Matfer 11 7/8" arrived at noon today. We washed it out and dried it thoroughly. I put a quarter teaspoon of peanut oil in the slightly heated pan and then wiped it as dry a I could get it. Put the pan in the oven set to 500 degrees. When the oven came to temp, I let it run for an hour and turned it off. I'm an impatient guy, so I took out my welder's gloves and took the pan out of the oven and set on the stove to cool off. As soon as it was cool, I repeated the process. Seasoning it twice took about 4 hours total. The pan has a beautiful patina. While I didn't do the fried egg test, I did sous vide a steak and sear it in the pan which was heated to over 400 degrees. After dinner, I put some water in the pan and used a wooden spatula to remove whatever was left in the pan. Everything just slid off the surface. THANK YOU, Uncle Scott for saving me countless hours of doing unnecessary multiple seasonings. UPDATE: It's the next day and I cooked a fried egg sandwich for lunch. The Matfer passed the "fried egg test" even though the pan was just slightly under temp for the butter. Because the pan was seasoned in the oven, it has a uniform black-bronze color, both front and back. It's really quite beautiful and I couldn't be happier.
Glad to see that I have not forgotten what my grandmother taught us. She cooked professionally and started teaching my sister, brother and myself how to cook when we were in elementary school. I'm almost 64 now.👍👍
Almost threw my carbon steel pan in the trash after 3 years. Did every method, then did this, and it finally fucking worked. Scrub with dish soap and scouring pad, did it again, then did it again until the paper towels were clear. Warmed it up, 1/4 tablespoon of costco canola oil and wiped the surface of the pan down. Wiped it down again. Wiped it down again. Oven at 425 for one hour (25 degrees above canola oil smoke point as the video said,) and turned off the oven and let it cool down for a few hours (3-4 hours or so). Cooled it down, tested with scrambled eggs, was magic.
It all depends on the state of the skillet. If it's mostly clean and nothing sticks, you can simply wipe it with paper towels. The remaining oil will serve as rust protection. For smaller messes, I prefer hot water and a brush or chain mail cleaner. If necessary, I use a little dish soap. After cleaning with water, make sure to get the skillet completely dry again. I usually put it on the stove top again to evaporate all moisture. Then apply a thin layer of oil. For bigger messes, either heat up the skillet and deglaze it with a little hot water and a wooden or plastic scraper. You may also fill it with water, bring it to a boil and let it boil like 2 minutes. Then continue with the above methods for the remaining stuff.
Received my Matfer 9 1/2 inch today. Did not use the mfg instructions to season, but instead used this oven method. Came out of the oven looking beautiful with a light brownseasoning. Cracked an egg in a bit of butter and bam...slid around like a hockey puck. Then some sausage. Perfect. Thank you for the great suggestion / solution.
Just spent a fortune on 3 carbon steel solidteknic pans. Your tips on how much actually is ‘oil lightly’ is a life saver. I really needed these pans to work! Fried egg test passed with flying colours. Thanks a million Uncle Scott 👍
I got this Matfer Carbon Steel Pan 12 5/8" last week. I followed Matfer instruction with potato peel, salt and oil on gaz stove, but the potato peel stuck to the pan and turned gummy black crust hard as rock. I literally had to chisel it out with a blade and scrapped the bulk of the hard crust and then sanded it with 320 grit sand paper until it looked like brand new stainless steel, and followed by 500 grit to make it even smoother and shinier. I then wiped it with very light coat of grape seed oil and heated it on the gas stove. I kept heating every section by section (including wall) positioning every section over the flame directly until it turned golden color and nothing missed.. .. and stored it away for a 1 day. the next day I did the egg test, bacon, hamburger, steak and absolutely nothing stick
Mine passed the fried egg test this morning. (applause track) I’m a cast iron guy, but I had to have a carbon steel pan, I’m loving it, Thanks for the video.
This method works people. In fact, the very first time I saw this exact method demonstrated was on Good Eats many years ago. AB demonstrated this exact seasoning method on brand new Cast Iron cookware.
Thank you, this one of the most helpful on TH-cam. Now I know why I have darker spotted sticky spots on my Straub grill pan. I seasoned with too much oil. Dang it! I just ordered a carbon pan and your vid was great. Thank you. Your mother’s story was helpful.
I just discovered your TH-cam channel yesterday. I was trying to fix my carbon steel pan that the housekeeper put in the dishwasher-a first world problem! I bought six carbon steel pans; Matfer, de Buyer, and Mauviel. Initially, I used the six times in the oven with flax seed oil method with varying results. Two of them ended up non-stick, the rest require some work. My housekeeper found them oiled and sitting on the stove in a pile. She scrubbed them and ran them through the dishwasher with everything else. What emerged was a rusty mess. I followed your technique with some vegetable oil and one trip through the oven 535ºF (the oil is a blend of Safflower and Canola). They now have eggs sliding around in melted butter. Thanks!
@@june5572 I like them all. The Mauviels have gone up in price significantly; they are now more expensive. The de Buyers and Mauviels have taller handles that some people complain about and it is harder to fit them in the oven. I got out my calipers; the Mauviels are the thinnest, 0.08" to 0.10". The Matfers are each about 0.12" and the de Buyers range from .010" to 0.13". I have a range of pan sizes, from 7.9" to 12 ⅝", so this is not a direct comparison. Also because of the curved shape of the rim, my measurements may not be accurate to two decimal places. I don't have a scale to weigh them, so I can't compare weight. It is probably fair to say that thicker is heavier. America's Test Kitchen ranked the Matfers the highest, but in day-to-day use, I consider all three brands interchangeable; I choose based on size, not brand. Someday, I'll put some flour in them and place them over a burner to see how evenly they heat. If you look online, you can find Matfers for less than they are on Amazon. I just ordered the whole set from Web Restaurant Store. Katom also has them.
Six pans holy cow! That's awesome. Agreed with your comments on the brands... I think those three are about the best you can get and they all seem to work well. Not sure what I would do if someone put my pans through the dishwasher. Probably cry and reseason!
Finally! I have been wondering about "a light coat of oil" ever since I startet using (cast) iron pans, and had even convinced myself recently that I might leave to little oil on the pan for seasoning after wiping it off. Thank you for actually showing what "a light coat of oil" really looks and feels like! :-)
This was tremendous helpful because I'm sure a lot of people would fall into that trap. mostly because when cooking one has always fear (I think) to not put enough oil/fat etc. so a little bit too much is better than not enough. I'm sure I would had fallen for this mistake. Well I have been warned just in time, have about 7 new skillets, fying pan, sauce pan to season soon.
I can’t believe manufacturers don’t just explain this as clearly as you did. I tried to season me de buyer on an electric stove top, and after a couple of attempts ended up with the sticky spot, and I thought I damaged the pan... I then found your video and decided to do it all over again, so cleaned and scrubbed the whole pan with soapy water, and used the oven method, chose sunflower oil and 1h oven at 250 degrees Celsius + two hours natural cool down, amazing result! I can visually see the round spot as the colour is a little bit different, but now the whole pan is smooth and evenly darkened. Thanks for sharing this, it really solved the problem!
Thank you! This is the best carbon steel seasoning video I have found after looking at a dozen videos. You go into details like how the oil should feel that others just skip over.
Dear Uncle Scott. I visited this video a few months ago in despair when I had failed seasoning my new deBuyer pans. I didn't understand the importance of a THIN coat of oil. I did it a couple of times and now my pans are insanely non stick. I am so happy with the results and think about it almost every day. Thank you so much. I also discovered an amazing way to completely clean or "reset" your pan if it is full of sticky black spots. I filled it completely to the brim with water, sprinkled a nice amount of lye/drain cleaner in it, swirled and put it on a medium low heat. after 30 minutes to an hour the black thick oil spots just floated off. I removed the rest with with steel wool. it was a great way to reset your pan and I haven't seen it anywhere on youtube. it also didn't make the pan rust in any way. thanks a lot man you really changed the game for me.
I got to snooping around on Amazon for a 10 1/4" Matfer skillet, and the prices they had ran from $54=$88. So I went to Bargreen Ellingson in Spokane, Wa., and picked one up for $40.41 after tax. When I got it home, I scrubbed it and seasoned it, as per directions, with potato skins, oil and salt. I sautéed them for just over 15 minutes until they turned crisps and smoked. Then I threw the skins out, wiped out the pan with a paper towel and reheated the pan with a microscopic about of Canola oil until it reached the smoking point. The pan turned a beautiful bronze color so I tried the famous "Fried Egg Test" and that sucker slid around like the proverbial hockey puck. I didn't even have to budge it loose with a spatula. It cooked perfectly with a runny yoke, solid white, and no burnt edges. I can't thank you enough for your videos. I love the pan. I need to find a place to hang it where everybody can see it. Thanks!!!
Awesome awesome awesome, Joe!! Thank you very much... that's exactly the way it's supposed to go! I have noticed the outrageous prices too... I know we have hyperinflation, but 100% increase is still nuts!
I'm checking back in a few months after having watched this video and I'd like to point out that the advice given by Uncle Scott is right on. I couldn't getba good seasoning on my matfer using the potato and salt method, so resorted to the oven technique, and most importantly to the "season less, cook more" technique and it worked wonders. I use an electric cooktop and just powered through the first 10 uses of the pan with some stubborn sticking and eventually the pan became smooth as glass and nothing sticks anymore. I went ahead and bought 2 more pans yesterday, stuck them in the oven and will get cooking with them as much as possible. These are great pans and Uncle Scott shares the best maintenance advice!
I bought a set of made.in carbon steel pans and as your Mom did I followed the directions to a T. , horrible results.... thank you so much , this video was extremely helpful and gave me faith in the pans before I tossed them out the door !!! Thank you again !
oldie but goodie!!! you know no one never bother to explain exactly what a light coat of oil was!!! Been doing it wrong all this time and even explain why I have that stickiness to my pans!! thank you!!
Finally I understand why my glass top range did such a poor job of seasoning my Matfer carbon steel pan! I got drips of oil baked on in the oven because I used too much oil. So 2 lessons learned!
