Eastman Outdoors 22" Carbon Steel Wok Kit

[jdbower]

Selecting your Wok

After receiving an Eastman Outdoors 22†carbon steel propane wok for Christmas I decided to do a little research. Luckily, I also received Breath of a Wok which contains a wealth of information. As far as the book is concerned, the author relies a bit too heavily on the “Ancient Chinese Secret†theory and seems to spurn any sort of technological advancement, so the information contained within should be taken with a Kosher-sized grain of salt.

Carbon steel seemed an odd choice in today’s world of stainless and Teflon, but it’s actually ideal for high temperature wok cooking. According to “wok-a-philes†there are two basic materials that “good†woks are made of: carbon steel allows for quick even heating but Cantonese style woks use a thin cast iron. The cast iron woks take longer to heat up, but also longer to cool down. They’re also heavier and pretty fragile. Multiple sources seem to show that the carbon steel woks are the preferred route, but several have a strong preference for cast iron (think Mac vs. PC). Nearly all serious wokers agree that these two metals are preferable.

Stainless steel woks also exist, but the heat may be a bit too uneven for stir-frying. Additionally, people tend to clean stainless too much, a properly seasoned wok should add a bit of flavor to a meal much in the same way properly seasoned cast iron cookware does. Nonstick woks are held in even greater contempt, since wok cooking is done at very high temperatures the nonstick coating tends to disintegrate very quickly. Also, part of the “wok flavor†is derived from the juices sticking to the metal and burning as you cook. Electric woks are viewed the same way we view electric grills, both because they’re nearly always nonstick and because the heat cycles on and off they aren’t typical choices for “real†wok cooking. The theory goes that most of the expensive woks are designed for looks rather than cooking, how much I believe that is questionable (I have a non-stick wok from Costco and it does a decent job and the electric wok I had in college was acceptable).

Wok shapes are either flat-bottomed or round-bottomed. Flat is necessary for cooking on an electric range (a round-bottomed wok can reflect heat back to the heating element and damage it), but round requires less oil and is more traditional. If you use a round-bottomed wok on a traditional burner you’ll also need a wok ring to stabilize it. The Eastman wok kit has a burner grid that is designed for the wok.

There doesn’t seem to be a consensus on the handle style. Traditionally there are two hand grips on either side for picking the wok up, but some woks are “westernized†with a long pot handle on one side. These don’t attract the ire of traditionalists nearly as much as I had expected leading me to believe at least some of them believe it’s the result and not the packaging that’s important. My Costco model has a western style handle and I use it as a frying pan as well as a wok. The Eastman model is more traditional but a lot of that is the thin gauge metal wouldn’t be able to support its own weight let alone the weight of a full wok. A western handle is also more likely to be bumped into causing a spill when used on a standalone burner, over a stove the handle can always be moved out of the way.

You’ll also probably want a lid; round lids are preferable to flat as they tend to drip along the sides instead of into the food. Look for a lid about 1†smaller than your wok size.

Seasoning your Wok

Technically even an unseasoned wok will eventually become seasoned by simply using it, but you may as well get your wok off to a good start (plus you'll definitely need to clean the wok before using it to remove the machine oils used in processing). The traditional method involves pork fat and Chinese scallions (sometimes called garlic chives). There are a ton of theories as to why this is used, chemical reactions between the pork fat and the sulfur in the chives create a cleansing and disinfecting cleaner and the like. The real reason is likely because pork fat and chives were cheap and plentiful in even the poorest regions of China. More modern techniques vary from person to person but they have common themes.

First, wash the wok thoroughly. This may be the only time your wok will see soap and water, scrub it with a scouring pad and use a stainless steel scrubber to get all the manufacturing oils off of it. Carbon steel and cast iron rust so frequently there’s a coating of oil you’ll want to remove before using it on real food. Rinse the wok thoroughly and dry it quickly so it doesn’t start to rust.

Seasoning universally seems to involve heat and oil. Some recommend a quick boil first, then dump the water and wipe the pan. Others go straight into the high temperature oil cooking. Either way the process is to heat the oil (often with chives or something similar), empty the wok, while still hot wipe it down with paper towels (using tongs), and repeat until the paper towels no longer come back stained black.

One of the more interesting techniques involves using an oven (or KK!) at 450 degrees. First wash and dry the wok (do a final dry on the burner under low heat). Spread about ½ teaspoon of oil on the inside and “bake†for about 20 minutes. Note that wooden handles may need to be protected with a wet rag and aluminum foil and plastic/rubber handles may need to be removed. Allow the wok to cool for about 5 minutes and then scrub with a stainless scrubber and hot water (no soap) then heat it to dry it. Repeat until the wok is a bronze color (about 5 times).

