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(Serious Eats)   Tired of obsessing over the care and feeding of cast iron pans? Obsess over these instead   (seriouseats.com) divider line
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    More: Cool, Cooking, Baking, Pizza, Iron, Searing, Sauce, Surface, Carbon  
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1312 clicks; posted to Food » on 02 Feb 2023 at 6:41 AM (7 weeks ago)   |   Favorite    |   share:  Share on Twitter share via Email Share on Facebook



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drjekel_mrhyde
2023-02-02 6:50:21 AM  
How good are they over a open tire fire?
 
vudukungfu [TotalFark]
2023-02-02 7:03:09 AM  

drjekel_mrhyde: How good are they over a open tire fire?


On coals, great.
Carbon steel is a great saute pan.

Open fire? You want to soap the bottom
 
phlegmjay
2023-02-02 7:04:29 AM  

drjekel_mrhyde: How good are they over a open tire fire?


I've never cooked with one over an open fire, but I'd have to think they'd work well. Carbon steel is a great pan material, and it's relatively light weight, which means getting it to wherever that open fire is will be easy. But I defer to those with experience.
 
phlegmjay
2023-02-02 7:05:14 AM  

drjekel_mrhyde: How good are they over a open tire fire?


And I've just noticed the word "tire" in your post...
 
Conservative Evangelical Millennial Cyclist
2023-02-02 7:12:39 AM  
Depending on what one may be cooking, different types of pans have different types of usage. Without proper direction one will come to various dead ends while trying to get onto the correct path. This is known as pan's labyrinth.
 
question_dj [TotalFark]
2023-02-02 7:45:16 AM  
America's Test Kitchen did an exhaustive review of carbon steel and the Matfer Bourtgeas was the winner. They're the carbon steel brand I use and they're great. They're also less expensive than what this article recommend.

https://matferbourgeatusa.com/product/black-steel-round-frying-pan-10/
 
Flowery Twats
2023-02-02 7:52:54 AM  
$73 for a stamped steel fry pan seems...pricey.
 
wouldestous
2023-02-02 8:01:42 AM  

Conservative Evangelical Millennial Cyclist: Depending on what one may be cooking, different types of pans have different types of usage. Without proper direction one will come to various dead ends while trying to get onto the correct path. This is known as pan's labyrinth.


unlockingthegrowth.comView Full Size

i respect both the craft and the effort
 
holdmybones
2023-02-02 8:08:53 AM  
I've used de Buyer carbon steel pans for years and love them. They're definitely not light but they're the best pans I've ever owned.
 
Cultured [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2023-02-02 8:24:23 AM  

question_dj: America's Test Kitchen did an exhaustive review of carbon steel and the Matfer Bourtgeas was the winner. They're the carbon steel brand I use and they're great. They're also less expensive than what this article recommend.

https://matferbourgeatusa.com/product/black-steel-round-frying-pan-10/


I've got a couple of those and they are my favorite pans. I also have some cheaper Lodge pans that I like more than I expected.
 
The Smails Kid
2023-02-02 8:29:43 AM  

drjekel_mrhyde: How good are they over a open tire fire?


Two earnest replies and only one funny vote.

What the hell is happening to this place ?
 
foo monkey
2023-02-02 8:36:02 AM  
Everything goes in the Instant Pot.
 
yakmans_dad
2023-02-02 8:41:52 AM  
Carbon steel is a pain and a half. Cast iron? I've never understood the handwringing. They're a breeze.
 
ChrisDe
2023-02-02 8:55:55 AM  

question_dj: America's Test Kitchen did an exhaustive review of carbon steel and the Matfer Bourtgeas was the winner. They're the carbon steel brand I use and they're great. They're also less expensive than what this article recommend.

https://matferbourgeatusa.com/product/black-steel-round-frying-pan-10/


Saw that episode and bought one, too. Have been very happy with it. The price on Amazon for the size I wanted was really jumping up and down, it was like watching the stock market to buy when it was low.
 
Oneiros [OhFark]
2023-02-02 9:15:40 AM  

foo monkey: Everything goes in the Instant Pot.


My lodge carbon steel skillet won't fit in my instant pot
 
McGrits [TotalFark]
2023-02-02 9:18:22 AM  
I just bought a carbon steel wok. When the job workload settles down a bit, I am going to teach myself to perfect a gyudon recipe.
 
foo monkey
2023-02-02 9:27:37 AM  

Oneiros: foo monkey: Everything goes in the Instant Pot.

