Thanks to this discussion, I went ahead and ordered the Matfer 11", which arrived quickly from Amazon. Lots of good experiences with cast iron, but I wanted to compare. So I followed Matfer's instructions to season: potato peels, salt, and oil (canola was on hand so I used it); cooked up some mushroom/chicken hash after seasoning and it worked really well for starters. Will keep at it and see if I can get that glassy no-stick surface everyone talks about, but in any case I already love this thing!
Carbon Steel skillets
- Thread starter kelbro
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Another difference between carbon pans and cast iron that I've noticed: CI pans seem to get a hot spot directly over the (gas) burner while the outer areas of the pan stay cooler. Carbon gets more evenly hot. I think cast iron was really designed to work optimally on a wood stove where the entire cooking surface is hot.
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kelbro
Alfred Spatchcock
Slowly heating CI will mitigate that issue quite a bit. Set the stovetop just under 'medium' for a few minutes and then adjust as necessary. I've played around with an IR thermometer looking at my skillets and this seems to work the best.
True, but neither is superlative at heat distribution.
i get to cheat at work. I drop them in a 350 degree deep fryer... Wipe off the excess and throw them in the oven.
Fryer shortening is underated for seasoning. Inexpensive. High smoke point. Gets the job done.
My pans at work look horrible at the end of the night depending on who was working or how busy we were. They still sear nice and are pretty non stick despite the multitude of colors showing on the inside of the pan.
One place we worked we even ran them through the dish machine. Was all well and good if they only used a screen scrubbie. If they used the steel wool it needed some extra love but it got there. We oiled them over the burners every night at least.
Fryer shortening is underated for seasoning. Inexpensive. High smoke point. Gets the job done.
My pans at work look horrible at the end of the night depending on who was working or how busy we were. They still sear nice and are pretty non stick despite the multitude of colors showing on the inside of the pan.
One place we worked we even ran them through the dish machine. Was all well and good if they only used a screen scrubbie. If they used the steel wool it needed some extra love but it got there. We oiled them over the burners every night at least.
I season mine exactly the same as I do with cast iron. I have a Solidtekniks aus-ion skillet, I like it a lot. I greatly prefer the 1-piece design. I also have a Matfer skillet with a welded (not riveted) handle. The Matfer was a little harder to get ready for cooking, it is coated with some sort of plastic/polymer to prevent rust during shipping. It is a bit of a pain to scrub off.
The carbon steel is so smooth, the seasoning seems to not stick quite as well as CI and requires a little extra care to avoid taking it off. I also have a Stargazer cast iron skillet, it is very smooth and I initially had similar issues but all is well now. The Stargazer is so good it has replaced my vintage CI as my primary skillet.
The carbon steel is so smooth, the seasoning seems to not stick quite as well as CI and requires a little extra care to avoid taking it off. I also have a Stargazer cast iron skillet, it is very smooth and I initially had similar issues but all is well now. The Stargazer is so good it has replaced my vintage CI as my primary skillet.
Yeah, but where they shine is heat retention, which makes sense. The ability to quickly distribute and react to changes in heat (aluminum and copper) and retain heat (steel and iron) are opposite characteristics. Metals that change quickly do so because they aren't retaining it.
Great thread. I researched this a few months ago and almost bought a Matfer, but what bothered me was the high number of people reporting being unsuccessful at seasoning. It isn't that complicated for CI, and it does not seem that complicated for carbon steel, but anyway the reported failure rate scared me off.
I bought a Lodge Blacklock "pre-seasoned" CI pan and seasoned it myself (BTW, I read that grapeseed oil is good as it has a very high smoke point but flax avocado etc can also be used). My primary use is scrambled eggs and it does great with that but recently a one pan meal came out of the oven with quite a bit of sticking and amazingly some fried bacon left residue that required a lot of scraping and scrubbing.
Maybe I should try the carbon steel. When I'm laboring with the chain mail scrubber my thought is maybe I should go back to teflon!
I bought a Lodge Blacklock "pre-seasoned" CI pan and seasoned it myself (BTW, I read that grapeseed oil is good as it has a very high smoke point but flax avocado etc can also be used). My primary use is scrambled eggs and it does great with that but recently a one pan meal came out of the oven with quite a bit of sticking and amazingly some fried bacon left residue that required a lot of scraping and scrubbing.
Maybe I should try the carbon steel. When I'm laboring with the chain mail scrubber my thought is maybe I should go back to teflon!
You will read tons of advice to fry bacon as a seasoning method. I don't get it, that has never worked for me. Most bacon is cured with sugar and other chemicals, which results in it burning to the bottom of the pan and a lot of sticky, gooey fat. It sounds like you experienced the same.
I season my carbon steel skillet with exactly the same method as my CI, and it doesn't involve bacon!
I much prefer to fry some potatoes in olive oil, or bread and fry some chicken tenders in oil.
My favorite method of cooking bacon is to line the skillet with parchment paper, layer the bacon on top, and bake it in the closed grill outside. If no grill, do it in the oven. Cleanup is far easier and there won't be any burned bacon bits stuck to the pan.
