Seasoning a pan

**R-James** · 08-12-2008, 10:29 AM

Gents,

I am about to embark on buying a new pan. I have always used a flat bottomed wok but now I am going to get me a wok ring and a round bottomed wok from a local chinese supermarket.

I am going to need to season the wok as the one I want is carbon steel, but I am finding conflicting ways to do this online, so I thought I would ask the B&B boys.

Any help is greatly appreciated

**john.crissman** · 08-12-2008, 11:17 AM

I don't know about a carbon-steel wok, but this is what Alton Brown says about a cast iron skillet. Hope it helps...

Billabong56-guest: How would you properly season a pan?
AltonBrown: I'm going to guess that you mean seasoning a cast-iron pan. I use Crisco shortening. It is very highly refined, and I drop a small spoonful of it into said skillet. I stick it in a 350-degree oven until the shortening melts. I then extract said vessel, and implement a paper towel to smear the fat all over the pan, handle and everything. I then pick up the pan and return it to the 350-degree oven for an hour. Do not drop it at any point during this process! Turn the oven off, let the pan cool down, wipe off the excess oil, and put it away.

Taken from http://www.goodeatsfanpage.com/Refer...2000-07-17.htm near the bottom of the page.

**vroddrew** · 08-12-2008, 11:24 AM

The goal in seasoning a wok is to allow the steel in the wok to bond with carbon to form an extremly smooth, almost "non stick" carbon-steel surface which allows food to be quickly sauteed-fried without sticking.

The procedure that has worked for me is as follows:

1) Wash and scrub the new steel wok in hot water with detergent. The purpose of this step is to remove any oil or contaminents left over from the manufacturing process.

2) Rinse the wok thoroughly in fresh water and dry completely. Dry with a towel, and then leave it for a couple of hours to allow ALL water to evaporate.

3) Put the empty wok on your ring, on the highest possible heat.

4) Rotate the wok back and forth, rotating it so that as much as possible of the wok surface comes into contact with the burner.

5) Keep heating it until the metal starts to turn a blueish-yellow color. Try and get as much of the wok as possible this color.

6) Remove the wok from heat (careful where you put it down at this stage!) and turn the heat down to medium low. Allow the wok to cool for ~ 2-3 minutes.

7) Wipe the entire inner surface of the wok with a paper towel moistened with cooking oil. (I generally use inexpensive vegetable oil. No sense in wasting extra virgin olive oil, sesame oil, peanut oil, etc. on this. All you want is the carbon molecules.)

8) Return the wok to medium-low heat for about ten minutes, rotating it as before. Keep an eye on the oil, moderating the heat if the oil starts to smoke - no oil fires wanted here. You want the oil almost to the point of smoking. Wipe off any remaining oil with another paper towel. The towel will come away with black residue on it.

9) Repeat the last two steps until such time as no more black residue comes away on the paper wiping towel. Generally this takes three to five cycles.

Once the wok is seasoned never, never, NEVER use detergent to clean it. Hot water and, for stuck on food, a scrubbing pad, are all you should ever use. Detergent will literally strip away the seasoning, and you'll have to start over again.

**SepticTank** · 08-12-2008, 11:26 AM

When I bought mine as a student back in 1989 - the advice was to heat 3-4 tbsp peanut oil up until it was smoking then "swish" it around the whole pan, chuck that out and then 2 tsp salt in and "polish" it with a scrunched up kitchen roll (watch out - it's chuffing hot). Repeat the process twice (more if you want).

Then you're ready to start - then the sage advice was "use it, don't abuse it. No detergents, no soaking".

That wok (made of the thinnest carbon steel in history) lasted about 15 years before I wore the bottom out of it

**ouch** · 08-12-2008, 11:40 AM

There's pretty much no "wrong" way to do it. Oil or shortening, in the oven or over the flame, it really doesn't matter. All you're doing is "cooking" oil on it for a few times. The more you use it, the better it becomes.

A good trick for stuck on pieces is to use a tablespoon of kosher salt and a damp paper towel. The salt acts as an abrasive.

Just keep using it.
New wok/cast iron/black steel = worthless.
Old wok/cast iron/black steel= priceless.

**Jimbo** · 08-12-2008, 01:45 PM

Invest the money in high quality cookware. Season it properly and keep it seasoned.
I highly encourage you to use peanut oil. It can get to a higher temperature before it starts to smoke.
I also recommend peanut oil when cooking in a wok. It can take the heat.

**R-James** · 08-12-2008, 01:57 PM

I have one cast iron fryng pan of my grandparents that was bought in 1960 and is the best thing in my kitchen. These woks are quite cheap, but at the same time look and feel very well built.

**langod** · 08-12-2008, 02:10 PM

Originally Posted by R-James

I have one cat iron fryng pan of my grandparents that was bought in 1960 and is the best thing in my kitchen. These woks are quite cheap, but at the same time look and feel very well built.

I've got a cast iron fry pan I rescued from my grandmother's house after she passed away that dates back to the early 1900s (it was actually my GREAT grandmother's). It is my most used pan, and for sure would by my "desert island" pick.

A well seasoned wok (I have one of those too), while usually not as long-lived, is nearly as invaluable.

**ouch** · 08-12-2008, 02:54 PM

Originally Posted by R-James

I have one cat iron fryng pan of my grandparents that was bought in 1960 and is the best thing in my kitchen. These woks are quite cheap, but at the same time look and feel very well built.

I've heard of guys that hate cats, but geesh.

Originally Posted by langod

I've got a cast iron fry pan I rescued from my grandmother's house after she passed away that dates back to the early 1900s (it was actually my GREAT grandmother's). It is my most used pan, and for sure would by my "desert island" pick.

A well seasoned wok (I have one of those too), while usually not as long-lived, is nearly as invaluable.

And a black steel omelette/fry/crepe pan is better than any of them.

**prewt** · 08-12-2008, 03:17 PM

If you do not have one, I recommend thewokshop dot com. They sell traditional woks and the newer style with a helper handle, ( really helps lifting a wok full o' food ). I have two woks from there and am buying a third soon. Ouch is right. All you are doing is building up a protective coating on it. There is no right or wrong way, just season it a few times to ensure it is coated.

Nothing can replace a wok, nothing. If you say it can, you have not used it properly.

**Doc4** · 08-12-2008, 03:37 PM

The "right or wrong way" comes when you clean it. As mentioned before, don't use detergent. (Oh man, you gotta watch it when people start doing your dishes ... there seems to be a mathematical formula that the more someone wants to help out and do dishes, the more clueless they are about the proper care of seasoned cast iron, kitchen knives, stemware, &c.) A bit of salt as an abrasive will work to get fried-on bits of gunk off.

**ouch** · 08-12-2008, 04:15 PM

Originally Posted by prewt

Nothing can replace a wok, nothing. If you say it can, you have not used it properly.

In terms of versatility, I'd agree. You can stir fry, deep fry (the wide sides make it a breeze to move food in and out of the oil, what's referred to as "passing through"), stick a bamboo steamer in it and steam, tea smoke, blanch, and boil. A wok and a cleaver is practically an entire kitchen.

But nothing is better than French black steel fry pans.

**Alacrity59** · 08-12-2008, 05:43 PM

As long as there is no wooden or other handle that would burn I'd prefer to do the seasoning on the BBQ closed at just over 500 degrees F. Temperatures in the 400's work but the seasoning tends to come out brown rather than black. No real functional difference brown vs. black as far as I can tell.