with using electric, after properly seasoning a Matfer pan in the oven, can you do the maintainence seasoning you demonstrate on the cooktop? Also, could you quantify “low and slow” for the heating up of these pans on electric cooktops. And are coil, which is what we have, pretty much the same as flat tops?
I have not tested that with the Matfer on a coil, but I **think** you should be OK with the maintenance seasoning if you heat it very slowly... don't crank the eye up to high with a cold pan. I will see if I can test that more thoroughly though. To heat slowly, just start out on low, let the pan get warm for a minute or so, then turn it up to med-low, let it warm a little bit more and on and on. Just don't put a cold pan on a screaming hot burner.
I would love to see you review single or double portable flame units (butane, etc). All I asked for when house shopping was a gas stove. Nope. It came with a flattop and I absolutely will not use any if my carbon steel pans on it. So....portable flame units are the solution, until I replace the stove. Thanks!
thanks for the video! you answer some questions i don't see anyone else do.
Thank you , Jimmy!
@@UncleScottsKitchen Yes. So many videos on the benefits of carbon steel, but few mention the cleaning method and oiling every day. I never use expensive paper towels. Paper waste and cost and many old buildings have insects so all food smells have to go into the frig. So for my once a day stove cooking of meats and eggs, I'll try a normal pan and add oil and food at the right temperature (newly learned) that can be washed. Also I newly learned that egg pans are easier to clean after you run the pan under cold water.
Finally, issues of different levels of 'dirty pan' addressed, in the youtube realm. Thank You so Fn much. And,,, Ostriches are people too😝😀😀😀🏁 im useing electric stove, that sucks, so its time to bring the coleman propane campstove and set it atop the apartment stove
Uncle Ostrich says thanks!
Hello, thanks for the video. I still have one issue though: my paper towel never seems to come clean in the end (even though I wash the pan with hot water serveral times). Do you know perhapss why is that so? Is there any way I can make it clean?
Hi Miha. If your paper towel has brownish stuff on it, it might be a little food left in the pan. If you've washed the pan several times and are really rubbing it with a paper towel, you can actually rub off some of the seasoning. If it's a little darker, that might be seasoning you are rubbing off. If it's clean, don't obsess too much!
I just received my Lodge 12" Pre-seasoned Carbon Steel Pan, have you heard of or tried sanding smooth?
Thanks for your videos, I've learned a lot about carbon steel pans. however, as a plumber I don't recommend throwing all that grease, or water mixed with grease down the sink drain, as grease is the worse thing for your drain pipes. instead I would throw it in the garbage.
What steel pad do you use when you have a big mess? Any particular type or brand?
For steel wool, I generally use a Scotch-Brite steel wool balls (they come in big packs from Costco or Sam's), or if I need some soap along with it I will use an SOS or Brillo pad.
Got my first ever CS pan. It's the 11" de Buyer. Followed to the letter and did not get a good seasoning. I have lots of clarifying questions.
How high a heat should I put the pan on?
My stovetop is an electric coil, is that messing me up?
How long should the oil smoke for?
How long do I buff the pan once I
Dump the oil out?
How long do I leave the pan on the burner once I've finished buffing?
OK... we'll get it dialed in. For the heat, if you are seasoning on the stovetop, turn it on low for a minute or so just so you don't shock the pan, then crank it up to high to get the oil smoking. I let the oil smoke for 20 - 30 seconds or so. You want a good smoke, but you don't want to keep going and start a grease fire. Then CAREFULLY dump that oil out. Then I usually set the pan back on the burner and wipe it out (again CAREFULLY) until it looks dry while on the burner. Shouldn't take more than 5 - 10 seconds of wiping, if that. Then I immediately set the pan aside and let it cool to room temp. If you have lots of trouble on a flat top stove AND if your pan has an uncoated handle, you can season in the oven, in which case wipe it until it looks dry before putting it in the oven. If you can't use the oven, you can use a camp burner, outdoor burner, or find a friend of family member with a gas burner and make them dinner if they let you season on their stove. Hope that helps... if not, post back and we'll figure something out.