My lodge carbon steel skillet won't fit in my instant pot


media.tenor.comView Full Size
 
foo monkey
2023-02-02 9:35:40 AM  

Oneiros: foo monkey: Everything goes in the Instant Pot.

My lodge carbon steel skillet won't fit in my instant pot


Fark user imageView Full Size
 
dryknife
2023-02-02 9:37:59 AM  

drjekel_mrhyde: How good are they over a open tire fire?


If you're cooking over tire fire in the south you probably need a pair of wire pliers to handle them with
 
Oneiros [OhFark]
2023-02-02 9:43:22 AM  

foo monkey: Oneiros: foo monkey: Everything goes in the Instant Pot.

My lodge carbon steel skillet won't fit in my instant pot

[media.tenor.com image 498x210]


Oh wait, I forgot that someone brought me back a tiny pan when they went to France many years ago

Fark user imageView Full Size
 
foo monkey
2023-02-02 9:47:49 AM  

Oneiros: foo monkey: Oneiros: foo monkey: Everything goes in the Instant Pot.

My lodge carbon steel skillet won't fit in my instant pot

[media.tenor.com image 498x210]

Oh wait, I forgot that someone brought me back a tiny pan when they went to France many years ago

[Fark user image 425x318]


We're putting too much work into food tab posts.
 
dryknife
2023-02-02 10:24:39 AM  
I used my carbon steel wok yesterday (les than $20 at the local Asian market() and cut up stir fry pork and veggies with an Old Hickory carbon steel knife ($12 or) from Ontario Knives

I know, I know - pretty f*ckin' awesome, 'eh?
 
Gough
2023-02-02 10:24:55 AM  

question_dj: America's Test Kitchen did an exhaustive review of carbon steel and the Matfer Bourtgeas was the winner. They're the carbon steel brand I use and they're great. They're also less expensive than what this article recommend.

https://matferbourgeatusa.com/product/black-steel-round-frying-pan-10/


Based on that article, I picked one up...as soon as the rush died down and they were available.

Several years later, I'm still struggling to get it to work well.  Initially, I followed their potato-peelings cleaning and seasoning routine to the letter.  Since then, I've stripped it back to bare metal and re-seasoned it a number of times with very limited success.  Until the warm weather comes and I can try again (outside), I'll stick with my CI collection.
 
Oneiros [OhFark]
2023-02-02 11:01:15 AM  

Gough: question_dj: America's Test Kitchen did an exhaustive review of carbon steel and the Matfer Bourtgeas was the winner. They're the carbon steel brand I use and they're great. They're also less expensive than what this article recommend.

https://matferbourgeatusa.com/product/black-steel-round-frying-pan-10/

Based on that article, I picked one up...as soon as the rush died down and they were available.

Several years later, I'm still struggling to get it to work well.  Initially, I followed their potato-peelings cleaning and seasoning routine to the letter.  Since then, I've stripped it back to bare metal and re-seasoned it a number of times with very limited success.  Until the warm weather comes and I can try again (outside), I'll stick with my CI collection.


Do you have an electric stove?

Because it doesn't have flames licking up the sides, you don't get good seasoning at the edge where the side starts, or the sides themselves.

You can try seasoning it in the oven, or on a grill, but you may have to re-treat it every so often.
 
Tyrone Slothrop
2023-02-02 11:08:32 AM  

Conservative Evangelical Millennial Cyclist: Depending on what one may be cooking, different types of pans have different types of usage. Without proper direction one will come to various dead ends while trying to get onto the correct path. This is known as pan's labyrinth.


Sadly a misnomer, as a labyrinth has no dead ends, by definition.
 
KingBiefWhistle
2023-02-02 11:09:48 AM  
I don't understand it. You can clean a cast iron pan with soap and water just fine. you can hit them with the scrub-side of a non-scratch sponge. The absolute most you have to do is hand dry them and maybe warm them up a little. They don't need to be babied, that's the whole farking point of cast iron
 
offacue [TotalFark]
2023-02-02 11:16:03 AM  

Oneiros: foo monkey: Everything goes in the Instant Pot.

My lodge carbon steel skillet won't fit in my instant pot


But will your instant pot fit into your lodge carbon steel skillet?
 
The Smails Kid
2023-02-02 11:26:26 AM  

KingBiefWhistle: I don't understand it. You can clean a cast iron pan with soap and water just fine. you can hit them with the scrub-side of a non-scratch sponge. The absolute most you have to do is hand dry them and maybe warm them up a little. They don't need to be babied, that's the whole farking point of cast iron


My mother-in-law and aunt-in-law put one of my well-seasoned cast iron skillets in the dishwasher.

