First, a little history. I bought this pan a long time ago and followed instructions from a YouTube video on seasoning with flax seed oil. It ruined the pan. Everything stuck to it and I set it aside for months. Someone told me that putting it in an oven and running the cleaning cycle will get all the gunk off the pan. I did that today. The pan feels smooth and not sticky anymore but looks like crap as you can see in the photo below. (It looked like crap before I did the oven cleaning but was sticky). I’d love to be able to use this pan but am leery of seasoning instructions online. I looked on the Matfer site and came up with nothing. Why the manufacture has nothing on their site about seasoning their cookware is beyond me. What are some of the successful ways SF members have seasoned their carbon steel pans?

If it was sticky, the oil was either too thick or not cooked long enough (or both)
Been there, done that, but on cast iron. further thoughts are on that, not carbon steel.

The surface rust needs to be removed - vinegar will probably do it, but a little 220grit might make it faster. Once that's done, wash with hot water & dry immediately. I usually use a burner on high to get it dry. once dry & warm almost too hot to touch, put a VERY light coat of oil. Flax works, but I just use regular old canola. Wipe it in. THe pan shouldn't look wet, just 'black'. Then put it in the oven at 250-300 for an hour or 2. Then put another coat of oil & repeat.

If you screw it up again, follow someone else's instructions

I have several of their carbon steel, or black steel, pans. IIRC the correct way to break them is to wash them clean, then you peel potatoes, and you use the potato skins (only the skins) and some salt and oil and fry them in the pan. IIRC you do this a couple of times, then they are good to go. You do not season these the same way as cast iron cookware, this is totally different.

Don't give up, or try something different, these pans are totally worth it after initial seasoning and a bit of use.

I have one that is a very low sided omelet pan, it is slicker than gorilla snot. The ONLY thing I use it for is omelets. When done, they roll out beautifully onto a plate due to the extremely low sides.


EDIT TO ADD: LINK TO MATFER INSTRUCTIONS
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I have 3 of their pans. The one I use the most is smooth, shiny, and nearly black. From what I recall, I used the potato peel method. I also regularly use it to sear broccoli with olive oil over high heat, which seems to help.

Don’t give up! They are great pans.

quote:

Originally posted by OKCGene:
I have several of their carbon steel, or black steel, pans. IIRC the correct way to break them is to wash them clean, then you peel potatoes, and you use the potato skins (only the skins) and some salt and oil and fry them in the pan. IIRC you do this a couple of times, then they are good to go. You do not season these the same way as cast iron cookware, this is totally different.

Don't give up, or try something different, these pans are totally worth it after initial seasoning and a bit of use.

I have one that is a very low sided omelet pan, it is slicker than gorilla snot. The ONLY thing I use it for is omelets. When done, they roll out beautifully onto a plate due to the extremely low sides.


EDIT TO ADD: LINK TO MATFER INSTRUCTIONS
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I don’t know how you found that on their site, but thank you very much for posting that. I printed it.

I started with the salt, oil and potato peals when I first got it, but then took it where I probably didn’t need to go with several seasonings of flax seed oil from a YouTube video with really vague instructions on how much oil to use, temp to bring the pan up to and how long to leave it on the heat.

Would it be worth it to try some fine sand paper first? I certainly do not want to ruin the pan. I’ve heard nothing but good stuff about these pans. In fact, I bought the pan from a thread on pans in this forum.

I seriously doubt you can damage that pan. The finish, yes, it happens, but finish seasonings can be redone, no problem.

You might go to Matfers website and contact them for advice. I’m sure they answer questions all the time about seasoning. You and the pan will be fine, no worries.

Link to Matfer contact info.

Enjoy, best wishes to you.
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quote:

Originally posted by OKCGene:
I seriously doubt you can damage that pan. The finish, yes, it happens, but finish seasonings can be redone, no problem.

You might go to Matfers website and contact them for advice. I’m sure they answer questions all the time about seasoning. You and the pan will be fine, no worries.

Link to Matfer contact info.

Enjoy, best wishes to you.
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Thank you.

Yeah, sounds like you used cast iron pan seasoning advice and not carbon steel. Very different metals that react differently. I hope you get it sorted out.

quote:

Originally posted by wingspar:
Would it be worth it to try some fine sand paper first? I certainly do not want to ruin the pan. I’ve heard nothing but good stuff about these pans. In fact, I bought the pan from a thread on pans in this forum.

I had one that the seasoning didn't originally go well with either. I cleaned it with Bar Keeper's Friend and washed well with soap and water to start it fresh. I ended up doing a couple of rounds of oven seasoning with grape seed oil the second time through. It's now one of my most used pans and has turned almost totally black.

Contrary to what you read on the innerwebs, flax seed oil is not all that great for seasoning. A woman named Sheryl Cantor wrote an article called " The science of cast iron seasoning" that pushed flax seed oil, and lots of people believed her. The problem is that it makes nice pretty pans, but it flakes off and doesn't last. The best seasoning is still good old Crisco or lard, just like people have been using for a couple hundred years.

I have used citric acid to strip pans. It’s works well. Just soak the whole pan. Wash it off real well and get it dry quickly.
Whatever oil or grease you use to coat the pan make sure it is applied very thinly. Real thin.
The sides of your pan reminds me of when I used to much oil. It was mottled when it came out of the oven. It cleaned up pretty easy though.

Here are some good links I have used :
Serious eats
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=73IzU7g-vwU

Cowboy Rollins is good stuff
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rRZMXZfcol8

quote:

Originally posted by Bob at the Beach:
Here are some good links I have used :
Serious eats
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=73IzU7g-vwU

Cowboy Rollins is good stuff
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rRZMXZfcol8

Those links are for cast iron, the OP is having an issue with carbon steel...metal yes, needs seasoning but, a bit different

The above dude is spot on 100%. Uncle Scott's Kitchen is a great channel.

The science behind it is the polymerization of the oil/fats. He is spot on about the gas vs electric. Trying to season a carbon steel pan on an electric stove is really difficult.

After you clean the rust off of that pan put some canola onto a warm pan then rub in with paper towel. After rubbing it still has oil on it, get a clean paper towel and rub some more, don't worry, there is still oil on it. Rub with clean towels until you swear that it's dry. Put the pan into a preheated 425 degree oven upside down for one hour.

Voila, you're done.

^^^^ No offense, but I never use paper towels for such a thing. They lint and that lint stays behind and is detrimental to the process.

I use either the Scott brand blue shop towels on the rolls (they don't lint or fall apart), or cheap cloth rags (cotton) that I've picked up, or I use brand new mechanics shop towels. I bought a couple hundred brand new mechanics shop towels (cotton) and they only get used inside the house.

Kent Rollins also recommends not using paper towels for the same reason. Lint. They fall apart and per Kent they can clog up the pores in regular cast iron cookware.
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quote:

Originally posted by corsair:

Those links are for cast iron, the OP is having an issue with carbon steel...metal yes, needs seasoning but, a bit different

The process for carbon steel and cast iron can be exactly the same. You're just heating oil up to the level of polymerization. The video you posted has the exact same oven method I have used for all of my cast iron and carbon steel.