Scott, you just saved me a TON of extra work! I have an electric stovetop and I found this video BEFORE my Matfer Carbon Steel pan was delivered. I used the oven method and, after one coat of seasoning, it passed the egg test with flying colors! Thanks a TON for this great content.
Thank you for the compliments! I am really glad the video helped. The whole reason I started making TH-cam videos was my wife got me a carbon steel skillet and I couldn't find good info on seasoning it, so I figured there had to be others out there like me who might need a little help to get started.
You have straightened me out, thank you! I have two different carbon steel pans. My smaller madein pan seasoned in the oven worked fine. The Matfer I messed up. I started with the potato peel method, which didn't seem to do much and everything stuck to it after I tried cooking with it. I cleaned it up - improperly of course - with water, maybe a little soap - then dried it. Here's where I really screwed up: I put oil on the hot pan. The result was sticky streaks all over. When I watched your video about nuking the pan, I decided I was going to do that. First up, vinegar - oops, not enough in the house. It worked OK on the bottom but I barely had enough up the sides. So into the self-cleaning oven which did remove all of that sticky mess. A little steel wool to smooth out some very light scratches, wash and dry, let it cool. Very little oil this time, wiped it well like you said, into the oven for an hour at 450 (grapeseed oil smoke point 428), then let it cool down for a few hours. Now we're getting somewhere. Cooked some schnitzel in it with a fair amount of oil, easy clean up, nothing stuck and it feels nice and smooth, with the seasoning well along. I was going to do a second round in the oven but not necessary. So I'm feeling better now and I know a lot more about cleaning them, too! Thank you, Uncle Scott!
@@UncleScottsKitchen Now I just need to remember not to cook with any acids in these pans! A small mishap with some lime juice on my MadeIn pan, removed a section of the seasoning.
Finally! Thank you! I’ve wasted hours trying to season my carbon steel pan using the instructions provided by the manufacturer. I never got a decent result and I had given up on being able to use it. Well done, Scott!
I watched a lot of videos on seasoning carbon steel pans. Then I watch videos on seasoning carbon steel woks. I used a combination of the 2 methods. First I "burned" my Matfer pan just like the Chinese chefs do their woks. Then I added the grapeseed oil and swirled it around and used a wad of paper towels to catch the sides good. Then I added the salt and potato skins. After cooking that mixture a bit, threw that out, rinsed the pan with just hot water and wiped it dry. Now for the egg test. Just sprayed some Pam and fried an egg. It didn't slide around like some of these videos because I didn't have a pool of oil, just a spray of Pam. But the egg didn't stick either. Just a touch with the spatula was all it needed. Perfectly fried egg without sticking. Didn't season it multiple times, didn't bake it in the oven. BTW, I have a gas stove which I understand after watching a lot of videos, makes a big difference.
Your videos are excellent! These are by far the best informative carbon steel seasoning videos on TH-cam that I've found. I get a lot of carbon steel seasoning questions from friends and family. I thought to start making videos and posting them, but then I found yours and instead of repeating these videos I will keep suggesting yours.👌🍳
Very helpful as I was planning to order a Matfer and have a glass top stove. Didn’t even think about the heating of the pan during seasoning. Thanks again!
Thanks uncle Scott. I can’t begin to tell you how frustrating it has been seasoning my pan, and cooking with it. You’re insight is exactly what I needed.
Thank you!!!!!! I never used any carbon anything so I didn’t know how to season it. I bought one of the larger ones because I like to meal prep so I had to season it in an oven. Before your video I literally had to wash it with soap every time because everything stuck to it. Just cooked on it today and it was amazing after seasoning it yesterday (one time). 🤩 No sticky spots.
Finally, someone who knows how to season a pan correctly. Thank You, Uncle Scott. I've seen several videos, and some did a terrible job, and blamed the pan for sticking.
Thank you - just bought a new carbon steel wok and was about to buy Flaxseed oil - vegetable oil worked just fine!! Telling us to confirm smoking temps let me see I could use anything and 1/4 teaspoon of oil wiped well was extremely helpful. Thank you
Greetings from Norway!. After searching on internet for a proper method for seasoning a Matfer carbon steel pan I purchased this spring, I finally ended up with the brilliant step by step instructions from "Uncle Scott's Kitchen". I used the oven technique as most of the stoves in Norway are induction based. I was so impressed by the result that I'm planning to make one more seasoning session before I use it this Weekend. Thanks Scott!!!
Great video! Thank you. This is the only place where I've seen the electric stove consideration. I know a lot of us in apartments in Oakland, CA have electric stoves (sigh). I think if you put something about that in the title, you might reach more people with electric stoves.
Thanks for the comments. I will see about that in the titles. I have found that I get lots of response when I mention the cooking surfaces. On lots of cooking shows they don't seem to try their review pans on a variety of cook tops, and I think it leaves lots of people out.
The best video instruction ever regarding this subject.... Who on earth would buy a cheap carbon steel pan, and then spend a small fortune on fuel and hours seasoning it for 11 to 13 times before one could use it....? I'm gonna buy one now!!
Gotta admit- I almost was turned off by the length of the video- (14 mins!) SO glad I stuck it out. You are the only one who explained this confusing process so well! ...and it helped that your Mother was one of us clueless people. Thank you! Ps- no one ever mentioned to put the pan in the oven upside down.
Thank you! Speaking of being clueless, I started out clueless myself and couldn't find any good info on these pans, so I figured there were other people out there like me, and I started making these videos. Cluelessness maybe pays off in the long run, ironically. :)
Really good video. Unlike so many instructional videos for various subjects. You were straight and to the point. At no time did I feel like I wanted to fast forward you video. Which is saying quite a lot. I have subscribed and will check out all your other videos. Great Job.
Good info Thx. I stripped my carbon steel pan with a lemon. Cut it in half, rub the pan with the lemon, squeeze the juice out & let sit over night. No chemicals needed.
Thanks for the advise. I just bought the exact same pan and have had all the problems you mentioned. I almost gave up, but your video has inspired me to give it one last try. Thanks again.
@@UncleScottsKitchen Great video. Likewise I'm having the same problems, I need to de-season and start over. Do you think its ok to use Bar Keepers Friend on this skillet to remove old seasoning? Also, can you do a video on how you clean a skillet after use like the one at the end of this video. Thanks!
I've used Barkeeper's Friend on stainless steel pans before and it seemed to work well. Haven;'t tried it on carbon steel yet, but the carbon steel pans are darn near indestructible, so I doubt it would hurt to give it a try. Please let me know if you do and how it works out. I haven't had any stuck-on gunk yet that didn't come out with just steel wool and soap and water (and elbow grease/scrubbing really hard). That's a good video suggestion... will put it on the list for upcoming ones. Thanks!
@@UncleScottsKitchen Thanks Scott! Having trouble keeping my pan clean after I used Bar Keepers and started the seasoning process over. Cooked once using Veg oil and its still leaving a goupy substance on the pan. Am I doing anything wrong? I used to wash it with water, is there any chance theres built up rust layers down thats effecting this? Thanks for your help!
Can you see the rust on there? If you can see rust on it, you gotta get that off of there. Use steel wool or if it is really bad you could use some sand paper. You need to get it clean and dry before you start. Then if it is getting "soupy" you are prob using way too much oil. Light light light coat of oil likein the video. Hope this helps!
Awesome video. You answered all my questions about seasoning these type of skillets. Now I know what the correct amount of oil to use, no wonder my skillet always has sticky spots. Much thanks for your time and knowledge.
Excellent information Scott. One thing I learned is that on a new pan you have to scrub that protective coating off until your fingers ache. It is unbelievably tough. I tried steel wool on my first pan and it did nothing. Consequently my seasoning attempt was a failure requiring a re-do. I switched to a new Scotch Brite pad on the second pan with Dawn which worked really well. That way you can actually see the water turning brown as the coating comes off. The oil, salt and potato peel method will work but it is a mess and will stink up the house for a week. I did my second one on my grill's side burner but that's still a PITA mess and may be too small if you have a big pan. The oven method you described is much more civilized.
Thanks for the comments. I am also a believer in Dawn. I use it for cleaning grease off the stove as well. I thought about trying the grill method but we had over a half-foot of snow yesterday... might have to wait until Spring thaw to check that out! :)
I have noticed from collecting cast iron that collectors and cooks have different goals and often use different techniques. I’m a user and collector with slight OCD, so I understand wanting beautiful black seasoning, but I have also placed a cast iron pan into service with NO seasoning. It got seasoned completely just by use. I have also done 2-3 oven seasonings in the past trying to get that jet black color that will come automatically through continued use.
Thanks Uncle Scott! I was getting ready to forget the whole carbon steel thing altogether. I thought seasoning would be the biggest time drain and the effort and upkeep would be too much. I bought a DeBuyer pan first and tried to season it on my flat top range several times with bad results. Very frustrating. Then I used your oven method on my new Misen pan. I followed it to the letter and it worked very well. Your videos are very informative. You answer many questions that are bound to come up and you explain things . Nice work, man!
I am about to purchase one of those frying pans. This video was very nice and informative because though I prefer a gas stove I only have an electric. Providing both methods for curing was very nice and easy to follow. Thank-you.
@@UncleScottsKitchen Still warm from the oven. Looks smooth? Wish I could attach a picture... I am hoping that this will take place of the non stick Pan I've been using and am not happy with.
Excited. Bought a De buyer pan, seasoned it a lot of times, everything sticks to the bottom. Have almost not used it at all. Now I see a glimmer of hope. Going to start scrub, oil and dry dry dry.
Remember to still use some fat (butter and/or oil) when you cook things like eggs. For bacon and sausage, start them in a cold pan an cook on low until some fat renders out.
I have watched dozens of seasoning videos over the years, and read in depth articles, and I think this is the video with the best instructions I've ever seen. My only suggestion for improvement is on the audio: I'd recommend getting a better mic and/or lowering the music volume, sometimes I had difficulty following what you were saying.
Thanks! Agreed on the audio... that was one of my first videos. Now I have a better microphone and better editing software, so hopefully the sound is better.
EXACTLY right about too much oil. I followed another website's directions to the letter (I thought) and got the sticky blobs and lines of baked-on oil - which do not come off easily. Many scrubbings later, I seasoned it again following your instructions and presto! Beautiful, perfect patina. Thank you!
