OT - Steel Pan Seasoning Question - OT

Eoin

I got these 2 steel pans cheap a while ago. They were 'pre-seasoned' with a polished dark grey finish. I've used the pan on the left more frequently and it gradually lost the shiny grey finish and now has a nice seasoned look. The other one never lost the grey shiny look, apart from round the edges where it seemed to peel off. I've not been able to get it any better than this. What's the best thing to do with it?

GrateEggspectations

When you say “steel pans,” I assume you’re talking carbon steel. Looks that way from the photos. Crisco (available in UK?) is your friend. I’ve tried plenty of other fats with disappointing results. Fire up a bbq (outside is best, as it will smoke plenty) to 350 or so. Apply a thin layer of Crisco. Let cook 30 mins. Let cool a little. Repeat until the pan has a nice, blackened sheen. True non-stick.

Eoin

GrateEggspectations said:

When you say “steel pans,” I assume you’re talking carbon steel. Looks that way from the photos. Crisco (available in UK?) is your friend. I’ve tried plenty of other fats with disappointing results. Fire up a bbq (outside is best, as it will smoke plenty) to 350 or so. Apply a thin layer of Crisco. Let cook 30 mins. Let cool a little. Repeat until the pan has a nice, blackened sheen. True non-stick.

Yes, carbon steel. The one on the left has come up well using canola. We don't have Crisco here, but we do have stuff that's similar. I'll give that a go.

Gulfcoastguy

Coconut oil will work also.

nolaegghead

You can "ash" the old seasoning by heating past 600F.  I'm not sure the rivets would handle that temp.  Anyway, that's how I burn off the old seasoning to start over.  Also heat and oven cleaner works great.  Then clean, dry and season.

nolaegghead

Clean cycle in oven...but again, watch the rivets and handle.

caliking

Grapeseed oil has worked well on my CI and Blackstone griddle. That flaxseed oil foolishness, that was popularised a few years ago, was a colossal waste of time. 

GrateEggspectations

nolaegghead said:

Clean cycle in oven...but again, watch the rivets and handle.

Quite the random pattern on the side of that pot, NOLA. Trying to tell us something?

paqman

caliking said:

Grapeseed oil has worked well on my CI and Blackstone griddle. That flaxseed oil foolishness, that was popularised a few years ago, was a colossal waste of time. 

Flaxseed worked well for me.  No flaking at all.  The key is to take the time and not rush through the process.  Layers have to be as thin as possible, wiping off almost all the oil with a lint free cloth.

GrateEggspectations

paqman said:

caliking said:

Grapeseed oil has worked well on my CI and Blackstone griddle. That flaxseed oil foolishness, that was popularised a few years ago, was a colossal waste of time. 

Flaxseed worked well for me.  No flaking at all.  The key is to take the time and not rush through the process.  Layers have to be as thin as possible, wiping off almost all the oil with a lint free cloth.

I tried flaxseed as Paqman has suggested and using the method he describes, but had differing results. Was flaking within weeks. Crisco from now on. 

DoubleEgger

GrateEggspectations said:

paqman said:

caliking said:

Grapeseed oil has worked well on my CI and Blackstone griddle. That flaxseed oil foolishness, that was popularised a few years ago, was a colossal waste of time. 

Flaxseed worked well for me.  No flaking at all.  The key is to take the time and not rush through the process.  Layers have to be as thin as possible, wiping off almost all the oil with a lint free cloth.

I tried flaxseed as Paqman has suggested and using the method he describes, but had differing results. Was flaking within weeks. Crisco from now on. 

I did six coats of flaxseed on my old Blackstone. What a joke. Basically all I did was waste a tank of propane. 

paqman

DoubleEgger said:

GrateEggspectations said:

paqman said:

caliking said:

Grapeseed oil has worked well on my CI and Blackstone griddle. That flaxseed oil foolishness, that was popularised a few years ago, was a colossal waste of time. 

Flaxseed worked well for me.  No flaking at all.  The key is to take the time and not rush through the process.  Layers have to be as thin as possible, wiping off almost all the oil with a lint free cloth.

I tried flaxseed as Paqman has suggested and using the method he describes, but had differing results. Was flaking within weeks. Crisco from now on. 

I did six coats of flaxseed on my old Blackstone. What a joke. Basically all I did was waste a tank of propane. 

I used plain canola oil on my blackstone because it would not heat evenly and high enough throughout the surface.

