Carbon Steel skillets

[kelbro]

I needed another skillet like I needed another hole in my head. Ran across a steal of a deal on a new 12" Misen so I snatched it up.

I've seasoned tons of cast iron cookware and I'm interested in your experiences with these carbon steel skillets. The 'experts' recommend everything from traditional 'oven seasoning' to 'stovetop seasoning' and they all claim to be the best.

You folks that have used them for a while, what's your recommendation?

Thanks!

 

[APBinNCA]

Safflower oil, that's what one of the skillet maker recommends. It's what I use now, just do it on the stove top or a burner outdoors.

 

[Multum in parvo]

Sunflower or canola oil and better season outside as it smokes quite a bit.

 

[Tirvine]

I cook mainly with peanut oil, butter, and bacon fat. Just using those for normal cooking has led to pretty good seasoning. Try not to use overly harsh cleaners. Water and a Scotch Brite works for me, drying the cleaned skillet on the burner.

 

[Rhody]

I’ll watch this one. I have a made in carbon pan. I’ve seasoned it once in the oven following their directions and several times from scratch on the stove top using their seasoning material. But I can never seem to get it right. Cooking leads to a lot of stuck on burnt on foods in the pan. I’ve become pretty discouraged and haven’t used it in about a year. It seems so high maintenance but I’m sure I’m doing something wrong.

 

[APBinNCA]

I’ll watch this one. I have a made in carbon pan. I’ve seasoned it once in the oven following their directions and several times from scratch on the stove top using their seasoning material. But I can never seem to get it right. Cooking leads to a lot of stuck on burnt on foods in the pan. I’ve become pretty discouraged and haven’t used it in about a year. It seems so high maintenance but I’m sure I’m doing something wrong.

Layering is your friend and renewing more often than you think you need to. If you have a good exhaust fan, it's a lot easier to just do it on the stove regularly. If you are actually getting burning, you may need a thing for heat distribution. Or more fat in the pan than you want. I don't buy the old method anymore because I have seen convincing evidence that traditional fats don't polymerize properly.

 

[kelbro]

Thanks all. I doubled down. A coat of BuzzyWax baked on at ~500° on the Weber out back and then three rounds on the stovetop with grapeseed oil. I discovered on the last round that I needed more heat and then it all came together. Slick as glass and passed the fried egg test with flying colors!

 

[APBinNCA]

Thanks all. I doubled down. A coat of BuzzyWax baked on at ~500° on the Weber out back and then three rounds on the stovetop with grapeseed oil. I discovered on the last round that I needed more heat and then it all came together. Slick as glass and passed the fried egg test with flying colors!

Excellent work! Just make sure you keep up with it and you won't have to do a bake again. Just a quick stove top job weekly.

 

[Ckmaui]

I use debuyer carbon pans
use bacon fat or tallow to cook with and used it to season did a few light layers on a stove and called it good and works perfectly fine even omelette pan has no issues OH on gas stove for seasoning cook on gas and electric some

I think folks overthink the seasoning seasoning is what makes you happy

from dedicated omelette pan to a dedicated steak pan never had seasoning issues or sticking etc.. even again with just a few light wipes on a stove they were good to go

carnivore diet so I eat meat every day eggs almost every day cook in carbon pans quite a bit love love love them
they are like shaving with soap brush etc... most folks are not familiar but when you start to get it you end up with more of them

today as example I put in some bacon fat did a NY strip laid it down on fat cap to melt off a touch and get that nice beautiful crust and ultra rare ! I love the crust of steaks on steel nothing like it

once steak is done I just use a scraper and lift/scrape anything off the bottom use the grease inside as lube if you will with scraper and then just dump out and wipe out with paper towel that is it

 

[ruckin]

I agree that most folks seem to overthink seasoning. My first CS skillet reccomended cooking some potatoes (and that is what I did). When I picked up my BluSkillet pans I talked to them a bit about seasoning. They said... use the pan and don't cook bacon in it until you get some seasoning built up. So I just started using the pan and it seems to work.

 

[Herrenberg]

On carbon steel pans and woks, and cast iron, I use the same seasoning process, which I learned from The Wok Shop: I cook onions, scallions, or chives in oil until they are black, moving them around in the pan to cover the whole surface. Apparently these contain some substance that bonds with the iron to produce a great surface. You can actually see this coating; it's transparent and light brown. When it needs renewing, I repeat.

 

[kelbro]

On carbon steel pans and woks, and cast iron, I use the same seasoning process, which I learned from The Wok Shop: I cook onions, scallions, or chives in oil until they are black, moving them around in the pan to cover the whole surface. Apparently these contain some substance that bonds with the iron to produce a great surface. You can actually see this coating; it's transparent and light brown. When it needs renewing, I repeat.

GrillGrates recommends blackening onions to season their aluminum grates. I tried it and it worked well.

 

[kelbro]

Looking pretty good.

 

[jesseix]

I needed another skillet like I needed another hole in my head. Ran across a steal of a deal on a new 12" Misen so I snatched it up.

