its been a minute since we chatted about carbon steel pans.

[boomchakabowwow]

I looked and I have had my pan 6 years now. use it almost daily. I do wish it was a tad bigger, but I am fine with it. for just my wife and I, the size doesn't suck.

My Mineral B pan. the silicon bee button is long gone and my handle (if I am being frank) is looking bad. but whatever. it is my workhorse. nothing toasts a green onion pancake better. not even cast iron. if my wife wants a quick veggie stir fry for one person, I use this. it pan tosses with ease one-handed. even with my office worker soft hands.

I'll have a mental lapse one day and do a Shakshuka or something with lots of tomatoes and totally strip the pan (Again) but now that it is old, the season seems to rebuild quicker. new, it sucked.

I probably will never buy another one since this one won't break, ever. and seasoning another pan is not a fun thought. I didn't do that multiple flax seed oil coat to oven thing. I did it once and got to cooking and sticking foods.

looking good tho right now.!!

 

[Rangen]

I think it looks great. Seeing a well-used tool is a pleasure.

 

[mengwong]

What’s the ultimate carbon steel pan?

A carbon steel wok!

Coat with butter, sprinkle on a layer of shredded Parmesan, medium heat. When it bubbles, crack an egg on and swirl to cover cheese with the loose white. Cover with lid and lower heat for a minute to set sunny side. Then raise heat to medium and when it naturally releases, use a spatula to fold the browned bits over. Try for a little crunch at the margins, like lazy Parm crisps.

Note: no knives are involved, how is this even a recipe?

 

[boomchakabowwow]

What’s the ultimate carbon steel pan?

A carbon steel wok!

Coat with butter, sprinkle on a layer of shredded Parmesan, medium heat. When it bubbles, crack an egg on and swirl it around to cover the cheese with the loose white. Cover with lid and lower heat for a minute to set sunny side. Then raise heat to medium and when it naturally releases, use a spatula to fold the browned bits over.

Note: no knives are involved, how is this even a recipe?View attachment 193907

truth.

sadly I can't mix eggs with cheese for the most part. haha..but that looks awesome.

 

[MrHiggins]

About 80% of my cooking is done with carbon pans (including a wok). I'd like to share one tip: clean your pan periodically with hot kosher salt and oil. Since I started doing this, my pans are bombproof and completely nonstick.

My technique is: every once and a while, I put my pan on high and heat up a tablespoon or two of course kosher salt and a teaspoon of vegetable oil. I wad up a few paper towels and (wearing heavy dish gloves), give the pan a good scrubbing. (Be careful, the molten hot salt can spray around). Get it HOT. Dump the salt/oil out and polish the pan with a dish rag and put it away. Thank me later.

Here's my omelet pan. Eggs fly off this thing!

 

[salparadise]

Darn things are almost as addictive as carbon knives, and I use both every day.

 

[MowgFace]

About 80% of my cooking is done with carbon pans (including a wok). I'd like to share one tip: clean your pan periodically with hot kosher salt and oil. Since I started doing this, my pans are bombproof and completely nonstick.

My technique is: every once and a while, I put my pan on high and heat up a tablespoon or two of course kosher salt and a teaspoon of vegetable oil. I wad up a few paper towels and (wearing heavy dish gloves), give the pan a good scrubbing. (Be careful, the molten hot salt can spray around). Get it HOT. Dump the salt/oil out and polish the pan with a dish rag and put it away. Thank me later.

Here's my omelet pan. Eggs fly off this thing!

View attachment 193923

That range though.

 

[MowgFace]

2 social media specials!

10” and 12”

 

[wabi]

I only use non stick pans for eggs in the morning.
Darto or MadeIn carbon steel pans do most of the work, and have relegated my vintage Griswold cast iron to only occasional duty.

 

[gentiscid]

Have like 5 cast iron skillets I use and only 1 carbon steel. Its my daily driver for breakfast. I reach more for it now than I do with my cast iron ones.

 

[MrHiggins]

That range though.

Yeah, this thing rocks. Here's the wok ring (with my carbon wok). Not restaurant power, but pretty good for a home kitchen at 25k BTU.

PS: don't pay attention to the cutco knife block in the background!

 

[MowgFace]

Yeah, this thing rocks. Here's the wok ring (with my carbon wok). Not restaurant power, but pretty good for a home kitchen at 25k BTU.