I wish I had discovered you video the first time tried to season my De Buyer carbon steel pan, you just save me throwing a AUD$100.00 pan. Thank you Graham Queensland Australia
One other thing: After each use, wipe it out after rinsing get it hot and dry again on the stove (medium to med- high heat) then add a touch of vegetable oil or so then as quickly wipe it all out and yet all over the inside of the pan till it is very lightly coated. I then put it in the oven for cooling and storage like all our pans. Next use I wipe it out and voila, ready to cook. I saw a wok seasoner explain how he keeps his woks non stick that way and it seems to work for me
Electric Coil Burner Users: Scott's method here is the way to go. I've posted this on this channel, maybe even this video before but just did a 10 1/4" Matfer and thought it worth looking up and posting again. I follow the manufacturer's instructions with the potato peels. Then it's an ultra-light coat of canola oil into a ~500F oven. I like to do this twice as the coil burners have so many hot spots that can make the initial steps inconsistent and can affect the first couple uses after the oven. Basically, I like it well reinforced around the pan. SAVE THOSE POTATOES! The smaller pans, like this one, are easier as they have more burner coverage. My pans are NOT black after this procedure. They are bronze to brown. Now, Unlike Uncle Scott, with all due respect, I do not move to the fried egg test. I can, and did, fry four separate eggs on my coil burner after just the manufacturer's directions. But it takes a fair bit of fat and decent heat and it doesn't necessarily indicate good seasoning. I cook some cubed up pork right after and it stuck. So I did the oven treatment. I don't mess with the fired egg test this early and only did so this time as an experiment. After two rounds in the oven, I pull out those potatoes used for the skins, cube them and fry them up in a generous amount of canola oil. Really sets the seasoning. Move your pan around the burner to distribute the hot spots. Feel it. If there are rough or sticky spots, deal with them now. Then just cook. Don't try to compare gas stove results to your coil burners or you'll be disappointed. Adjust the techniques to your gear and it'll work out and you'll love your pans.
These tips honestly made such a difference. I just got done and the pan is looking much more the way it's supposed to. Gonna test it out tomorrow though, hopefully the cooking results are good too. Edit: cooked on it and it works really well, I did have to remove the original bad coating I did from before but once I redid it, it made a world of difference.
Received my first carbon steel pan yesterday, a Matfer 11 7/8 inch. I have an electric stove, unfortunately, but I'm giving it a try anyway. The coating was a bear to remove, as anyone who's done it knows, but I found that isopropyl alcohol helped loosen it and made it a bit easier to get off. I seasoned it in my oven using the directions in this video, and it worked well. You were right, Scott, I never understood what a "light coating of oil" really was, which helps explain the issues I've had with cast iron cookware in the past, thanks for setting me straight. I did find that on a brand-new pan 1/4 teaspoon of oil wasn't enough, but I wiped it dry as recommended. I tried eggs in it this morning, and the first one stuck a bit, although not terribly, and I realized too late that I didn't give it enough time to set before shaking the pan. I deglazed the skillet with hot water and wiped it clean then tried again. The second batch worked much better; it stuck slightly at first but a light scrape with a spatula loosened it. The third batch was completely nonstick. If I hadn't found this video I would have followed Matfer's seasoning instructions on my electric stove and would probably have given up quickly. Thanks!
The layers applied with the oven method are very thin. I'd recommend doing three such layers on a new skillet. You're also right with the skillet requiring a little more oil on the first layer. The bare metal is quite uneven so it 'absorbs' a little more oil. The first layer of seasoning already evens out the surface to the point where it requires considerably less oil for all additional layers.
My mom used the oven method on her cast iron and she grew up during the Great depression. So I'm not surprised that it works good on carbon steel. Thanks for the great tips. 😁👍
Bought myself a cheap (€11) carbon steel pan on Lidl here in Sweden to use when hiking and camping, followed your instructions and the only thing i have to complain about is that it's almost too good to take camping now. Seasoned it twice and it passed the egg test with flying colors. Thank you for sharing these instructions!
Yes yes yes you are the man ! I have a ton of experience with this stuff and you are one of the first to let it be known. What I always say . Keep it simple.
Yes, this method does work!! I got a 10.5" De Buyer Mineral B for Christmas and followed the included instructions. That didn't work. Nuked it, tried another "chef's" method of 11x on the stove top (electric) and that didn't work. Nuked again, tried another chef's method with grape-seed oil, his rationale was you need a lower fiber oil, that didn't work. Then I tried your method. Bingo!! You're not suppose to put these in the oven at higher temps so I used the lowest smoke point oil I had, olive oil, and tried the oven at 425 with no ill affect on the handle (I removed the rubber bee at the end of the handle before doing this). The egg test worked great, thank you!
Music to my ears. I have the same skillets 8 & 10 INCH. I stove top seasoned the 8 inch. It worked but not as even as my cast iron units in the oven. I was thinking of returning the 10 inch and purchasing the Pro model with the stainless handle, so I could season it at high temp in the oven like my cast iron. Sounds like olive oil at 425° to me. And keep the set together.
@@daveschidlmeier6425 2 things; 1st try it at 400 first, your oven may run hotter than mine and 2nd don't place the pan upside down as the handle will likely make contact with the rack (trust me, you don't want that)
I've just seasoned my pan (yesterday) using the potato skin method as suggested by Cooks Illustrated, and as you suggested, I ran my fingers across it (today). I found a sticky spot in the middle. So, I think I'll try this again. I'll have to buy canola oil. I have "vegetable" oil, and therein is the problem. It contains some soy and some peanut oil, and God knows what else. Therefore, the smoke point varied, and I'm sure it would act up again if I try your oven method. Thanks so much for taking the time to share your knowledge with us. And, yeah...ditch the laugh tracks your show is so good that you don't need any extras.
After alot of trail and error including using main burners on my bbq since I only have an induction stove top I figured out how to get the handle of my wok and used your oven method. Finaly passed the egg test with flying colors. Even did a one handed flip 😎 Love your videos! Gonna get a De Buyer frying pan next and use the same method for sure!
Success!...finally after 2 weeks of unclear directions and multiple de-glazing the trick is not necessarily in the method but with the "oil". Flaxseed oil did not work, even when the thinnest coating was applied it just didn't work. Read the comments and tried the Grapeseed and that was that. 1 session at 445 in the oven and then 3 more induction stovetop for good measure and whammo! Nothing sticks now. Much appreciated!
Tremendously helpful. I had a horrible experience with the first pan I tried to season and the instructions were horrible. This video was wonderful. Thank you!
Too much oil … thanks for measuring and the showing what should be used. Re-seasoning my Matfer right now. Question: every time I wipe out my clean pan with paper towel, there’s brown color on towel - is that normal? Much obliged!
Your mom's fried okra is exactly like my grandmother's version. Not "breaded" or coated, just nice a crispy with tender centers, but with crispy bits of the cornmeal, all caramelized and delicious. Thank you for sharing this video!!!
Thanks, I learned a lot from the video. I got my first carbon steel pan almost a year ago. Since then it's been my go to pan. I use this pan basically everyday, I love it. I got one of the 10 in. preseasoned pans, it took a while to get it seasoned right. I rarely use my cast iron pan anymore, it's so much easier with the carbon steel pan, they're lighter and they heat up faster. PS, the music is a bit annoying.
Thanks Scott. My pan was really bad. I scrubbed for about 15 minutes. I resorted to using 320 grit sand paper to get the hard to get items out. I ended up getting to bare metal. I seasoned right away with corn oil my wife got. I was surprised the smoke point was 450 degrees. So I set my oven for 475. The pan came out great. Thanks for the advice. I was using too much oil and trying to use the electric element. Using less oil and using the oven it came out really good. I did it twice to make sure it was ok since I went to bare metal. Thanks Again Scott, Doug Robinson
Hi Doug. Thank you for the compliments! I am really glad the video helped. It makes working on them worthwhile, and I hope it heps get you set for lots of great cooking now.
I can't thank you enough for your nice easy simplistic explanations on caring for my pan. You answered all my frustrations. First time coming across your video but I'm a subscriber now. Thank you
Thank you! When I first got my pan, I had trouble and I couldn't find any videos to show me what to do, so I made this channel. I am glad the videos helped! These pans are great once you get them dialed in.
Great advice! In fact, I have a mic for the later ones after people complained about the sound in my earlier videos. Next up is better lights! Thanks for the comments,...
I am so glad I stumbled across this video, because I followed the MATFER instructions to the letter, and got dismal results after repeating the instructions at least 10 times.
I picked up one of these pans and tried the factory recommended method for seasoning. I have an electric coil stove so I used our camp stove so I could get the first seasoning done correctly. It worked 'ok'. Then I watched this video and tried seasoning in the pan in the oven. It worked 'ok', but the seasoning did not stick. At all. It was a nice copper color, eggs slid around for the first cook, but hot water and a plastic scrub brush took off the seasoning. I must have done something wrong. I had semi-decent luck cooking eggs in it every morning since I got it and seasoned it. Flash forward to a few weeks ago. I made smashed potatoes. These are boiled baby potatoes, squished semi-flat, then cooked in a bit of oil in the pan, in the oven. The goal is to make the skin rather crisp. I had the oven at 425f and cooked the potatoes for 30-45ish minutes. I flipped them once to get them crisp on both sides. The pan really darkened up. The next morning when I went to cook eggs, I added a pat of butter and preheated the pan. When I dropped the eggs into the pan, they slid across the pan towards the EVER so SLIGHT slope towards the back of the stove.
I oven seasoned my Matfer pan in a very similar way. Heated it, oiled it, wiped it and then baked it. If you've wiped it off enough you really don't have to put it in the oven upside down. Couldn't hurt though. I'm convinced that oven seasoning is the only way to go for both cast iron and carbon steel. It is the best way to evenly heat the pans and that can't be done on a stove burner.
My mom has been oven-seasoning her cast iron for over 50 years, so I'd say there is nothing wrong with that method at all! I mainly use stovetop because it's so quick, but agreed that it is not as uniform as oven.
