I always give them a good wash with a non-abrasive scrubber or sponge. The only kind of skillet that I know of that needs to be cared for before using is cast iron.
Well, I bought the set for my move. My sister unpacked and washed them while she was helping me out.
Unless you used a metal spatula…
No. Used the nylon one that came with the set.
…or cooking the burgers near the temperature of the sun…
Might have been a problem. I think the stove heater got pretty hot pretty quickly, even though I had it set to a middle setting. But I really don’t think it was too bad. I kind of burned one side of the burgers, but they were otherwise well-cooked. No dangerous pink or anything. So the temp should have been okay.
Are you sure there was not a protective film you should have removed before using?
Well, if there were, I think they would still be on the other pieces in the set, and there isn’t anything there.
Only saving grace is I got about 70% off due to combined sale and mail-in rebate, so it was pretty cheap. Just hope I can figure out what caused it so I can salvage the rest of the set.