For years I have struggled to temper aCarbon steel panStruggling for a lasting patina on the electric stove and in the wok. I have tried all oil based methods, linseed oil etc. The patina was not durable.
I've recently had the idea of using oil with other materials that would create a layer of burnt carbon etc when heated to see if that would result in a thicker, more durable coating.
Well it worked! I think you can use any mix, but I'll describe exactly what I made just for the record.
The first and most obvious use of a wok is for frying. A wok has a large cooking surface, so food cooks evenly and quickly. Its shape is also useful for preparing a sauce in the middle of the pan without having to remove the food.
Woks can also be easily scaled up or down to accommodate large or small amounts of food.
Woks at home still do a great job of cooking food quickly and evenly. They are excellent tools to prepare an interesting meal for your family.
In this article we will show you how to season aCarbon steel panon the electric stove step by step, stay tuned and follow the steps below:
Without further ado, let's get into it!
Why is it important to season a wok before use?
take things home
Since most new woks are an untreated metal surface, any food you cook on it will likely stick like crazy if you don't season it before use, even if you use a lot of oil.
An unhardened metal surface has many microscopic scratches and pores that open wide and close only slightly when heated. When you put your food in those heated slots and holes
Dietary proteins are excreted into these cavities, then they are denatured by heat and they coagulate and harden in these spaces, literally fitting tightly togetheremthe metallic surface.
When you season a pan, you create a natural non-stick surface on the cooking surface. Initially, it may appear as a dark brown tint, eventually deepening to an inky black surface.
Have you heard the term "baked in fat" in commercials for dishwashing detergents? When you season a carbon steel wok or cast iron skillet, you are intentionally "baking" a layer of clean oil/fat over it. When fat is heated in this way
A thin layer of it polymerizes, forming a hard but thin layer that fills those microscopic pores and the more the pan is seasoned
the thicker and more resistant the non-stick layer will be. Even if the top parts are scraped off with a spatula, the pores are still filled with this coating and food won't stick.
However, the action of the chemical cleaning agent can completely degrease the surface and remove the non-stick layer from the pores.
For this reason, many people advise against cleaning their seasoned wok with soap. Instead, they recommend that you reheat and "scrub" the sticky parts of the wok with water to loosen it, then scrub the tougher parts with a bamboo brush. Any additional cleaning can be done with crumpled paper towels and kosher salt.
That's not disinfected you say? Remember that a wok's surface can easily reach 400-700 degrees F, more than hot enough to sterilize it, and your cleaning has removed excess food debris, so it needs to be clean too.
Now reheat to remove excess moisture, then rub a thin layer of cooking oil over the surface and wipe off the excess with a paper towel and allow to cool before storing. This way you can add layers of spice every time you cook.
How to season a carbon steel wok on an electric stove step by step
Step #1: Peel the wok
For this step you need:
- 1/2 cup baking soda
- 1/3 cup white vinegar
- A mop made of stainless steel
1.Add the baking soda to the wok, then add the white vinegar
It's corrosive and will rip off the manufacturer's coating that's been applied to the wok to keep it from rusting in the shop.
This is an important and very necessary step, if you don't get your wok sparkling clean and the coating on that wok you're not going to have fun with it so I really recommend getting on your knees and scrubbing really well.
2.Pour this paste all over the wok
3. Leave it on for about 10 minutes, maybe even 15 minutes
Maybe more depending on how thick the oil is and coating it inside and out and that should be enough after 15 minutes
4.cooking and woking
Step #2: Grate the wok
1. Scrub the wok
Scrub it vigorously with a hard hand scrubbing wok, get it as clean as possible, you don't want residue, you don't want oil in this wok and see how serious the water gets to scrub it with the stainless steel brush
Use Dusk and put some elbow grease on this pooch and finish that wok has to be absolutely clean, 100% clean or you're going to have trouble keeping your patina on the wok
One of the things I really have to stress is that it has to be spotlessly clean, no oil has to be there, they can't be there, it's really important to make sure the wok is clean before we start.