I found two advantages to seasoning in upside down. 1) Sometimes there is oil that does not wipe off, like under rivets. It then comes out during heating and creates sticky spots. 2) I find that sometimes there are tiny particles in the seasoning. Heating upside down lowers the chances of bits of whatever getting on the pan and cooking into the seasoning layer.
Thank you so much! I tired to season my carbon steel pan 3 times without any success - it was all sticky, greasy and the food was still sticking to it. I figured out I was doing two mistakes - too much oil and too little heat. My pan did not get black but a bit brown-ish, because I was taking it off the heat when it started to smoke. I lost my temper and let it on the stove for much longer and now its awesome! I am passing the egg test very morning with approximately the same amount of butter as I used to with teflon pan!
Thanks for the advise. nicely explained, good video, one humble suggestion, please erase background music, it distracgt focus on what you are saying, my opplise
This is really informative, even among millions of other vids on carbon steel, especially for using flat induction. The only gripe I have is the disturbing guitar sound..
Uncle Scott's Kitchen Very nice sound on the guitar 😀 But please, some us have hearing problem. I had a hard time hearing your speach. Besides a hearing problem, I,m a swede and therefore having 2 problems, hearing and language. Besides that, a wonderfull lesson you gave. Just bought a carbon steel pan, de Buyer Mineral B Element. Tryed season it on my induction stove. Did not work well since the heath only hit the middle of the pan. Will try the owen now. Say hello to mom 😀😀
I had similar problems but with your advice I finally got pan working like it should. Egg test passed with flying colors. I even had to do it twice to make sure it really worked! I haven't tested it with potatoes but I'm pretty sure it will pass that test too. Thanks.
Eggsellent 😄 I just tested the pan with raw potatoes and no detectable sticking after frying. After potatoes I fried two eggs. Slight sticking but nothing significant. I didn't clean the pan in between. This pan seems to be in really good shape right now. 👌 @@UncleScottsKitchen
What you all need to know is the TEMPERATURE of the stove when you're cooking eggs. It needs to be lower than medium. So on an electric stove that goes from 1 to 10, it should be on 3.5. And don't let it heat up for too long cause the heat will build up. when you put the butter in it should melt SLOWLY! If the butter starts sizzling and melting fast your pan is too hot and the egg will stick. If it starts melting slowly then wait till it's all melted and put in the egg at that point. You'll hear no sizzling and the egg will start cooking slowly and won't stick. For a lot of foods (except some like steak) the cast iron is best for slow, low heat type of cooking.
I also use eggs of room temperature. If I don’t have the time to wait, I will put them in warm (not hot!) water. But if you do that, they are more likely to break the yolk, so use that method for scrambled eggs or an omelette.
I suspect that most people with electric cooktops with spiral or solid burners have problems with seasoning because their cooktops don't get the pan hot enough to season properly. After MANY frustrating attempts on my electric cooktop, I followed your advice and IT WORKED! My spiral burner electric cooktop just wasn't getting the pan hot enough to polymerize the oil. Thanks very much for your help.
I just got my two new Matfer CS pans ... wow Amazon, that was quick ... and I have spent most of the morning getting them seasoned. The larger 11 inch pan cleaned up easily and very quickly with hot soapy water and a greeny. The smaller pan did not. I thought I had gotten everything off, but when I went to oil it down ... it dragged. Sensing something was not right, I got back to work. I finally had to use alcohol and acetone to get the plastic-like preservative off. Tough going, but worth the effort. I seasoned the larger pan using the company directions, using the oil, salt and potato peel methods ... am I the only one who wonders how they thought of using potato peels ...? The first session went fine, but not much color change, the second session is when the magic begin. You could see it get progressively darker by the minute. Those poor potato peels really took one for the team ... they gave it all the had. BTW, don't get so wrapped up in stirring the hot, oily, salty potato peels that you accidentally flip one out onto your bare foot ... don't ask how I know that. The pan looks amazing -- that is crappy dark -- and I am declaring complete success. I just did a mess of fried potatoes ... because, well I had some laying around and they came out great. I've got the smaller pan baking in the oven and can't wait to see how it turns out. BTW, don't forget to open the windows, doors and turn on the fans, unless you want a visit from the local fire station ... I'm just saying. In any event, I sincerely appreciate all the effort you put into making this video and please know that your method works and you can look forward to many years of service from your Matfer CS pans. NO MORE TEFLON!
Hi Ranger. Thank you very much for the nice comments! I bet you will love those Matfers... very high quality pans. You are right about opening the windows! If I forget, my wife usually lets me know pretty quickly. I've also found that splitting firewood for kindling while bare foot is a bad idea. Don't ask me how I know!
I just got a very nice result bleuing the steel after washing it with some light scrubbing paste and some light coats afterwards. Fully bleuing a pan takes it to 300c, no way any coating is going to survive :)
Great video, Scott. I just got my Matfer pan, and I was researching the best way to season it. I have an electric stovetop, so it's good to know that the potato skins with salt and oil method will not work as well as it is supposed to. I hate electric ranges by the way. LOL I am looking forward to using this pan, since I am a true believer in cast iron myself.
If your Matfer has an uncoated handle (like the one in the video) you can season it in the oven too.... not limited to seasoning on the stovetop. Once you get an initial seasoning on there, best advice is to just cook cook cook and let the seasoning and color develop more and more every time you cook.
From a lot of experience with these pans, I can tell you, you can season on the glass top, but you must move your pan around while waiting for smoke point. I even tip the edges. You can also do the oven. Also, these pans are going to warp on electric, that's reality. What I do is heat them very hot, take outside on a hard flat surface, turn upside down, lay a 2x4 across bottom of pan and hit 2x4 in the center. Yes, I'm an actual blacksmith so I flatten and straighten items up for folks all the time. It won't hurt the pan and will flatten it out. Simply air cool on a flat surface. And yes, you have to hit it pretty hard. Again, these are best on gas tops. A little trick that helps: use a burner larger than your pan. Good luck.
Loved the tips. Have to agree, though, with many other comments that pointed out that the music disturbs. It's good as intro, filler and outro. But you don't need it, when you explain something :) Again, great tips; thanks for those!
Hey Uncle Scott -- Just wanted to let you know how much I appreciated your video about carbon steel pans. It was EXTREMELY helpful. I was especially amazed by how your advice was so much better than the instructions that came with my pan. I don't know why they couldn't have been as helpful as you were. So thanks again! Keep up the great work!
There's more than one method to season iron cookware and they all work fine under certain conditions. It's all a matter of the type of skillet (cast / drawn / forged) and the heat source (open heat vs closed heat). The oven method is the method of choice if you have closed heat and an oven ready skillet handle.
Finally someone teach the correct method for seasoning.
Thank you!
This is the way
This is the way.
this is the way
This is the way
Matfer 11 7/8" arrived at noon today. We washed it out and dried it thoroughly. I put a quarter teaspoon of peanut oil in the slightly heated pan and then wiped it as dry a I could get it. Put the pan in the oven set to 500 degrees. When the oven came to temp, I let it run for an hour and turned it off. I'm an impatient guy, so I took out my welder's gloves and took the pan out of the oven and set on the stove to cool off. As soon as it was cool, I repeated the process. Seasoning it twice took about 4 hours total. The pan has a beautiful patina. While I didn't do the fried egg test, I did sous vide a steak and sear it in the pan which was heated to over 400 degrees. After dinner, I put some water in the pan and used a wooden spatula to remove whatever was left in the pan. Everything just slid off the surface. THANK YOU, Uncle Scott for saving me countless hours of doing unnecessary multiple seasonings.
UPDATE: It's the next day and I cooked a fried egg sandwich for lunch. The Matfer passed the "fried egg test" even though the pan was just slightly under temp for the butter. Because the pan was seasoned in the oven, it has a uniform black-bronze color, both front and back. It's really quite beautiful and I couldn't be happier.
Glad to see that I have not forgotten what my grandmother taught us. She cooked professionally and started teaching my sister, brother and myself how to cook when we were in elementary school. I'm almost 64 now.👍👍
Best teachers are moms and grandmothers!
The "that's just crazy, that's like a new hobby or lifestyle commitment" really got me. Great video
Some cast iron collectors go nuts with the spa treatments.
@@BrianGay57 😂🤣🤣👍🏻
Almost threw my carbon steel pan in the trash after 3 years. Did every method, then did this, and it finally fucking worked. Scrub with dish soap and scouring pad, did it again, then did it again until the paper towels were clear. Warmed it up, 1/4 tablespoon of costco canola oil and wiped the surface of the pan down. Wiped it down again. Wiped it down again. Oven at 425 for one hour (25 degrees above canola oil smoke point as the video said,) and turned off the oven and let it cool down for a few hours (3-4 hours or so). Cooled it down, tested with scrambled eggs, was magic.
What do you do in between cookings? How do you clean and dry the pan?
It all depends on the state of the skillet. If it's mostly clean and nothing sticks, you can simply wipe it with paper towels. The remaining oil will serve as rust protection. For smaller messes, I prefer hot water and a brush or chain mail cleaner. If necessary, I use a little dish soap. After cleaning with water, make sure to get the skillet completely dry again. I usually put it on the stove top again to evaporate all moisture. Then apply a thin layer of oil. For bigger messes, either heat up the skillet and deglaze it with a little hot water and a wooden or plastic scraper. You may also fill it with water, bring it to a boil and let it boil like 2 minutes. Then continue with the above methods for the remaining stuff.
@@berniem.6965 Do you wipe it with a thin layer of oil and then leave it? Or do you heat up the oil?
Does heating the oil that high cause smoke in the house? I'd definitely have to do that when my husband is at school.
@@GibsonGirl55 what school does your husband go to?
Received my Matfer 9 1/2 inch today. Did not use the mfg instructions to season, but instead used this oven method. Came out of the oven looking beautiful with a light brownseasoning. Cracked an egg in a bit of butter and bam...slid around like a hockey puck. Then some sausage. Perfect. Thank you for the great suggestion / solution.
EGGcelent! Really glad that it helped.
