OUCH! How to Remove Rust from a Carbon Steel Skillet

What are the latest De Buyer Carbon Steel prices? debuyer-usa.co... (affiliate link)
Did you leave your carbon steel skillet wet and get some rust? Don't worry! Uncle Scott rusted some of his De Buyer carbon steel skillets for this video on purpose (ouch!) and shows how to clean rust off of carbon steel pans. And once the rust is removed, we show how to season a carbon steel skillet on a stovetop. In less than fifteen minutes, your rusty carbon steel can be cleaned, reseaoned, and ready to cook again.
This video is sponsored by De Buyer and will eventually end up on their channel as well. Check out De Buyer's channel here: / @debuyer-usa
More of Uncle Scott's De Buyer pan videos:
How's Your French Omelette Game? • How's your French omel...
How to Sear a Steak In De Buyer: • How to Cook a Steak in...
Are you a pro? De Buyer Mineral B Pro Review: • Are you a PRO? De Buye...
Shop De Buyer Carbon Steel: debuyer-usa.co...
*If you click on our affiliate links, it allows us to earn a small referral commission if you purchase something. It doesn't make us rich but it allows us to buy more kitchen products to review and make more videos, and is greatly appreciated!! We currently have affiliate and/or influencer links with Amazon, De Buyer, Thermoworks, Le Creuset, Pleasant Hill Grain, and others.*
UNCLE SCOTT'S WEBSITE: www.unclescott...
#steak #carbonsteel #cookingshow #debuyer #cookware #food #foodie #kitchen #kitchenshow #cooking

[@Indigonac]

After multiple video's and loosing faith being unsatisfied with the explanations/methods fixing my rust. I saw this guy's face and was like 'Ok, no more worries. I'll get my desired awnser'. And as expected Uncle Scott delivered. Thanks again! You've officially become my CS guru.

[@UncleScottsKitchen]

Thank you very much, Indi! Comments like these really make working on the videos all the more fun to do.

[@monikakramarz8479]

Thank you. This is a try diamond of all of this KZbin videos. I almost lost hope that I can rescue my pan and this video pop up in my search.

[@davidroyer2258]

Uncle Scott to the rescue!!! I just got back from being away for 5 months, and my beloved Matfer was in need of a little love. His expertise has taught me a lot!!!

[@UncleScottsKitchen]

What kind of shape is your pan in after sitting for five months? If you left it with protective oil, it might be sticky and need a good cleaning and reseasoning.

[@davidroyer2258]

@@UncleScottsKitchen I had done just that to protect it, and I just finished your quick cleaning and reseasoning instructions. It performed the egg test wonderfully, afterward.

[@H4KnSL4K]

@@davidroyer2258 I suggest a good saturated fat for long-term protective use. How about a little coconut oil? That shouldn't go sticky over time.

[@Visitkarte]

This was a BIG sacrifice you made. Thank you for sacrificing your beautiful seasoning to teach us all skills needed to keep our skillets from being discarded for no good reason.

[@highnrising]

Big sacrifice? The guy is an "influencer" in seasoning, cleaning and cooking with pots and pans--and makes a living at it. If this channel were about bicycling, he'd be riding and dirtying up is bike and chain

[@Visitkarte]

@@highnrising 1. My comment was a bit tongue in cheek. 2. You have NO idea how much it literally “hurts” to damage your own beautiful seasoning. I love my own beautifully seasoned carbon steel pans and I would hate to damage my seasoning I worked so long to create (three months worth of cooking and babying my lovely pan).

[@highnrising]

@@Visitkarte I get it. It's funny, though. I remember he made videos a couple of years ago on repairing-reseasoning carbon steel. But I guess people want to see fresh content, so one has to go over the same things again.

[@Visitkarte]

@@highnrising This video is a service video for DeBuyer cs pans specifically, yes.

[@H4KnSL4K]

I don't know why I find these kind of videos so interesting .. I've seen so many videos on carbon steel pan maintenance, yet I was excited having discovered this one.

[@UncleScottsKitchen]

Right in the sweet spot of the target market!

[@heatherdouglas-palumberi8297]

Well, this was very well timed! I just found two of my well seasoned carbon steel pans to have rust! I was shocked, and dismayed. Knew I needed to check in with Uncle Scott, as this is where I learned everything at the outset. Thanks very much, especially the leveling-up instructions. In my two pan triage tonight (needed to cook steaks with at least one), noted one pan was less affected, and the less is more approach was great!

[@mikejohnson4617]

In honor of Tim the Tool Man Taylor, I took power tools to my second brand new De Buyer skillet. First I took a 3M Roloc disc with sandpaper (mounted in a die grinder or drill) and beveled the top lip of the pan so that oil runs back into pan instead of over the side which burns on my glass cooktop. Then I put an abrasive pad on the Roloc disc and smoothed out the sandpaper marks and also went over the whole cooking surface. Seasoned it twice like Uncle Scott says and it turned out great. Then I did the same to the first pan and I'm very happy with both now. Carbon steel is probably never going to be as slippery as teflon but I am happy now I have pans which are quite non-stick and will last a life-time and beyond. Thanks to Uncle Scott for showing how.

