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Carbon Steel Skillets

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Spring Chicken
Spring Chicken Posts: 10,255
in EggHead Forum
I've been researching carbon steel skillets. Among other things, I think they would be perfect for searing food for my sous vide cooking. 

This review popped up on my home page this morning and I thought it was one of the best reviews I've seen on the subject. I thought some of you might enjoy watching it too. 

Here's the link: 

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

You're welcome. 

Spring "Never Enough Toys" Chicken 
Spring Texas USA
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  • Chubbs
    Chubbs Posts: 6,929
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    Thanks Spring. I have been eye-balling a small carbon steel fry pan for eggs and all. Thanks for the reminder. This review is awesome

    Columbia, SC --- LBGE 2011 -- MINI BGE 2013
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  • ScottNC
    ScottNC Posts: 240
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    Good Post, Thanks for sharing it

    Western, North Carolina

    Large, MiniMax, Blackstone 17" Smashburger Griddle & Stuff


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  • Hotch
    Hotch Posts: 3,564
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    And out comes the credit card, again!!!

    Thanks Leroy, was wondering about one of these.

    Large BGE, MiniMAX BGE, 2 Mini BGE's, R&V Fryer, 36" Blackstone Griddle, Camp Chef Dual Burner 40K BTU Stove
    BGE Chiminea
    Prosper, TX
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  • HondaHawk
    HondaHawk Posts: 98
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    I've got a Paella pan from lodge - carbon steel. Love it. 
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  • Carolina Q
    Carolina Q Posts: 14,831
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    Thanks, Leroy. I bought mine a few months ago, the Lodge 10", pre-seasoned. Thought about the de Buyer, but decided $36 was better than $60. I use it all the time and love it. Heats up quickly too. I've used it for searing sous vide steaks, omelets, pan frying chops or chicken parts or just frying eggs. Wish I'd bought one long ago!

    I have an All-Clad stainless fry pan, a Mauviel tinned copper pan as well as a bunch of vintage CI skillets in assorted sizes (I seem to buy another CI pan every time I see one in an antique shop). Now, I reach for the carbon steel more often than not. 

    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

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  • volfan1
    volfan1 Posts: 164
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    Time to break out the credit card!  =)
    XL & Mini & knock off medium. Western North Carolina. Formerly Franklin, TN. Formerly in Palm Harbor, FL. 
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  • HeavyG
    HeavyG Posts: 10,349
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    I've got a 9" carbon steel crepe pan that I use when making smash burgers. I think I paid about $15 for it a decade ago. I assume it would work fine for searing a steak.
    “Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away.” ― Philip K. Diçk




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  • Bustersdad
    Bustersdad Posts: 311
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    I've got a couple of de Buyer carbon steel pans, find I'm that I'm reaching for those more and more over the heavier cast iron
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  • womaus
    womaus Posts: 256
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    I found a Tim Love (?) branded de Buyer at Sur la Table a couple of years ago in the discounted section...it's a great pan. Looks ragged now, as it should, after being well used. Needed to re-season it recently due to a "helpful" person helping with the dishes. I don't like helpful people in my kitchen....

    Fun video here with the manufacturing of them.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4o_HbZvCMM

      
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  • SciAggie
    SciAggie Posts: 6,481
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    I have two deBuyer skillets; a small fry pan for eggs and a large paella/fry pan. I love them both. Frankly (don't tell anyone) I use them more than my CI pans. 
    Coleman, Texas
    Large BGE & Mini Max for the wok. A few old camp Dutch ovens and a wood fired oven. LSG 24” cabinet offset smoker. There are a few paella pans and a Patagonia cross in the barn. A curing chamber for bacterial transformation of meats...
    "Bourbon slushies. Sure you can cook on the BGE without them, but why would you?"
                                                                                                                          YukonRon
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  • Botch
    Botch Posts: 15,485
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    This/last month's Cook's Illustrated just did an article/shootout of carbon steel frypans.  They had high praises for most of them.
    And this completely blows my skull.  Since I first became interested in cooking (think Frugal Gourmet in 1982 or so) steel cookware was to be avoided because of its poor heat conductivity compared to copper or even aluminuminuminum.  Steel pots/pans had "hot spots" leading to burning.  I do have a carbon steel wok (2 actually) but on the Egg the heat is already spread evenly.  
    I understand the nonstick properties of properly-seasoned carbon steel, but what happened to the poor heat distribution?  