Hi, I am just getting into this Carbon steel pan thing, I love the idea of going away from Teflon. Just a question, Is it really safe to cook with those layer of oil stuck on your pan and you cook it over and over again??, (everyone calls it well used or seasoned?), has anyone has done studies on this? Just curious to know.
Hi. I watched your video on seasoning carbon steel but can't find it now so posting this question here.
I seasoned my new pan according to the instructions but it was patchy and sticky. So cleaned it and did it by your advice and now it's much better, smooth but the colour looks a little patchy still. Is that ok or should I do another layer of seasoning and get a more even colour?
Patchy color is just fine... it will darken in over time. You'll be amazed how much it changes the more you cook. Cook twoo r three times per week and in a month or two it should be really dark.
@@UncleScottsKitchen great thanks, eggs for breakfast tomorrow then 😀
Ive noticed in your videos you use a wooden straight edge spoon. Yours doesnt look burned at all. Mine got burned the first day. Where did you buy yours? I love your videos. I made the schiacciata and bought 8, 10, and 14” Matfer pans. They are awesome. I have nice Tramontina stainless pans but the Matfer are so much better. Keep the videos coming. 👍
Thank you very much for the compliments! My spoons are not anything special... not even sure where I got them. I probably ordered them online but I can't remember. How did you schiacciata turn out? Best bread in the world!
It was wonderful first night. Then second night we put a bunch of garlic on a few pieces for garlic bread. Then breakfast the next morning put cinnamon and sugar on it and toasted it for cinnamon toast. It was very good. I love the texture. The chew and the crunch and its just tasted great.
@@christinemayer3967 Wow.. I have never thought of cinnamon and sugar on it. Will put that on the list!
Hi I’ve got a new Russel hobbs black pan used your method it’s great 👍 thanks 🙏.
I've not tried a Russel Hobbs pan... how do you like it? I haven't seen them in stores in Utah... could probably find one online.
For my cast iron I heat the pan up to pretty hot, heat up the faucet to as hot as it goes, the put the pan right under the hot water. That always pulls off all stuck on gunk then just requires a quick wipe. Would that work for carbon steel as well?
I think it might work better to pour some hot water in while the pan is on the stove and deglaze first, BUT no reason it shouldn't work. I would just take double extra sure the tap water is HOT so you don''t run the risk of putting cold water in a hot pan and causing any warping.
Hi Scott, I didn’t like the pan after cooking so Daily or weekly touch up at 3.36 minutes. You put your pan on the burner. Are you putting a cool pan on the burner and adding oil then bringing it to smoke point?
After cleaning my pan and wait for it to cool to add a coating of oil do I need to reheat it again until smoking?
No you don't. Just store the pan after coating with oil
If you can get some chain mail -- yes, the stuff from which suits of armor are made -- that is much, much better than steel wool. It can move the sticky junk without doing nearly so much to the seasoning.
Great video and it was really helpfull for mee as a new carbon steel pan user! I have a question. Sometimes afterparty kooking i have these sticky spots like you can get when you seasoned with to mutch oil. You can feel a high differance and it sticks a bid. None of your mentioned cleaning methodes worked except nuking. Which seems a bit excessive for hoe smal but anoying the spots are. Do you know hoe i prevent thema and clean thema up afterward?
Keep on ging!
I had two carbon steel pans. they were good and cooked nicely with very little stickyness. However I did not use them enough and they would rust, even thou they had a thin layer of oil on them. They would rust. Once rust showed up I had to clean it again and this happened just about everytime I went to use it. I had other pans that I would use so I didn't use the carbons often enough to put a new layer of seasoning or oil on them.
Interestingly enough: the bottom of the pan had a hard black finish on it that NEVER rusted, but the handle and the inside of the pan would rust after a week or two of sitting there.
I eventually threw them both out from frustration.
Awesome video Scott really good advice. Got a hot mess on me Dr buyer I need to clean this morning will be following this advice.
Great! I'd like to hear how it goes if you'd care to post back...
Very helpful video - and all the others on your channel. Wanted to ask a quick question on when to clean the pan. I've seen folks recommend letting cast iron cool after cooking before getting it hated again and cleaning. Is this what you do for the carbon steel pan too or you usually clean it right away? Thanks!