[@Nope145]

Great video. I've actually use the same process that you demonstrated in a previous video and it works very well. Keep up the great work

[@LifeMyWay007]

Great idea for a very informational video - Plus, great job going through several situations quickly.

[@UncleScottsKitchen]

Thank you! I sometimes can't decide if I goo too quickly or slowly.

[@douggolde7582]

For heavy rust such as garage sale finds use electrolysis with a sodium carbonate (washing soda) solution.

[@edgarhernandez8003]

Thank you Uncle Scott!!

[@UncleScottsKitchen]

You are welcome, Edgar!

[@davidmech2956]

I have BK fry pan sitting on my workbench waiting for me to get home. I have some maintenance to do. Thanks

[@foodieferdiedmaniac420]

I’ve been waiting for this, simple and it works ty😄

[@H4KnSL4K]

The rust pattern is interesting. In some places it rusted, but in others it didn't! Does that indicate weak spots in the seasoning of the pan? That is, a bulletproof multi-layer seasoning might actually make a pan rust-proof?

[@UncleScottsKitchen]

If you do a work of art pan and keep it perfect (say, for eggs) it will be VERY rust proof. For a working pan where you cook proteins (like the one in the video... I cooked steaks in it), the seasoning will come and go a little and not be perfect and that's where you have to watch closer for rust. Just don't ever leave them wet for long.

[@heatherdouglas-palumberi8297]

@@UncleScottsKitchen Thanks for explaining why the seasoning might erode more rapidly with some foods than others! I was wondering why mine rusted after steak, and now have a better idea.

[@Anno_Nymous]

left my carbon steel soking and forgot to pull it out before leaving over a long weekend, came back an it was rusted quite badly, cleaned it and re-seasoned it, it was great before it rusted, but i can't say the rust had any negative effect. It even seems more non stick now for some reason, and the seasoning seems to be tougher as well.

[@UncleScottsKitchen]

I wonder if the rusting made some microscopic etching that the seasoning stocks to better than smooth surfaces?

[@1TimothyFourTen]

Great! I was wondering i f about the barkeepers friend. I have that. I didn't know you could simply wipe away the rust if it's not that badly rusted. I was under the impression that rust of any kind had to be scrubbed away completely or it' could hurt your health.

[@H4KnSL4K]

Thanks for the video! For a deeper cleaning, instead of barkeeper's friend or vinegar, which are acids - have you considered an alkaline solution? Something like 'easy off'? It will nuke your seasoning, but it should not cause the metal itself to corrode; I thought it leaves the metal in a great state to take on seasoning.

[@hepgeoff]

Thanks for this! I have some rust on the outside bottom of my De Buyer omelette pan from rubbing against my electric stovetop. After I remove the rust, would you recommend re-seasoning the outside bottom of the pan?

[@UncleScottsKitchen]

Definitely... any place where you remove rust will have some bare carbon steel, so it will need some seasoning.

[@philipstaite4775]

You can be *very* aggressive with a chain mail scrubber - particularly if you have really good seasoning. A couple of times while removing some carbon build-up I've resigned myself to "OK, I'm going to blast this down and re-season it." Yet pressing/scrubbing about as hard as I possibly can did not remove the seasoning. It did (finally) take the carbon off and get back to smooth. The lesson - once you have a good seasoning base on there, you can do almost anything you want to do to it with chain mail and you're not going to hurt it. If you actually want the seasoning removed - maybe to start over or even things out - you're going to have to resort to chemical means.

[@UncleScottsKitchen]

Agreed... you can see in the video that there was still a good bit of color on the bottom of that skillet after using the chain mail, then I added the vinegar and that took it down to the bare metal.

[@curtismatsune3147]

My first try with almost any minor, just-starting issue with my carbon steel and cast iron is oil, coarse salt, low heat on the stove, a rag and elbow grease. Only a few times in my old guy life have I had to go any further.

[@H4KnSL4K]

Yeah, I think the salt helps work the oil right onto the surface, and with the heat displace any molecules of water that would have been there. They're replaced with fresh seasoning.

[@karronlaneNOLA]

what kind of oil did you use?

[@UncleScottsKitchen]

I used either peanut or veggie or canola.

[@chefrichh]

I received a rusty Matfer crepe pan from Amazon. It has chronic rusting problems.

[@UncleScottsKitchen]

Get that rust scrubbed off, make sure you dry it immediately (even put it on a stove burner), then get it seasoned, and then your rust problems should be gone. Make sure to dry it immediately after every wash. Add a little protective oil when the pan is clean/dry/cool. Then you shouldn't be getting any ongoing rust problems.

[@RA-rf4nz]

I've heard that soaking rusty steal in coca cola will also remove rust quite well.

[@UncleScottsKitchen]

I have not heard of that, but it would probably make for a good KZbin video!

[@MyraCoveney]

SAFE!! Oh thank you!!

[@redoak3809]

Carbon steel just be careful to heat slowly so doesn't warp.