    _____________

    "Pro-Life" would be twenty students graduating from Sandy Hook next month  


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  • Botch
    Botch Posts: 15,485
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    d'Oh!  Once again I blab forth my deeply knowledgable and highly entertaining opinion ( =)  ), without watching the OP video first; it was the same experiment by CI!   
     
    My original question still stands, however; what about hot spots in a steel pan?  
    _____________

    "Pro-Life" would be twenty students graduating from Sandy Hook next month  


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  • Hawg Fan
    Hawg Fan Posts: 1,517
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    I see the carbon steel pans all the time in flea markets and never paid a lot of attention to them because I'm usually shopping for vintage CI.  I'm gonna start looking closer now that I'm aware of their potential.  Thanks for sharing Leroy @Spring Chicken 

    Any road will take you there if you don't know where you're going.

    Terry

    Rockwall, TX
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  • Darby_Crenshaw
    Darby_Crenshaw Posts: 2,657
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    Botch said:
    aluminuminuminum
    Alrighty then
    [social media disclaimer: irony and sarcasm may be used in some or all of user's posts; emoticon usage is intended to indicate moderately jocular social interaction; the comments toward users, their usernames, and the real people (living or dead) that they refer to are not intended to be adversarial in nature; those replying to this user are entering into a tacit agreement that they are real-life or social-media acquaintances and/or have agreed to or tacitly agreed to perpetrate occasional good-natured ribbing between and among themselves and others]

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  • HeavyG
    HeavyG Posts: 10,349
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    Botch said:
    d'Oh!  Once again I blab forth my deeply knowledgable and highly entertaining opinion ( =)  ), without watching the OP video first; it was the same experiment by CI!   
     
    My original question still stands, however; what about hot spots in a steel pan?  
    The heat flow dynamics of carbon steel and stainless steel are quite different. The knock on steel pans is in reference to stainless steel. That is why most good stainless steel pans these days are laminations of various metals to help address the shortcomings of stainless steel.
    “Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away.” ― Philip K. Diçk




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  • Judy Mayberry
    Judy Mayberry Posts: 2,015
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    What a coincidence! Today I scrubbed the inside of my Matfer Bourgeat Black Steel 9" pan because the sides were full of blobby baked-on stuff, and re-seasoned it with flax oil. I gave it five 1-hour turns in a 500° oven as the day went on. It's so gorgeous I'm going to hate to use it for my egg in the morning and start all over again. Love the pan for meat!
    Judy in San Diego
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  • lwrehm
    lwrehm Posts: 381
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    I did a bit of poking around the web on these, what a range of prices on the same pan, looked at the Vollrath 58930 12.5" $26 - $130.
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  • Austin Egghead
    Austin Egghead Posts: 3,966
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    I got a deal on the Lodge CS fry pan and I agree with the CI review. 
    The preseaon is not the best and it did stick with hot spots. I striped off the pre season and did the seasoning the Wok shop recommends. The pan works perfectly (Still has hot spots on stove but don't notice them on the egg. I assume the egg heat is more even than the burner). 
    I purchaed the skillet for use one the egg but it sits on the stove most of the time. 
    I clean by hitting the hot pan wih boiling water, let water boil for a few minutes, drain and a couple strokes with sponge, if needed. I put the pan that has been wiped dry back on the burner, spray with Pam, heat until oil just starts to simmer, wipe out excessive oil and pan is ready for next use.  
    This is another good tool in my skillet arsenal.
    Large, small and mini now Egging in Rowlett Tx
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  • Botch
    Botch Posts: 15,485
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    HeavyG said:
    Botch said:
    d'Oh!  Once again I blab forth my deeply knowledgable and highly entertaining opinion ( =)  ), without watching the OP video first; it was the same experiment by CI!   
     