Great question! If I have seared something like a steak or browned meat and have any sticky bits in there, I will deglaze the pan with a little hot water while it is still hot and scrape anything out with a wooden spatula. If the pan has cooled (say after cooking bacon) and the grease and stuff has solidified, you can reheat and then deglaze it. For most anything else, it doesn't matter as much but I would avoid trying to clean the pan while it is very hot. Let it cool a little and then use hot water. The main thing you don't want to do is put cold water in a hot pan, as that could kind of shock it or make it warp. Warm pan is OK.
I don t have hot running water. Sometimes i m in a rush and i don t have time to heat up some water. What should I do? Leave the mess in the pan and heat up water later?
If you use your carbon skillet fairly often there is no need to ever oil it. That gives the skillet the opportunity to get sticky. I use my carbo skillet at least 5 times per week, often 7 days per week. I have never ever oiled it after it's initial seasoning. After ever use I add like 8-12 oz water to a non-hot skillet (I don't want to warp my hot pan by adding water while pan is hot) bring to a light boil. Scrape a little if necessary with a spatula but 98% of time bits will boil loose. I then take skillet to sink and rinse w water . I give skillet a quick over with a dish towel then sit skillet on a burner adding medium heat for 5 min to dry it totally then turn heat off and let skillet sit there and cool. I use my skillet so much it often just sits on the burner for storage, I feel my skillet gets enough oil in daily use and has created a perfectly seasoned smooth bottom and never needs oil. Now, if you seldom use your skillet and store it away in a humid environment I could see storing in a very light coat of oil but that oil can grow rancid. I have a ceiling suspended pot rack and none of my cast iron suspended in air and are seldom used, none have any rust (dust maybe) and none have been oiled in years and they are all well seasoned. Yes I have several Griswold's and Wagner's. Use fewer pans and use them more frequently. Just learn how to cook w carbon. Don't cook with too high of heat, You can sear on med to med/high. Never add water to a very hot pan.
The paper towel bit where they come tumbling out is hilarious
Using a few drops of dish soap will not hurt a properly seasoned cast iron or carbon steel pan. Several CI sites say that when soaps were lye or vinegar based this was true as the lye in the soap will remove the seasoning. Todays soaps are not lye based so go ahead and use some dish soap if needed it will NOT hurt your seasoned pan. This is from the Field Company: “The old conventional wisdom around cast iron is that soap is the enemy. Back when soaps were commonly made with harsh compounds like lye and vinegar, this was true, but most modern dish soaps, especially eco-friendly varieties, are perfectly safe so long as they don’t contain any polishing agents. If you have residue or strong flavors in your pan that you can’t eliminate with a stiff brush and some water, by all means lather up.”
Totally agree. i occasionally have to use a drop or two, but usually stuff doesn't stick too bad and I can get most of it with hot water and paper towels and maybe a light hit with a scrubby.
Hi Scott, thanks for your videos ...and the touch of humor. I have a question for you: do you use oil to avoid the rust in the outside of the pan? ...mine is brand new, I followed all your recommendations...but, the outside of the pan has small rusty spots just after a few days of use...
Hi Xavier. When I put the protective drops of oil on the pan, I wipe them all over the cooking surface AND the bottom of the pan as well. That should help prevent any rust, Make sure you dry your pan thoroughly too... sometimes there can be a little water on the bottom that you miss.
After drying the pan do you add thin layer of oil to the whole pan (bottom too), or just top?
Hello, I have a question!
I put AVO oil on pan just after cleaning but I noticed when the pain heats up it’s leaves oils spots. How do I get rid of the spots without nuking the entire pan and starting over?
Bought pan, seasones, fried steak today.. omg I will never use carbon steel pan inside again😁 only saw that much smoke in a night club before😁 i better wait till my outdoor gasone burner arrives
Pantastic advice 👍👍
Truly eggselent.
Hey uncle scott. I have been doing well with my carbon steel pan and seasoning it well. The bottom of my pan feels nice and smooth but for some reason the sides walls seems to get sticky and gummy from oil splatters during cooking. I have a gas stove but the temp on the side of the walls are never high enough and the sides stay sticky. Any suggestions on how to avoid this?