Your first few cooks should be oil-based cooks. Avoid things that are too acidic (like tomatoes or vinegar-based sauces) and don’t use the wok for things like steaming initially.

The Eastman Wok

Bear in mind that I haven’t used the wok yet so this is all conjecture and first opinions. Once I get up the courage to refill my propane I’ll test it out (I feel the need to explain that propane is NOT for grilling, it’s for lighting charcoal, cooking, and running mosquito traps – charcoal and wood chunks are for grilling!).

The 22†model is a monster wok. It’s spun carbon steel but there is a stainless version also available. From a manufacturing perspective it looks cheap. It’s a thin gauge and flexes noticeably when you pick it up (but it is also 22†wide!). There are a few mars in the finish as though a hard metal object dug into it.

But on the other hand it’s very evenly round and the handles are both riveted and welded in. Not having any experience with woks this size it may be par for the course and the thin metal should heat up quickly as well as allowing you to remove it from the heat to cool it quickly. I’ve only “seasoned†the wok by scrubbing it out and coating it with olive oil – the thing’s too big for my oven and I have an electric range (yes, I know, it’s on the list of things to upgrade!).

The “tripod†also seems to be a bit on the cheap side but mostly that’s because Dennis spoils us. Nothing about it seems like it will fail, it’s just not overbuilt like a KK is (how many 3/8†stainless steel bars are required to hold up 15lbs of meat?). Assembly is easy, there’s an included tool but having your own socket wrench really helps since some of the spaces are tight. You’ll also need your own adjustable wrench (or similar) for the burner assembly. The directions are a bit misleading, one of the legs is different than the others but it’s not easily noticeable (there’s supposed to be a “band†on one but all three have it). If you get one note that one set of bolts is slightly larger than the others so make sure you’ve got the large bolts in the leg with the large hole in the spot that also has large holes. Assembly consists of screwing the legs to the burner base and screwing the gas line to the burner proper (and sticking a spring and airflow adjustment wheel between the two). The latter part seems like more of a liability for them to leave to the customer to assemble, but maybe the thought is that if there’s a leak it’s the customer’s fault. I’ll leave that to their legal department to decide because it’s not like it’s a tough install.

The burner itself looks pretty solid, but I have yet to fire it up.

The included grate supports either round bottomed woks or flat bottomed things like pots by flipping it over. The same burner is used with their other outdoor cooking products which include stock pots, a turkey frying kit, and steamer accessories.

The legs are adjustable to two heights (it’s not designed for any heights in between). It measures 20†from the burner to the ground in the low position and 30†in the extended position. I find the latter comfortable for using the wok with the included long-handled implements and the former is likely reasonable for steaming in large pots (I live in the land-o-lobster).

Also included are some utensils. There’s a long-probed 50-550F pre-calibrated thermometer for frying (they’re very explicit on the safety issues of frying with high temperatures). Most interestingly, the thermometer claims to be dishwasher safe. There’s a long handled stainless steel ladle and spatula. Both seem pretty high quality, and quite possibly OEMed from OXO based on the handle style.

All in all I’d rate it a good buy for someone with nothing in the category based on first impressions. If I had a burner already I think I’d look for a heavier gauge (and smaller!) carbon steel wok. If I had a wok already I may try to find the burner standalone or check out their other (western-style) cooking sets. Bayou Classic has other burners that seem to be popular but a quick look doesn’t seem to show any that can handle waist-level cooking as well as low, tall stockpot cooking without needing to buy (and store) a leg extension kit. Despite some obvious cost saving measures it's still probably a decent value and I wouldn't hesitate to buy one again - I can't wait to use it!

[TheNakedWhiz]

Nice article! thanks for the info!

[jdbower]

Thanks Whizzy, that means a lot coming from such a prolific publisher as yourself!

[Conodo12]

Good write-up Jeff - I am looking forward to seeing some of the food that comes off your new toy! I have a wok around the house (somewhere) and haven't thought about it in a long time. I picked mine up at a cooking show that I attended while traveling on business. It came with a great cookbook - now where is that stuff?....

[jdbower]

Stir fried salt

With the in-laws slated for a visit in a few weeks I decided to season the wok. An appropriately-timed visit from my neighbor's father (ex-Navy cook and VERY serious about his woks!) suggested the salt seasoning method. I decided to start out with the salt seasoning and follow it up with the traditional pork fat/chive seasoning.

