Made In makes excellent cookware, as you could tell from our enthusiastic review. One of their more interesting products is the Carbon Steel line, which is made out of thin, light metal with great heat conductivity and retention that rivals cast iron without the weight. Check out my video below to see how to season your Carbon Steel.
Similar to cast iron, you have to season your Carbon Steel. Seasoning is a layer of polymerized oil that helps make your pan non-stick, while also helping it resist rust after not having been used for some time. The simple way to do it is to apply a thin layer of oil to the hot pan, keep it hot for a little while, then let it cool down. This gives you a single layer of seasoning, but you’ll want to keep cooking with your pan to create a thicker, longer-lasting layer of seasoning.
Blue Carbon Steel Wok Pre-Seasoning
In the video above, I show you how to apply a layer of seasoning to your Carbon Steel pan quickly and easily using Made In’s Seasoning Wax. Made In’s Seasoning Wax is made with beeswax, canola oil, and grapeseed oil. Canola oil and grapeseed oil are great for seasoning, because they have a high smoke point, so they won’t instantly burn at high heat. They also leave a nice, hard seasoning layer. The seasoning process is very easy, and you’ll want to make sure you do this at least once, as I mentioned, before cooking on it.
Simply put, the seasoning steps are as follows:
- Step One: If brand new, wash your pan thoroughly to remove the machine oil that Made In applies to ensure your pan won’t accumulate any rust before arriving to you.
- Step Two: Once clean, preheat your pan on the stove over high heat for about 10 minutes. This opens the pores of the carbon steel, which allows it to soak up the oil in the next step.
- Step Three: Apply a thin layer of oil, evenly around the inside of the pan using a paper towel. Remove any excess oil and keep the pan over high heat for about 5 more minutes, rotating the pan to ensure even heat around all surfaces of the cooking surface.
- Step Four: Allow the pan to cool completely.
Blue Carbon Steel Wok Post-Seasoning
Just like that, you’ve got your first layer of seasoning and you’re ready for all sorts of adventures in the kitchen. You can see in the post-seasoning photo how much darker the pan has gotten, which is thanks to the seasoning layer I applied.
I have found from experimenting with carbon steel woks and high carbon, non-stainless cooking knives that bluing followed by religiously not overheating or over oiling creates a really good surface that is easy to maintain and does not rust red. I have recently applied this principle to a cast iron pan that has a polished cooking surface and fine grain to the metal surface. It cooks really well, once I removed the factory finish, and has a blue look to the cooking surface that is slowly getting covered by a black patina. Overheat the pan once, and all the good work is destroyed and you have to start over. Leave the pan with too much oil on it, and you have to start over. Use soap on the pan and it forms a grease layer and you have to start over. Let someone else use the pan and you have to start over. Are you getting the picture yet?