I just cleaned my pan and tried to season. The oil liquified into streaks then caked onto the pan in streaks. Using almond oil.
Doh! Sounds like you used way too much oil. I have not tried almond oil, but canola, vegetable and grapeseed are good ones to use. When you season, if using the oven, wipe the oil around the pan and then wipe it until it looks dry. Some oil will still be there. You don't want any drops, runs, streaks, or shiny visible oil. On the stovetop, if you heat 1 mm of oil up to smoking for 30 seconds or so and then pour the oil out, immediately CAREFULLY wipe out the pan again until it looks dry, and you should be good to go!
@@UncleScottsKitchen Woops! Thank you for your response. While not beautiful, the subsequent seasoning has worked very well. Should I start over or just keep it as is? Which of your cleaning methods would you recommend for starting over? The Acid approach?
Good video! Curious though, my carbon steel isn’t very non stick, i seasoned it a few times before use even. I just seasoned it again today and when i pulled it out of the oven after it had cooled it had that sticky tacky layer you had mentioned. Whats the best way to get rid of that?
Maybe stick it back in the oven for another hour and see if that helps. Depending on what temp you were using, you might try increasing it 25 degrees too, but just be careful that you don't get up too close to 500. If that doesn't work, scrub time!
Clean face, clean pans...great instructive upload.
Thanks for the comments!
You can see the silver in the middle of the bottom of the pan at 5:24. That´s exactly my problem: I have a steel pan and I seasoned it and it was completely black. But after I cleaned it, the patina was gone, it was silver again. So I wonder how I ever get a lasting patina on it. I saw another video claiming that it depends on the thickness of the steel and the quality of the pan (my pan was cheap) but I can´t imagine that. In general I wonder why they don´t sell more pre seasoned pans if so many people find it difficult to use steel pans.
I know it's hard to do, but give it a maintenance seasoning and then cook cook cook more and I think it will develop over time.
@@UncleScottsKitchen Thank you for the encouragement! I´ll carry on.
I plead guilty to using soap to clean my Matfert however it’s still very non stick! I will refrain from using soap in future! Great videos Scott!
If you have a good seasoning then a tiny little but of dish soap won't hurt anything, but I think lots of people go crazy with it when they are new and they are still learning carbon steel cooking. I try to not use it unless I have to.
Any tips to flatten a warped pan?
I keep getting people writing and telling me to beat it back into shape with a mallet, but I have not tried that yet. I think I have a mental block about beating a nice pan with anything!
I just started using carbon steel. Thank you so much for your guidance.
Can you do a touch up seasoning on flattop electric?
Heck yeah... might want to focus mostly on the cooking surface and don't worry too much about way up the sides of the pan.
I bought a carbon steel pan for pancakes and put it in my kitchen. After taking away the wax layer I cleaned my pan with hot water and thoroughly dried it with paper towels.
When I was going to season it there were many oxidation dots inside my pan. Apparently there has been some wet damp in my kitchen.
I seasoned the pan but the oxidation spots are still there. Before using the pan to prepare my food I want to remove the oxidation.
Do you have any tips how I can remove the oxidation?
If it is really rust spots, you can either scrub them off with a steel wool ball, or if that doesn't work, then some sand paper. Then clean throroughly and re-season. But you might not really have rust...early on the seasoning can look a little brown and spotty. The pan will get blacker and darker over time the more you use it. So the first thing is to make sure it is really rust or not. If you just washed it after removing the wax and dried it, I doubt you got a lot of rust.
I have one question regarding this daily light seasoning. Are you still putting some oil in it after doing that? I guess this is not necessary since you are practically covering it with a layer of burned fat?
I came for the carbon steel content, I stayed for the marital humor. Keep it up!
My inner voice sounds an awful lot like Henny Youngman...
