Thank you, my better half pulled out her Abuela’s old comal and brought it back to life. All she needs to do now is watch your videos and learn a few techniques. Best wishes.
I seasoned my iron skillet, that I found near a trash can and very Rusty, by using many of the same points you pointed out. I had difficulty finding avocado oil so I used peanut oil with its 450° smoke point when I seasoned my iron skillet. Also, the tool used to scrape away the burnt cooking crud was a one-sided razor blade You're right, it does take repetitive scrubbings but I now have a seasoned, Non-Stick cast iron skillet. Thank you again, Villa Cocina.🎉
I only have electric. I use an 11-inch square flat griddle with a non-stick surface for most of my roasting. When I have a lot to roast I also use a deeper round non-stick sauté pan with a flat bottom.
I wish I knew this years ago, I've thrown away about 7 comals. I'm embarrassed, but I honestly didn't know. Thank you so much for sharing this helpful tip.
use more oil. Something heavier than avocado. I think butter, manteca, or just vegetable oil in a slightly thicker coating works a HUNDRED times better. Idk how cooking a thin coat to your comal like this would make it non stick? And for an hour?! Holay! Idk, i do a lot heavier of a coating....as well as for my cast iron comals. My cousins even do the same with their clay comals🤷♀️
@2:10 I know you said wait for it to cool down but seeing you reach in there with your bare hands freaked me out for a second. Great info. I need to find a comal that works with my induction stove.
I've used a scubber thing (the round mesh type scrubber) as well as JUST A BROWN PAPER BAG to scrub off my comals (carbon, clay, cast iron, tractor blade.) I think a brown paper bag works best imo. Sometimes i don't have an escobeta on hand, but i do have a brown paper bag (this is something I learned from my grandma, the brown bag method🤷♀️)
Great video, I only disagree with the ending. You absolutely can use soap. Modern dish soaps don't contain lye anymore, so there's no damage to your seasoning. Yes, you can kill all the bacteria by heating it up again but it's simple enough to take a soapy sponge and just wash it like a normal dish.
I have a selection of carbon steel and cast iron pans. I know I can use soap on them .. but for some reason, I don't feel the need to. If it has oil on it, I can just take it off by wiping with a paper towel (with or without salt), and then perhaps rinsing it with water (if I need to remove stuck-on bits) or another oil for protection. For scrubbing it, I do that after adding hot water and use a brush tool similar to what was shown, otherwise a wooden spatula. I guess a blue scrubby would work, too. Otherwise, I could pull out a chain mail scrubby if somehow it needed it.
I have this same pan. Made in/ Masienda. I notice mine is not completely flat on the cooking surface. The center is higher and then drops to the edges, is this expected?
If my mom cooks something that sticks badly, i will let the pan soak in ONLY water for maybe 10 minutes. (Of course no soap should ever touch cast iron) This is normally more than enough to loosen any badly stuck things. Then I wipe it clean, and place the pan on a hot burner. This is very important as it drives any residual water out of the pan! Then I lightly oil the pan with canola/smoke resistant oil and crank the heat up. After it begins to smoke for several minutes I turn it off. The non-stick surface is now well on its way to being correctly seasoned. Like said at the end, do this every time you use it to build up the season
we just put water in whatever has stuck on food and put it BACK onto the burner🤷♀️ We turn the burner on to a low heat (maybe 2) and let it get warm/ a tad hot. Whatever is stuck on comes right off. If it's really stuck on, we add more water and increase the heat to 4.
seriously!! I'm not mexi but my tribe is from southern az/ northern sonora and we use cast iron, clay, or just an old tractor blade we get free from the farms🤷♀️ After 30 yrs of cooking, i got my first carbon steel comal last month🤣 I like the space (when im making big chumuth/tortillas) but i still prefer my cast iron or big tractor blade comal😁👍
Mild dish soap and abrasive can clean any cast iron or carbon steel cookware if it is correctly seasoned. Soap will not harm or damage the seasoning. That is a partial myth from the era when Lye was used more commonly used to clean. Seasoning forms a bond that is akin to a glaze. Mild soap can not affect that at all.
Beware anyone who is thinking about carbon steel pans. They are a total waste of time and money for home chefs. TH-cam influencers recommend them because they get paid by companies. Trust me I had to throw away my 100 dollar carbon steel pan because it was total garbage.
I AGREE!!!! I prefer a cast iron or clay comal. Those are BEST. however my people (we are native--O'odham) as well as folks from Sonora just use a old tractor blade for a big comal🤷♀️🤷♀️ They are huge, work best for high heats, are thick....and even brand new are super cheap!
What makes you throw them away ? I have had mine over a year and it’s still works great cost me about 65 usd .. I seasoned with beef tallow and has been good ?
Great tutorial. Thanks. Although, you shouldn't use anything acidic, like tomatoes, as this removed the polymerization from your pan. If my carbon steel starts to get splotchy, I will boil a can of whole tomatoes and their juice to strip all of the polymerized oil, then start over again.
Thank you, my better half pulled out her Abuela’s old comal and brought it back to life. All she needs to do now is watch your videos and learn a few techniques. Best wishes.
I seasoned my iron skillet, that I found near a trash can and very Rusty, by using many of the same points you pointed out. I had difficulty finding avocado oil so I used peanut oil with its 450° smoke point when I seasoned my iron skillet. Also, the tool used to scrape away the burnt cooking crud was a one-sided razor blade You're right, it does take repetitive scrubbings but I now have a seasoned, Non-Stick cast iron skillet.
Thank you again, Villa Cocina.🎉
Your video was fantastic and extremely informative. Thank you for making it.
I only have electric. I use an 11-inch square flat griddle with a non-stick surface for most of my roasting. When I have a lot to roast I also use a deeper round non-stick sauté pan with a flat bottom.
