First off: If you cannot lift heavy pans, don't get these. Instead, I'd opt for high-quality stainless. And if possible a stainless/copper.
With that said, these are truly a lifetime investment item if they are taken care of. Once it's seasoned, you cannot cook a better pan-fried steak. One of the best pans I've used thus far, and I've owned a restaurant.
There are a few suggestions for seasoning. I want to share with you what I do to achieve the best and most successful seasoning of my iron pans, without the sticky residue or uneven seasoning.
What you will need: Water, 3 potatoes, flax seed oil (organic), sponge, and a spare dry towel(s). *FYI: I use Barlean's Organic Flaxseed Oil. There are other brands you can find in your local Whole Foods or organic markets.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Once you receive your pan, place on burner and fill nearly to the brim (leaving about 1/2" from the top) with hot water.
2. Next, add peels from approximately 3 potatoes. Let boil for 15-20 minutes. You'll notice the water beginning to darken after about 10 minutes, which is good. You are essentially boiling out the beeswax that is added before shipment.
3. Pour out the water. You may notice a black line where the water level was, that's normal. Use a sponge to lightly scrub the pan under hot running water, focusing on the sides and around the rivets. You are just finishing off what was left over after boiling. If you have dark spots from the potato peels at the bottom of your pan, no worries..it's normal. Towel dry and return to burner.
4. Turn your burner to high heat, and then place approx. 2-3 tsp. of flax oil in the center of your pan while it's cool. Make sure to turn on your exhaust fan if you have one.
5. Rub a very, very thin layer of the oil around the entire inside of the pan with a towel. Make sure to soak up any excess oil. This is vitally important, because too much oil will ruin the seasoning process. Heat until it smokes oh so slightly.
*Since the timing is so different from one stove to the next, in terms of when it would be ready to take off the burner, I say use that (slightly smoking) as a visual to know.
*Do not leave your pan on the burner without watching it carefully. Again, allowing the oil to smoke a lot is not a good thing, and can ruin the seasoning.
You will notice it darkening almost immediately once the oil becomes hot, but not yet black.
6. Allow to cool.
7. Repeat steps 4-6 until your pan is black (about 5-7 layers). Finally, begin cooking!
Your first batch of food should be a meat as this will speed up the maturing process.
IRON AND HEAT:
Remember that iron continues to rise in temperature, thus you can easily burn your food. You will need to get to know your pan in order to find out when to adjust the heat. Ex: If you are wanting to bring it up to a high temperature, turn your fire or heat source to about a MED-HIGH. Once it reaches that temperature, it's wise to drop the heat down to MED about a minute or two after the food has been added so that it doesn't over cook.
Regardless of what I'm cooking, I almost never set my heat to HIGH. It just doesn't drop in temperature fast enough before burning something.
Also, if you add anything cold to your pan it will be stuck initially. You should wait a minute or two until it forms a nice "crust" in which it can be easily removed or flipped. However, once the seasoning is matured, sticking should not be an issue.
FIRST BATCH OF EGGS:
Eggs are a great example of what can happen if you remove or flip your food too early before it has had a chance to form a "crust", and if you set your heat too high they will burn super fast. So, you definitely want to follow the above tips during the maturing process when cooking eggs. Otherwise, you'll end up with a mess. So again, I highly suggest cooking at a very low temperature for eggs, as they will burn or dry out very quickly in iron pans regardless of maturation.
CLEANING AND COOKING UTENSILS:
Wait for several batches of food before you use a metal spatula. If you notice small scratches in your layer of seasoning after cooking from your cooking utensils...don't worry. It will darken over rather quickly and should not cause any issues. Flax oil seasoning isn't real soft, but it isn't indestructible either. So, just be graceful initially.