Hey Scott, I've passed the egg test a few times, but fried a burger tonight and most of my seasoning seemed to come off cleaning in hot water with a silicon spatula. After that, paper towel seemed to be rubbing off dark. This has happened a couple times now and I don't seem to be getting past eggs without damaging my seasoning. Any guesses? I'm shooting for 25 deg over smoke point and using grapeseed oil, but probably exceeded that at times - I wouldn't doubt if over reached 500 some points along the way. Should I strip it down, make sure it's clean and just start over? Will going much over the smoke point damage seasoning, or do you have to go way over? Thanks.
I would maybe dial the temp back down a little bit.... maybe try 475. I think seasoning actually starts to burn off form 500 and above. You could also try vegetable and go with 450 and see if that is any different. I would not strip it down... I'd just give it a good wash wash and do a maintenance seasoning. If you can do it on the stovetop (if you have gas burners), just go with 1 mm or so of oil, bring it up to the smoke point for 30 seconds or so, CAREFULLY pour it, wipe it until it looks dry and then you should be good to go. Or do a standard oven seasoning. Best advice is just get it seasoned and cook cook cook.
@@UncleScottsKitchen Thank you sir! That is what I've done. Now I need to try cooking in it again. Maybe eggs for breakfast and burgers for dinner tomorrow - round two.
Scott GREAT VID! is that a Sardel Pan Made in Italia? I use Vintage Farberware original Alluminum Clad from the 60's and 70's also have a Sardel Italia Saute pan Stainless Steel for Chicken Marsala's etc - I use a USA made Cast iron Skillet for meats when called for. I don't have a use for a Carbon Steel at the moment that i can't use the Vintage Farberware for but loved the vid!
Hi ya I’m interested on your opinion on rapeseed oil for seasoning and cooking?
I think they decided "canola" was a little more marketable here! It works very well for seasoning and cooking I think. It's one of the four oils that Mauviel recommends for seasoning as well. Great oil.
Uncle ostrich, I have 2 questions for you. First, does non stick spray (Pam or other) qualify as an "oil" after the cleaning? Second, and most importantly, how fast can you run the 40 yard dash?
I'm looking at a can of Pam right now and the ingredients are canola, palm and coconut oil. Those seem fine. Then it lists "lecithin". I'm not sure what that is. It'd probably be OK for the protective coat but I don't think I would season with it. If you try, post back and say how it goes. I'm not sure about my 40 time, but I assume it would be really, really fast. Like an ostrich on the Serengeti.
No!!! Spray oils contain propellents and other gunk.
Grrrr.
I maintained my de buyer pan with as much care as you do but one day I just got tired of these post cooking steps and since then I just stop wiping my pan with oil... That said, I use it daily (only lightly most of the time tho), wash it with only hot water and avoid everything acid and to my surprise actually it works just perfectly and the layer just gets better and better...
That's a great way to do it. I don't always do the oil wiping either. I live in Utah where it's dry, so there isn't much rust worry. Where I grew up in Alabama, it was so humid that I think the oil would be necessary there. I think people also mess up their seasoning when they put the oil on a pan that has just been dried on a burner... it gets sticky if you put it on a hot pan but not season it all the way. I like your method!
Uncle Scott's Kitchen, yeah but I notice you don’t use salt for messes. Isn’t that needed to properly sanitize?
Hey Uncle Scott, everyone. What about the outside of the pan? Mine's already pretty gunky.
Also, how to make sure seasoning stays as long as possible?
For some reason I never worry about the outside, I guess because I have a gas burner and I figure it will all get scorched anyway. For length of seasoning, not trying to be wishy washy but it stays until you cook something that pulls some off, either a steak or something acidic or something sticks. For my egg pans, it lasts darn-near indefinitely. If I cook lots of proteins like beef, I can get a patch or two that pulls off and then I just hit it with a touch-up/maintenance seasoning.
@@UncleScottsKitchen Thanks a lot for your response.
Anyway, my deBuyer still unfortunately have some spots/"maps" of slightly varying color, even after a treatment with vinegar (boiling!) and some wire wool. Stayed after one cycle of seasoning in the oven.
My oven doesn't have a self-cleaning program but I wouldn't want to nuke it, anyway.
After that, not sure what my last resort is.
I just did the same mistake after frying the eggs. I added a seasoning wax to hot dried pan!