Just spent a fortune on 3 carbon steel solidteknic pans. Your tips on how much actually is ‘oil lightly’ is a life saver. I really needed these pans to work! Fried egg test passed with flying colours. Thanks a million Uncle Scott 👍
I got this Matfer Carbon Steel Pan 12 5/8" last week. I followed Matfer instruction with potato peel, salt and oil on gaz stove, but the potato peel stuck to the pan and turned gummy black crust hard as rock. I literally had to chisel it out with a blade and scrapped the bulk of the hard crust and then sanded it with 320 grit sand paper until it looked like brand new stainless steel, and followed by 500 grit to make it even smoother and shinier. I then wiped it with very light coat of grape seed oil and heated it on the gas stove. I kept heating every section by section (including wall) positioning every section over the flame directly until it turned golden color and nothing missed.. .. and stored it away for a 1 day. the next day I did the egg test, bacon, hamburger, steak and absolutely nothing stick
Mine passed the fried egg test this morning. (applause track) I’m a cast iron guy, but I had to have a carbon steel pan, I’m loving it, Thanks for the video.
Finally, a guy that gets it. A complete explanation of the process with no wiggle room for BS. Subscribed.
Thanks for the tips for us glass top stove users!
This method works people. In fact, the very first time I saw this exact method demonstrated was on Good Eats many years ago. AB demonstrated this exact seasoning method on brand new Cast Iron cookware.
Thank you, this one of the most helpful on TH-cam. Now I know why I have darker spotted sticky spots on my Straub grill pan. I seasoned with too much oil. Dang it! I just ordered a carbon pan and your vid was great. Thank you. Your mother’s story was helpful.
Thank you for the compliments! Post back on how the new pan works out...
I just discovered your TH-cam channel yesterday. I was trying to fix my carbon steel pan that the housekeeper put in the dishwasher-a first world problem! I bought six carbon steel pans; Matfer, de Buyer, and Mauviel. Initially, I used the six times in the oven with flax seed oil method with varying results. Two of them ended up non-stick, the rest require some work. My housekeeper found them oiled and sitting on the stove in a pile. She scrubbed them and ran them through the dishwasher with everything else. What emerged was a rusty mess. I followed your technique with some vegetable oil and one trip through the oven 535ºF (the oil is a blend of Safflower and Canola). They now have eggs sliding around in melted butter. Thanks!
Which one are you liking out of tht3 brands?
@@june5572 I like them all. The Mauviels have gone up in price significantly; they are now more expensive. The de Buyers and Mauviels have taller handles that some people complain about and it is harder to fit them in the oven. I got out my calipers; the Mauviels are the thinnest, 0.08" to 0.10". The Matfers are each about 0.12" and the de Buyers range from .010" to 0.13". I have a range of pan sizes, from 7.9" to 12 ⅝", so this is not a direct comparison. Also because of the curved shape of the rim, my measurements may not be accurate to two decimal places. I don't have a scale to weigh them, so I can't compare weight. It is probably fair to say that thicker is heavier. America's Test Kitchen ranked the Matfers the highest, but in day-to-day use, I consider all three brands interchangeable; I choose based on size, not brand. Someday, I'll put some flour in them and place them over a burner to see how evenly they heat. If you look online, you can find Matfers for less than they are on Amazon. I just ordered the whole set from Web Restaurant Store. Katom also has them.
Six pans holy cow! That's awesome. Agreed with your comments on the brands... I think those three are about the best you can get and they all seem to work well. Not sure what I would do if someone put my pans through the dishwasher. Probably cry and reseason!
@@UncleScottsKitchen If I wanted to buy just one. Which one would you recommend? Matter or de Buyer or Mauviel?
Finally! I have been wondering about "a light coat of oil" ever since I startet using (cast) iron pans, and had even convinced myself recently that I might leave to little oil on the pan for seasoning after wiping it off. Thank you for actually showing what "a light coat of oil" really looks and feels like! :-)
As a dude, at first I wanted my pan to be shiny like a showroom finish on a new sports car but that is not what you need with these pans! :)
This was tremendous helpful because I'm sure a lot of people would fall into that trap. mostly because when cooking one has always fear (I think) to not put enough oil/fat etc. so a little bit too much is better than not enough. I'm sure I would had fallen for this mistake. Well I have been warned just in time, have about 7 new skillets, fying pan, sauce pan to season soon.
I can’t believe manufacturers don’t just explain this as clearly as you did. I tried to season me de buyer on an electric stove top, and after a couple of attempts ended up with the sticky spot, and I thought I damaged the pan... I then found your video and decided to do it all over again, so cleaned and scrubbed the whole pan with soapy water, and used the oven method, chose sunflower oil and 1h oven at 250 degrees Celsius + two hours natural cool down, amazing result! I can visually see the round spot as the colour is a little bit different, but now the whole pan is smooth and evenly darkened. Thanks for sharing this, it really solved the problem!
Thank you very much, Antonio! Really glad the videos were useful. These pans are really fun once you get them figured out. Many great meals await you!
Thank you! This is the best carbon steel seasoning video I have found after looking at a dozen videos. You go into details like how the oil should feel that others just skip over.
Dear Uncle Scott. I visited this video a few months ago in despair when I had failed seasoning my new deBuyer pans. I didn't understand the importance of a THIN coat of oil. I did it a couple of times and now my pans are insanely non stick. I am so happy with the results and think about it almost every day. Thank you so much. I also discovered an amazing way to completely clean or "reset" your pan if it is full of sticky black spots. I filled it completely to the brim with water, sprinkled a nice amount of lye/drain cleaner in it, swirled and put it on a medium low heat. after 30 minutes to an hour the black thick oil spots just floated off. I removed the rest with with steel wool. it was a great way to reset your pan and I haven't seen it anywhere on youtube. it also didn't make the pan rust in any way. thanks a lot man you really changed the game for me.
Thanks for the compliments!
Just used this process...worked perfectly. Egg slid around beautifully!
EGGselent! :)
A great instruction video like this does not need background music....
But I wrote it myself!
@@UncleScottsKitchen , i personally love the music! Where can i get more info to listen to the tracks??
And i love my Matfer Bourgeat
If I can get them polished up a little, I'll stick them on the website...
I got to snooping around on Amazon for a 10 1/4" Matfer skillet, and the prices they had ran from $54=$88. So I went to Bargreen Ellingson in Spokane, Wa., and picked one up for $40.41 after tax. When I got it home, I scrubbed it and seasoned it, as per directions, with potato skins, oil and salt. I sautéed them for just over 15 minutes until they turned crisps and smoked. Then I threw the skins out, wiped out the pan with a paper towel and reheated the pan with a microscopic about of Canola oil until it reached the smoking point. The pan turned a beautiful bronze color so I tried the famous "Fried Egg Test" and that sucker slid around like the proverbial hockey puck. I didn't even have to budge it loose with a spatula. It cooked perfectly with a runny yoke, solid white, and no burnt edges. I can't thank you enough for your videos. I love the pan. I need to find a place to hang it where everybody can see it. Thanks!!!
Awesome awesome awesome, Joe!! Thank you very much... that's exactly the way it's supposed to go! I have noticed the outrageous prices too... I know we have hyperinflation, but 100% increase is still nuts!
I'm checking back in a few months after having watched this video and I'd like to point out that the advice given by Uncle Scott is right on. I couldn't getba good seasoning on my matfer using the potato and salt method, so resorted to the oven technique, and most importantly to the "season less, cook more" technique and it worked wonders. I use an electric cooktop and just powered through the first 10 uses of the pan with some stubborn sticking and eventually the pan became smooth as glass and nothing sticks anymore. I went ahead and bought 2 more pans yesterday, stuck them in the oven and will get cooking with them as much as possible. These are great pans and Uncle Scott shares the best maintenance advice!
I bought a set of made.in carbon steel pans and as your Mom did I followed the directions to a T. , horrible results.... thank you so much , this video was extremely helpful and gave me faith in the pans before I tossed them out the door !!! Thank you again !
You are very welcome! I am glad the videos are helpful. Once you get these pans dialed in they are very fun to cook with. Wish you many happy meals.
oldie but goodie!!! you know no one never bother to explain exactly what a light coat of oil was!!! Been doing it wrong all this time and even explain why I have that stickiness to my pans!! thank you!!
Finally I understand why my glass top range did such a poor job of seasoning my Matfer carbon steel pan! I got drips of oil baked on in the oven because I used too much oil. So 2 lessons learned!
Scott, you just saved me a TON of extra work! I have an electric stovetop and I found this video BEFORE my Matfer Carbon Steel pan was delivered. I used the oven method and, after one coat of seasoning, it passed the egg test with flying colors! Thanks a TON for this great content.
Thank you for the compliments! I am really glad the video helped. The whole reason I started making TH-cam videos was my wife got me a carbon steel skillet and I couldn't find good info on seasoning it, so I figured there had to be others out there like me who might need a little help to get started.
You have straightened me out, thank you! I have two different carbon steel pans. My smaller madein pan seasoned in the oven worked fine. The Matfer I messed up. I started with the potato peel method, which didn't seem to do much and everything stuck to it after I tried cooking with it. I cleaned it up - improperly of course - with water, maybe a little soap - then dried it. Here's where I really screwed up: I put oil on the hot pan. The result was sticky streaks all over. When I watched your video about nuking the pan, I decided I was going to do that. First up, vinegar - oops, not enough in the house. It worked OK on the bottom but I barely had enough up the sides. So into the self-cleaning oven which did remove all of that sticky mess. A little steel wool to smooth out some very light scratches, wash and dry, let it cool. Very little oil this time, wiped it well like you said, into the oven for an hour at 450 (grapeseed oil smoke point 428), then let it cool down for a few hours. Now we're getting somewhere. Cooked some schnitzel in it with a fair amount of oil, easy clean up, nothing stuck and it feels nice and smooth, with the seasoning well along. I was going to do a second round in the oven but not necessary. So I'm feeling better now and I know a lot more about cleaning them, too!
Thank you, Uncle Scott!
Thank you, Jeff! Glad that the videos are useful!
@@UncleScottsKitchen Now I just need to remember not to cook with any acids in these pans! A small mishap with some lime juice on my MadeIn pan, removed a section of the seasoning.
