Seasoning Carbon Steel

[Donw]

I gave carbon steel pans to my kids and some grandkids for Christmas and then gave them instructions and a lesson on how I season mine. There are a lot of ways, and videos, of how to do this but I thought I would document how I do.
One of the pans on unwrapping:

This then gets a scrubbing under very hot water to remove any beeswax or protective coating from the factory. Once washed I place it on a low burner to remove all moisture.

I make up my own seasoning paste which is 1 part beeswax to 3 parts Grape Seed Oil. (They each got their own can of paste to take home.) Using a cotton rag I give all surfaces a light coating of the paste include the outside and bottom. Once I’ve made sure everywhere has a nice thin coating I pop it in a 400F oven upside down for 1 hour.
Results of the first oven treatment:

After letting it cool I then give both the inside and outside another coating of the paste and then back in the oven for another hour. This is the result after the second oven treatment:

After letting it cool I then repeat applying the paste to the inside and again back into the oven. This is the results of the third oven treatment


I personally like this method as it is quite easy to do and gives good results. Usually my next step is to fry up some bacon, but that will be for another time as it is time to start dinner.

[Spinaker]

Very nice! Great method. I do this in a similar manner. I like to let it cool as slow as possible so the seasoning lattice has time to really form up. The slower the cooling, the better. That is why I like to use my BGE to season my pans, in I can fit them in the BGE. I light the fire, season for a few hours at 400-500 and then I simply shut the dampers and let that temp creep way down. The BGE and the iron retain heat very well, so the cooling is slow and the seasoning ends up being really tough.

I love how you make your own seasoning paste too! Very cool. Thanks for sharing the ratio of Bees Wax to Grape seed oil. (I will probably use Flax, but that should be fine and the ratio should work just fine)

[Jessterr]

Donw Good info, thanks. Might I ask the actual details on prepping that beeswax/grape oil paste? I’ve never messed with beeswax before, assume it has to be melted, maybe over low heat? Guessing the paste would be effective for use on cast iron as well?

[Donw]

Making it is real easy. I have a mess of 4 oz tins so for each tin I want to make I add 3 oz of oil to a pot floating in a double boiler and once it is warm I add 1 oz of beeswax. Once all traces of the wax has melted I stir briefly and then pour into the tin. To save energy I usually make 4 tins at a time and just multiple so my recipe is 12 oz of oil and 4 oz of wax. I also make some up using Flax seed oil which my wife likes to use for her cast iron.

[Richard Chrz]

I always love these posts, I did not even know there was a seasoning wax. That’s awesome that it was handed out to your children, I’m sure they love that too.

[RlsRls]

Nice!! I'll have two eggs over easy, and I wanna see'em slide right out of the pan!

[hoovarmin]

Don, once the initial seasoning is complete, how often do you reseason and what is your method for that?

[Donw]

With the amount of fatty foods I cook and carefully watching temperatures I don’t have to re-season often. If I see a little area where the seasoning is lifting or gone I add a little oil, wipe it thinly all around and then heat on the stove until smoking and then let cool. When I have a buildup of carbonized food that some hot water and a brush won’t remove I strip everything inside using a 50% vinegar and water solution and then start over. There are other ways but I’m retired and have time.

[FireMan]

My two cents, if’n ya cook right you should never have to re-season, just further the seasoning process to blissful eternity, by cookin.

[FireMan]

Wow, whatta dad!

[Oak Smoke]

I use some of the Lodge plastic scrapers on my cast iron. Do they work on carbon steel? They save me a lot of scrubbing and reseasoning.

[Donw]

I personally don’t use them but went to the Lodge site about cleaning carbon steel after reading your question. They mention the scrapers and then provide a link to them. I may just get some and give it a try.

[ecowper]

I use my Lodge scrapers and they work well on carbon steel

[nunyaz]

I did NOT see this thread before I posted this: https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/fo...-iron-cookware
So, some of my questions have been answered - biggest one has already been asked here (but not answered, yet) ... does YOUR process work for CI as well as Carbon Steel?

[Spinaker]

Yes, it will work for both. Carbon steel is actually a little harder to season because it is smoother and there is less for the seasoning to adhere too. But, yes, this will work for both.

[nunyaz]

You (as in, all y'all) R O C K!!
Many thanks!!

[Spinaker]

No problem, let us know if you have any other questions. And give us updates, so we can see the progress!

[ecowper]

Don is this the DeBuyer La Lyonnais Blue Carbon Steel? It looks like it ….. My Made In carbon steel is the blue style and I really like it. Lighter than the big Pro stuff, still cooks and acts like carbon steel.

[Donw]

I understand that it is basically a MineralB Pro but with an extra 1/2 mm to make it thicker for high heat and with an uncoated stainless steel handle which makes it oven safe. It is manufactured by DeBuyer, comes in a DeBuyer bag, but sold is by Bakingsteel.

Uncle Scott’s Kitchen did a long test and then a review. https://youtu.be/ycX410Jtrbk I like all his carbon steel reviews.

[ecowper]

Interesting … the De Buyer I bought is in their name, is the 3mm carbon steel pan, 12.5”, with the front assist handle. IT’S F’ING BIG ….. great pan, don’t get me wrong, but you aren’t easily tossing eggs in it.

[CandySueQ]

This paste is great Donw! My Made In Wok arrived and I made up some paste. 2 more stages to go. Thanks for sharing this!

[STEbbq]

If a pan is preseasoned like my Lodge CS, is this recommended or do I do something different?