Isn't that crazy? Get your pan all nice and seasoned then the protective coat gets you...
watched this video about 10 times and still learn something new. keep watching it and youll have a great pan
Thank you, cutty!
Magic Cleaning Ostrich 😄. I scraped the bits with a metal spatula and now I have permanent swirling scratches - won't do that again.
They may look a mess, but they don't hurt anything and they should fill in with seasoning. Hopefully!
@@UncleScottsKitchen yeah, doesn't seem to be affecting anything. Just my first CS pan so I'm like a new parent 😄. Got it a week ago...
Can I wipe down some of the excess oil for medium/big messes before using hot water?
Definitely...try different techniques and use what works best! If you discover something new, post it back here for everyone else...
can you use heavy duty scrub .... in replacement with steel wool
How do you prevent that grease and carbon built up. I scored my pain and cooked with butter and the built up came instantly. Only cooked at medium on electric
what about the loss of seasoning on your pan at 5:24? how can this be avoided? I have this issue, too. but don´t know how to deal with it.
Scott! I followed your maintenance seasoning instructions and my pan is sticky now! What did I do wrong?
Maybe you still have bees was on the pans? Needs to come off first.
First thing, don't panic! We'll get it dialed in. If you have stickiness, there are a couple of main culprits. First is, did you use too much oil? If you season in your oven, wipe the pan until it looks almost dry... no beading or streaks or droplets. If using the stovetop, when the pan is smoking and you pour out the oil and wipe it out, wipe it really dry and let it smoke 10 - 15 seconds more and let it cool. After the pan cools, if it is still sticky to the touch, don't add oil but heat it back up to smoking again and let it cool, or run it through an oven seasoning again. Make sure that sticky oil hardens on there. Next, if you are applying a protective drop of oil, make sure you let the pan cool before adding it, else it turns sticky on a halfway hot pan. If this doesn't help, let me know and we'll figure something else out.
Thanks. Really help.
Thanks for the compliments!
Thank you for your helpful video. I have a Matfer carbon steel pan that I seasoned according to the manufacturer’s instructions. After a few weeks of use it looks awful, in some parts it looks heavily seasoned and in others not at all. What can I do?
Dont worry about it. Just use it. I've had mine for 2 years and the seasoning level comes and goes. As long as you are caring for it correctly, it doesn't matter what it looks like.
Just keep cooking! Let's have working pans and not work of art pans.
Sisyphus Electric stove heats the center of the pan and makes it dark and uneven. Gas is better.
If you have Matfer with am untreated handle, you can season it in the oven.... here is a link to a video on it: ruclips.net/video/XJTd_9RBZUI/видео.html
Appreciate the detail in the video..Regarding the paper towels, do you find black residue on the towels after wiping the pan? I have and this is quite disconcerting!
Yes I do... you don't want to overrub. Just clean and dry the pan. If you rub and rub too much, you can actually rub off a little seasoning which will look dark on the paper towel. So if the pan is halfway clean and you rub it and see stuff on the paper towel, that's probably food residue to clean off. But if you have the pan clean and keep rubbing, you can take off a little seasoning. Paper towels are darn near almost like sandpaper. I put swirl marks in my stainless steel backsplash with one batch of paper towels.
Sounds like a lot to make a pan happy. Seasoning after every use?
Nah... I only do a big seasoning every now and then. After each use, all I normally do is wipe the pan with paper towels, run it under hot water, and dry it for 30 seconds or so on a burner. It's not too much.
Scott, Can I use a Choy-Boy to clean the sticky over seasoned pan vs steel wool?
I have a pan that the bottom of it, looks like I never put it in the over, looks new. All around it is seasoned. What do I need to do?
Very helpful and useful research Uncle Scott. It's greatly appreciated, I learned a lot about pans through you. Keep up the good work!
Thank you!
Do you always clean the pan while it's still hot? After I'm finished cooking I just wanna eat and not clean. So sometimes, especially after a long and nice dinner, should I just reheat the cooled pan before washing off lets say a light mess? Or shall I just take the cool pan, rinse it with hot water and dry with paper towels + heat on the stove?
He had a pan with bacon fat in it for 2 days!
What is the best way to wash the grills (burner)