After using my de Buyer carbon steel pan for several weeks, I noticed that the center of the pan was no longer non-stick. The non-stick center of my pan most likely lost that feature by using soap to clean the pan or by cooking acid foods. I had a choice to throw the pan out or fix the problem.
How to Solve the Loss of Seasoning on Your Carbon Steel Pan
I chose to fix the problem by reseasoning the center of the pan by using the potato skin, salt, and oil method. I created a short video below which will show you the exact process I used to re-seasoning my pan.
The entire process is a bit time-consuming, but it is well worth the time to “save” the pan. All that was needed to re-season my pan was Kosher Salt, a few Idaho potato skins, and some grapeseed oil. If your local supermarket does not have grapeseed oil, you can find grapeseed oil here at Amazon. The de Buyer pan I use all the time, and the one I used in this demonstration can be found here.
Potato’s Anyone?
Some people have asked me for the type of potatoes to be used. I used the cheapest Idaho potatoes available. I would not use sweet potatoes or those small baby potatoes. Below is a picture of the kind of Idaho potatoes I used.
The Best Little Potato Peeler
The little potato peeler I used in the video can be purchased here at Amazon. I like these peelers because they are inexpensive and they just work. Amazon has a package of three of them in one package, and I think it is a great deal for the money. I would buy them again.
Here is a cool video showing you some of the many uses for this unique peeler.
When you finish repairing (re-seasoning) your carbon steel pan, it probably will still look the same in the center of the pan. Have no worries! The pan will work perfectly again. We are not trying to improve the “beauty” of the pan, but instead, we are improving the “functionality” of the pan. The white dots on the “After” pictures are the ceiling lights’ reflections, not a flaw in the pan. Even though the image sizes are different, they are the same pan.
| Before | After |
|---|---|
 |  |
If you take your time, the result of re-seasoning your pan will pay you dividends over your lifetime. You will find that once you start to use your carbon steel pans that they will become the workhorses of your kitchen.
How to Strip Down Your Carbon Steel Pan for Re-Seasoning
If you need to strip your pan down to the bare metal, here are the instructions you will need.
Recommended Reading
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