Carbon Steel Pans...My Exploration Is Over

[Mr.Wizard]

If anyone else wants one of the 10" GSI GuideCast pans REI.com has them on clearance for $17.93.

https://www.rei.com/product/198680/gsi-outdoors-guidecast-frying-pan-10-in

 

[sumis]

yes. hot pan. fat. success.

but: scrambled egg is cooked on very low heat and constantly stirred, for quite a long time! anything else might be great, but not scrambled eggs

.

 

[M1k3]

yes. hot pan. fat. success.

but: scrambled egg is cooked on very low heat and constantly stirred, for quite a long time! anything else might be great, but not scrambled eggs

.

Stir faster. Plate faster.

This is the way.

 

[madmotts]

Stir faster. Plate faster.

This is the way.

This is the way.

 

[OldSaw]

If anyone else wants one of the 10" GSI GuideCast pans REI.com has them on clearance for $17.93.

https://www.rei.com/product/198680/gsi-outdoors-guidecast-frying-pan-10-in

Where is it made? The link just says “ imported” which is usually code, these days, for made in China.

 

[sumis]

Stir faster. Plate faster.

This is the way.

but if i don't get payed for cooking, should i worry 'bout hurry?
well, i do when i'm hungry, and hungover (which is most of the time), but that's not really beneficial for the result, at least not in my humble case.

but more importantly: scrambled eggs is not a frying pan dis . you don't 'pan fry' scrambled eggs. you let the mixture coagulate in an appropriate vessel. if you hear a 'frying' sound from the eggs/vessel, you're making something else than scrambled eggs!

and again:

1) well seasoned pan carbon steel pan ≠ a pan with a uniform dark glassy color. can be, but the color you're chasing by doing x y z is not the same as performance.

2) a most excellent way to seasoning your de buyer (or equivalent) is to use it.

.

 

[daveb]

This guy pans.

If you need to churn and burn then aluminum w oil is the way. "Normal" scrambled is 6 ctn of liquid eggs and a hot rondo.

(I know I spelled it in kitchen and not the proper French)

 

[Mr.Wizard]

Where is it made? The link just says “ imported” which is usually code, these days, for made in China.

I'll tell you when I receive it. I couldn't see a better option. Lehman's is from China.

 

[Mr.Wizard]

@OldSaw It is made in China.

 

[stringer]

This guy pans.

If you need to churn and burn then aluminum w oil is the way. "Normal" scrambled is 6 ctn of liquid eggs and a hot rondo.

(I know I spelled it in kitchen and not the proper French)

If you really need to churn and burn then you're going to need 10 gallons of liquid eggs and a hot 40 gallon stainless steel tilt braiser or steam jacketed kettle.

 

[daveb]

He, he. I remember doing them in a tilt skillet. Hated cleaning that thing.

Now I feed 100 at a time. My "cooks" like to do them in a steamer. Yuck. Rondo rocks.

 

[stringer]

and again:

1) well seasoned pan carbon steel pan ≠ a pan with a uniform dark glassy color. can be, but the color you're chasing by doing x y z is not the same as performance.

2) a most excellent way to seasoning your de buyer (or equivalent) is to use it.

.

This is true. Seasoning should be very thin on carbon steel and cast iron. If it's flaking it's way too thick.

Here's mine, you can see it's not uniform and there's some bare steel peeking through here and there but I scrub it very clean after each time I use it with salt and a wooden spoon. Whatever comes off comes off. Then I reseason it a little the next time I heat it up. Very nonstick and no burnt flakes in my food.

 

[coxhaus]

This is true. Seasoning should be very thin on carbon steel and cast iron. If it's flaking it's way too thick.

Here's mine, you can see it's not uniform and there's some bare steel peeking through here and there but I scrub it very clean after each time I use it with salt and a wooden spoon. Whatever comes off comes off. Then I reseason it a little the next time I heat it up. Very nonstick and no burnt flakes in my food.

View attachment 170412

I have a chain mail that I use for cleaning carbon steel. It seems to work well for me. It gets the carbon off that built up in the past.

 

[OldSaw]

Stir faster. Plate faster.

This is the way.

Made two batches of three eggs each this morning.

Solidteknics pan. Preheated for a good five minutes before adding butter. These are mine, which I like a little more well done than my wife’s.

 

[PNWanderlust]

This is true. Seasoning should be very thin on carbon steel and cast iron. If it's flaking it's way too thick.

Here's mine, you can see it's not uniform and there's some bare steel peeking through here and there but I scrub it very clean after each time I use it with salt and a wooden spoon. Whatever comes off comes off. Then I reseason it a little the next time I heat it up. Very nonstick and no burnt flakes in my food.

View attachment 170412

This is very similar to what by de buyer looks like, and its definitely non-stick enough to cook eggs with a splash of oil/butter/bacon fat/whatever.
It's get more color eventually through years of use.

 

[madmotts]

>Solidteknics pan.

Power of persuasion. I hit the amzn button on the 10”. Curious to see how it compares to my Field Skillet

 

[Rangen]

If you need to churn and burn then aluminum w oil is the way. "Normal" scrambled is 6 ctn of liquid eggs and a hot rondo.

These mass scrambled egg descriptions are horrifying. I think of scrambled eggs as like a custard gently separated into curds. Cast iron heated to just the right temperature, eggs, no added liquid, plenty of butter, a fork, and a general lazy, slow attitude are the way.

