How To Season Your Carbon Steel or Cast Iron Skillet | What Removes Pan Seasoning?

In this video, I'm going to show you the two best methods for re-seasoning a cast iron or carbon steel skillet and why your seasoning was removed in the first place. There are usually a few reasons why the seasoning on your pan or skillet got removed but it's easy to restore your pan and return the season good as new. I'll talk about seasoning a cast iron or carbon steel pan or skillet using 3 different methods.

Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
0:36 - What is Seasoning?
1:49 - What Removes Seasoning?
8:41 - Check Out My Other Video
9:20 - 2 Best Methods For Seasoning
9:55 - The Potato Peel Method | Pros and Cons
12:43 -The Smoke Point Method | Pros and Cons
15:51 - The Discoloration Method | NOT RECOMMENDED
18:57 - How To Do The Potato Peel Method
23:08 - Which Method Is Better? Final Thoughts

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[tomwadek]

Check out my video on cooking oil and smoke point!

Cooking Oils and Their Health Benefits | The Good Bad and Unhealthy

[rgcookmd]

Best discussion of this subject that I've seen so far. Tom acknowledges that there are multiple ways to accomplish this very important task, then demonstrates all with an honest discussion of pros and cons of each. This is the right way to teach any subject.

[missterry]

Omg am i the friend you speak of??? I thought something was wrong with my carbon steel wok and i scrubbed and scrubbed to start over! 🤦🏾‍♀️ This video is a life saver! Well a wok saver!

[elisasoto]

So glad I found this video. I had no idea carbon steel blackened from the outer rim inward. The first time I cooked with mine and saw the uneven 'ring' of seasoning, I became so disheartened and haven't cooked with it again 😂Looking forward to having a gorgeous, glossy black skillet like yours!

[aidanmacaodhaigan]

I just recently purchased a Mineral B Pro 11” and seasoned it as the directions stated with 1 millimeter of oil heated until smoking. Discarded the oil safely, wiped the pan inside and out and began using. I cooked 3 steaks before trying out a crepe which I was able to roll and flip on the first try. I then tried the fried egg test with only butter to cover the base with the first egg. It slid like a hockey puck without being touched and then I tried a second egg without adding any butter. It required me to lift the egg with a fork but did not break and then slid around the pan as easily as the first. You are 100% right about the color of the pan, as mine is no where near black like yours (because its less than a week old) but as you stated the performance will be exceptional despite the color. I couldn’t agree more with your praise of the DeBuyer products. They are fantastic, heavy gauge and well made. My questions are about your Matfer pan (which is also highly praised) being welded instead of riveted? Is that a noticeable difference when cooking/stirring/scraping? Cleaning? Is it a non issue? The pan is also lighter so is this an advantage or also a non issue? Thanks and keep making the good content.

[loki_tha_god]

Thank you for the complete review of all the methods. I just got a Matfer 11 7/8 and want to do it right. My experience with cast-iron is: after initial seasoning, just cook with it as often as possible. It also seems like a gas stove will yield the best results, but i realize not everyone has that option.

[suenugent]

You explain this so well that I’m referring back to it.

[austincole]

I needed to watch this video much sooner. I've stripped my mineral B pro twice now because I also thought something was wrong with the seasoning. Thanks for the information!

[BradDunn]

Dude thankyou so much. I made the mistake of thinking the discolouration was a problem and striped it back like you said. This video was awesome

[MultiKodachrome]

Nice video. In our commercial photography studio we use a Matfer carbon steel pan to sear off meats and it does a fantastic job of it. Afterwards it really never gets cleaned, just wiped out and dried back on the gas range. And it is black as black can get not to mention non stick. But one thing I've noticed is after you dry it on the range; it's best to let it cool before adding a tiny bit of protection oil. Otherwise it will become sticky due to the oil not reaching its smoke point. After it cools; we put a little oil into the dry pan and wipe it out. Then wipe it out again so that the pan appears to be
dry and then it's ready for use. The Matfer is a workhorse and I think it performs better than cast iron for searing.

[somatder]

the potato peel method works amazingly - yesterday i seasoned a carbon steel from scratch, two rounds of potato peel and BOOM. Perfect non stick fried egg, sliding around just by tilting the pan a bit. For me the others methods are hit and miss, but potato peel always works for me. I don't add as much oil and salt as you see in some manufacturers instruction.

There is a third method you didn't mention: adding 1-2 mm of oil in the pan, heating it up until smoking, dumping the oil and quickly wiping it out until it appears dry and let it finish smoking on the burner. I can't seem to get the hang of this method, I often get a terrible sticking with the subsequent "Fried egg test" so for me the potato peel method is worth the extra effort

[DannyDanny-xm]

I love the quiryness of creative people, so beautiful

[lizpedroza]

I found a good carbon steel pan at Aldi’s. It came seasoned and it works great. I bought because it was cheap and we were goin to stay a few weeks at a time share- so if I left it behind it wouldn’t hurt. These pans were par with good quality ones. When I went back to get another set for my mom, they were sold out.

[corpsie]

Bluing, that you call the "discoloration method", isn't seasoning. It's priming carbon steel for seasoning. It also improves the resistance to rusting.

[rolanddenzel-authorcoach]

It was great to see your in-progress seasoning! I have a carbon-steel wok that looks JUST like that. The black is creeping down and I'm going to keep going!

[stephenjohnson]

The discoloration method works really well. In a professional kitchen. With high BTU burners and a hood system that can handle the smoke. These pans can also build up carbon on the outer edges from so much use. Best way for removal is burning it off. Put a fresh coat of oil while the pan is still hot. Then let it cool. But I would never do this in my home! The pan is extremely hot and could star a fire or severely burn someone. Not to mention, Average homes do not have anywhere near the fire power to effectively do this. Nice video and advice!

[kristofferjohansson]

I want to stop using non-stick pans, but they are so convenient and practical. At the same time I’ve got a few cast iron pans and one carbon Steele pan that is almost never used. I am browsing YouTube for instructions how to season and use them correct and this video really makes me want to use my skillet daily. Thank you for the video!

[jdiscala]

Excellent video Tom, thank you! I was initially disheartened with my newly acquired carbon steel pan, after using it to make a chicken marsala which is highly acidic, and seeing the results. But after watching this video I feel much better about getting the pan back in tip-top shape.

[seanstewart]

I however do recommend option 3, which has yielded me fantastic results quickly and efficiently with no food waste.

[phil]

Thanks. I was struggling with my first carbon steel pan. This video is what I needed.