[rhythmdevils]

or anyone else out there cook with a wok? I just went to the "wok-shop" in Chinatown San Francisco and got a huge cheap hand hammered steel wok with a long wooden handle. Very nice

I spent a lot of time cleaning it, as I was a bit skeptical of the waxy coating to keep it from rusting overseas- god knows what they thew on there. So I used salt, baking soda, vinegar, detergent, you name it

For the last few weeks I've been seasoning. Put it in the oven with an oil coating and let it burn on, burn in oil on the stovetop. It's turned all sorts of beautiful brass colors and is now black in parts. I'm realy amazed that seasoning a pan is really as simple as this.

But the problem is that my seasoning keeps chipping off, and it's turning into a lot of work to keep adding seasoning to the thing and caring for it. I'm also a bit sketched out by not being able to clean it with soap, especially if I cook meat. I made some potatoes the other day, and they turned yellow from all the curry I have made in the wok :d Which makes me wonder what else is being stored in the seasoning. I guess it's been done for years and years though.

So I'm thinking of getting a stainless steel one instead...

 

[kwkarth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rhythmdevils /img/forum/go_quote.gif or anyone else out there cook with a wok? I just went to the "wok-shop" in Chinatown San Francisco and got a huge cheap hand hammered steel wok with a long wooden handle. Very nice I spent a lot of time cleaning it, as I was a bit skeptical of the waxy coating to keep it from rusting overseas- god knows what they thew on there. So I used salt, baking soda, vinegar, detergent, you name it For the last few weeks I've been seasoning. Put it in the oven with an oil coating and let it burn on, burn in oil on the stovetop. It's turned all sorts of beautiful brass colors and is now black in parts. I'm realy amazed that seasoning a pan is really as simple as this. But the problem is that my seasoning keeps chipping off, and it's turning into a lot of work to keep adding seasoning to the thing and caring for it. I'm also a bit sketched out by not being able to clean it with soap, especially if I cook meat. I made some potatoes the other day, and they turned yellow from all the curry I have made in the wok :d Which makes me wonder what else is being stored in the seasoning. I guess it's been done for years and years though. So I'm thinking of getting a stainless steel one instead...

In my experience, washing a well seasoned pan with mile soap and water won't do any damage to it, particularly, if you do a minor re-season to it right after it's washed.

Re the flaking, sounds to me like maybe you tried to season it too quickly.

Go slower, with a little lower heat, let to pours of the metal expand and absorb the oil. WRT stainless steel... I've never had good luck with SS and getting a good season to it.

 

[rhythmdevils]

ahh, interesting about the lower temperature. But I did put it in the oven at 450 for 20 minutes, let it cool, recoated it, put it back in. Probably about 5 times or so by now. Maybe I'll try lower heat on the stove top.

I was thinking stainless to just avoid seasoning. I usually cook saucey things in the wok anyways. Then I can clean it well, and won't get weird curry flavorings in everything I cook... will be weird if I was cooking with soy sauce as well right now

 

[kwkarth]

/sorry if I wasn't clear, you might try lower temperatures over a longer time. Try your oven at 300deg. for an hour.

 

[catachresis]

I've found that the trick for carbon steel and cast iron is to be quite rough with the pan. I used to only use wooden spoons and spatulas in an effort not to scratch or chip a layer of seasoned metal. Now I find that the opposite care is better: I use a carbon steel spatula, and I actively scrape the food and stir-fry from the pan bottom. There will be irregular carbonizing, but that's natural. Cook at very high heats, but be careful not to let things go entirely to charcoal.

Then, to clean, I use a bamboo broom brush from the local oriental store. Put the dirty pan under hot water and scrub hard and well with the bamboo brush. You'll probably have to use your fingers for the last stage to find any food still sticking. I don't use soap at all. When you can feel that the pan surface is smooth from the absence of food particles, but a tiny bit greasy, dry the entire interior with paper towel. Then drop a dollop of oil into the bottom and oil the interior. This evaporates and gets into the crevices of the metal to help form the basis of the next layer of carbonization. After months, I find that I don't have to oil the cast iron wok: it just has to be water-washed and dried. The absolute key is to use the pan *a lot*.

 

[Sennshead]

no worries about what might be growing. much lower temps will sterilize your pan. so as long as its nice and hot b/f adding food you're good to go.

 

[Edwood]

Lots of bacon cooking and my old Lodge cast iron pan is well seasoned, any my cholesterol level went way up.

 

[Happy Camper]

Thank you guys for input to this thread. OP, if I may ask a question along these same lines....

My wife got her mother's cast iron cooking pans but she soaks her skillet in soapy water when she fries potatoes. I was wondering the physics of this and it has been explained nicely. So you don't need a high heat and long time to treat or is it only for woks? My wife told me her mom would grease the lining and put it on a Weber full of coals for an hour or so. If cast iron frying pans and cooking kettles are different, please give more info. I'm guessing you want to remove stuck on food with a metal scraper before cleaning? Do you have to re-treat after each cleaning?

Thank you OP for my intrusion in your thread and I appreciate any advice you guys can share.