PS: don't pay attention to the cutco knife block in the background!
View attachment 193954

View attachment 193955

As some might say

You had me at “here’s the wok ring”

 

[Michi]

PS: don't pay attention to the cutco knife block in the background!

That's the first thing I noticed

 

[boomchakabowwow]

That's the first thing I noticed

really? i notice the dent in the wok. hahaha...

 

[J_Wisdom]

Love that blue flame! As a fellow natural gas user, I hate it when some cooking shows have a flame that is mostly yellow. I call bulls**t on those.

 

[shopshopshop]

Been using mostly carbon steel pans for the last ~3 years. Carbon steel wok, a Matfer ~10 7/8" skillet, and a little mini ~7 or 8" Mineral B skillet for eggs and small stuff. I really don't like the Mineral B handle as I find it feels weird and heats up a lot more than the plain carbon steel handle on the Matfer, but it's still a great pan.

Very occassionally something will get so stuck to the pan that I'll take some chainmail to it and then reseason, but that's only happened 2-3 times in 3 years. Otherwise they're all really well seasoned now and can cook eggs and basically anything non-acidic with no issues.

I'll never go back to nonstick. It's just not worth the weird materials, the potential to scratch, and only lasting a few years.

 

[J_Wisdom]

really? i notice the dent in the wok. hahaha...

I bet there's a story to go with that dent.

 

[BazookaJoe]

I went over to the "Dark Side" last year after reading some KKF threads on carbon steel pans. Game changing...

 

[boomchakabowwow]

Damn Bazooka! Those are damn near perfect

 

[BazookaJoe]

Damn Bazooka! Those are damn near perfect

That one pan was after initial seasoning. I'm a mechanical engineer so I'm pretty anal about doing things scientifically. I followed this procedure:

High end frying pan recommendation

The wok picture is after a year of light use. This is how that other pan looks after a a year and a half of constant use. Very non-stick.

 

[Heckel7302]

My Wok Shop hammered wok. 10 years of heavy use and still going strong

 

[boomchakabowwow]

mirror image of my wok..

my wok goes thru hell and back. tomato and scramble eggs is really harsh on the seasoning. anything tomato. beef and tomato lo Mein. sheesh...

 

[Rangen]

This thread makes me want to acquire more carbon steel pans. All I have is my giant one, and several woks. My worry is that my Griswolds and my stainless-lined copper pans would be very very angry at me if I started carting carbon steel into the place. What could I tell them?

 

[stringer]

This thread makes me want to acquire more carbon steel pans. All I have is my giant one, and several woks. My worry is that my Griswolds and my stainless-lined copper pans would be very very angry at me if I started carting carbon steel into the place. What could I tell them?

I have a glass top electric range. I use the steel pan as a wok/saute/sear pan and the cast irons and Dutch ovens for moving the finished product into in batches.

 

[Rangen]

I have a glass top electric range. I use the steel pan as a wok/saute/sear pan and the cast irons and Dutch ovens for moving the finished product into in batches.

What drives you to choose the steel pan for saute and sear, over cast iron?

 

[stringer]

What drives you to choose the steel pan for saute and sear, over cast iron?

Mostly the indoor electric top range with decent but really insufficient for full level eleven volume type cooking exhaust fan. In a pro kitchen environment the calculations are different. But in the end, very little beats The efficiency of cast steel. The steel pan gets whatever I'm cooking there quicker with less smoke within the home kitchen limitations. Plus enamel cast iron shouldn't be used much for searing. Too liable to crack when preheating. So works fine for a braise, but not so great for a steak for instance.

 

[boomchakabowwow]

I used my wok last night for a quick dinner. scrambled eggs with a Chinese pickle. sounds weird, but super fast and delicious. I also stirred fried some Broccolini. maybe broccoli rab. get those mixed up.

my wok looks odd. rainbow of colors. even some rust colored spots. but the thing is slicker than snot. I could have just wiped it out, but I did rub it with a sponge.

introducing, Wokky McWokkerson. (my other wok that I quit using is black as night)

 

[Strozzi]

These are my workhorses. 11-7/8” Matfer and 14” Wokshop wok. I want to get some more, but these 2 are all I really need.

 

[Noodle]

Has been seasoned, but still needs some hours on it before it’s truly “seasoned,” if you know what I mean. Carbon. 12 bucks at Costco last fall. Just a baby.