Carbon Steel Pans

Flyn

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Anybody use carbon steel frying pans? I have been wanting one and just ordered two Matfer Bourgeat 11 7/8" skillets (one for a friend's B-day). With seasoning, these are non stick, lifetime pans that aren't as heavy as cast iron. They heat up faster and can do much of the same things cast iron pans can do.

Again, if you season them properly, they can be as non stick as the coated pans that wear out every few years. Plus you can move them from stove top to oven making them more versatile than teflon pans.

I was going to order on Amazon but they want $67 when Cooksdirect.com (based by you guys in Warrenville) has them for $37. I had to pay shipping but it was still a lot cheaper than Amazon's rip off price. Word is Amazon sellers raised the price because the pan finished #2 in the Cook's Illustrated reviews behind only a $200 forged pan. Here's the Amazon link and the review.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000KENOTK/?tag=tcg21-20

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-suTmUX4Vbk
 

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Just got one for Christmas this year. So far I’m loving it. I’ve been a big cast iron guy and a hater of Teflon for a long time now and this pan combines the heat retention and durability of cast iron with the slickness of Teflon (after it’s seasoned). I made some chicken last night and it literally slid around the pan like Teflon.
 

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Here’s the pics of me doing the initial seasoning.
The instructions say to use oil, potato peels, and salt. Online it seems everybody uses safflower or grape seed oil. I tried both.

Before
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With just a thin coat of oil
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Getting there
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Switched it up to potato peels and salt
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Final result of the initial seasoning.
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That’s a pretty big damn pan though. My 11 7/8” pan did a pound of chicken breasts in one batch. It could start getting ungainly trying to handle a pan much larger than that.

One bonus on the carbon steel pans compared to cast iron lodge pans is definetly the handle. The handle on the carbon steel pan is much longer and the pan is lighter. My wife can get 2 hands on it and put it from the stove to oven by herself. She can’t do that with the similar sized lodge cast iron pan because it weighs 2x as much and the handle is like shorter than your palm
 

Flyn

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I agree with the weight comment. It's one of the reasons I wanted to try this type of pan. Luckily my large cast iron has a handle on the other side as well which, IMO, is necessary to avoid the chance of food ending up on the floor. It's not easy to lift a hot, heavy pan full of food especially for the wives. I notice Amy doesn't use the big pan nearly as much as I do.
 

Fish

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I think I need one of these in my life. I bought a ceramic pan set from Sams last year and while it was awesome brand new, its starting to chip and lose some of its color and be a little weird.

Quality pans like these should last as long as they are taken care of. Which Ill have to get on my wife about. :rofl:
 

Fish

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Honestly even if you don’t take care of them you can always just scrub them clean and re season them. You literally can’t mess them up



So I finally got my carbon steel pan. I did a light oil all around and put it in the oven. Then did the oil, salt and potato peels and then rinsed and another light oil. Here is the fruit of my labor.

I would assume the spot in the middle will get darker with more cooking.
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Fish

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Ill cook my breakfast on it tomorrow and see how well it does. I do like that it is sturdy and feels pretty thick compared to the pans Ive been using. Hopefully wont bow in the middle.

Plus I have an electric stove, which sucks ass. I am assuming that the spot in the middle is from that and a cooler spot compared to the edges.

I also made the mistake of using a plastic spatula and it started to fray. Good thing I have a metal one.
 

Fish

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Spare yourself the minutia.

It is a Wok with a flat bottom. Works and cooks the same way.

:rofl: Really? As stated, a wok with a flat bottom is called..........wait for it.........a.........pan.

:jg:

The sides of these specific pans are still no where near the size of the sides of a wok.

What else you want to argue and be wrong about?
 
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