Carbon Steel pans

Starting to do some research into my first carbon steel pan purchase. hoping to get thoughts from the board as to experiences, favorite brands, best care practices, etc.

I want something to replace my workhorse 10 inch nonstick pans. tired of buying new pans every year or two because the nonstick wears off and not really excited about the fact that it might be wearing off into my food. I own a cast iron but its a larger 12 inch and just kind of a pain in the butt to pull out for a two person dinner im making most nights due to weight and size. not scared about care.

Let me have it!

to start, I’m looking at the Matfer Bourgeat 11 inch black steel pan. mostly because Cooks Illustrated liked it:
https://www.amazon.com/Matfer-Bourgeat-062004-Frying-11-Inch/dp/B000KENOOU/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Matfer+Bourgeat+11+inch&qid=1586639662&sr=8-1

I find the helper handle like this really useful when the one pan hold the whole dinner.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000ECQ83M/ref=psdc_289834_t4_B00076QWUY

I have deBuyer in 8", 2 X 10", 2 X 12", 14" and the country chef pan (I think discontinued now). Love, love, love them all. You will get any number of ways to season with any sort of fat. It does take several repetitions to get a good layer of carbon to make them truly non-stick, but once there they are bullet proof. I cook everything in them, but where they excel is searing steaks.

FWIW, I used and was happy with unrefined coconut oil for my initial rounds of seasonings.

thanks! im really interested in the cooks illustrated way to season with potato skins, just because its different more than anything, but the problem is my favorite part of the potato is the skin! haha

that’s a good point. will keep that in mind when selecting.

74AD6905-225D-4536-AC11-C22283723C10.jpeg
Steaks last night on the 14”.

House dry aged prime strip and a ribeye from one of our Wagyu cows.

I think the potato thing is voodoo magic and has no real science behind it.

+N on the de Buyer pans. I probably have 10 of them in various shapes and sizes.

In my experience, it is generally hard to go wrong with carbon steel - more a personal preference thing for handle design and finishing touches. I’ve recently purchased several Brandani branded carbon steel skillets from Homegoods that are my current go-to. They were dirt cheap, have a nice thickness, a beautiful factory finish that was easy to season, and a handle design that my wife vastly prefers to the the long flat handle standard on most carbon steel. Note that there have been at least two different lines of Brandani branded carbon steel in our local Homegoods. One is much nicer than the other. There was a bunch of it in-store late last year but it sold through very quickly. I think it is worth having a look.

Been a deBuyer buyer…and fan for years.

Misen makes a nice, less expensive set of them, too. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/misenkitchen/misen-carbon-steel

interesting. once we can get back to Homegoods I might have to check that out. I normally spend most of my time when in home goods in the cooking section while my wife looks through the rest of the store because the rest of the store stresses me out.

saw a funny joke on Facebook yesterday about Homegoods: apparently they are doing home deliveries to help sustain their business: you give them $50 and they drop a box of random crap at your doorstep. Its exactly the same as going to Homegoods!

Wonder how the Lodge is “preseasoned” to act like a nonstick pan?

Wondering about carbon steel. Might be looking for a new pan.

So far I’m happy with my Lodge cast iron and Le Creuset non sticks. But I need a larger , maybe, non- stick pan, my work horse over 10 year old 12” Henkel non stick cast aluminium is starting to show its age. My largest current non stick is 11” Le Creuset. It’s funny but that inch seems to make a big difference (more than the theoretical 20%, it seems).

The Lodge pans are heavy. I need everything to be oven proof to 450, ideally 500. ( Fahrenheit!)

Carbon steel seems attractive. I see comments about being prone to rust. How big a risk is that? I seem to be doing ok with the cast iron but they aren’t used as much as the non stick.

Any tips, pros and cons would be very welcome. I see the brand recommendations up thread. A comfortable handle would be important , ideally a cool handle but I do have nylon handle cover (but that’s awkward when the pan will be going into hot oven, it’s fine in moderate oven)

This would be multipurpose usage I think. And so the lighter weight than cast iron seems good. But ignoring that, what other benefits would there be over staying with cast iron / non stick mix. The alternative is a new 12” non stick.

Just got my first carbon steel this past week. Haven’t used it yet though but it’s seasoned and ready to go this upcoming week.

Went with a 11” Ballarini (one of Zwilling’s brands). Bought through Target. Great price and the pan looks awesome.
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I love my Du Buyer Mineral B carbon steel pans - I have the 12.5" and 10.5" models. They are as heavy or heavier than my Lodge cast iron, though. If you’re looking for a lighter pan, I don’t think that’s the way to go. The handle on the standard model has a coating on it, so you’re not able to put it in a super-hot oven. It appears De Buyer has (relatively?) recently come out with a new model, the Mineral B Pro, where the handle is cast stainless steel, so I assume that would handle higher oven temperatures without issue.

For non-stick pans that I generally use only for eggs or fish, I have OXO Pro Hard Anodized 8" and 12". They have a good weight to them, a heavy base that retains heat well, and the surface is as slick as can be. The rounded handles are very comfortable also.

Here’s a link to them on Amazon.ca, but I’m sure you can find them elsewhere:

OXO Pro Hard Anodized Frypan

I got the Misen pans (10 & 12) about two months ago. Really like them. Heavy, but easy to work with and truly non-stick once seasoned and broken in.

….is that what I think it is hiding under that black cloth?

Jejeje. Depends what you think it might be.

Possibly a JorgemĂłn?

Misen is running a special for the next few days on the 10" skillet for $55, with a seasoning wax tossed in.
I already have a 10" Made In, which has an oven-proof handle and deeper sides.

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