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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. The company's seasoning method is fine, but it's more ideal for a restaurant environment where the pan is being used multiple times a day...thereby creating a very quick seasoning layer from cooking alone. I have found though that cooking at home is different, and the maturation can take much longer. So, I want to share with you what I do to achieve the best and most successful seasoning of my Debuyer iron pans without the sticky residue or uneven seasoning. I'm certainly not the authority on seasoning, but I hope this helps.
What you will need: Water, 3 potatoes washed well, 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 water.
2. Next, add peels from approximately 3 potatoes. Make sure the potato is washed really well so that you don't get dirt form around the edge of the water. Let boil for 15-20 minutes. You'll notice the water beginning to darken after about 10 minutes, which is normal. This step helps remove the beeswax that is added before shipment more effectively.
3. Pour out the water. You may notice a black line where the water level was, that's also 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 the beeswax that was left over after boiling. BTW: If you have dark spots from the potato peels at the bottom of your pan, no worries...it's normal and not necessary to remove completely. Towel dry and return to burner.
4. Turn your burner to high heat, and then place approx 2 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, I suggest you allow it to smoke slightly only as a visual to know that it has reached a hot enough temperature.
*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 to a dark caramel color, but not yet black.
6. Allow to cool.
7. Repeat steps 4-6 until your pan is nearly 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. After a while of maturation, there is a possibility that the seasoning will begin to flake off around the edges of your pan. This is normal if you heat your pan to extremely hot temperature often. If this happens, don't panic. Just take a non abrasive sponge under hot water and lightly scrub off the small bits of loosened seasoning. Then, return to the burner and add a few layers of seasoning to keep any rust from forming. This should only happen around the edges of your pan after some prolonged use, however.
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.
~ 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!
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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.
Best Deals for DeBuyer Mineral B Element Iron Frypan, Round
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!
Honest reviews on DeBuyer Mineral B Element Iron Frypan, Round
I've had the 10" and the 14" pans for about 6 months now, and they are developing a great patina. Nothing sticks, and I mean NOTHING. As long as you maintain them with a thin coat of oil, they are the slickest pans I have ever used, and that includes high dollar All Clad. One of the secrets to maintaining the non-stick surface is to heat the pan to temp before adding any oil, and to never wash them out with soap. If you've made a sauce that has stripped all the oil from the surface, just use a paper towel to wipe the pan down with a bit of neutral oil like peanut or grapeseed before you put it away.
These pans maintain heat so well, and so evenly, that it takes a bit of adjusting to cook well in them. If you normally cook something on medium-high heat, these pans over medium heat will do the job better than regular pans. I have not yet had any need to crank a burner to high with my mineral pans, and I get the best sear I have ever seen on chicken, beef, fish skin, and vegetables.
Be aware that the cooking surface of these pans run small. The measurement is from rim to rim, and the sides flare significantly. If I could only buy one of these, I would probably go with the 12" pan. The wax coating is hard to get off, as another reviewer mentioned. I simmered hot water in the pans several times, working away at it with fine steel wool (no soap) in between simmers. If you have some sticking initially, it will likely be because there is a little wax left on the surface. It will work itself off, won't hurt your food, and once it is gone, you'll have the best and only pan you will need for the rest of your life, and probably your children's lives too. I'll never waste my money on a coated non-stick pan again.
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for DeBuyer Mineral B Element Iron Frypan, Round
I've used the 10" Mineral B pan for almost a week and have to say that it has lived up to my expectations.
Thoughts on weight and design:
This pan is much heavier than a similar-sized stainless steel pan and everyone I've handed it to has been surprised at the weight. However, after using it a while, it just starts to feel normal. The weight helps the pan stay fixed on the burner when you are stirring and the long, steep-angled handle actually helps in allowing you to lift the pan off the burner and let it kind of hang in your hand instead of trying to lift it up off the burner with your wrist. The steep angle of the handle also makes it possible to not have to turn handles out of the way when you have a range full of other pans. The handle rises up and over other pans where you can get to it easily.
Thoughts on performance:
After seasoning the pan (see my thoughts below on this) I fried some bacon and sauted some mushrooms. It worked as expected with no sticking to speak of. I then fried an egg over easy and except for one tiny bit that stuck at first, the egg slid around like it was on ice. Over the next few days I fried some pork chops, browned chicken thighs and then cooked them in the oven. I cooked some hash browns and scrambled eggs next. I was afraid that the scrambled eggs were sticking but after gently stirring them they always released from the pan. So far I'm very happy with the performance of this pan and its non-stick properties.
Thoughts on seasoning:
I made some mistakes in seasoning and would do things differently now.
I followed the de Buyer video on youtube which recommended boiling potato peels. I don't think I put enough water in the pan and I boiled while I was cooking other things and let a lot of the water boil off which left a dark residue in the pan. I would recommend putting at least an inch of water in and only boiling for the 15 minutes that the video recommends. This process really darkened the water in the pan which I didn't expect. Some research suggested that this potato peel boiling is used to pull off the beeswax coating de Buyer applies and any other foreign particles and metal bits from the surface of the pan so that might be why the water turns so black.
I couldn't rinse of the black residue so I had to use some Barkeeper's Friend to scrub it off then rinsed it in really hot water. I don't know if this is normal but after boiling the peels and cleaning I did, the surface of the pan was getting dark splotches on it.
I then dried and oiled it with bacon grease and put it upside down in a 400 degree oven per adx442's review for 30 minutes. About half way through I peeked at it and could see that the oil had run and left streaks. I tried wiping them off but they had set. They did not feel sticky though, luckily, so I went ahead and seasoned a second time with coconut oil and put in the oven again for 30 more minutes. After this process the oil took on a reddish brown color and was rather streaked. I was worried that I might have to strip this and start over but after use I've had no sticking problems. I would do some things differently though. After doing some more research I've decided that as little oil as I had on the pan it was still too much and that allowed it to streak. Next time I would wipe the whole pan in oil after warming the pan and then really wipe it down taking off most of what I put on. There is still a very thin layer there that you really can't see with your eyes or feel.
After cooking the meats I deglazed the pan and I'm afraid I removed a lot of the seasoning I had built up because it stripped off the reddish brown coating and took it back to the steel color. I decided that I should not have deglazed the pans so early in the life of the seasoning. Perhaps later on once a good base is formed this would not be a problem but it may be best to just use a stainless pans for meats when I want to use the fond.
Thoughts on cleaning:
At first I ran hot water in the pan and scrubbed it with a plastic bristle brush but again I think I was rubbing off my seasoning. Since then I've only wiped the pan out with a paper towel and some salt when some sticky spots appeared. Hot water and brush will probably be ok once a deep seasoning is established and only when necessary.
Conclusion:
Overall I'm very happy with the pan and carbon steel pans in general. I just bought two multiclad stainless frying pans a month or two ago and slightly regret not being aware of carbon steel pans before that purchase, however stainless steel still has its uses so they won't go to waste. I will however be replacing the non-stick pans I have been using for eggs with this de Buyer pan. While carbon steel is heavy and has a slightly more involved maintenance process, I'm very happy with it and plan to buy more pans in the future.
