Is this a problem with my wok, or am I overthinking?

[hoovarmin]

Just seasoned my new carbon steel wok by rubbing it down with avocado oil and putting it in a 450 oven for an hour as recommended by the Wok Shop. The splotching bugs me. Is this a problem?

[Bkhuna]

Did you scrub it thoroughly with soapy water first to remove any oils left on during manufacturing?

[hoovarmin]

I did, twice. But that was my first thought when I saw those splotches. I used dawn liquid and hot water, but damned if it doesn't appear that some of it stayed on the metal.

[JimLinebarger]

I have had similar "issues" with my carbon steel pans. But mine still are non-stick so I haven't redone them. Here is a video that I will be using to redo my pans to make them look better if I get tired of the way they look.

[jfmorris]

Hmmm. I am with Bkhuna and it almost seems you didn't get some oils or other residue off before seasoning. And the splotchiness almost implies too much oil doesn't it?

HOWEVER, the other factor that might be at play here is that Avocado oil has a smoke point of 520F. You really need to take the piece being seasoned BEYOND the smoke point, and hold it there until it stops smoking. A 450F oven isn't going to do it in other words.

I did the initial seasoning of my 14" wok from the Wok Shop using a little bottle of flax seed oil I bought from them, and it came out looking pretty uniformly brown from the oven. I think I did 3 treatments. However, much of it has stripped off in the year or two since then, but I just keep cooking on it now. Flaxseed oil has a very LOW smoke point of 225F, so it's easy to get that seasoning layer on in a home oven at just 350F.

I think we need Spinaker or someone to chime in on whether you need to strip and start over, but the thought I have is that you take this seasoning OUTSIDE to the grill if you are using Avocado oil, and do it on your Kamado Joe, and take it to 500+ for an hour, then shut the grill down, let it cool, and see how it looks.

[Spinaker]

Shoot for 4-500. Anything more is overkill with flax. Avo oil might need 600

[hoovarmin]

Spinaker I don't have any flax so I'm using Avo. I'm waiting on the Joe to heat up now and am going to use the deflector plates to block the radiant heat and go with 600, placing the wok upside down.

[ecowper]

I season all my carbon steel with canola oil. 450F in the oven or just get that bugger hot on the stovetop

[Spinaker]

No problem at all. Just cook with it. You are just fine. It is new and it will not be fully seasoned over night. If it was raw cast iron, you would see the same thing until the seasoning and patina built up.

I would use Flax Oil. Avo Oil has a really high smoke point and won't break down nearly as easily. Flax Oil will bake down to a nice color too.

I would say putting in the oven for more than an hour is what you really need to do. Then let it cool as slow as possible. Shut the oven off and do not open it until it is totally cool. A slow cooling process is key, just as key as the baking step. As you cook and manually season, it will fill in. Also, you can do it on your grill and that will add more color and cover up the splotching.

[hoovarmin]

So Spinaker should I go ahead and do a second seasoning in my Kamado at around 520 F for another hour or two?

[jfmorris]

Doesn't he need to take it higher than the smoke point of the avocado oil?

[Spinaker]

Yeah, let it rip for like 2-3 hours. Then shut the vents and do not open it all day/night.

[Michael_in_TX]

If it was raw cast iron, you would see the same thing until the seasoning and patina built up.

I've often wondered that if iron didn't have its characteristic low reflectivity if we would all be horrified at how it really looks when first seasoning it up.

[FireMan]

Yup, it’s a case of ya don’t have ta be a rocket surgeon or an engineer to cook with a wok. Ya seasoned it twice, nuff done. Just cook with it, and cook with it. No graphs or probes or infrared dojingies needed. People have been cookin with this fer centuries. Overthinkin? Yup! Just do it!!

[Oak Smoke]

The smother the finish the easier it is to get that splotchy finish. I’ve reseasoned several skillets for people who decided to take a sander to a Lodge skillet and make it smooth. Without fail I get that splotchy color every time. The only thing to do is just cook with it and the seasoning will form as you go. I’ve often wondered if I could soak one in vinegar to etch the finish and make seasoning stick better. With the temps woks are used at the seasoning should build quickly.

[jfmorris]

Thought I would look back, and here is what my seasoning with flaxseed oil in the oven looked like, the day I got my wok in January 2022:



So you can see some splotchiness.

Unfortunately, that layer of flax seed oil seasoning stripped as I used the wok, and used the shovel style spatula inside it. Today, the outside is darker than above, but the inside is pretty bad. I just cook in it and use oil, and nothing sticks, but it could use work, as evidenced in this stove top cook a few weeks ago (Kung pao shrimp from "The Wok" by Kenji):



I wipe with a light layer of avocado oil after use, and hang it on a hook in the pantry. Wipe any dust out before it hits the stove next time, and then get it hot until it smokes, then add oil and food, and just keep cooking.

If you have an outdoor wok burner, bet yours gets seasoned really good compared to mine.

EDIT: I now see my squirt bottle from the griddle on the counter in one of the photos. That bottle is ALWAYS full of avocado oil. So I am wondering if I even used flaxseed oil...

[hoovarmin]

We will get to the bottom of all of these mysteries!

[hoovarmin]

Just checked my wok - I ran at 650 and it essentially stripped it down to the bare metal, sooooo, I'll be starting from scratch again in the morning.

[jfmorris]

Oops! So now we now what is too hot for avocado oil!

[hoovarmin]

jfmorris we do indeed! Since I'm back to square one I'm going to grab some flax oil today and do it the easy way. The good news - my Kamado, grates, and deflector plates are super clean now.

[58limited]

I used avocado oil on mine but I held the sides over the flame on the gas stove top, rotating the wok as needed: I let it start smoking and when the smoking diminished I rotated to another spot.

Since then I acquired an outdoor propane burner that can put out up to 250,000 BTU and I bet it will season a wok fast. I know it will do stir fries fast and hot like a restaurant with that good wok hei.

[Purc]

OK I'm stumped on your new avatar..

[58limited]

Purc Your Captain Kangaroo avatar reminded me of Mr. Peppermint of Peppermint Place - a kids show I watched growing up. It was a Dallas based show and Mr. Peppermint's real name was Jerry Haynes. His son is Gibby Haynes of the Butthole Surfers.

[mnavarre]

You're overthinking. You don't need some perfect, black patina, just get a thin layer of oil baked on there and start cooking. The patina will build over time and you won't keep your seasoning anyway.

Here's my 14":


I've never reseasoned it in the 5+ years I've had it except for the hundreds of times I've reseasoned it. It looks a little rough because I steamed some bao, but it's still pretty much nonstick. Just wash it, give it a coat of oil and let it heat on the burner.

Here's my 12"



Pretty ugly, cooks just fine. Still not sure I got all the protective crap off of it, even though I've gotten busy with Bar Keepers and a Chore-Boy twice. I've had this one for less than a year.

When you go to cook just heat the wok up, dump in enough oil to coat the cooking surface, dump any excess, and get to cooking. Essentially you're seasoning it before every cook. Both of these were seasoned with grapeseed oil initially