 

[Happy Camper]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edwood /img/forum/go_quote.gif Lots of bacon cooking and my old Lodge cast iron pan is well seasoned, any my cholesterol level went way up.

Our families lived ripe old lives eating this way. Though the text books say this is bad for you, a lot of people are dying sooner or living less than quality lives doing this "better diet". I'm beginning to wonder. Bacon relieves stress. Love makin bacon.

 

[rhythmdevils]

no worries! I wanna hash this one out, let's have it!

I don't think cast iron is any different. The idea is that when you heat them up, it opens pores in the metal like your skin, and you want to let it soak up the oil. If your pan is old, then make sure it's clean first, ie no black chunks. I'm still figuring out the best way to do it, but from what I have done, covering it in a thin layer of oil and putting it in the oven seems to be the best. I'm going to try lower heat, for an hour, but I need to get a fan to put in the window first cause it always sets off the smoke detectors and smells quite a bit.

I'm skeptical about them growing stuff though, because I've been feeling a bit nausious after meals lately. Could be something else, but I made potatos in my wok yesterday and really didn't feel right afterwards. Maybe I'm not getting it hot enough before I add oil. The other thing though, is that with a wok, the sides are so high, that they don't get all the hot, so if heat is what sterilizes it then this is questionable. the sides don't even get hot enough to steam off water after washing. I do have a rather large wok though

 

[kwkarth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rhythmdevils /img/forum/go_quote.gif no worries! I wanna hash this one out, let's have it! I don't think cast iron is any different. The idea is that when you heat them up, it opens pores in the metal like your skin, and you want to let it soak up the oil. If your pan is old, then make sure it's clean first, ie no black chunks. I'm still figuring out the best way to do it, but from what I have done, covering it in a thin layer of oil and putting it in the oven seems to be the best. I'm going to try lower heat, for an hour, but I need to get a fan to put in the window first cause it always sets off the smoke detectors and smells quite a bit. I'm skeptical about them growing stuff though, because I've been feeling a bit nausious after meals lately. Could be something else, but I made potatos in my wok yesterday and really didn't feel right afterwards. Maybe I'm not getting it hot enough before I add oil. The other thing though, is that with a wok, the sides are so high, that they don't get all the hot, so if heat is what sterilizes it then this is questionable. the sides don't even get hot enough to steam off water after washing. I do have a rather large wok though

Hmmm, Proper wok cooking requires really high heat, and therefore really good ventilation. How are you doing on both counts?

 

[FooTemps]

The best way to really season your wok is just to abuse it when cooking IMO. Cook hot and furious, toss and scrape all you want, and make sure you use enough oil for the early stages.

I refinished my wok in the past year due to rust and here's how I got it back to good cooking condition...

• Completely cleaned and rust free: throw it on the burner as hot as possible. Once it's hot, like turning blue hot, pour in some oil and work it around with. It'll smoke, don't worry, keep the windows open. Now here is where I deviate... Throw in a few cups of salt (yes, that's lot of salt) or some sort of cheap absorbent food like tofu. Work that with the oil for a while until you feel satisfied. Throw away the salt or food, it's inedible anyway. Repeat if you want.
• After first faux-cooking seasoning session: cook with it normally, but make sure you don't baby it. Scratching and scraping the wok will help with getting any oils to really stick into the metal. It's fine if food sticks onto the wok still, just serve up the food and clean the stuff that's stuck.
• Cleaning properly: don't let anything sit in the wok overnight. Clean it right away by using a bamboo brush or paper towel or soft side of a sponge under hot running water.
• If you have a thick layer of food burned onto the wok: pour some salt into the wok, scrub gently with a paper towel and the salt, it'll damage the seasoning some, but most of the stuff will come up. If it's not enough, turn the burner on and char the little suckers and then throw in some water to boil it off!
  
  You'll have do some work the recover the seasoning you lost though.
• Alternate to removing a thick layer of food: scrape it off with your cooking utensil, clean it to the best of your ability, cook something else. go on with life, it'll eventually go away.

 

[catachresis]

The NY Times had an article once on how to get rust out of a cast-iron pan.

It was something like this (can't find the article): Heat pan for 20 minutes at 400 degrees F. Take out of the oven hot. Pour a layer of thick Kosher salt over the bottom. Let the pan cool a little and then use a heavy cloth to abrade the bottom of the pan with the salt crystals. I tried it a few years ago, and it worked a treat. When you're finished, the pan must be re-seasoned.

 

[El_Doug]

a seasoning ritual when buying a new pan is an odd fad, that seems to be perpetuated by the food network and the naiveté of "foodies." in every kitchen I worked in, as well as in my home, the slick surface comes with time. use enough oil and cook hot (like you should), and the pan will season itself.

don't worry too much about the pan being as slick as teflon. youll notice that after using the pan for a while, nothing will stick to it, so long as you work hot. and really, anyone who cooks starting with a cold pan (for anything else than rendering fat or cooking bacon) doesnt deserve to have a non-stick surface

 

[linuxworks]

my wok is calphalon. yeah, I know, overkill

but no seasoning is needed.

I really hate dealing with iron (too heavy and rust prone). aluminum all the way (good commercial stuff, though).