How to Season a Carbon Steel Pan: 3 Methods Compared

Katie Kearns
Oct 19, 2023
6 min read

Updated: Nov 10

Intro

Carbon steel pans are renowned for their heat retention, versatility, and durability. The key to unlocking their full potential is proper seasoning. Seasoning not only provides a natural non-stick surface, but also guards the pan against rust. While a quick online search reveals countless 'best methods" for seasoning, the reality is that many approaches are effective. The real question is: which method resonates most with your cooking style and environment? Here we'll talk about three tried-and-true methods for the initial carbon steel pan seasoning.

What is Seasoning?

Seasoning is the layer that forms when oils and fats are heated in a pan, causing them to polymerize and form a natural, hardened surface. Both the layer itself, and the process of forming the layer are referred to as “seasoning.“

The true seasoning on your pan will mostly come from just cooking, but we do an "initial seasoning" to reduce sticking that tends to happen with a brand-new pan. The methods below are initial seasoning methods to get your seasoning started when working with a new or recently stripped pan.

The Oil

When it comes to seasoning carbon steel, one of the biggest questions is "which oil is best seasoning?" When choosing an oil for your initial seasoning, it's essential to pick one with a neutral flavor and a high smoke point. Our top recommendations for oils suitable for seasoning your pan are: grapeseed oil, canola oil, vegetable oil, or sunflower oil.

Try your best not to use olive oil or cheap* avocado oil as these have lower smoke points and tend to burn and smoke which creates a weaker base layer for your seasoning.

1. The Oven Method

Preferred for its consistency, this method is hard to mess up.

Materials:

High smoke point oil
Oven
Clean paper towels, or 100% cotton dish cloth.

Steps:

Preheat oven to 425 °F.
Clean the pan thoroughly with soap and hot water to remove the protective coating.
Dry the pan with a towel, then further dry it by briefly heating it on a stovetop burner for about 30 seconds.
Add approx. ¼ tsp of high smoke point oil to the cooking surface and coat only the inside of the pan if you have a Strata Carbon Clad pan. If you have a traditional solid carbon steel pan, you will want to coat the outside of the pan, too.
Take a clean towel and wipe down the surface again until it looks almost dry. Even if it doesn't quite look it, I promise there is still oil on the pan!
Place the pan in the oven for about 2-3 minutes.
After about 2-3 minutes, remove the pan and give it a quick wipe to prevent oil beading**, then return it to the oven.
After an hour, turn off the oven and let the pan cool down in the closed oven for 15-20 minutes.
The pan should now have a bronze tint. Minor streaks or oil beads indicate a little bit of excess oil, but as long as it doesn't feel tacky, it's good to go!

You now have your first layer of seasoning. For best results, repeat for a second coat, or start cooking! I like to use the oven method for a strong first layer, and then combine it with one of the quicker method below to add additional layers.

Tip: When you first start cooking, we recommend using a little extra oil or butter to help reduce sticking in the beginning. You can gradually start using less as your pan becomes more and more seasoned. To help strengthen the seasoning, start with less sensitive foods like sautéed veggies or fatty steak. This is not a requirement, but it certainly helps build it up!

2. Stovetop Method

The quickest method, but not ideal for electric or induction stove tops.

Materials:

High smoke point oil
Stovetop
Clean paper towels, or 100% cotton dish cloth.

Steps:

Clean the pan thoroughly with soap and hot water to remove the protective coating.
Dry the pan by heating it up briefly on a burner for about 30 seconds after drying with a towel.
Add approx. ¼ tsp of high smoke point oil to the cooking surface and coat only the inside of the pan if you have a Strata Carbon Clad pan. If you have a traditional solid carbon steel pan, you will want to coat the outside of the pan, too.
Take a clean towel and wipe down the surface again until it looks almost dry. I promise there is still oil on the pan.
Heat the pan on low/medium (if its smoking, its too hot) After about 2-3 minutes, wipe the pan one more time with a clean towel to prevent beading.
For traditional solid carbon steel pans, rotate the pan, ensuring the sides heat more evenly.
Leave the pan on for about 10-15 min on the stove top or until you see the oil starts to appear more matte (traditional solid carbon steel pans may need a little extra time).
At this point turn off the burner and let the pan cool down on it's own.
The pan should now have a bronze tint. Minor streaks or oil beads indicate excess oil, but as long as it's not tacky, it's good to go.
Repeat this process 2-3 times to get a good starter seasoning

You now have your first layer of seasoning. For best results, repeat for a second coat, or start cooking! Since this is a pretty quick method, the first layers tend to be more "delicate" than the other methods.

This method also works well for "maintenance seasoning", which is when you add an extra layer between cooks to strengthen the overall seasoning. This would commonly be done if you cooked something acidic or harsh that may have pulled off a lot of seasoning all at once. You can also do this to speed of the seasoning process in the beginning.

Tip: When you start to cook for the first time It’s good to use extra oil or butter to help reduce sticking in the beginning. You can gradually start using less as your pan gets more seasoned. We suggest starting with less sensitive foods like sautéed veggies or fatty steak. This is not a requirement, but it helps to strengthen the seasoning.

3. Potato Skins Method (Just Start Cooking )

Good for any stove type but requires more ingredients.

Note: This image above shows a pan that is already well seasoned before cooking the skins. Your pan will look much lighter.

Materials:

½ to ⅔ cup of high smoke point oil (based on pan size)
Skins from 2 potatoes
⅓ cup of salt

Steps:

Clean the pan thoroughly.
Heat the pan on the stovetop briefly to ensure it's completely dry.
On medium heat, combine oil, potato skins, and salt.
Stir in the pan until the skins turn golden brown (around 15 minutes). You're essentially "cooking" with the pan to season it.
The pan should begin to have a bronze tint. This method may appear more "uneven" than the other methods
Discard the contents and wipe the pan with a towel and let the pan cool down on its own.

Note: Potato skins is just one type of food to do this method with, you can use any relatively "low stick" food such as tortillas, .

You now have your first layer of seasoning. For best results, repeat for a second coat, or start cooking! This method works well as a second layer after one of the other methods. It works fine on it's own too, but may look more uneven than the other methods.

Conclusion

Which of the 3 methods should you choose?

Oven method: Preferred for its consistency, this method is hard to mess up. However, it does take longer to do.
Stove top method: The quickest method, and can work well for additional layers or preforming maintenance seasoning. It's less ideal for induction or electric stovetops because they heat more unevenly which can risk warping. Strata Carbon Clad pans reduces this warping risk but we still recommend being cautious to not over heat and use the right size burner for the pan size.
Potato Skins Method: Good for any stove type but requires more ingredients and can appear more uneven from he start.

Right after seasoning, your pan should look similar to this (sadly it doesn't usually stay this pretty).

Here's what your seasoning will look like over time.

No matter the initial seasoning method you choose, the real key to a perfect seasoning is to just keep cooking. In the beginning, you may notice the seasoning coming off or food sticking. Don't be discouraged, with patience and regular use, your pan's performance will only get better. Over time, it's normal to see dark spots or uneven coloring as it loses and regains seasoning. Carbon steel takes time to get used to but once you have a good seasoning, you'll wonder why you didn't switch to carbon steel sooner!

*Cheap avocado oil is often a blend of avocado and another oil, such as olive oil. 100% avocado oil is fine to season carbon steel pans with, however you will need to heat your pan significantly higher to achieve a proper polymerized seasoning layer.

**Oil beading is merely an aesthetic "issue" and will not affect the performance of your pan in the long-run.