I did a wok, a carbon steel fry pan, and a CI skillet with flaxseed years ago but it was inside an oven to get high even heat; not on a burner.  The only time I had a problem was with my first CI skillet and it is because I did not follow the instructions (I used too much oil and wasn’t letting it cool down completely before starting over).  There may be other variables but I had good success  🤷‍♂️

fishlessman

couple bacon cooks and im good to go. and theres the bacon for my time and effort.  its not like we are trying to make a magical wok

Photo Egg

DoubleEgger said:

GrateEggspectations said:

paqman said:

caliking said:

Grapeseed oil has worked well on my CI and Blackstone griddle. That flaxseed oil foolishness, that was popularised a few years ago, was a colossal waste of time. 

Flaxseed worked well for me.  No flaking at all.  The key is to take the time and not rush through the process.  Layers have to be as thin as possible, wiping off almost all the oil with a lint free cloth.

I tried flaxseed as Paqman has suggested and using the method he describes, but had differing results. Was flaking within weeks. Crisco from now on. 

I did six coats of flaxseed on my old Blackstone. What a joke. Basically all I did was waste a tank of propane. 

Same results with me and flax.
It looked like it was working perfect. Beautiful dark shine. But peeled and flaked off.

SonVolt

I use Grapeseed for touch ups and wipe downs b/c that's my goto vegetable oil when I'm not using Olive Oil. For a dedicated seasoning session I use good ol' Crisco.  Like someone said above, aim for the thinnest coat you can get. Wipe as much off as you can, then wipe it off again. If at any time it feels tacky to the touch you've added too thick a layer.

milesvdustin

I used vegetable oil on my blackstone. Crisco in my CI skillet 

NDG

SonVolt said:

I use Grapeseed for touch ups and wipe downs b/c that's my goto vegetable oil when I'm not using Olive Oil. For a dedicated seasoning session I use good ol' Crisco.  Like someone said above, aim for the thinnest coat you can get. Wipe as much off as you can, then wipe it off again. If at any time it feels tacky to the touch you've added too thick a layer.

When you feel it’s “tacky” what do you do? Some of my CI feels this way in certain patches (it’s stubborn - salt rub & hot h20 does nothing) but i am hesitant to do full strip to start over.

DoubleEgger

Don’t forget to turn the pan upside down in the oven to help prevent any pooling and subsequent bubbling of the finish. 

SonVolt

NDG said:

SonVolt said:

I use Grapeseed for touch ups and wipe downs b/c that's my goto vegetable oil when I'm not using Olive Oil. For a dedicated seasoning session I use good ol' Crisco.  Like someone said above, aim for the thinnest coat you can get. Wipe as much off as you can, then wipe it off again. If at any time it feels tacky to the touch you've added too thick a layer.

When you feel it’s “tacky” what do you do? Some of my CI feels this way in certain patches (it’s stubborn - salt rub & hot h20 does nothing) but i am hesitant to do full strip to start over.

It depends on what it is... i make extensive use of the Lodge Pizza Pan as a griddle and if it gets tacky I'll throw it on my gass grill until it hits 600F+ (how I typically use it for searing steaks etc), then squirt some water on it and scrape it with a stuff metal spatula. That'll take off any gunk including overly-thick seasoning. If it's a dutch oven I'd probably just spray it down with Easy Off oven cleaner, wrap it in a garbage bag and let it sit over night. That'll get it back down to bare iron with minimal scrubbing the next day. 

rcone

Coat with a decent oil with the oven method. Then fry up 5 pounds of onions in a few batches until they are carbonized; you will get a great coating, decrease any metallic taste from the raw steel, and work on knife skills. 

NDG

SonVolt said:

NDG said:

SonVolt said:

I use Grapeseed for touch ups and wipe downs b/c that's my goto vegetable oil when I'm not using Olive Oil. For a dedicated seasoning session I use good ol' Crisco.  Like someone said above, aim for the thinnest coat you can get. Wipe as much off as you can, then wipe it off again. If at any time it feels tacky to the touch you've added too thick a layer.

When you feel it’s “tacky” what do you do? Some of my CI feels this way in certain patches (it’s stubborn - salt rub & hot h20 does nothing) but i am hesitant to do full strip to start over.

It depends on what it is... i make extensive use of the Lodge Pizza Pan as a griddle and if it gets tacky I'll throw it on my gass grill until it hits 600F+ (how I typically use it for searing steaks etc), then squirt some water on it and scrape it with a stuff metal spatula. That'll take off any gunk including overly-thick seasoning. If it's a dutch oven I'd probably just spray it down with Easy Off oven cleaner, wrap it in a garbage bag and let it sit over night. That'll get it back down to bare iron with minimal scrubbing the next day. 

@SonVolt thanks - I use that same Circle lodge pizza CI for most of my BGE searing!  Fits great in the large.  I give all my CI tons of TLC but many have tacky spots - I guess I need to start over on a few of them 😔