Seasoning a WOK

EGGARY

I got a WOK a few months ago and have been wanting to use it. It has to be seasoned. The instructions say after washing put oil on it and put in Oven. I say on YouTube to put in on stove, let it get hot, turn it to get all of WOK hot, then wipe with Oil.

Which is the best way to season a WOK ? The ones I wrote about or is there another way of doing it.

Thanks.

Gary

Morro Bay Rich

http://www.thaifoodandtravel.com/features/wokcare.html

Carolina Q

Wash crud off with hot, soapy water.
Rinse and dry
Coat with peanut oil, inside and out
Crank up the egg (HOT)
Place wok directly on coals
Important step... WEAR WELDER'S GLOVES
Rotate/tilt wok so it gets hot all over
Virtually instant seasoning - Solid black everywhere.

Mine looks something like this...

thebtls

lowercasebill

technique is well reviewed above .. i have used oil , crisco , you name it .. i think lard is the best 'grease' for seasoning cast iron. nice and clean to wok [cook] with as well.
reminds me of duck fat .

fishlessman

ive done them a bunch of ways, upsidedown in an oven or egg is the easiest.

thirdeye

It's a joy to cook in a seasoned wok, but it's even nicer to wok in your Egg! The main reasons are when wokking indoors, your fire is never really hot enough, you don't have the proper ventilation, and clean-up is a real drag. Your first outside wokking experience will convince you it's the only way to go.

Here is how I season (and reseason) my wok. You need an Egg, a MapPro or propane torch, and a couple of hours.

Seasoning a Wok the ~thirdeye~ way....

You can take a brand new wok and season it in an hour and a half tops using three heating sessions. Or re season your old one in one or two. The key is proper oiling, and heating and cooling the wok several times.

If it's a new one, scrub off any factory oil (or scrub off any thick build up off your current wok) and put it on the Egg over a small low fire since you will be doing much of your work with the lid up. Do all of your heat control with the lower vent. All of the oiling will be on the INSIDE surface only......

With the lid closed, let it heat up for 4 to 6 minutes, then add some peanut oil (or lard) and use a paper towel and tongs to coat the entire inside inside surface. Close the lid for a couple of minutes, then make a few more passes with the oiled paper towel. Do this several more times, adding more oil as needed. By now the bottom should be seasoned and nice and dark. Remove the wok from the cooker and let it cool to room temperature. You should still have some oil in the bottom of the wok when it's removed.

Session 2 - Put the wok back in the cooker but this time oil the paper towel only, and coat only the areas that are not dark, which should be most of the upper 1/2 or 3/4 of the sides. Occasionally coat the bottom lightly but you are concentrating on the sides. Try tipping the wok in the spider ring so the heat is focused on the side rather than the bottom. Close the lid for a couple of minutes at a time. Do this routine several times, rotating the wok as needed for good coverage of the sides. Any time the steel is dry, make another pass with the oiled towel. When you get your sides partially seasoned (within a few inches of the top rim) remove the wok and let it cool to room temperature. Now all that is left is the upper band.

Session 3 - You can do this in the cooker, but it's easier with your MAPP torch. On an outside table on your pizza stone or some fire bricks, take that little ring that is used for stovetop wokking and set your wok in it. Oil the paper towel, coat the upper band that is not seasoned. Working with your MAPP torch (medium heat is all you need) from the OUTSIDE, heat the wok using a up and down, ziz-zag pattern maybe 2" or 3" , just concentrate on the areas that are not seasoned. Heat about 1/4 of the circumference of the wok at a time, but don't stop the torch. You can tell from the smoke when your heat is right. Watch the inside, it will season right before your eyes. Re-oil as needed, and heat until you get the color right. After the first 1/4 you will see how well this works. Then just move around the wok doing the other 1/4's. When you are all done with the upper band, you can also use the torch to spot-season any other areas.

MO Mule

Thanks for the link.

Carolina Q

Hmm, I was assuming hammered steel, not cast iron. Gary, if you have a CI wok, ignore what I said! Different animal. :laugh:

tthame1

I actually need to buy a new Wok. What size works best on the Large Egg? Anyone have any suggestions of where to buy one?

Also, do I need a spider?

Carolina Q

Welcome! I bought my 14" hand-hammered steel wok from a local restaurant supply house. About $12 if I recall. The kind with the 2 curved steel rod handles similar to the pic in my post above.

I just got a spider for Christmas and have only used it once. It worked well, but you don't "need" one really. Before I got it, I just set the wok directly on the lump. That worked well too. Either way, welder's gloves are, umm, handy!

Judy Mayberry

From thirdeye's post, it looks like he used a spider.

Judy

RU Eggsperienced

I used the same link. I used lard the first time seasoning... Now, when I rinse the Wok and scrub the debris off of the dirty egg, I put on the stove to dry and I wipe a small amount of peanut or sunflower oil on the surface before letting cool and storing.

Carolina Q

I suppose that's a good idea, but I've had woks for 30-40 years and have never done more than scrub them with a brush in hot water, dry with a paper towel and put away. Never even a hint of rust and they've always remained non-stick.

fishlessman

oiling it after use softens the seasoning in my opinion, sometimes makes it sticky and looses that hard black shiney buildup.

deepsouth

i've got a quick wok question..... sorry for the threadjack, but i figure it's better than starting another thread about woks???

i bought the wok from the ceramicgrillstore and the first time i used it in the large egg on the spider, i put oil in it and got preoccupied in the house and when i came out it was HOT HOT HOT. i can't really rememeber much after the oil exploded, emptying the wok and i was able to get it off with some long tongs. the wok now looks like a rainbow landed in it, but it's not black.

i don't have a pic now, as i'm at work, but i haven't used it since. i don't really know what happened to it or if it's safe to use.....

anyone else do anything this dumb? did i ruin my wok?

fishlessman

one of woks is bore a light honey color after alot of cooks, never turned black, its to big for the egg. i would just reason yours, upside down is easier, get it hot, wipe with oil, 15 minutes wipe with more oil, and repeat til its all baked on. winter time i do it indoors, heats the kitchen a little, i dont have heat on in the kitchen unless the stove is on.

deepsouth

fishlessman wrote:

one of woks is bore a light honey color after alot of cooks, never turned black, its to big for the egg. i would just reason yours, upside down is easier, get it hot, wipe with oil, 15 minutes wipe with more oil, and repeat til its all baked on. winter time i do it indoors, heats the kitchen a little, i dont have heat on in the kitchen unless the stove is on.

so, i haven't ruined then? the "rainbow" is not some chemical reaction i should be wary of?

RU Eggsperienced

I kind of re-season it.. I am not leaving cool oil on it....Maybe it is overkill, still have a real nice patina has formed in it...