Finally! Thank you! I’ve wasted hours trying to season my carbon steel pan using the instructions provided by the manufacturer. I never got a decent result and I had given up on being able to use it. Well done, Scott!
Thanks for the compliment!
I watched a lot of videos on seasoning carbon steel pans. Then I watch videos on seasoning carbon steel woks. I used a combination of the 2 methods.
First I "burned" my Matfer pan just like the Chinese chefs do their woks. Then I added the grapeseed oil and swirled it around and used a wad of paper towels to catch the sides good. Then I added the salt and potato skins. After cooking that mixture a bit, threw that out, rinsed the pan with just hot water and wiped it dry.
Now for the egg test. Just sprayed some Pam and fried an egg. It didn't slide around like some of these videos because I didn't have a pool of oil, just a spray of Pam. But the egg didn't stick either. Just a touch with the spatula was all it needed. Perfectly fried egg without sticking.
Didn't season it multiple times, didn't bake it in the oven. BTW, I have a gas stove which I understand after watching a lot of videos, makes a big difference.
Your videos are excellent! These are by far the best informative carbon steel seasoning videos on TH-cam that I've found. I get a lot of carbon steel seasoning questions from friends and family. I thought to start making videos and posting them, but then I found yours and instead of repeating these videos I will keep suggesting yours.👌🍳
Thank you very much for the compliments! Really makes working on these things worthwhile.
Very helpful as I was planning to order a Matfer and have a glass top stove. Didn’t even think about the heating of the pan during seasoning. Thanks again!
The Matfer should work well because its handle is not coated and you could season it on the stovetop or in the oven.
Thanks uncle Scott. I can’t begin to tell you how frustrating it has been seasoning my pan, and cooking with it. You’re insight is exactly what I needed.
Thanks, Highjack!
Thank you!!!!!! I never used any carbon anything so I didn’t know how to season it. I bought one of the larger ones because I like to meal prep so I had to season it in an oven.
Before your video I literally had to wash it with soap every time because everything stuck to it.
Just cooked on it today and it was amazing after seasoning it yesterday (one time). 🤩
No sticky spots.
Thank you very much! I am very glad that the video helped. Lots of great cooking awaits...
Finally, someone who knows how to season a pan correctly. Thank You, Uncle Scott. I've seen several videos, and some did a terrible job, and blamed the pan for sticking.
Thank you - just bought a new carbon steel wok and was about to buy Flaxseed oil - vegetable oil worked just fine!! Telling us to confirm smoking temps let me see I could use anything and 1/4 teaspoon of oil wiped well was extremely helpful. Thank you
Awesome! Glad that it helped...makes working on these videos worthwhile. Happy cooking!
Greetings from Norway!. After searching on internet for a proper method for seasoning a Matfer carbon steel pan I purchased this spring, I finally ended up with the brilliant step by step instructions from "Uncle Scott's Kitchen". I used the oven technique as most of the stoves in Norway are induction based. I was so impressed by the result that I'm planning to make one more seasoning session before I use it this Weekend. Thanks Scott!!!
Thank you! You have a very beautiful country... I visited Norway a few years ago and it was a fantastic vacation. Excellent natural beauty!
Great video! Thank you. This is the only place where I've seen the electric stove consideration. I know a lot of us in apartments in Oakland, CA have electric stoves (sigh). I think if you put something about that in the title, you might reach more people with electric stoves.
Thanks for the comments. I will see about that in the titles. I have found that I get lots of response when I mention the cooking surfaces. On lots of cooking shows they don't seem to try their review pans on a variety of cook tops, and I think it leaves lots of people out.
The best video instruction ever regarding this subject....
Who on earth would buy a cheap carbon steel pan, and then spend a small fortune on fuel and hours seasoning it for 11 to 13 times before one could use it....?
I'm gonna buy one now!!
Thanks! If you get one post back and say how it goes.
Love it! You have a very personable casual style in your presentation, which I really dig. Subbed.
:) Thanks, Arman!
Gotta admit- I almost was turned off by the length of the video- (14 mins!) SO glad I stuck it out. You are the only one who explained this confusing process so well! ...and it helped that your Mother was one of us clueless people. Thank you! Ps- no one ever mentioned to put the pan in the oven upside down.
Thank you! Speaking of being clueless, I started out clueless myself and couldn't find any good info on these pans, so I figured there were other people out there like me, and I started making these videos. Cluelessness maybe pays off in the long run, ironically. :)
Really good video. Unlike so many instructional videos for various subjects. You were straight and to the point. At no time did I feel like I wanted to fast forward you video. Which is saying quite a lot. I have subscribed and will check out all your other videos. Great Job.
Thank you very much!
I followed your oven method on my new 11 7/8 pan. Worked great, non-stick right away after the first seasoning. Thank you!
Sweet! Glad it worked!
Good info Thx. I stripped my carbon steel pan with a lemon. Cut it in half, rub the pan with the lemon, squeeze the juice out & let sit over night. No chemicals needed.
wow! I have not heard of doing that before. I will give it a try next time.
Best seasoning video on youtube!
Thank you very much!
Thanks for the advise. I just bought the exact same pan and have had all the problems you mentioned. I almost gave up, but your video has inspired me to give it one last try. Thanks again.
Thanks for the compliments! These pans are a little fussy at first but once you get them figured out they are pretty fun to use.
@@UncleScottsKitchen Great video. Likewise I'm having the same problems, I need to de-season and start over. Do you think its ok to use Bar Keepers Friend on this skillet to remove old seasoning? Also, can you do a video on how you clean a skillet after use like the one at the end of this video. Thanks!
I've used Barkeeper's Friend on stainless steel pans before and it seemed to work well. Haven;'t tried it on carbon steel yet, but the carbon steel pans are darn near indestructible, so I doubt it would hurt to give it a try. Please let me know if you do and how it works out. I haven't had any stuck-on gunk yet that didn't come out with just steel wool and soap and water (and elbow grease/scrubbing really hard). That's a good video suggestion... will put it on the list for upcoming ones. Thanks!
@@UncleScottsKitchen Thanks Scott! Having trouble keeping my pan clean after I used Bar Keepers and started the seasoning process over. Cooked once using Veg oil and its still leaving a goupy substance on the pan. Am I doing anything wrong? I used to wash it with water, is there any chance theres built up rust layers down thats effecting this? Thanks for your help!
Can you see the rust on there? If you can see rust on it, you gotta get that off of there. Use steel wool or if it is really bad you could use some sand paper. You need to get it clean and dry before you start. Then if it is getting "soupy" you are prob using way too much oil. Light light light coat of oil likein the video. Hope this helps!
Thank you!!! FINALLY, someone with actually good details on how to season a pan ...and a Matfer no less (what I’m buying)!
Thank you, arrakian!
Awesome video. You answered all my questions about seasoning these type of skillets. Now I know what the correct amount of oil to use, no wonder my skillet always has sticky spots. Much thanks for your time and knowledge.
Thank you very much for the compliments and I am glad it worked for you!
Excellent information Scott. One thing I learned is that on a new pan you have to scrub that protective coating off until your fingers ache. It is unbelievably tough. I tried steel wool on my first pan and it did nothing. Consequently my seasoning attempt was a failure requiring a re-do. I switched to a new Scotch Brite pad on the second pan with Dawn which worked really well. That way you can actually see the water turning brown as the coating comes off. The oil, salt and potato peel method will work but it is a mess and will stink up the house for a week. I did my second one on my grill's side burner but that's still a PITA mess and may be too small if you have a big pan. The oven method you described is much more civilized.
Thanks for the comments. I am also a believer in Dawn. I use it for cleaning grease off the stove as well. I thought about trying the grill method but we had over a half-foot of snow yesterday... might have to wait until Spring thaw to check that out! :)
I have noticed from collecting cast iron that collectors and cooks have different goals and often use different techniques.
I’m a user and collector with slight OCD, so I understand wanting beautiful black seasoning, but I have also placed a cast iron pan into service with NO seasoning.
It got seasoned completely just by use. I have also done 2-3 oven seasonings in the past trying to get that jet black color that will come automatically through continued use.
Thanks Uncle Scott! I was getting ready to forget the whole carbon steel thing altogether. I thought seasoning would be the biggest time drain and the effort and upkeep would be too much. I bought a DeBuyer pan first and tried to season it on my flat top range several times with bad results. Very frustrating. Then I used your oven method on my new Misen pan. I followed it to the letter and it worked very well. Your videos are very informative. You answer many questions that are bound to come up and you explain things . Nice work, man!
I am about to purchase one of those frying pans. This video was very nice and informative because though I prefer a gas stove I only have an electric. Providing both methods for curing was very nice and easy to follow. Thank-you.
Glad it helped. If you get a pan, post back and say how the seasoning goes...
@@UncleScottsKitchen Still warm from the oven. Looks smooth? Wish I could attach a picture... I am hoping that this will take place of the non stick Pan I've been using and am not happy with.
Excited. Bought a De buyer pan, seasoned it a lot of times, everything sticks to the bottom. Have almost not used it at all. Now I see a glimmer of hope. Going to start scrub, oil and dry dry dry.
Remember to still use some fat (butter and/or oil) when you cook things like eggs. For bacon and sausage, start them in a cold pan an cook on low until some fat renders out.
I'd suggest you try this test, ensure the oil in the pan is shimmering before you put anything in it th-cam.com/video/8ye1hqMjV5k/w-d-xo.html
I have watched dozens of seasoning videos over the years, and read in depth articles, and I think this is the video with the best instructions I've ever seen. My only suggestion for improvement is on the audio: I'd recommend getting a better mic and/or lowering the music volume, sometimes I had difficulty following what you were saying.
Thanks! Agreed on the audio... that was one of my first videos. Now I have a better microphone and better editing software, so hopefully the sound is better.
My pans arrived today. I now have my early evening task. Thanks for the helpful video.
You're welcome! If you want, post back and say how it goes with the seasoning...
EXACTLY right about too much oil. I followed another website's directions to the letter (I thought) and got the sticky blobs and lines of baked-on oil - which do not come off easily. Many scrubbings later, I seasoned it again following your instructions and presto! Beautiful, perfect patina. Thank you!
Great! really glad it helped!