1. Scour the wok thoroughly using a stainless steel scrubber and dishwashing detergent. This may be the last time the wok sees soap so make it squeaky. The point here is to get off the light coating of machine oil and any non-edible debris leftover from manufacturing.

2. Dry with paper towels.

3. If paper towels are black Goto 1

4. Heat the wok on high for a few minutes to dry it completely.

5. Pour copious amounts of salt into the wok - I used an entire 1 pound container. Stir constantly for about 20 minutes. Rotate the wok at angles to get the sides as well. After about 5 minutes I had to use my silicone BBQ gloves, after 10 I needed to switch hands to keep them cool. You'll notice in the picture below that the spots where I've heated the salt are turning a nice dark color.

6. The salt will be HOT - I dumped it into an ash bucket to let it cool. Pour a little oil into the wok and wipe down the inside - the BBQ gloves came in handy but the wok does cool (and heat) fairly quickly. The salt gets so hot that the stainless ladle I was using to stir started to turn a golden color. You'll notice some hotspots in the end result from when I was turning it. These should fade naturally if you want to finish here.

7. At Costco I got a 7.5lb boneless pork loin (I was hoping for a shoulder cut but I couldn't find any). I intentionally got a fatty one and I trimmed off most of the fat cap and cut it into small chunks. I turned down the burner to low and started to render the fat. It will smell delicious but try to refrain from snacking! Stir fry like you did with the salt, rotating the wok around to get the sides.

8. Once the fat reached a golden brown color and stopped liquefying I added garlic chives from my wife's garden cut to ~2" long (beware of splatter!). Crank the heat up to high again and stir fry for 10-15 minutes to get a blackened mess that makes you glad you're cooking outside. Keep rotating that wok.

9. Carefully add a bit of water to the wok, slowly pour it along the side to avoid splatter. You won't be able to see for a few minutes, but continue stirring the mixture anyway for about 5-10 minutes until it's mostly boiled away. The wok should be very dizzy from all that rotating you've been doing - remember that the point is to season the entire wok and as high up the sides as you can get.

10. Dump the mixture someplace that won't melt (I put it in the ash bucket with the salt and old paper towels) and wash the wok out with cold water. Dry with paper towels and then heat to finish the drying. I wiped it down with a thin coat of vegetable oil to help prevent oxidation. Note that you can't see the hotspots from the salt seasoning nearly as much anymore and a nice patina is forming. You can also see how yellow the ladle is getting compared to the spatula.

I'd say the wok is now seasoned. The next few cooks I'll keep a bit greasy to keep things going. One nice thing about a wok is that it's a bit like a ceramic cooker in that you can do a ton of different cooking styles on it. However, if you intend to use a wok as a steamer I may recommend getting a dedicated stainless steel wok for that purpose - steaming tends to take off the seasoning and you may find yourself starting over. For my first real cook I make a heapin' helpin' of fried rice - a household favorite for getting rid of leftovers

To complete (or at least add to) my review, the Eastman Outdoors wok kit is pretty good. I was a bit concerned about the thinness of the wok earlier, but it really doesn't seem to be an issue. Because of how thin it is water nearly instantly evaporates off when you dry it on high. When using it at extreme angles the handles get hot in some positions and silicone BBQ gloves are a good idea, but I have a feeling that in normal cooking positions this won't be much of an issue. While not as unwieldy as I thought a 22" wok would be, it still is pretty darn big for what I'll use it for!

The burner gets very hot indeed. I doubt you'll have much of an issue with keeping temperatures high as you fill the massive 22" wok. It's pretty much exactly at the right height for the wok (and lowers for a stock pot) and it's stable. It lights easily but it does seem to burn, well, about as much propane as you'd expect from a 65,000 BTU burner on a 10psi regulator.

About the only thing I don't like is the knob after the regulator to control the burner output. It's a bit loose and not overly intuitive as to how open it is. I'd rather have something like a gas grill knob with nicer tactile feedback and markings for off, low, medium, high, and "kiss your eyebrows goodbye" (I often had to back down from "high" during the seasoning phase just to keep things from burning).

The included accessories are useful (I liked the ladle more than the spatula, but I may find use for the "shovel" eventually) and a decent quality, but other than being the right length they're not too special. In summary I think this wok is a great outdoor cooking accessory and I'd recommend it to a friend. More importantly I'd recommend it to a friend I'd like to keep.

Other accessories that would be nice are cleaning whisks (these don't last long so order a bunch) and a wok lid (I'd rather have round, but they don't make them in 22" sizes!).