Who here cooks in carbon steel pans. Thinking of getting one, but want real world feedback. I see raving reviews online, but before I sink $75 into a skillet, I’d like to see what experienced users say. Thanks for the feedback.

We have a couple, my wife likes them.
I think they are "made in".

We have several pans and a wok. You have to treat them like cast iron, they are lighter and have longer handles.
I think they take longer to season than cast.

Also have a couple of 13"thin ground cast iron pans that i got from REI. Price was right when I bought them and they have long handles as well, really nice for cooking over the fire, bought them for boat camping / hunting.

They have ended up in house as well, geez

My wife has one skillet. I’m still trying to figure out how to get it fully seasoned. Things still stick to it too easily. I like my cast but I’d like to learn how to use the steel too since it warms up quicker.

Been wanting to try it.
We aren't zealots, use cast iron and non stick as the job warrants.
Bought my wife this thing,






a year ago.

It's one of our most used pans, the size being the biggest reason it's not used more.
Too much capacity, and my wife has an issue with her arm that makes the weight a problem. Same with CI. Carbon steel would help her with that problem.

Less weight, good for camping.

Lehmann's sells a nitrogen hardened cast iron skillet. It's good for low heat cooking, but if you turn the heat up it tends to stick. It's lightweight and handy. I read somewhere that carbon steel is harder to season than cast.

When it's raining hard outside, I use one to cook steaks. Better than cast iron in one respect. After a very hot sear, it will cool down faster and cook the steak slowly.

Takes a while to season. Never use salt while cooking and never use dish soap to clean.

Mine is great. Matfer. I use it a lot.

It is not lighter than cast iron though. It's a beast.

I use stainless clad copper at home, cast iron at camp. Got the GF stainless clad copper too - we both love em.

I have several blue steel skillets. A Lodge, one from Spain and several from France. To be honest, I don't use them much. I find cast iron a much better material for cooking, and even a decent aluminum teflon skillet works better.

Have one, ive had a hell of a time getting a good seasoning on it. Have stripped it down a few times. Will look like it's good and turns out it wasn't.


Prefer my cast iron pans at this point, but will keep at the steel.

[quote=johnn]We have a couple, my wife likes them.
I think they are "made in".


''made in'' what? Is there a word you don't want to say??????

Got a couple skillets and just got a wok. Love 'em.

Used the 'heating until blue' method as part of seasoning one of the pans and the wok. Creates Fe3O4. Seems to be a bit better in keeping things from sticking.

"Made In" is the name of the company.

https://madeincookware.com/

10-4 now i know..

Matfer Bourgeat is also top of the line.
Get a small one first and see if you like it. They are heavy, but that makes them versatile.

Matfer is priced better than that.


I like mine. Start seasoning them the way they recommend. Salt, oil and potato peels.
It's weird but it works.


One thing I will say....the seasoning is not near as resilient as on my cast iron.

I think it's because they are so smooth. If there was a time to use wood or silicone/plastic utensils....cast steel is it.


Some people will actually polish a cast iron pan and then season them. I think this is wrong. Seasoning seems to stick a lot better to a slightly rough surface than a mirror smooth one.

I have a 15 inch carbon steel wok- - - - -it works well for stir fry, but the seasoning process must be repeated freqiently, especially if anything like rice vinegar or acidic foods like tomatoes happen to be in the recipe. I use very high temperature and either avocado or grape seed oil, a folded up paper towel and a pair of tongs, and heat the thing until it smokes before storing it away. Otherwise, it will rust.

Well-seasoned cast iron does a much better job of distributing the heat evenly- - - -carbon steel has hot and cool spots, no matter how well it's seasoned.

I have quite a few between the house and the farm house. They are available in a wide range of thicknesses, some very thin, some a little heavier. For something mundane such as frying potatoes, nothing else will do it as well. I use mild steel skillets for frying eggs, sauteing vegetables, frying steaks and pork chops, fish fillets, etc. They are ideal if you want to crisp things.

