Skillet is a modern one, about a year old. I've built up seasoning with thin oil coats in the oven at 230C, maybe eight rounds total. Looks great, then I sear a steak at high heat and afterwards there are black flakes lifting off in patches, some landing in the food. Underneath it's grey-brown metal. Am I building it wrong or searing it wrong?
230C in the oven is a bit low for some oils to polymerise properly. Rule of thumb is around 30C above the oil's smoke point, and a full hour, then cool in the oven. Under-baked seasoning stays soft and lifts.
Also check what oil. Oils with a low smoke point or a lot of unsaturated content build a softer film that's more prone to this. Grapeseed, canola or plain shortening are all fine. Olive oil and unrefined stuff tend to produce sticky or brittle layers.
That's likely half your problem right there. Switch to a neutral refined oil for seasoning and keep the olive oil for cooking, where it's fine.
Been using extra virgin olive oil because it's what was open. That's probably not helping.
Worth saying — the black flakes are not dangerous, they're just polymerised fat. Annoying in food, not a health issue. So don't panic about the ones that got eaten.
Sear is the other half. Screaming hot empty pan then cold steak straight from the fridge is a big thermal swing. Preheat over medium for five minutes before going high, and let the meat sit out a bit — kinder to the pan and better crust anyway.
@carbon_steel_cam · 3mo ago · 3 replies
Building it wrong, almost certainly too thick per coat. Flaking in sheets is what happens when a layer of polymerised oil is thick enough to have its own structure — it becomes a film sitting on the pan rather than bonded into it, and thermal shock from a hard sear cracks it off.
The fix for coats: after you wipe oil on, wipe it back off. Properly off, until the pan looks dry and you'd swear there's nothing there. There is — a molecular film's worth, which is all you want. Eight coats done that way is beautiful. Eight coats where the oil pooled anywhere is exactly what you've got.
To recover, you don't need to strip the whole thing. Scrub the flaking areas back to metal with steel wool or coarse salt and oil, then re-season just those areas. It'll be patchy for a while and even out with cooking.
Reply
Report
@carbon_steel_cam · 3mo ago
It feels completely wrong the first time. The rule I use: if you can see the oil, there's too much. If you tilt it under a light and it looks matte, that's right.
Reply
Report
@seasoned_sid · 3mo ago
I was definitely leaving a visible sheen. Wiping it to 'looks dry' feels wrong but I'll try it.
Reply
Report