I didn't consider divorce, but murder certainly crossed my mind.
 
69gnarkill69
2023-02-02 11:29:31 AM  
I picked up a cast aluminum Magnalite skillet at a swap meet for $5. Best skillet evar.

Fark user imageView Full Size
 
drjekel_mrhyde
2023-02-02 11:48:39 AM  

foo monkey: Oneiros: foo monkey: Everything goes in the Instant Pot.

My lodge carbon steel skillet won't fit in my instant pot

[Fark user image 600x1200]


60qts off, but they have 40L ones now
Large Electric Pressure Cooker (40 litre capacity) demonstration.
Youtube RwxPcvHDtYI
 
Evil Mackerel
2023-02-02 12:13:51 PM  

drjekel_mrhyde: How good are they over a open tire fire?


Fark user imageView Full Size


Spider Skillet - Townsends
 
Gough
2023-02-02 12:15:12 PM  

Oneiros: Gough: question_dj: America's Test Kitchen did an exhaustive review of carbon steel and the Matfer Bourtgeas was the winner. They're the carbon steel brand I use and they're great. They're also less expensive than what this article recommend.

https://matferbourgeatusa.com/product/black-steel-round-frying-pan-10/

Based on that article, I picked one up...as soon as the rush died down and they were available.

Several years later, I'm still struggling to get it to work well.  Initially, I followed their potato-peelings cleaning and seasoning routine to the letter.  Since then, I've stripped it back to bare metal and re-seasoned it a number of times with very limited success.  Until the warm weather comes and I can try again (outside), I'll stick with my CI collection.

Do you have an electric stove?

Because it doesn't have flames licking up the sides, you don't get good seasoning at the edge where the side starts, or the sides themselves.

You can try seasoning it in the oven, or on a grill, but you may have to re-treat it every so often.


Nope, gas stove, but thanks.  Tried that several times, then the big gas burner and the grill outside.  I'll give it another shot this spring.
 
Ant
2023-02-02 12:19:38 PM  
I have a carbon steel wok that I like, no carbon steel pans though. I've never obsessed over my cast iron pans. Just cook with it, don't put it in a dishwasher, and don't leave water in it.
 
Joey Jo Jo Jr Shabadu
2023-02-02 12:23:24 PM  

Flowery Twats: $73 for a stamped steel fry pan seems...pricey.


Sure, there are cheaper options out there.  But $73 doesn't sound like a lot for anything that I use regularly and will last for decades.  Frankly, that seems cheap.


yakmans_dad: Carbon steel is a pain and a half. Cast iron? I've never understood the handwringing. They're a breeze.


What pain?  They're no more a pain than cast iron in my opinion, and as you said, cast iron is easy to use and clean.  Plus, they're a hell of a lot lighter.
 
CheekyMonkey
2023-02-02 1:14:23 PM  

Joey Jo Jo Jr Shabadu: Flowery Twats: $73 for a stamped steel fry pan seems...pricey.

Sure, there are cheaper options out there.  But $73 doesn't sound like a lot for anything that I use regularly and will last for decades.  Frankly, that seems cheap.


yakmans_dad: Carbon steel is a pain and a half. Cast iron? I've never understood the handwringing. They're a breeze.

What pain?  They're no more a pain than cast iron in my opinion, and as you said, cast iron is easy to use and clean.  Plus, they're a hell of a lot lighter.


Carbon steel pans rust a bit more easily than cast iron, but either one, well-seasoned and not left to sit in the sink should be fine.

Incidentally, something I learned just last night (reading a book on blacksmithing) is that cast iron actually has a higher carbon content that carbon steel.
 
CheekyMonkey
2023-02-02 1:17:12 PM  

KingBiefWhistle: I don't understand it. You can clean a cast iron pan with soap and water just fine. you can hit them with the scrub-side of a non-scratch sponge. The absolute most you have to do is hand dry them and maybe warm them up a little. They don't need to be babied, that's the whole farking point of cast iron


There are quite a few people out there who don't understand what "seasoning" actually is.

https://sherylcanter.com/wordpress/2010/01/a-science-based-technique-for-seasoning-cast-iron/
 
Conservative Evangelical Millennial Cyclist
2023-02-02 2:48:59 PM  

Tyrone Slothrop: Conservative Evangelical Millennial Cyclist: Depending on what one may be cooking, different types of pans have different types of usage. Without proper direction one will come to various dead ends while trying to get onto the correct path. This is known as pan's labyrinth.

Sadly a misnomer, as a labyrinth has no dead ends, by definition.