The Vollrath is a little on the heavy side, but a really nice pan that will do anything the "name" brands will do. At $30, won't break the bank to try.

https://www.webstaurantstore.com/vo...fry-pan-8-1-2-french-style/92258900.html

edited to add:

I have several of the cheap, $12 "choice" brand pans, one of which I use daily for fried eggs. Thinner (lighter) than the Vollrath, and riveted handles, but perfectly serviceable if you just want to try the concept:

https://www.webstaurantstore.com/choice-9-1-2-carbon-steel-fry-pan/471CSFRY9.html

I've eyeballed a few of the pans on that website as a away to dip my toes in the water so to speak. Can't beat their prices on some stuff. Crazy good prices.

Just bought the 11 7/8” one on Amazon. Look forward to trying it out.

Thats the name, I think they are made in France

I try my damndest not to buy anything from China
That's my personal feeling. to each his ownus

I have two. Took a bit to season them. Like them a lot . Much lighter than cast iron. same benefits for stove top cooking



lodge brand

https://www.amazon.com/Lodge-CRS10-...PyDI8qdZrS9TmoNgrxoCtxIQAvD_BwE&th=1

Not carbon Steel, this is a ZERNEIL Stainless Steel Wok.

My better half did not like using my Cast Iron Wok, it weighs 7 lbs. and is a pain to clean and maintain, so I purchased one like this one below, it weighs 3 lb. 12 oz.

It is Honeycomb Technology, and I have got to say that it is awesome. Heats up fast, you don't need a lot of oil, great heat distribution and TRULY NON-STICK and super easy to clean. Mine is the 14" version.

Oven Safe, Double-Side Hybrid Hex Nonstick Technology, Electric Stovetop Compatible, 316 Stainless Steel Super Great Material, Dishwasher Safe

If you do not have one, I highly reccomend them!





Amazon: ZERNEIL Stainless Steel Wok

I have a carbon steel griddle, don't use it much. I prefer cast iron. Cast is easier to season because it is porous. I'm really not much of a cook. I don't see any real reason one type won't get the job done as well as the next. After all your just preparing a turd !

Got 2 lodge brand doesn't hold the heat like cast but works the same otherwise use one or the other every day . Almost never use the stainless or the no stick Teflon ones anymore

Any true campfire looney would forge his own:

I watched the entire video, Fascinating!

Now I know that all it takes to make your own pan is 5 years of metal work apprenticeship, 10 years of practical experience and $250,000.00 of shop equipment!

The only thing I will be able to Forge, is to "Forge Ahead" lol

Thanks for posting that entertaining video antelope_sniper

Same here. It heats up fast. It has its place amongst my otherwise full cast iron collection.

Is a non-stick wok really a wok?

All I can tell you and I have owned several Authentic Asian Woks, is that this Wok has them all beat, by a country mile.

I have a Cast Steel pan not Cast Iron even thou it looks like it.

I like using it but then I like my Cast Iron as well.
Other than Weight I do not see much difference between them.

I've seen Chinese using a wok, sliding things up from the middle to park on the side while something else was moved down. You gotta have some stick for that to work.

Did yours bow up in the center...or are they dead flat when hot?

I've got one Lodge carbon steel pan and two from Matfer.

The Lodge came with a factory season that is pretty rough on the surface. I think the rough surface tends to make things stick.

The Matfer pans are super smooth and work great.

Seasoning carbon steel is different from what you'd do with cast iron cookware. Here are the instructions from Matfer: https://matferbourgeatusa.com/education/black-steel-guide/

I'd tried seasoning them like cast iron, but the season kept peeling off. I found that after the first few times cooking with them all they need is to be wiped with a drop of oil and call it good. The pan looks like an old piece of galvanized sheet metal now, but works better than ever. If food sticks, I wash it, oil it, and keep using it. Seems to get better with use. It will never have a season that is pretty to look at.

Modern thought is that you have to use soap to remove every germ. They don't think about the fact that the next time you use it, the heat will immediately kill everything on it. It'll be totally sterile in a minute.

I seasoned mine initially with the potatoes skins salt and oil. Then used very thin (completely wiped off with paper towel) layers of grapeseed oil and in the oven at 380 for an hour, left in oven to cool for about another 30 min. Two coats of that and the entire pan is a nice bronze color with no residue or stickiness.
One thing I’ve learned is that you don’t have to get oil to its smoke point to create the polymerization needed for seasoning. That was a misconception I’ve had for a long time. No need to smoke the house up.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/19294088/carbon-steel#Post19294088

Was it your wife who turned the stove onto vaporize and warp your pan....and then not tell you?