I love Leroy McMillan's way of seasoning a black steel pan!

Judy Mayberry

I got a special offer pan from America's Test Kitchen and looked for an easy way to season it. Leroy's You Tube video made it a breeze! Here is his video:

https://youtu.be/SEsjsDoCowA

...and here is my pan:

Mickey

  

Botch

At what temp does vegetable oil catch fire?  

Judy Mayberry

Using an IR thermometer every step of the way, I can say it didn't catch fire at 425° while I was doing this.

caliking

I had a helluva time keeping my pans seasoned. Wanted to use the smaller (9"?) for French-style omelets, and it sort of did ok for some time. Any sauce with tomatoes in it wrecked the seasoning on the large one. Eventually stopped using them. I'm using a ceramic coated skillet for omelets now and it works great. 

Could you keep us posted on how this seasoning technique works out for you, Judy? May have to pull the pans out and give it one more shot.

Judy Mayberry

Will do, but I only use these two pans for meat. For things that might stick, like egg-based dishes, I will use nonstick pans just to keep life simple. "The best way to handle risk is to avoid it altogether."

Mickey

caliking said:

I had a helluva time keeping my pans seasoned. Wanted to use the smaller (9"?) for French-style omelets, and it sort of did ok for some time. Any sauce with tomatoes in it wrecked the seasoning on the large one. Eventually stopped using them. I'm using a ceramic coated skillet for omelets now and it works great. 

Could you keep us posted on how this seasoning technique works out for you, Judy? May have to pull the pans out and give it one more shot.

Trying to picture what you are using. Could you send a link?

Botch

caliking said:

I'm using a ceramic coated skillet for omelets now and it works great. 

Could I ask what brand you use?  I bought one at Bed Bath Beyond (can't remember the brand name but the ceramic was white). I used it for bacon-n-eggs in the mornings (it never saw more than Medium heat), and the first week it worked "just like on TV!"  The second two weeks it worked like my previous T-fal, then things started sticking worse and worse; it was in the trash in less than 2 months.  
I liked being able to see fond development against the white (as opposed to the black T-fal) but not if I have to buy 6 pans/year.  

ColtsFan

I needed to see this! Just bought a Mauviel 8"

gmac

Interesting. First of all, weirdest version of Thunderstruck I've heard in a while. 

That initial colour change is from oxidation. High carbon steel forms an oxide layer when heated.  You can even tell the temp based on the colour or close enough. That straw brown comes at about 400F. It's about the colour I go for when tempering a blade. I wonder what that oxide layer does for the seasoning compared to heating it with oil in it. 

caliking

@Botch - SWMBO first bought one from Marshall's that was white ceramic, but thin. As I predicted,  it went the way of the pan you bought too. A second one was "Masterclass" brand, thicker, also from Marshall's,  and has been holding up for several months, but I doubt it will last more than 2 years. She also bought a large saute pan, and a smaller 2-3 qt pot that are holding up great, probably because they don't see the kind of use that a frying pan/skillet does. 

caliking

@Mickey if you mean the pan its the same that @Spring Chicken shows in the vid, and the one Judy has too. 
 I love the pans - hefty, sides have the right slope to them to be able to easily stir food, or fold omelets, ans no rivets on the inside meant cleanup was easy.

But keeping the large one seasoned was a real pain in the arse. The smaller pan was used for eggs only, but I ditched using both of them in favor of the ceramic coated ones. Pity, because I really likes the pans themselves. Both were seasoned with the flaxseed oil method that has been popular recently.