Fark user imageView Full Size
 
ski9600 [TotalFark]
2023-02-02 3:27:33 PM  

69gnarkill69: I picked up a cast aluminum Magnalite skillet at a swap meet for $5. Best skillet evar.

[Fark user image 500x500]


I've got a whole set of that.  Might have to try them again because I don't like them.
 
Gough
2023-02-02 3:32:48 PM  

CheekyMonkey: KingBiefWhistle: I don't understand it. You can clean a cast iron pan with soap and water just fine. you can hit them with the scrub-side of a non-scratch sponge. The absolute most you have to do is hand dry them and maybe warm them up a little. They don't need to be babied, that's the whole farking point of cast iron

There are quite a few people out there who don't understand what "seasoning" actually is.

https://sherylcanter.com/wordpress/2010/01/a-science-based-technique-for-seasoning-cast-iron/


I started using that method on our "daily driver" cast iron pans shortly after she Boobiesed it.  I eventually decided that the minimally better performance wasn't worth the hassle.  Even with the fan in the hood going full blast it stunk up the house pretty thoroughly.
 
zeroflight222
2023-02-02 4:17:19 PM  

Conservative Evangelical Millennial Cyclist: Depending on what one may be cooking, different types of pans have different types of usage. Without proper direction one will come to various dead ends while trying to get onto the correct path. This is known as pan's labyrinth.


But which will cook faster for those times I only have a Minotaur or two?
 
guinsu
2023-02-02 4:19:14 PM  

yakmans_dad: Carbon steel is a pain and a half. Cast iron? I've never understood the handwringing. They're a breeze.


My carbon steel wok has been amazing so far. Very little work to season it. It cooks eggs no problem
 
assjuice
2023-02-02 4:23:01 PM  

Gough: CheekyMonkey: KingBiefWhistle: I don't understand it. You can clean a cast iron pan with soap and water just fine. you can hit them with the scrub-side of a non-scratch sponge. The absolute most you have to do is hand dry them and maybe warm them up a little. They don't need to be babied, that's the whole farking point of cast iron

There are quite a few people out there who don't understand what "seasoning" actually is.

https://sherylcanter.com/wordpress/2010/01/a-science-based-technique-for-seasoning-cast-iron/

I started using that method on our "daily driver" cast iron pans shortly after she Boobiesed it.  I eventually decided that the minimally better performance wasn't worth the hassle.  Even with the fan in the hood going full blast it stunk up the house pretty thoroughly.


That's par for the course with most bro-science based cooking and food advice. See also, Kenji, Alton Brown.
 
Oneiros [OhFark]
2023-02-02 6:42:21 PM  

offacue: Oneiros: foo monkey: Everything goes in the Instant Pot.

My lodge carbon steel skillet won't fit in my instant pot

But will your instant pot fit into your lodge carbon steel skillet?


Sort of?

Fark user imageView Full Size
 
AnudderFreakinFarker
2023-02-02 7:44:21 PM  

CheekyMonkey: KingBiefWhistle: I don't understand it. You can clean a cast iron pan with soap and water just fine. you can hit them with the scrub-side of a non-scratch sponge. The absolute most you have to do is hand dry them and maybe warm them up a little. They don't need to be babied, that's the whole farking point of cast iron

There are quite a few people out there who don't understand what "seasoning" actually is.

https://sherylcanter.com/wordpress/2010/01/a-science-based-technique-for-seasoning-cast-iron/


Thank you for your thoughtful post!
 
Percise1
2023-02-02 8:42:55 PM  
the main takeaway is that carbon steel pans have sloped, flared sides, which make them better suited to sautéing ("if you want to launch something skyward, you need to send it off a sloping ramp, not crash iat into a wall," as senior culinary director Daniel Gritzer explained). Cast iron, on the other hand, has straight, vertical sides, which makes it ideal for shallow-frying and baking things like cornbread and pan pizza.

I love it when people speak in absolutes and are wrong.

external-content.duckduckgo.comView Full Size


Paula Dean 10" cast iron skillet with pouring spouts, probably the most used of my 6 cast iron cooking wessels. Yes, you can saute in it and "flip" things of you have the strength, and I made cornbread in it just last week.
Absolutely worth the money: https://www.ebay.com/itm/115253986768

Straight walled, my ass!
 