I never order scrambled eggs at a restaurant. OK, except for scrambled eggs with shrimp at Cantonese places.

 

[BillHanna]

I used to run a midnight buffet at a regional diner chain. You. Would. Be. Scarred. at what drunks want at 2am.

 

[Rangen]

I used to run a midnight buffet at a regional diner chain. You. Would. Be. Scarred. at what drunks want at 2am.

Maybe I would. But I've eaten at White Castle and Taco Bell (exactly once each). So I can't help feeling that I've seen the abyss.

 

[M1k3]

I used to run a midnight buffet at a regional diner chain. You. Would. Be. Scarred. at what drunks want at 2am.

Do tell!

 

[BillHanna]

“Divine Eggs”, named by a guest: buffet eggs with scraps of *waves hand around*

med-med rare chix (ordered by a regular)

Something got freezer burnt? Ehh. Cover it in cheese sauce.

they’d eat anything that was fried, caramelized, or cheesed.

 

[M1k3]

“Divine Eggs”, named by a guest: buffet eggs with scraps of *waves hand around*

med-med rare chix (ordered by a regular)

Something got freezer burnt? Ehh. Cover it in cheese sauce.

they’d eat anything that was fried, caramelized, or cheesed.

I miss and don't miss those customers.

Like being told the best steak someone ever had was nuked. Yeah, weird **** happens when there's a UFC fight on, place is packed and there's only 2 guys in the back cooking, prep and doing dishes.

 

[BillHanna]

At the hospital I work at, people complain about being short handed. Sweet summer children.

 

[M1k3]

At the hospital I work at, people complain about being short handed. Sweet summer children.

Is one hand shorter than the other? Otherwise

 

[mengwong]

Only pour fat into a carbon or cast iron pan after it heats up, it'll just work regardless of the seasoning.

So, today, I had a few hunks of haggis sizzling away in the wok, and I opened the fridge and some cherry tomatoes presented themselves, so I cut them in half with my BESS 160 gyuto (upping it in the process probably past 240) and added them. After plating I was thrilled to discover I had managed to “strip the seasoning” – exactly where the nightshades were, the black had gone to silver:

“Well, now, I wonder: how much damage have we actually done here?”

Because the surface still felt smooth.

And then I remembered: “seasoning encompasses two steps: polymerization and carbonization.”

I learned that from this thread, thank you @MarcelNL.

https://www.scienceofcooking.com/science-of-cast-iron-skillet-cooking.html

“Have I really ruined the polymer layer, or have I just decarburized the seasoning?”

Only one way to find out!

Conclusion: maybe the whole seasoning thing is overrated, and you really just need to preheat, get the oil hot, and let the food float up as little Leidenfrosty hovercrafts. I mean, if it works for stainless, then … it’ll work on carbon, seasoned or not!

 

[sumis]

well, i'd at least say that the most important aspect of seasoning carbon steel is not about achieving a certain even colour.

.

 

[ian]

So, what’s the point of getting the pan hot before adding oil? I assume that the point is not to let the oil sit at a high temp for too long, lest it degrade, so you heat first, then oil just before you’re ready to add food. But above, someone was talking about it like preheating the pan dry was helpful in making it nonstick when you add oil and food, and that you should practice oil return before adding new food. Is that because degraded oil is stickier? Or is there something about a temperature differential that’s helpful? Seems like the oil’s gonna get up to pan temp pretty quick.

 

[boomchakabowwow]

So, today, I had a few hunks of haggis sizzling away in the wok, and I opened the fridge and some cherry tomatoes presented themselves, so I cut them in half with my BESS 160 gyuto (upping it in the process probably past 240) and added them. After plating I was thrilled to discover I had managed to “strip the seasoning” – exactly where the nightshades were, the black had gone to silver:

View attachment 204729

“Well, now, I wonder: how much damage have we actually done here?”

Because the surface still felt smooth.

And then I remembered: “seasoning encompasses two steps: polymerization and carbonization.”

I learned that from this thread, thank you @MarcelNL.



“Have I really ruined the polymer layer, or have I just decarburized the seasoning?”

Only one way to find out!

View attachment 204730

Conclusion: maybe the whole seasoning thing is overrated, and you really just need to preheat, get the oil hot, and let the food float up as little Leidenfrosty hovercrafts. I mean, if it works for stainless, then … it’ll work on carbon, seasoned or not!

awesome.

i feel starting with the cleanest vessel is the real secret to sucess. like if i cook a bunch of eggs succesfully..i am all feeling good about myself when someone says, "can i have another egg?"..i break out in a cold sweat because that next egg is DOOMED.

 

[coxhaus]

Here is my Matfer Bourgeat pan I bought when this thread started. It is seasoned about as good as I can get it. The chain mail I have keeps the carbon from getting thick and flaking. I have no flaking in my food. I am playing with other stuff now, so I am not using it a lot right now.

 

[bbrooks008]

So, what’s the point of getting the pan hot before adding oil? I assume that the point is not to let the oil sit at a high temp for too long, lest it degrade, so you heat first, then oil just before you’re ready to add food. But above, someone was talking about it like preheating the pan dry was helpful in making it nonstick when you add oil and food, and that you should practice oil return before adding new food. Is that because degraded oil is stickier? Or is there something about a temperature differential that’s helpful? Seems like the oil’s gonna get up to pan temp pretty quick.

Oh it's a night-and-day difference - if you don't get it hot before adding the grease it will still stick like crazy. Not sure why it matters, but it definitely does in my experience.