I've been using cast iron for the last twenty years until we moved out of the country. Decent cast iron can't be found so I bought a heavy, solid stainless skillet.

My question is what's the seasoning process for stainless that has worked for you. The quick online search results weren't inspiring. Any tips for maintenance?

You can't season stainless cookware. To get a nonstick effect you need to heat it properly then add the fat and let it come up to temp for a few seconds. Search for vids on how to cook with stainless and it should help give you an idea.

Why didn't you take your cast iron with you? Fail!

It's going to be a learning experience. Between that and having to modify recipes based on what's available down here, cooking is presenting some challenges! I'll eventually find a way to get one of my cast iron skillets down here.

Weight limits! I sold out on fishing gear at the expense of cast iron. I'll get it down here eventually. I bought a big travel tube for my surf rods, rolled up almost all my clothes around them and taped everything up to protect my rods. All the extra weight went to fishing gear, tools, etc. I'll eventually get my beloved skillet and a dutch oven down here.

Stainless will do well for you with cooking fish.

Stainless should be nonstick once water forms droplets and will bounce around the pan, carbon steel is also a good alternative and can be seasoned to an extent.

Where did you move to?

I was looking for a good carbon steel pan, but couldn't find one.

I'm in Costa Rica.

aggiesundevil4 said:

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Where did you move to?

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I too would like to know thia

It's not quite nonstick, but that is how to get the best performance. You need to cook at lower temps and if able use lots of butter/oil under their smoke points.

I might see you there! Family and I are going there for spring break

We'll be here. There is so much to see it's overwhelming.

marcel ledbetter said:

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Weight limits! I sold out on fishing gear at the expense of cast iron. I'll get it down here eventually. I bought a big travel tube for my surf rods, rolled up almost all my clothes around them and taped everything up to protect my rods. All the extra weight went to fishing gear, tools, etc. I'll eventually get my beloved skillet and a dutch oven down here.

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Yeah, figured as much.

Where in Costa Rica? We visited there a few years ago. Flew in and out of Liberia. Stayed one week at Dreams Las Mareas on Jobo Bay, just around the corner from Nicaragua. Then we stayed a few days in a rainforest eco lodge some distance away from La Fortuna. Great vacation!

Yeah, I studied abroad there for a summer over 20 years ago and loved it. Taking the family for the first time.

marcel ledbetter said:

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I'm in Costa Rica.

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So did we miss the story of how/why/when you're in Costa Rica and for how long?

My wife ordered a whole set of stainless steel cookware and it was frustrating at first. I then learned about the mercury ball hack, which has worked for me.

Mercury Ball Test

I also found cleaning can be sped up by boiling water mixed with baking soda. That process agitates away a lot of the stuck on gunk without you having to scrub too hard.

I have a carbon steel skillet,, but no stainless steel ones. Carbon steel allows you to season it

That was helpful, thanks. I'll watch more of his videos.

I looked for a carbon steel but couldn't find one. The traffic is bad enough down here that it's not worth the time to visit different stores looking for cast iron or a carbon skillet. For some reason, many stores don't have websites, or not very detailed ones so you don't know for sure what they have in stock.

Tarpon, we're in the beginning phase of full time missionary work and are taking Spanish language classes full time. We'll be down here in CR for the rest of the year. I plan on fishing every chance I get, which won't be as often as I'd hoped.

We're in San Jose. It's interesting living here compared to just visiting. Groceries are easily as expensive as back home. Walmart is here, and they also own most of the larger grocery stores as well. "Things" are more expensive that in the States. You can buy Stubbs bbq sauce, but can't find chile powder, or any of the chilis needed to make Mexican food. I can't find ham hocks for my beans. No pinto beans here and I haven't seen a white onion since I arrived.

Meat at a butcher shop is usually just chunks of meat cut from a cow or pig with no rhyme or reason. It looks like the chunks of meat I'd cut from an elk as I boned it out in the field.

How's your spanish coming? Is it a program, or just jumping in the deep end and figure it out?

I also saw this last night. His is "non-stick" but i might try w stainless

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8wgeudg/

I've worked with Mexicans and have been around Spanish a lot so I knew a bunch of words and am familiar with the language, but learning to actually speak it is challenging. The classes are good, but I don't recall information like I used to. Family responsibilities take away from study time as well. Plus, I'm a meathead that doesn't grasp new information quickly. That said, I have the "want to" to keep learning so I'll be fine, eventually!

marcel ledbetter said:

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We're in San Jose. It's interesting living here compared to just visiting. Groceries are easily as expensive as back home. Walmart is here, and they also own most of the larger grocery stores as well. "Things" are more expensive that in the States. You can buy Stubbs bbq sauce, but can't find chile powder, or any of the chilis needed to make Mexican food. I can't find ham hocks for my beans. No pinto beans here and I haven't seen a white onion since I arrived.

Meat at a butcher shop is usually just chunks of meat cut from a cow or pig with no rhyme or reason. It looks like the chunks of meat I'd cut from an elk as I boned it out in the field.

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We stopped at a Walmart somewhere around Liberia on the way to La Frontera. There was a big tall fence with concertina wire all the way around the parking lot and armed guards watching over it. That was surprising and a little unsettling to us.

There is a lot of security around places of business down here. I need to start paying attention to the local news more to see what's happening around town. From what I can tell by talking to my Spanish teachers is that the biggest problem here is thievery. People looking for crimes of opportunity and unsecured stuff. Armed robbery on the streets isn't as common. One of our students was held up by a couple guys on a motorcycle, but he ran off once he realized the gun was fake. First incident like that in eighteen months the school says.