6. Next, the wok
Make sure it's completely dry, put it on the stovetop if you need it because I can tell you'll need it, if at all Blitz you don't want it
So you can really rust your wok if you're not careful, so rust is a factor at this point and cleanliness is a factor so make sure you clean that wok really well
Step #3: Season the wok
For this step you need:
- 2 oven mitts
- Turn the stove on high and place the wok on it.
- open the doors and windows
- turn on your fan
1. In step number three you need to open the doors and windows, turn on your stove, take two oven mitts, preferably new ones if you can get the myths that can heat up as much as possible, turn the stove to high and set the Wok into him
2. After the wok has been heated on the electric range, you'll see this little dot on the bottom of the wok where it's heating up, which looks like a little kama, and that's what you want to see
3. You will see a gray spot within the black spot that forms on the bottom of this wok, that's the color you want your whole course to be, that's right, the whole wok needs to be that color. Gray evenly all around. I call it gunmetal gray and that's basically the metallurgy behind it
4. After the wok spins in the heat and the color turns grey, the metal opens up, the pores in the metal really open up and that's what you want
Because the oil penetrates through these pores and burns, and the heat turns your wok into a non-stick frying pan
Perceive:You'll see there's like a black ring around this bronze gray area at the bottom of this wok, you have to get rid of all of that, all of that has to come out then and it can only be done for that, it can't be done for anything else
So it's going to take a little patience, it'll need you to have the gloves ready to get it working when it's time to put them aside and do the sides of the wok.
5. Set up the wok
Keep in mind that it will get a little hot, especially if you don't have a wooden handle or if you're just doing this on an electric stovetop. If you have gas it goes much faster, if you don't it's fine. You can continue to use your electric stove
But remember your coils get very hot, your wok your cooking, so be careful not to burn yourself and do yourself a favor, if it gets too hot you can stop and let things cool and then start the temperature control process again
But this wok needs to be seasoned all over and have that bronze gray warning right where the bronze gray area is that it's going to darken and take on that color and you need to get to that nice bronze gray color for the walks patina to stick to them
This also hardens your wok, making it nearly indestructible. You could probably injure it badly if you poke it, but I would suggest not doing this if the wok is your favorite pan in the kitchen as it won't stick and drain. t have a paint finish or any type of chemical
People like to line up those stupid pans and you know how to make them nonstick like that, but this is nonstick so nonstick was invented just like a carbon steel cast iron pan that wants the same attributes and properties Moderate on how to apply your patina to your new step Your step should be completely dry coated with oil
Stage 4: Lay on patina
In this step you will apply your patina to your brand new seasoned wok, your wok should be completely dry coated in oil.
1. Add the drippings and toss in an onion, you can use onions or chives or any spicy vegetable that will help get the metallic flavor out of your wok.
2. Cook the wok over medium-high heat until charred and that's what you want.
3. Take the onions and discuss them, and you will not eat them, this will be so difficult, so And it will take a long time
How to season your carbon steel wok for the first time.
Note: Remember to add a bit more bacon fat or animal fat to your wok so it's slightly moist, not too much but just enough to give it a patina of sorts.
4. You'll find your brain turned metallic gray and what happened here is the water gets heated and it absorbs, the overlay absorbs the oil and the oil burns back, what you want to do is, that you want to keep the oil burning to create that initial patina.
5. Add some more oil or fat or animal fat.
6. After a few minutes, 10-15 minutes, it will be smoky, so you want high ventilation, open your doors, open your windows, your initial patina will be a bit high from the heat, but you will notice like that Onions start to brown and that's what you want.
7. You have a layer of oil on the onions which is what you want, you want the onions to caramelize until charred, you want the bottom of the wok to be as black as possible.
8. Stir the darkness to get the desired black color in your wok.
9. The problem with onions is that the onion has sugar in it, so it burns or scorches a bit, but it just caramelizes it and gives it a nice, rich patina
You can use chives, this chives, garlic, chives and small bug juice, garlic. They may not be available at your local store. So you can buy Scalia Shyams. They are amazing. You can use them for a week
10. I really like burning my onions so if you don't like to burn your onions that badly you know it's ok you have to put this patina on burnt onions, a little extra fat really helped
and you can do this multiple times, you don't have to do it just once, you can do it until you see the patina you want, but it has to be non-stick, it has to turn into non-stick.