If stubborn food is stuck to your pan after cooking; add HOT water, bring to a boil for no more than a minute, scrub with a wooden utensil, dispose of the liquid, rinse and then towel dry. Afterwards you'll need to place a light layer of oil in your pan and heat the pan just before it smokes. OR, you should be able to use a non-abrasive sponge under hot running water to clean up any stubborn messes without any worries. However, it's not a good idea to boil water often as it will slow the maturing process.
Additionally, one tip suggests to place course salt in the pan to sanitize it. However, this can scratch your surface rather quickly if it's the beginning stages of your seasoning, so use that tip cautiously.
BTW: You'll know when your pan has matured when hardly anything sticks to the pan, and you don't have to clean it with anything other than a paper towel after cooking.
***Always remember to oil your pan after each use, regardless***
You can repeat one layer of seasoning after each batch of food in the first month or so, or intermittently. This will ensure a nonstick surface that is sure to last through just about anything. The more you use your pan, the more the non-stick surface becomes. Your pan should be broke in within a three months, depending on use.
TROUBLESHOOTING:
~ If you noticed that there is a large area of what looks like a "smudge" after seasoning, then you added too much oil OR allowed it to get too hot. That's okay..if your first attempt failed, you can start the process over by scrubbing with a scouring pad and removing the layers of seasoning. Then proceeding to repeat the step using much less oil.
~ If your pan is really sticky after seasoning, you have added too much oil, the pan didn't get hot enough, or you need to repeat the process. You may have a slight stickiness after seasoning is finished, but that's fine. It's the thick residue you don't want.
***Do not bake your pan using this oil during the initial seasoning process, unless you know exactly how to do it. It can be used in the oven for cooking once you have finished your seasoning however.
Using any other oil or lard to season your pan will/can cause a thick residue because the burning point is lower for one, which is why I strongly suggest not using any other oil. The seasoning will be much "softer" with other oils, and does not work for me in the least bit, nor will it for you I don't believe. The surface becomes much less even and there are simply too many issues with other oils that I don't want to get into here.
And lastly, do not switch out oils during your seasoning process as some tips may suggest, it's not necessary when you use flax-seed oil especially. You have to take into consideration that each oil will have a different burning point, or smoking point, therefore mixing the oils is not a good idea...period.
So, bottom line is that I do not find seasoning by baking is a good idea unless you are experienced in doing it. For most that aren't, it ends up leaving residue because too much oil was added, which is awful to have on your pan. It will scrape off too easily causing a mess! This can cause a lot of frustration and wasted time. I really want people to have the easiest experience and not be discouraged, thereby switching to non-stick inferior pans for sake of ease ;0)
I really hope this helps you. Good luck, and happy cooking!
Over the years I have a collection of All-Clad Stainless Tri-Ply, Calphalon nonstick, plus a cast iron pizza pan, so I am quite familiar with the strength and weakness of each type of material.
The stainless tri-ply sears well, has pretty good heat conductivity, can be nonstick if you use good technique(dry and warm up certain type of food before cooking, and use enough oil), but it's a pain to clean.
You are probably familiar with nonstick like Caphalon. They work pretty well, don't sear as well as tri-ply stainless, but is easy to clean. They wear out after a few years and you have to replace them. To me, they have no soul. I mostly used mine for eggs.
I used the cast iron pizza pan for steak, hamburger, and frittata. It's well season and nonstick. The one big draw back is that it weight a ton.
I heard good thing about DeBuyer iron cookware so I ordered a DeBuyer 24cm bluesteel crepe pan as it's inexpensive to try out. It's fantastic: eggs slide off it, and cleaning is just rising with warm water and wiping dry with a towel. So I decided to get the 12.6-Inch frypan to use as my general everyday pan. So far I have cooked steak, stir fry, and seared fish with it. I would say that it combines the best features of all the cooking surfaces I have used so far: it's nonstick, sears better than tri-ply stainless perhaps as well as my cast iron, and weight a lot less than cast iron would have been, and it's easy to clean up. Most of the time to clean it I just rinse it with warm water. If I cook fish or steak I would use boiling water to rinse it, and on occasions I would use a slightly soaped sponge on it. Then I would dry it, and when I am not too lazy I would put a couple drop of cooking oil in it and wipe it with a paper towel. The clean up is much faster than with my stainless cookwares.