Out of curiosity, which deal did you find/get on the Misen?

 

[kelbro]

Got it local from an individual.

 

[DoctorShavegood]

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B000KENOOU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[OldSaw]

Treat it like cast iron and you will be fine.

I’d be curious to know how this stuff holds up. I think Misen has a very strong marketing campaign but I’m leery of their Chinese made products. They feel like a good deal when looking at their ads, though.

I prefer single piece pans with no rivets. My favorites are from Solidteknics, which have been working very well for me.

I seasoned these in the oven using flax oil if I remember correctly. Wiped it down to a very thin, almost invisible layer, with paper towels. I think I did at least two treatments before using.

 

[OldSaw]

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B000KENOOU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

That’s a very nice looking pan. I might have to get one. The price is good too.

 

[kelbro]

So far, I'm liking it. It heats evenly across the entire surface when used on my Whirlpool glasstop stove.

I really like the shape of the sides on my AllClad skillets and it looks like Misen copied that design. The Misen also seems to be the thickest of the bunch. Of course, the others are lighter.

I'm a big Lodge fan but I also want to use this to sear Sous Vide steaks and the thinner skillets like Lodge get a lot of complaints about warping.

Pan sausage tomorrow morning. That's another good test for skillets. Do the patties all get 'done' at the same time?

 

[Nidan]

I don’t know anything about the Misen skillets, but a young cook at the restaurant where I used to work brought in a Misen Chef’s knife. It looked great, very stylish and professional seeming, but within a few weeks of what he considered normal use the blade snapped in half. I’ve never seen that happen to a knife in the kitchen and it convinced me to stay away from Misen products. Cast iron looks neat and certainly does the job, especially the vintage stuff, but I actually prefer the performance of French carbon steel pans like those from De Buyer or Mauviel. If money is not an issue, nothing cooks as well IMO as stainless lined solid copper. I got a copper Mauviel sauté pan as a gift once and it continues to impresses me every time I cook with it.

 

[Gamagrass]

To me, very interesting thread. I don't have any carbon steel pans, but I cook with Lodge cast iron pans all the time. Should I go ahead and get a carbon steel pan to try it, and if so why? Just lighter for one thing ... other reasons?

FWIW I season by cast iron using lard in the oven. They are perfectly slick .. I re-season infrequently.

 

[abj]

I use sunfloweroil and do it on the stove. Put some oil in the skillet and then with a silicone pastry brush make sure the oil gets everywhere.

Btw, what is that white stuff on the avatars? Snow?

 

[Ckmaui]

To me, very interesting thread. I don't have any carbon steel pans, but I cook with Lodge cast iron pans all the time. Should I go ahead and get a carbon steel pan to try it, and if so why? Just lighter for one thing ... other reasons?

FWIW I season by cast iron using lard in the oven. They are perfectly slick .. I re-season infrequently.

the DeBuyer pans are a touch thicker/heavier than some of the other carbon like the matfer not sure about the Mauviel ? But small differences between the carbon

to me the main thing is the speed at which they react is much quicker in heat up and recovery and I think steaks get a better crust because of this and eggs such as omelets are superior big time
so while cast iron holds heat really well on a good burner throwing a steak in a cast iron the recovery time is much longer vs the carbon so my theory being the heat is back and making that crust without over doing or to long recovery
I have tried to use a good thermometer to kinda check this and does seem to be the case ? And a lot of real world back and forth cast vs carbon and have not pulled out a cast in forever

Something like corn bread in cast iron in the oven I think yeah skip carbon go for the cast so maybe things that you are cooking a really long time might be a better choice ? But that also depends if its pan to oven how should that pan side be done such as pork tenderloin sear then finish in a oven I would prefer the carbon these days for that better sear

now a dutch oven dish in cast no reason to try to use a carbon again that is where cast is OK or most likely the better option but I do not make those dishes really but am into cooking etc...

hope that helps

for me the clean up and such is really the same I think the ultra smooth surface is like the older ultra smooth cast griswald etc... and a touch easier to keep super clean and slicker

another side is pan shape has more options for cooking styles omelet pan from debuyer is awesome I eat enough eggs a dedicated one was worth it size everything but not needed but much like the amount of razors we might have a cooking nerd likes pans
also the sides are better for utensils to get in or use the pan to flip/stir etc...

Note the handles DeBuyer run a bit taller than matfer and way taller than almost any cast as they are more to move the pan than to flip/stir serve etc... so that flip motion or swirl motion etc... is easer

again hope this bran dump helps
and again like razors its YMMV
and I love any kitchen stuff carbon or cast its just like hearing once you try a wolfman I have not tried one yet but I might think that is the carbon pan of cooking world hahahahahaha

if you get one check the sizes they are edge width/size some folks have gotten them and think WOW this seems smaller than it says some reviews have the flat/cooking part listed to !
just a good FYI
I have like a 12 7/8 or something for my steaks the inside is like my 10” all clad (again that flat cooking area)