I wish I knew this years ago, I've thrown away about 7 comals. I'm embarrassed, but I honestly didn't know. Thank you so much for sharing this helpful tip.
I have seasoned mine so many times and itstill sticks. Grrr! I'll get it to non-stick in time with more use I'm sure. Thanks for the tutorial!
use more oil. Something heavier than avocado. I think butter, manteca, or just vegetable oil in a slightly thicker coating works a HUNDRED times better. Idk how cooking a thin coat to your comal like this would make it non stick? And for an hour?! Holay! Idk, i do a lot heavier of a coating....as well as for my cast iron comals. My cousins even do the same with their clay comals🤷♀️
The black carbon that forms on carbon steel and cast iron is called a patina
Nice, clear, easy to follow instructions. Very good job!!! Gracias!!!
Thank you. I’ve been afraid to get one. Now I am willing to make the purchase. Have a wonderful weekend.
This is the same method for cleaning and seasoning cast iron cookware.
btw, love your content!!! I don't watch too many cooks, but i do watch you! Take care!
Thank you for sharing this, I also own the made in comal, I surely need it this 😊 ❤
@2:10 I know you said wait for it to cool down but seeing you reach in there with your bare hands freaked me out for a second. Great info. I need to find a comal that works with my induction stove.
I've used a scubber thing (the round mesh type scrubber) as well as JUST A BROWN PAPER BAG to scrub off my comals (carbon, clay, cast iron, tractor blade.) I think a brown paper bag works best imo. Sometimes i don't have an escobeta on hand, but i do have a brown paper bag (this is something I learned from my grandma, the brown bag method🤷♀️)
Great video, I only disagree with the ending. You absolutely can use soap. Modern dish soaps don't contain lye anymore, so there's no damage to your seasoning. Yes, you can kill all the bacteria by heating it up again but it's simple enough to take a soapy sponge and just wash it like a normal dish.
I have a selection of carbon steel and cast iron pans. I know I can use soap on them .. but for some reason, I don't feel the need to. If it has oil on it, I can just take it off by wiping with a paper towel (with or without salt), and then perhaps rinsing it with water (if I need to remove stuck-on bits) or another oil for protection. For scrubbing it, I do that after adding hot water and use a brush tool similar to what was shown, otherwise a wooden spatula. I guess a blue scrubby would work, too. Otherwise, I could pull out a chain mail scrubby if somehow it needed it.
I have this same pan. Made in/ Masienda. I notice mine is not completely flat on the cooking surface. The center is higher and then drops to the edges, is this expected?
If my mom cooks something that sticks badly, i will let the pan soak in ONLY water for maybe 10 minutes. (Of course no soap should ever touch cast iron) This is normally more than enough to loosen any badly stuck things. Then I wipe it clean, and place the pan on a hot burner. This is very important as it drives any residual water out of the pan!
Then I lightly oil the pan with canola/smoke resistant oil and crank the heat up. After it begins to smoke for several minutes I turn it off. The non-stick surface is now well on its way to being correctly seasoned. Like said at the end, do this every time you use it to build up the season
we just put water in whatever has stuck on food and put it BACK onto the burner🤷♀️ We turn the burner on to a low heat (maybe 2) and let it get warm/ a tad hot.
Whatever is stuck on comes right off. If it's really stuck on, we add more water and increase the heat to 4.
thanks for the tutorial. i needed it.
You bet!
Can you share info please about the single gas burner you use?
Excellent info❣️
So what do you recommend for an electric stove?
What kind of gas grill is that? I want one of them too
NO LIE, My eyes had to do a double look at the thumb nail before I realized that the word was CARBON- Mexicans will know why I had to look twice 🤣😉
seriously!! I'm not mexi but my tribe is from southern az/ northern sonora and we use cast iron, clay, or just an old tractor blade we get free from the farms🤷♀️ After 30 yrs of cooking, i got my first carbon steel comal last month🤣 I like the space (when im making big chumuth/tortillas) but i still prefer my cast iron or big tractor blade comal😁👍
Mild dish soap and abrasive can clean any cast iron or carbon steel cookware if it is correctly seasoned. Soap will not harm or damage the seasoning.
That is a partial myth from the era when Lye was used more commonly used to clean.
Seasoning forms a bond that is akin to a glaze. Mild soap can not affect that at all.
*Why only use on gas stove?* I don't have that.
i have a carbon steel one and i use it on electric 🤷♀️ it didnt say anything about only gas stoves
😊
500 degrees for 1 hour? 😧
You can’t cook tomatoes on carbon steel because the citric acid eats right through the pan seasoning. That’s why you are getting food sticking.
Beware anyone who is thinking about carbon steel pans. They are a total waste of time and money for home chefs. TH-cam influencers recommend them because they get paid by companies. Trust me I had to throw away my 100 dollar carbon steel pan because it was total garbage.
I have a couple of em and they work fine
I AGREE!!!!
I prefer a cast iron or clay comal. Those are BEST.
however my people (we are native--O'odham) as well as folks from Sonora just use a old tractor blade for a big comal🤷♀️🤷♀️
They are huge, work best for high heats, are thick....and even brand new are super cheap!
What makes you throw them away ? I have had mine over a year and it’s still works great cost me about 65 usd .. I seasoned with beef tallow and has been good ?
All I use is carbon steel for cooking and I have no issues. You need to have patience learning how to use it.
MS lokitablu3: Please make a YT video showing a tractor blade used as a comal!
Great tutorial. Thanks. Although, you shouldn't use anything acidic, like tomatoes, as this removed the polymerization from your pan. If my carbon steel starts to get splotchy, I will boil a can of whole tomatoes and their juice to strip all of the polymerized oil, then start over again.