IMHO cast iron or carbon steel for seasoning is the same again folks overthink it overdo it etc...
ditto NO BACON to season
repeat Matfer are thinner than DeBuyer but both are great both pros cons to the brands
matfer handles are lower and no rivets (some say easier cleanup but I have no issues with DeBuyer rivets) also Matfer handles are a touch lower angle I like the taller angle of DeBuyer ? again like razors personal choices one is not better than the other just what you like
some have had Matfer warp on electric skillets ? not sure why or what but have read heard of that
I prefer DeBuyer pans but I do not put them in oven they have a coated handle that limits that ?
I use other pans for oven which is rare for me anyway
IN B&B tradition just buy both Matfer and DeBuyer cover your bases
ditto NO BACON to season
repeat
Matfer are thinner than DeBuyer but both are great both pros cons to the brandsmatfer handles are lower and no rivets (some say easier cleanup but I have no issues with DeBuyer rivets) also Matfer handles are a touch lower angle I like the taller angle of DeBuyer ? again like razors personal choices one is not better than the other just what you like
some have had Matfer warp on electric skillets ? not sure why or what but have read heard of that
I prefer DeBuyer pans but I do not put them in oven they have a coated handle that limits that ?
I use other pans for oven which is rare for me anyway
IN B&B tradition just buy both Matfer and DeBuyer
cover your basesYes I saw a lot of YouTube content recommending bacon to season but I used flaxseed oil and grapeseed oil. I don't do bacon very often and when I do it won't be in the CI pan.
I might still try a CS pan. Storage is somewhat of an issue, fortunately, unlike shaving stuff!
I might still try a CS pan. Storage is somewhat of an issue, fortunately, unlike shaving stuff!
Part of todays meal
this is my larger DeBuyer think its like 12,7/8 or some odd size
my usual go to for steaks and stuff but had 5 egg omelet with cheese and bacon so needed a bit more room
slid right out as it should
two paper towels to clean also no sticking and was yum
the last part about sliding sticking nothing new to cast iron or carbon steel folks more for others reading thinking hmmmm really ? though you need non stick teflon hahahahaha
this is my larger DeBuyer think its like 12,7/8 or some odd size
my usual go to for steaks and stuff but had 5 egg omelet with cheese and bacon so needed a bit more room
slid right out as it should
two paper towels to clean also no sticking and was yum
the last part about sliding sticking
nothing new to cast iron or carbon steel folks more for others reading thinking hmmmm really ? though you need non stick teflon hahahahahaWow just a paper towel cleanup is impressive!Part of todays meal
this is my larger DeBuyer think its like 12,7/8 or some odd size
my usual go to for steaks and stuff but had 5 egg omelet with cheese and bacon so needed a bit more room
slid right out as it should
two paper towels to clean also no sticking and was yum
the last part about sliding sticking
View attachment 1381312
Do you do bacon in your carbon steel, and if so does it stick and leave residue like it did in my CI?
as for bacon I do not do it in the carbon pans for that reason I have done it to see and yeah kinda sticks mess stuff just like cast iron !
side note I used to camp a lot more than I do now and I replaced my cast iron griddle with one from partner steel its a anodized aluminum one and WOW for camping its a game changer it cleans up easier than cast iron and I can leave it out overnight and not worry if it rains or anything also so much lighter and prefer the sides
my fav when I cook bacon inside is cut whole pack in quarters do the whole pack and that way it kinda fries in its own grease as it covers it all
I have a large camp chef brand steel griddle outside that I use a lot while I get some stickies is not bad I just use a paint scraper and scrape it using its own grease to loosen the stuff and just kinda use the edge of the scraper to pull into the grease tray ! one or two paper towels folded and wipe down excess and done no stove to clean hahahaha
actually just did my steak on that outside this morning
I do not do it in the carbon pans for that reason I have done it to see and yeah kinda sticks mess stuff just like cast iron ! side note I used to camp a lot more than I do now and I replaced my cast iron griddle with one from partner steel its a anodized aluminum one and WOW for camping its a game changer it cleans up easier than cast iron and I can leave it out overnight and not worry if it rains or anything also so much lighter
and prefer the sides my fav when I cook bacon inside is cut whole pack in quarters do the whole pack and that way it kinda fries in its own grease as it covers it all
I have a large camp chef brand steel griddle outside that I use a lot while I get some stickies is not bad I just use a paint scraper and scrape it using its own grease to loosen the stuff and just kinda use the edge of the scraper to pull into the grease tray ! one or two paper towels folded and wipe down excess and done no stove to clean
hahahaha actually just did my steak on that outside this morning
My daughter is apprenticing with a blacksmith in southern Ohio who started a line of skillets and pans a few years ago. They've received some great reviews in the WSJ, Midwest Living and TheKitchn.
I bought more than I should have.
I may be partial, as she helped forge a few, but I've tossed all of my old pans after using these.
Lockhart Ironworks: Forged Cookware
I bought more than I should have.
I may be partial, as she helped forge a few, but I've tossed all of my old pans after using these.
Lockhart Ironworks: Forged Cookware
That 12" griddle is GORGEOUS! However, they need to make at least one pan in a traditional deep tapered shape for sautéing.
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