Sealing my new frying pan

chipperhead · 4 Sep 2012 at 10:24

I got the set of Meyer Raymond Blanc non stick pans that was talked about in this forum some months back and they are superb. After reading about how you shouldn't heat non stick to a really high temperature as it can release toxins and also the fact I needed a bigger pan I decided to treat myself.

I chose a de Buyer 32cm Mineral B Carbon Steel Pan, £40 inc del.

Packaging is plain but nice.

The pan has a real quality feel to it, it's heavy but not as heavy as cast iron.

It comes with a coating of Bees Wax for protection and to stop it from rusting, apparently the best way to remove this is to boil potato skins for 15mins. The heat and enzymes remove the wax and draw the impurities out of the pan, the water did turn grey.

You need to season this type of pan or it'll stick really bad, these type of pans definitely aren't for those people who want an immaculate looking pan as the more you use and the darker it becomes, the better it gets.

To begin the process I coated everything except the handle in a thin film of lard.

And baked it for half an hour at gas mark 6.

I repeated this again with bacon fat and nut oil, the pan is now building up a nice patina.

I then put some vegetable oil in the pan and heated until it was smoking, this then went back in the oven.

A bit of a transformation from the shiny pan from earlier.

And to give it a quick test I chucked a couple of rashers of bacon in, it cooked them lovely without sticking.
Next looking forward to cooking some steaks and searing the beef before Sunday dinner.

For cleaning just rinse out with really hot water, a scrub with a green scourer if needed and dry with kitchen roll.

FrenchTart · 4 Sep 2012 at 10:56

Awesome guide. You did a much more thorough job of sealing than the last time I did that with a pan

pitchfork · 4 Sep 2012 at 11:50

My method - Stick it on the hob until it's ****ing unrealistically hot.
The wipe with vegetable oil, repeat a few times.

jizzyJames · 4 Sep 2012 at 12:18

great guide - the pan looks so much better once sealed

tom_e · 4 Sep 2012 at 12:23

pitchfork said:
My method - Stick it on the hob until it's ****ing unrealistically hot.
The wipe with vegetable oil, repeat a few times.

This is what I do now, but the first time I did it like the OP. My carbon steel wok and cast iron pan are still performing beautifully.

Dave · 4 Sep 2012 at 14:10

Do higher-end pans not do any sort of pre-sealing at the factories they are made? I would have thought that it would have been a demanded thing, rather than something that companies expect the customers to do. Is it that they don't look as "shiny" on the shelves?

pitchfork · 4 Sep 2012 at 14:29

I wouldn't buy a pre seasoned pan, I'd want to do it myself and know it's done properly.
It's like buying a knife, when I buy a knife I spend a few hours re edging it to my tastes.

Lt_Red · 4 Sep 2012 at 18:05

Nice work. After you have cleaned it and dried it, it may be worth putting a little oil on a bit of kitchen roll and rubbing it over the pan before you store it. Just prevents rust. I do this with my wok.

Jimbeam3678 · 4 Sep 2012 at 18:44

Where did you get it from if you don't mind me asking

chipperhead · 4 Sep 2012 at 18:46

Lt_Red said:
Nice work. After you have cleaned it and dried it, it may be worth putting a little oil on a bit of kitchen roll and rubbing it over the pan before you store it. Just prevents rust. I do this with my wok.

Cheers for that, I'll make sure I do.

chipperhead · 4 Sep 2012 at 18:47

divaboy said:
Where did you get it from if you don't mind me asking

Amazon, other places have it in stock but it's nearly double the price.

edit##
Just had a look and it's now out of stock.
I initially bought this from a company called First Ireland but they cancelled the order when they realised they had no stock.

robfosters · 4 Sep 2012 at 22:50

I read the thread title as 'Selling my frying pan'.

I thought "Jesus, times must be tough"

Doctor McNinja · 5 Sep 2012 at 02:20

chipperhead said:
Amazon, other places have it in stock but it's nearly double the price.

edit##
Just had a look and it's now out of stock.
I initially bought this from a company called First Ireland but they cancelled the order when they realised they had no stock.

How are you finding the pan so far? I've been looking for stainless steel frying pan that can take some abuse for a while now... might just try one of these out.

I've ordered from First Ireland in the past, I bought a All-Clad Sauté pan. They were about 20% cheaper than anywhere else (at the time) and everything arrived quickly and in perfect condition (just wanted to add my bit so people weren't scared off).

pitchfork · 5 Sep 2012 at 10:00

robfosters said:
I read the thread title as 'Selling my frying pan'.

I thought "Jesus, times must be tough"

I sold my le creuset frying pans, bought a set of bourgeat replacements.

It's pretty commonplace with high end cookware. I've sold loads of bits over the years.

Tattysnuc · 7 Sep 2012 at 13:08

I had no idea that this was necessary. What about Stainless Steel ones, and enamelled ones?

Doctor McNinja · 7 Sep 2012 at 18:20

Tattysnuc said:
I had no idea that this was necessary. What about Stainless Steel ones, and enamelled ones?

You don't need to season enamelled pans. As for stainless steel, it depends on the pan.

Doctor McNinja · 8 Sep 2012 at 10:16

Doctor McNinja said:
How are you finding the pan so far? I've been looking for stainless steel frying pan that can take some abuse for a while now... might just try one of these out.

I've ordered from First Ireland in the past, I bought a All-Clad Sauté pan. They were about 20% cheaper than anywhere else (at the time) and everything arrived quickly and in perfect condition (just wanted to add my bit so people weren't scared off).

Guess I'll answer my own question. Having read some reviews and looked again at the price, I couldn't resist. I've ordered the 28cm version... I had ordered the 32cm version but it'd be 1cm blinking centimetre too large for my oven.

chipperhead · 8 Sep 2012 at 10:32

Doctor McNinja said:
Guess I'll answer my own question. Having read some reviews and looked again at the price, I couldn't resist. I've ordered the 28cm version... I had ordered the 32cm version but it'd be 1cm blinking centimetre too large for my oven.

Sorry buddy, missed your question before.
It's superb, a little bit sticky at first but soon eases a real quality pan worth every penny.

Doctor McNinja · 9 Sep 2012 at 19:10

Doctor McNinja said:
How are you finding the pan so far? I've been looking for stainless steel frying pan that can take some abuse for a while now... might just try one of these out.

I've ordered from First Ireland in the past, I bought a All-Clad Sauté pan. They were about 20% cheaper than anywhere else (at the time) and everything arrived quickly and in perfect condition (just wanted to add my bit so people weren't scared off).

chipperhead said:
Sorry buddy, missed your question before.
It's superb, a little bit sticky at first but soon eases a real quality pan worth every penny.

Cheers for the reply (and sorry if I sounded a bit snarky, it wasn't intended). One other question I'd like the answer to if you'd be so kind, the plastic insert in the handle... well, is it plastic or rubber and do you think it'd be difficult to remove (wouldn't want it melting in the oven)?

chipperhead · 10 Sep 2012 at 09:54

Doctor McNinja said:
Cheers for the reply (and sorry if I sounded a bit snarky, it wasn't intended). One other question I'd like the answer to if you'd be so kind, the plastic insert in the handle... well, is it plastic or rubber and do you think it'd be difficult to remove (wouldn't want it melting in the oven)?

It's silicon and I did read somewhere it can withstand something like 200c plus. You get silicon baking products that go in the oven, I'm sure it'd fairly easily push out though but it is designed to go in the oven.