    My original question still stands, however; what about hot spots in a steel pan?  
    The heat flow dynamics of carbon steel and stainless steel are quite different. The knock on steel pans is in reference to stainless steel. That is why most good stainless steel pans these days are laminations of various metals to help address the shortcomings of stainless steel.
    I had to look that up, didn't know that before.  
    However, the thermal conductivity difference between carbon steel and Al is roughly six times the difference between the two steels.  
    _____________

    "Pro-Life" would be twenty students graduating from Sandy Hook next month  


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  • rifrench
    rifrench Posts: 469
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    Ahhh, dammit, another round of research and then buying........
     1 LBGE, 1 SBGE, 1 KBQ and a 26" Blackstone near Blackstone, Virginia
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  • ScottNC
    ScottNC Posts: 240
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    haha, I'm in the same boat rifrench, leaning towards DeBuyer

    Western, North Carolina

    Large, MiniMax, Blackstone 17" Smashburger Griddle & Stuff


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  • SciAggie
    SciAggie Posts: 6,481
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    ScottNC said:
    haha, I'm in the same boat rifrench, leaning towards DeBuyer
    Payback for you guys that pushed me over the edge on my mini max...
    Coleman, Texas
    Large BGE & Mini Max for the wok. A few old camp Dutch ovens and a wood fired oven. LSG 24” cabinet offset smoker. There are a few paella pans and a Patagonia cross in the barn. A curing chamber for bacterial transformation of meats...
    "Bourbon slushies. Sure you can cook on the BGE without them, but why would you?"
                                                                                                                          YukonRon
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  • ScottNC
    ScottNC Posts: 240
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    I did nothing... I'm just victim here, a sad broken (and broke) victim... of this whole place... :s

    Western, North Carolina

    Large, MiniMax, Blackstone 17" Smashburger Griddle & Stuff


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  • sctdg
    sctdg Posts: 301
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    Got Matfer Bourgeat Black Steel Round Frying Pan, 11 7/8" on order ,probably won't see it till sometime in April .When I was a kid my mom always used steel skillets like that. Cast Iron and steel is what she used . Many years ago she gave me a set of Griswold CI, still use them a lot .
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  • smokeybreeze
    smokeybreeze Posts: 216
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    I'd recommend the made in France DeBuyer crepe pans for fried eggs. I got an 8" one from my aunt about 30 years ago and it's my best non-stick egg pan. My non stick CI skillets have too tall sides but the crepe pan sides are maybe half an inch tall. My son wanted to steal it so I gave him the 10" sized DeBuyer pan he wanted for Christmas and he's happily seasoning it.
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  • Mikee
    Mikee Posts: 892
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    I started looking for a carbon steel pan as well. The only pan I've been using for years is a cast iron. I have SS pans but they are not non-stick like the cast-iron.
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  • HeavyG
    HeavyG Posts: 10,349
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    Botch said:
    HeavyG said:
    Botch said:
    d'Oh!  Once again I blab forth my deeply knowledgable and highly entertaining opinion ( =)  ), without watching the OP video first; it was the same experiment by CI!   
     
    My original question still stands, however; what about hot spots in a steel pan?  
    The heat flow dynamics of carbon steel and stainless steel are quite different. The knock on steel pans is in reference to stainless steel. That is why most good stainless steel pans these days are laminations of various metals to help address the shortcomings of stainless steel.
    I had to look that up, didn't know that before.  
    However, the thermal conductivity difference between carbon steel and Al is roughly six times the difference between the two steels.  
    True. Which is why aluminum is sandwiched between layers of steel in pots from Allclad, Cuisinart, etc. cuz it's better able to evenly spread the "love".
    “Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away.” ― Philip K. Diçk




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  • blasting
    blasting Posts: 6,262
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    @Spring Chicken   Thanks for posting, that video was interesting.
    Phoenix 
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  • jlsm
    jlsm Posts: 1,011
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    I'm there with Matfer. Fantastic surface. I have my name on a list for a pan for my stepson. 
    *******
    Owner of a large and a beloved mini in Philadelphia
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