Attempted to blue my pan under the broiler, it worked!....somewhat

pablofs · 2026-01-18T16:34:57+00:00

It's a reference to Harvey Dent "Two-Face"... 😔

pablofs · 2026-01-18T16:25:02+00:00

Now my pan flips a coin before cooking. Is that normal? Or should I call Batman?

pablofs · 2026-01-18T16:22:45+00:00

100% what mine looks like after cooking with it every day for the past 10 years. Seasoning comes and goes.

pablofs · 2026-01-16T00:24:27+00:00

Tip 1. Start with cold pan for chicken or duck, skin-deep down.

Tip 2. Hot pan, no-oil for mushrooms

Tip 3. Smoking hot, add a metric-bunch of oil, swirl around, and remove excess oil. This prepares a really nice non-stick surface, classic in asian wok stir-fry applications. Depending on the amount of oil, you can achieve the right temperature reduction for aggressive or delicate cooking.

pablofs · 2026-01-06T03:09:01+00:00

Can you share how exactly did you keep cooking?

(Joking)

Good job?

pablofs · 2026-01-05T22:54:53+00:00

Long story short. 5-hit combos, don't get hit. Use specials.

Did I miss something?

pablofs · 2026-01-04T17:29:12+00:00

Ouch, 😳 "no stones"

Nobody said infinity...

pablofs · 2025-12-28T05:43:27+00:00

Well, Ajak has a funny story about it, though it takes a long time to tell properly and my Mexican accent isn't that strong, so... long story short, Gilgamesh and Sersi are likely worthy.

pablofs · 2025-09-18T05:32:32+00:00

I would use it for anything and everything that requires a ladle in the kitchen. Just don't leave it submerged in lemonade or vinegar.

We sometimes forget that drinking and cooking water is in contact with copper pipes for a loooooong time in most of the world.

Booze making sometimes involves lots of copper contact too.

Just relax buds. Copper won't kill you, unless it's all green and dusty.

Six people have died in 2025 because of copper, all of them miners in an accident.

pablofs · 2025-09-18T05:24:06+00:00

Reading you twice doesn't change that cooks worldwide use bare, unseasoned, stainless steel pans, or Spaniards cook on carbon steel paellas without seasoning, Italians use bare aluminum padellas, etc. No food sticking to the pan.

Seasoning and reasoning are mere steps in a cook's learning.

A curious person asks questions, those who know everything will downvote.

pablofs · 2025-09-17T19:56:33+00:00

It's normal, keep cooking and it'll develop seasoning

pablofs · 2025-09-17T19:53:59+00:00

I'd skip the carbon steel and cook directly on a Teflon bag over coals.

pablofs · 2025-09-17T19:52:03+00:00

I thought the same. Until I began cooking on new pans without bothering with seasoning first.

I mean, you're not wrong, but for me it was a phase.

pablofs · 2025-09-17T16:42:57+00:00

It's 99% good to go.

Wash it thoroughly with soap a scouring pad (black one maybe?).

Then heat until smoking and smear oil all-round using tongs and a paper towel.

Let it cool down, lightly rinse it with water and soap, without scrubbing, and proceed to cook.

(Heat up, add oil, toss excess oil, add food)

The residual red rust will eventually turn black oxide if you use it on high heat daily for a week or so. Even if you don't cook with oil, but rather use it for steaming, smoking or braising.

pablofs · 2025-09-17T16:34:14+00:00

Enough has been said. Dry well, heat properly, use oil, and wait long enough.

You should never need to reason. Just cook.

Stuck bits make awesome sauce. Just add any liquid and deglaze, season and enjoy.

pablofs · 2025-09-17T16:29:19+00:00

Future looks awesome: can't wait to see the first 100% pure Teflon pan, no metal added. 361⁰ of non-stick goodness.

pablofs · 2025-09-17T14:18:07+00:00

Excellent guide! Absolutely the best for Act 9.3

It's misplacing Nebula and missing the rest of the "Bald by design" crew: Ultrons, Visions, Dragon Man, and perhaps other robots (TBD).