Joey Jo Jo Jr Shabadu
2023-02-02 8:51:12 PM  

Percise1: the main takeaway is that carbon steel pans have sloped, flared sides, which make them better suited to sautéing ("if you want to launch something skyward, you need to send it off a sloping ramp, not crash iat into a wall," as senior culinary director Daniel Gritzer explained). Cast iron, on the other hand, has straight, vertical sides, which makes it ideal for shallow-frying and baking things like cornbread and pan pizza.

I love it when people speak in absolutes and are wrong.

[external-content.duckduckgo.com image 262x262]

Paula Dean 10" cast iron skillet with pouring spouts, probably the most used of my 6 cast iron cooking wessels. Yes, you can saute in it and "flip" things of you have the strength, and I made cornbread in it just last week.
Absolutely worth the money: https://www.ebay.com/itm/115253986768

Straight walled, my ass!


The pedantry is strong with this one.


Generally speaking, I imagine 9/10 cast iron pans will have the straighter sides. And no one's flipping shiat in them even if they have the strength.
 
Gough
2023-02-03 12:28:13 AM  

assjuice: Gough: CheekyMonkey: KingBiefWhistle: I don't understand it. You can clean a cast iron pan with soap and water just fine. you can hit them with the scrub-side of a non-scratch sponge. The absolute most you have to do is hand dry them and maybe warm them up a little. They don't need to be babied, that's the whole farking point of cast iron

There are quite a few people out there who don't understand what "seasoning" actually is.

https://sherylcanter.com/wordpress/2010/01/a-science-based-technique-for-seasoning-cast-iron/

I started using that method on our "daily driver" cast iron pans shortly after she Boobiesed it.  I eventually decided that the minimally better performance wasn't worth the hassle.  Even with the fan in the hood going full blast it stunk up the house pretty thoroughly.

That's par for the course with most bro-science based cooking and food advice. See also, Kenji, Alton Brown.


I've had, far and away, the best luck following Kenji's recipes and advice.  Starting from his time at Cook's Illustrated, he's taken a systematic approach to developing sound methods...as you would expect of any trained architect.
 
CheekyMonkey
2023-02-03 8:56:06 AM  

Gough: CheekyMonkey: KingBiefWhistle: I don't understand it. You can clean a cast iron pan with soap and water just fine. you can hit them with the scrub-side of a non-scratch sponge. The absolute most you have to do is hand dry them and maybe warm them up a little. They don't need to be babied, that's the whole farking point of cast iron

There are quite a few people out there who don't understand what "seasoning" actually is.

https://sherylcanter.com/wordpress/2010/01/a-science-based-technique-for-seasoning-cast-iron/

I started using that method on our "daily driver" cast iron pans shortly after she Boobiesed it.  I eventually decided that the minimally better performance wasn't worth the hassle.  Even with the fan in the hood going full blast it stunk up the house pretty thoroughly.


Hmm.  I've never noticed any particular stink.  Flaxseed oil has always worked well for me - unaffected by-soap-and-water washing, stands up pretty well to metal tongs and spatula use.

Incidentally, I also started using flaxseed oil on the wooden kitchen utensils and wooden cutting boards I make.  Since it actually polymerizes, it lasts much longer than mineral oil, or the beeswax-mineral oil combo I used to use.
 
ski9600 [TotalFark]
2023-02-03 1:37:33 PM  
Hi, I'm just going to pop in to point out the Rick Bayless uses carbon steel at home when appropriate.

Rick Bayless Taco Manual: Bold Red Chile Salsa
Youtube Y4g2DO_CFBU
 
ski9600 [TotalFark]
2023-02-03 1:46:33 PM  

Joey Jo Jo Jr Shabadu: Percise1: the main takeaway is that carbon steel pans have sloped, flared sides, which make them better suited to sautéing ("if you want to launch something skyward, you need to send it off a sloping ramp, not crash iat into a wall," as senior culinary director Daniel Gritzer explained). Cast iron, on the other hand, has straight, vertical sides, which makes it ideal for shallow-frying and baking things like cornbread and pan pizza.

I love it when people speak in absolutes and are wrong.

[external-content.duckduckgo.com image 262x262]

Paula Dean 10" cast iron skillet with pouring spouts, probably the most used of my 6 cast iron cooking wessels. Yes, you can saute in it and "flip" things of you have the strength, and I made cornbread in it just last week.
Absolutely worth the money: https://www.ebay.com/itm/115253986768

Straight walled, my ass!

The pedantry is strong with this one.


Generally speaking, I imagine 9/10 cast iron pans will have the straighter sides. And no one's flipping shiat in them even if they have the strength.


Well, ok.  But I would not call them straight. The angle is at least 6 degrees from vertical. So maybe 92 degreese?
 
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