But best of all, the steak comes out fantastic, the fish seared nicely, and the side is just tall enough to not get in the way yet provide enough volume to use as a really nice stir fry pan. If you cook for 4 people, this is the perfect size.
I said jokingly to my 5-year old daughter that some day this will be hers as she watch me season it the day it arrived. The truth is this thing will last forever and will be hers some day. There is a satisfaction of owing something that will last for generation and is a pleasure to use. I am now a DeBuyer convert (there may be other brands that make iron cookware that are just as good). I bought a 11.8-Inch crepe pan for omeletes and frittata.
Buy DeBuyer Mineral B Element Iron Frypan, Round Now
I already use the pre-Bee 10" Mineral fry pan de Buyer Mineral Pan, Fry Pan: 10" which is absolutely great. In the terms of the old hot-rod axiom, "if some is good, more is better, and too much is just right," so I bought this 14" monster. I'm going to have to order a larger "universal" fry pan lid since my old one is too small. I love the little honey bee stamped into the bottom of the pan and the honey-colored dot in the handle. Perfection is all in the details, right? I watched the instructions on U-tube, and even though DeBuyer no longer recommends it, I boiled a bunch of potato peelings for a very long time, and then some peanut oil for a less than very long time. Slick as glass and ready to cook now, but not until a few more family members drop by. This pan is BIG. It doesn't show up in all of the advertising photos, but mine actually has a U-shaped handle on the side opposite the long, flat handle for a two-handed grip to make it easier to remove the pan from the range. The 10" is great for my wife and me, and I expect no less from the 14" version when we have to cook for more than two. I can do scrambled eggs in the 10" with less residue left behind than with my previous "non-stick" pans. It almost doesn't need cleaning. Bacon tends to stick a bit, due to the suger content in the curing process I suspect, so I have to wipe down the pan really well with paper towels after the bacon is done, before I toss in the egg mixture. I love these fry pans. Teflon, get thee behind me!
Read Best Reviews of DeBuyer Mineral B Element Iron Frypan, Round Here
I just received the 10" pan in the mail yesterday to replace a Calphalon Commercial nonstick pan. I followed the seasoning process per De Buyer. I wish the instructions indicated what temperature to heat the oil to. After a bunch of research online I am still unsure if you are supposed to do this over high heat or medium heat. Anyway, first meal cooked in the pan was 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts. I did not get any sticking. This morning I made two eggs and those did not stick either. It is already starting to develop a golden color. Everything I've read indicates it will get better with each use.
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I didn't follow instructions for seasoning this pan. I had only a coating of oil in it and starting cooking this pan on the stove. Went to take a phone call and returned to find the center had oil burnt onto it, an ugly brown spot. Looks so ugly I was disgusted! Tried to get the irregular shaped brown spot off by scrubbing it, then decided to use detergent. I know I wasn't supposed to, but I was upset. Still didn't come off. I decided to now use this pan to fry an egg, using very little oil. I thought for sure it will stick since I broke all the rules and this was the pan's first use. Well! It was more nonstick than any nonstick pan I've ever used. Whaddaya know... the pan is forgiving of my abuse. I guess I'll have to overlook its ugliness.
Edit: Ok, so after my success with the egg, I wiped the pan clean with paper towel. Then I tried making an omelette, and this time no oil added to the pan. When the edges of the egg started to dry, I gave it a slight nudge and the omelette started sliding around in the pan. Was tempted to turn it by a toss of the pan but lost my nerve and used the spatula instead. I thought for sure the reverse side would stick this time since the residual oil from previous cooking is already used up. Nope, still did not stick at all. After that I tried the salt rubbing cleaning and that removed the ugly brown spot. So now I changed by rating from 4 stars to 5.
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