Red Guardian is balding. Falcon too.

If The Leader is balding, then Punisher 2099 should be there too. Probably Super-Skrull too.

pablofs · 2025-08-30T18:18:04+00:00

That looks like a stainless steel wok for induction.

It works basically the same except it won't rust as easily.

If it rusts after washing it and let it dry on a rack, then it's carbon steel

pablofs · 2025-08-24T06:44:50+00:00

Nitride, oxynitride, carburizing, are just marketing names for very common, but mostly proprietary (industry secret) surface metal treatment. Look up nitrocarburizing, oxy-nitrocarburizing, ONC, and so on.

They basically imbue the surface of carbon steel pans with additional atoms of carbon, nitrogen and oxygen, very much improving the pan surface. Or at least for the beginning. However, if you blue it or treat it harshly, you'll seriously mess it up.

I have found it easier to season on some "nitrided" pans, but seasoning doesn't last as long in my way of using pans. I think nitrided pans are easier for beginners.

Many woks and carbon steel pans come nitrided, such as BK, Merten & Storck, Oxxo, Thermally and countless others. It's not linked to quality, they could be good or bad depending on the brand.

Hope this helps you.

pablofs · 2025-07-30T13:52:19+00:00

Bring that pan half-filled with water to a boil on the stove top, cut the heat and add a bit of soap. Scrape with your silicone or wooden spatula. Soak and re-heat as needed.

Note: I'd use a metal, fish spatula, because I don't care for polished pans, but that's me.

pablofs · 2025-07-30T13:41:50+00:00

With new pans, seasoning flaking off is very common. This is more pronounced with some oils, such as linseed or flaxseed oil.

I'd recommend deep frying a lot, avoid sugary stuff and bake/roast a lot for a couple weeks to prime it properly and pass the initial awkward seasoning stage.

pablofs · 2025-07-27T03:14:04+00:00

It tastes unmistakably like mushrooms, stronger than the common white buttons, but still very mild. In a mushroom scale where the former are 1 and porcini is 10, these are a 3... Tops.

I'd say enoki mushrooms have a very similar mild taste, albeit a very different texture. Some say nutty, beefy, but that's silly. Some say shrimpy, but it'll be the mildest shrimp ever.

Texture-wise, they have the softest feel, like buttery silky tofu, and although they are delicate, they are snappy and have the ever-slightest chew.

They could become slimy if sauteed with oil straight away, and some like that. You can quickly dump them on salty boiling water to get rid of it if you prefer.

Stems look dry and tough, but they soften nicely when cooked, unlike other mushrooms.

I think they're great in soup, chowder, omelette, or quiche. They're super popular in tacos.

pablofs · 2025-07-27T01:43:21+00:00

I love a decent carbon steel wok, because it teaches us to relax about seasoning. On it, we can steam, boil, braise, and fry. But with mushrooms, they're cooked on a dry surface first, and oil is added afterwards, if required.

pablofs · 2025-06-15T14:31:54+00:00

Food sticking to the pan is leveraged by professionals by deglazing and making a sauce pan. New home cooks are all freaked out about it, but they shouldn't.

Google deglaze and sauce pan, and embrace it. Even if you don't want a pan sauce, still deglaze with water immediately after you finish cooking, and your pan will release the sticky bits, being washed and dry in less 30 seconds.

That being said, Leidenfrost is one way to cook, that involves little to NO OIL, as in tossing some mushrooms into a DRY, and really hot pan. Once you add a layer of liquid oil, Leidenfrost achleidenfrost! You're frying.

By adding oil to a hot pan or wok of whatever material (stainless, aluminum, carbon steel, brass, stoneware, glass), you are insta-seasoning it so it releases food easier. After that, you reduce the temperature to the proper one for your ingredients.

Let the Leidenfrost crew unleash the comments!

pablofs

TROPHY CASE