Ernie Crane, I'm in the same sticky stuck boat!!! May I ask exactly what you did to clean your pans? I just ruined a BRAND NEW set of pots!!!!!! ;-(
@@karenlawrence9340 What kind of pots? This seasoning is only for carbon steel! I doubt they are ruined... probably just need to clean them.
@@UncleScottsKitchen Farberware stainless steel. And I don't know what to clean/scrub them with!
Karen Lawrence I clean my stainless steel pans with bar keepers friend. The powder works best because it’s more abrasive.
I wish I had discovered you video the first time tried to season my De Buyer carbon steel pan, you just save me throwing a AUD$100.00 pan. Thank you
Graham Queensland Australia
Thanks for the compliments, and as Slim Dusty might say, g'day g'day!
One other thing: After each use, wipe it out after rinsing get it hot and dry again on the stove (medium to med- high heat) then add a touch of vegetable oil or so then as quickly wipe it all out and yet all over the inside of the pan till it is very lightly coated. I then put it in the oven for cooling and storage like all our pans. Next use I wipe it out and voila, ready to cook. I saw a wok seasoner explain how he keeps his woks non stick that way and it seems to work for me
I just ordered a pan from your links and learned so much in this video so when it gets here I'll know how to season it properly. Thank you!
Electric Coil Burner Users: Scott's method here is the way to go. I've posted this on this channel, maybe even this video before but just did a 10 1/4" Matfer and thought it worth looking up and posting again. I follow the manufacturer's instructions with the potato peels. Then it's an ultra-light coat of canola oil into a ~500F oven. I like to do this twice as the coil burners have so many hot spots that can make the initial steps inconsistent and can affect the first couple uses after the oven. Basically, I like it well reinforced around the pan.
SAVE THOSE POTATOES!
The smaller pans, like this one, are easier as they have more burner coverage. My pans are NOT black after this procedure. They are bronze to brown.
Now, Unlike Uncle Scott, with all due respect, I do not move to the fried egg test. I can, and did, fry four separate eggs on my coil burner after just the manufacturer's directions. But it takes a fair bit of fat and decent heat and it doesn't necessarily indicate good seasoning. I cook some cubed up pork right after and it stuck. So I did the oven treatment.
I don't mess with the fired egg test this early and only did so this time as an experiment. After two rounds in the oven, I pull out those potatoes used for the skins, cube them and fry them up in a generous amount of canola oil. Really sets the seasoning.
Move your pan around the burner to distribute the hot spots.
Feel it. If there are rough or sticky spots, deal with them now.
Then just cook. Don't try to compare gas stove results to your coil burners or you'll be disappointed. Adjust the techniques to your gear and it'll work out and you'll love your pans.
These tips honestly made such a difference. I just got done and the pan is looking much more the way it's supposed to. Gonna test it out tomorrow though, hopefully the cooking results are good too.
Edit: cooked on it and it works really well, I did have to remove the original bad coating I did from before but once I redid it, it made a world of difference.
Received my first carbon steel pan yesterday, a Matfer 11 7/8 inch. I have an electric stove, unfortunately, but I'm giving it a try anyway. The coating was a bear to remove, as anyone who's done it knows, but I found that isopropyl alcohol helped loosen it and made it a bit easier to get off. I seasoned it in my oven using the directions in this video, and it worked well. You were right, Scott, I never understood what a "light coating of oil" really was, which helps explain the issues I've had with cast iron cookware in the past, thanks for setting me straight. I did find that on a brand-new pan 1/4 teaspoon of oil wasn't enough, but I wiped it dry as recommended. I tried eggs in it this morning, and the first one stuck a bit, although not terribly, and I realized too late that I didn't give it enough time to set before shaking the pan. I deglazed the skillet with hot water and wiped it clean then tried again. The second batch worked much better; it stuck slightly at first but a light scrape with a spatula loosened it. The third batch was completely nonstick. If I hadn't found this video I would have followed Matfer's seasoning instructions on my electric stove and would probably have given up quickly. Thanks!
The layers applied with the oven method are very thin. I'd recommend doing three such layers on a new skillet. You're also right with the skillet requiring a little more oil on the first layer. The bare metal is quite uneven so it 'absorbs' a little more oil. The first layer of seasoning already evens out the surface to the point where it requires considerably less oil for all additional layers.
My mom used the oven method on her cast iron and she grew up during the Great depression. So I'm not surprised that it works good on carbon steel.
Thanks for the great tips. 😁👍
Moms are much better than cookbooks!
@@UncleScottsKitchen I sure agree with you on that. 😁👍
Bought myself a cheap (€11) carbon steel pan on Lidl here in Sweden to use when hiking and camping, followed your instructions and the only thing i have to complain about is that it's almost too good to take camping now. Seasoned it twice and it passed the egg test with flying colors. Thank you for sharing these instructions!
Thank you for the compliments! I took mine camping too... worked very well!
Yes yes yes you are the man !
I have a ton of experience with this stuff and you are one of the first to let it be known.
What I always say .
Keep it simple.
Thanks, Louis!
Yes, this method does work!! I got a 10.5" De Buyer Mineral B for Christmas and followed the included instructions. That didn't work. Nuked it, tried another "chef's" method of 11x on the stove top (electric) and that didn't work. Nuked again, tried another chef's method with grape-seed oil, his rationale was you need a lower fiber oil, that didn't work. Then I tried your method. Bingo!!
You're not suppose to put these in the oven at higher temps so I used the lowest smoke point oil I had, olive oil, and tried the oven at 425 with no ill affect on the handle (I removed the rubber bee at the end of the handle before doing this). The egg test worked great, thank you!
Music to my ears. I have the same skillets 8 & 10 INCH. I stove top seasoned the 8 inch. It worked but not as even as my cast iron units in the oven. I was thinking of returning the 10 inch and purchasing the Pro model with the stainless handle, so I could season it at high temp in the oven like my cast iron. Sounds like olive oil at 425° to me. And keep the set together.
@@daveschidlmeier6425 2 things; 1st try it at 400 first, your oven may run hotter than mine and 2nd don't place the pan upside down as the handle will likely make contact with the rack (trust me, you don't want that)
I've just seasoned my pan (yesterday) using the potato skin method as suggested by Cooks Illustrated, and as you suggested, I ran my fingers across it (today). I found a sticky spot in the middle. So, I think I'll try this again. I'll have to buy canola oil. I have "vegetable" oil, and therein is the problem. It contains some soy and some peanut oil, and God knows what else. Therefore, the smoke point varied, and I'm sure it would act up again if I try your oven method. Thanks so much for taking the time to share your knowledge with us.
And, yeah...ditch the laugh tracks your show is so good that you don't need any extras.
Thanks for the comments! Let me know how it goes with the canola. I've been using that mostly.
After alot of trail and error including using main burners on my bbq since I only have an induction stove top I figured out how to get the handle of my wok and used your oven method. Finaly passed the egg test with flying colors. Even did a one handed flip 😎 Love your videos! Gonna get a De Buyer frying pan next and use the same method for sure!
Is there anything better than getting an egg to slide? And a flip too! Awesome!
So nice to hear 😊
I did an oopsie, I have induction and bought a big of a pan so.cant fit it in my oven haha
Hello. I used this method to season a new Mafter pan (one time) and it worked great. Thank you.
Awesome, Jose! Really glad the video was helpful...these pans are fun to use!
Success!...finally after 2 weeks of unclear directions and multiple de-glazing the trick is not necessarily in the method but with the "oil". Flaxseed oil did not work, even when the thinnest coating was applied it just didn't work. Read the comments and tried the Grapeseed and that was that. 1 session at 445 in the oven and then 3 more induction stovetop for good measure and whammo! Nothing sticks now. Much appreciated!
Sweet! Glad it worked!
Tremendously helpful. I had a horrible experience with the first pan I tried to season and the instructions were horrible. This video was wonderful. Thank you!
Too much oil … thanks for measuring and the showing what should be used. Re-seasoning my Matfer right now. Question: every time I wipe out my clean pan with paper towel, there’s brown color on towel - is that normal? Much obliged!
Your mom's fried okra is exactly like my grandmother's version. Not "breaded" or coated, just nice a crispy with tender centers, but with crispy bits of the cornmeal, all caramelized and delicious. Thank you for sharing this video!!!
Thanks for the compliments! You know, I am just waiting on a movie theater to offer a big bucket of fried okra instead of popcorn!
Thanks, I learned a lot from the video. I got my first carbon steel pan almost a year ago. Since then it's been my go to pan. I use this pan basically everyday, I love it. I got one of the 10 in. preseasoned pans, it took a while to get it seasoned right. I rarely use my cast iron pan anymore, it's so much easier with the carbon steel pan, they're lighter and they heat up faster. PS, the music is a bit annoying.
Thanks Scott. My pan was really bad. I scrubbed for about 15 minutes. I resorted to using 320 grit sand paper to get the hard to get items out. I ended up getting to bare metal. I seasoned right away with corn oil my wife got. I was surprised the smoke point was 450 degrees. So I set my oven for 475. The pan came out great. Thanks for the advice. I was using too much oil and trying to use the electric element. Using less oil and using the oven it came out really good. I did it twice to make sure it was ok since I went to bare metal.
Thanks Again Scott,
Doug Robinson
Hi Doug. Thank you for the compliments! I am really glad the video helped. It makes working on them worthwhile, and I hope it heps get you set for lots of great cooking now.
Thanks for good explanation, i had the same problem due to convection stovetop
Glad that it helped!
Oh man I followed your directions for oven method seasoning and it worked great. My new carbon steel pan came out beautiful. Thank you so much!!
For those of us who have hearing problems, please turn the music down to a whisper.
I can't thank you enough for your nice easy simplistic explanations on caring for my pan. You answered all my frustrations. First time coming across your video but I'm a subscriber now. Thank you
Thank you! When I first got my pan, I had trouble and I couldn't find any videos to show me what to do, so I made this channel. I am glad the videos helped! These pans are great once you get them dialed in.
Nice video and great channel. Just a few tips to improve it: Buy a mic, improve the lighting and don't play music at the same volume as your voice.