Stage #5: Check for patina
I actually tested my patina after initially seasoning my wok to show you how I do it. I set my wok to medium-high heat as if you would too. You'll see the smoke get really dark, just a little more fat.
It's very smoky, I put it in the pan and it was amazing, so you know you don't have to do it again if you keep your patina, but if you use it, if you cook it, use vinegar , that will rip off your patina
Both of those things are very bad for the patina of your wok, especially wok pan, so I suggest you use a vinegar sauce or if you're doing any kind of pan frying or any kind of simmering, get a stainless steel wok that will would help you greatly, and you'll save the patina on your wok, much to Bryant's surprise
If you want to keep that patina at all costs, sometimes it's impossible and you have to do it against part of the nature of the patina, sometimes it comes off, don't worry.
1. Turn everything off ok now I leave it ready and let it cool down.
2. Leave the eggs there and on the side for about a minute
3. You will see the eggs stirring all the hand sticking to anything and it is amazing
That's a wok, that's when you know it's seasoned and your course is really seasoned and that's how you season a carbon steel wok on the electric range and that's how I do a wok patina test.
Why does it matter which oil you use to season a wok?
Wok cooking is high-temperature cooking, so it should be done with an oil that has a high smoke point.
Most Chinese takeaways use soybean oil to flavor their woks for this reason. It is also the oil they use for cooking. I mean why have two types of oil?
They also choose soybean oil because it's pretty much the cheapest cooking oil out there. This is not meant to be a dig at these restaurants, everyone uses it for that reason.
I use it for frying. It also has a neutral taste, which is also necessary for most dishes. You don't always want the taste of oil in your dish.
If soybean oil doesn't suit you, any neutral oil with a high smoke point will work. Canola, safflower, and sunflower oils would also be good. peanut oil too.
Which Oil is Best for Seasoning Carbon Steel Woks?
Rapsorgrapeseed oilsalso work great for carbon steel and cast ironpeanut oilYou can also use fat or any animal fat to flavor your carbon steel wok.
1. Be sure to completely remove any existing protective coating, the factory puts something in the pan to prevent rusting during storage and transportation.
2. Clean the pan, make sure it's completely dry, get the oil, turn the stove or oven up to high
3. Open the windows because it gets smoky. If the pan has an oven handle, use the oven, otherwise use the stovetop.
4. Coat the entire inside of the pan with oil, there should be no puddles in the pan, just a full coat.
5. Take the pan to the fire and wait.
The oil will begin to smoke and you will see light brown specks forming. When the smoke stops, remove from heat and let cool.
6. Wipe off any residue and repeat the process until you have a fairly even coat of light brown.
If you leave the coating on, the pan will turn glossy black like a cast iron skillet over time. Treat seasoned pans the same as cast iron - avoid detergents when washing,
7. Scrub stuck-on food with the softest pad that gets the job done, use rock salt occasionally to clean well, but never rinse in the sink with soapy water.
8. Quickly clean the frying pan while it is still hot and avoid cooking acidic foods in it. Store tomato sauces and the like in stainless steel or copper pans.
Also read:
- How to Use a Wok on an Electric Stove to Create Exciting Dishes: Supercharged
- The 10 best recipes for the Wanderlust kitchen Prepare inspiration from abroad at home
last thought
The patina I think cooking bacon in a wok is really fabulous and frying it because we really heat the pan the pores are open and then initially you just cover the bottom with oil like nothing's going to change it's how it is the same color all the time, and gradually when you stop looking it suddenly goes to that level
The other thing to avoid is not using your walk like boiling water or simmering fire. You know the wok is so versatile you may well say I learned well how dumplings can pot stickers and fry and then the liquids and then the lid on top
If you only use your wok once or twice a week it will remove the patina, if you use it like a Chinese family you wouldn't have to think about these things. someone who doesn't use a wok gets it too often and is very frustrated that the patina never changed
How to season a carbon steel wok on an electric stove, thanks for reading!