Great advice! In fact, I have a mic for the later ones after people complained about the sound in my earlier videos. Next up is better lights! Thanks for the comments,...
I am so glad I stumbled across this video, because I followed the MATFER instructions to the letter, and got dismal results after repeating the instructions at least 10 times.
Doh! 10 times! I think there are lots of people who have done the same thing. These days, I always tell people to season once and just start cooking.
I miss your blog "seasoning central"! Will you bring it back? I loved the detailed instructions in video as well as the written out instructions.
I might have deleted that but I will see if I can find it.
I picked up one of these pans and tried the factory recommended method for seasoning. I have an electric coil stove so I used our camp stove so I could get the first seasoning done correctly. It worked 'ok'. Then I watched this video and tried seasoning in the pan in the oven. It worked 'ok', but the seasoning did not stick. At all. It was a nice copper color, eggs slid around for the first cook, but hot water and a plastic scrub brush took off the seasoning. I must have done something wrong.
I had semi-decent luck cooking eggs in it every morning since I got it and seasoned it.
Flash forward to a few weeks ago. I made smashed potatoes. These are boiled baby potatoes, squished semi-flat, then cooked in a bit of oil in the pan, in the oven. The goal is to make the skin rather crisp. I had the oven at 425f and cooked the potatoes for 30-45ish minutes. I flipped them once to get them crisp on both sides. The pan really darkened up.
The next morning when I went to cook eggs, I added a pat of butter and preheated the pan. When I dropped the eggs into the pan, they slid across the pan towards the EVER so SLIGHT slope towards the back of the stove.
I oven seasoned my Matfer pan in a very similar way. Heated it, oiled it, wiped it and then baked it. If you've wiped it off enough you really don't have to put it in the oven upside down. Couldn't hurt though. I'm convinced that oven seasoning is the only way to go for both cast iron and carbon steel. It is the best way to evenly heat the pans and that can't be done on a stove burner.
My mom has been oven-seasoning her cast iron for over 50 years, so I'd say there is nothing wrong with that method at all! I mainly use stovetop because it's so quick, but agreed that it is not as uniform as oven.
I found two advantages to seasoning in upside down. 1) Sometimes there is oil that does not wipe off, like under rivets. It then comes out during heating and creates sticky spots. 2) I find that sometimes there are tiny particles in the seasoning. Heating upside down lowers the chances of bits of whatever getting on the pan and cooking into the seasoning layer.
@@toddyuen8759 Excellent points. I always oven season upside down too.
I found this video very helpful especially because my pan had a sticky texture. Now I know how to correctly season my pan thanks Scott.
Wish I had come across this video before I started😬. At least now I know what to do. Thanx for a top tier video👍🏻
Thanks, Robert! I always tell my wife she should be thankful for a top tier husband, but I don't get the response I hope for.
@@UncleScottsKitchen Haha 😆. She really should be though😉
Thank you so much! I tired to season my carbon steel pan 3 times without any success - it was all sticky, greasy and the food was still sticking to it. I figured out I was doing two mistakes - too much oil and too little heat. My pan did not get black but a bit brown-ish, because I was taking it off the heat when it started to smoke. I lost my temper and let it on the stove for much longer and now its awesome! I am passing the egg test very morning with approximately the same amount of butter as I used to with teflon pan!
Thanks for the advise. nicely explained, good video, one humble suggestion, please erase background music, it distracgt focus on what you are saying, my opplise
thanks for the comments... I bought anew microphone so the sound shouldbe better on future videos
The BEST seasoning tutorial I've seen Thank you!
This is really informative, even among millions of other vids on carbon steel, especially for using flat induction. The only gripe I have is the disturbing guitar sound..
That's me on the guitar! :)
Uncle Scott's Kitchen Very nice sound on the guitar 😀 But please, some us have hearing problem. I had a hard time hearing your speach. Besides a hearing problem, I,m a swede and therefore having 2 problems, hearing and language. Besides that, a wonderfull lesson you gave. Just bought a carbon steel pan, de Buyer Mineral B Element. Tryed season it on my induction stove. Did not work well since the heath only hit the middle of the pan. Will try the owen now.
Say hello to mom 😀😀
I had similar problems but with your advice I finally got pan working like it should. Egg test passed with flying colors. I even had to do it twice to make sure it really worked! I haven't tested it with potatoes but I'm pretty sure it will pass that test too. Thanks.
Excellent (actually, I should say 'EGGSELENT'!). Thanks for the compliments and I am glad you got your pan up and running!
Eggsellent 😄 I just tested the pan with raw potatoes and no detectable sticking after frying. After potatoes I fried two eggs. Slight sticking but nothing significant. I didn't clean the pan in between. This pan seems to be in really good shape right now. 👌 @@UncleScottsKitchen
What you all need to know is the TEMPERATURE of the stove when you're cooking eggs. It needs to be lower than medium. So on an electric stove that goes from 1 to 10, it should be on 3.5. And don't let it heat up for too long cause the heat will build up. when you put the butter in it should melt SLOWLY! If the butter starts sizzling and melting fast your pan is too hot and the egg will stick. If it starts melting slowly then wait till it's all melted and put in the egg at that point. You'll hear no sizzling and the egg will start cooking slowly and won't stick. For a lot of foods (except some like steak) the cast iron is best for slow, low heat type of cooking.
Great tips for electric range users! Worked for me.
I also use eggs of room temperature. If I don’t have the time to wait, I will put them in warm (not hot!) water. But if you do that, they are more likely to break the yolk, so use that method for scrambled eggs or an omelette.
This is perfect for scrambled eggs, but for a crispy fried egg, I go for medium high heat and use beef tallow or duck fat.
I suspect that most people with electric cooktops with spiral or solid burners have problems with seasoning because their cooktops don't get the pan hot enough to season properly. After MANY frustrating attempts on my electric cooktop, I followed your advice and IT WORKED! My spiral burner electric cooktop just wasn't getting the pan hot enough to polymerize the oil. Thanks very much for your help.
Thanks for the compliments and really really glad it helped.
I just got my two new Matfer CS pans ... wow Amazon, that was quick ... and I have spent most of the morning getting them seasoned.
The larger 11 inch pan cleaned up easily and very quickly with hot soapy water and a greeny. The smaller pan did not. I thought I had gotten everything off, but when I went to oil it down ... it dragged. Sensing something was not right, I got back to work. I finally had to use alcohol and acetone to get the plastic-like preservative off. Tough going, but worth the effort.
I seasoned the larger pan using the company directions, using the oil, salt and potato peel methods ... am I the only one who wonders how they thought of using potato peels ...? The first session went fine, but not much color change, the second session is when the magic begin. You could see it get progressively darker by the minute. Those poor potato peels really took one for the team ... they gave it all the had. BTW, don't get so wrapped up in stirring the hot, oily, salty potato peels that you accidentally flip one out onto your bare foot ... don't ask how I know that.
The pan looks amazing -- that is crappy dark -- and I am declaring complete success. I just did a mess of fried potatoes ... because, well I had some laying around and they came out great.
I've got the smaller pan baking in the oven and can't wait to see how it turns out. BTW, don't forget to open the windows, doors and turn on the fans, unless you want a visit from the local fire station ... I'm just saying.
In any event, I sincerely appreciate all the effort you put into making this video and please know that your method works and you can look forward to many years of service from your Matfer CS pans. NO MORE TEFLON!
Hi Ranger. Thank you very much for the nice comments! I bet you will love those Matfers... very high quality pans. You are right about opening the windows! If I forget, my wife usually lets me know pretty quickly. I've also found that splitting firewood for kindling while bare foot is a bad idea. Don't ask me how I know!
I just got a very nice result bleuing the steel after washing it with some light scrubbing paste and some light coats afterwards.
Fully bleuing a pan takes it to 300c, no way any coating is going to survive :)
Finally ! A video that actually just explains it! and yes, worked great (oven method)
Great video, Scott. I just got my Matfer pan, and I was researching the best way to season it. I have an electric stovetop, so it's good to know that the potato skins with salt and oil method will not work as well as it is supposed to. I hate electric ranges by the way. LOL I am looking forward to using this pan, since I am a true believer in cast iron myself.
If your Matfer has an uncoated handle (like the one in the video) you can season it in the oven too.... not limited to seasoning on the stovetop. Once you get an initial seasoning on there, best advice is to just cook cook cook and let the seasoning and color develop more and more every time you cook.
@@UncleScottsKitchen Yes, that's how I have been doing it from the initial seasoning forward. I will be using it almost daily to get it "broken in".
From a lot of experience with these pans, I can tell you, you can season on the glass top, but you must move your pan around while waiting for smoke point. I even tip the edges. You can also do the oven.
Also, these pans are going to warp on electric, that's reality. What I do is heat them very hot, take outside on a hard flat surface, turn upside down, lay a 2x4 across bottom of pan and hit 2x4 in the center. Yes, I'm an actual blacksmith so I flatten and straighten items up for folks all the time. It won't hurt the pan and will flatten it out. Simply air cool on a flat surface. And yes, you have to hit it pretty hard. Again, these are best on gas tops. A little trick that helps: use a burner larger than your pan. Good luck.
Finally!!!! Someone showing the right way i knew I was doing it wrong thank you!
Finally somebody answering the questions we're all asking . . . subscribed . . . because you asked nicely! :o)
Thank you!
Loved the tips.
Have to agree, though, with many other comments that pointed out that the music disturbs.
It's good as intro, filler and outro. But you don't need it, when you explain something :)
Again, great tips; thanks for those!
Thank you for this.. best explanation I have seen!👍
Thanks, Paul! Just checked out your channel, and as a rule of thumb, I like Paul's Rule of Thumb.
Hey Uncle Scott -- Just wanted to let you know how much I appreciated your video about carbon steel pans. It was EXTREMELY helpful. I was especially amazed by how your advice was so much better than the instructions that came with my pan. I don't know why they couldn't have been as helpful as you were. So thanks again! Keep up the great work!
There's more than one method to season iron cookware and they all work fine under certain conditions. It's all a matter of the type of skillet (cast / drawn / forged) and the heat source (open heat vs closed heat). The oven method is the method of choice if you have closed heat and an oven ready skillet handle.