Author Topic: Carbon steel pans... yes? no? maybe?  (Read 4146 times)

K Frame

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Carbon steel pans... yes? no? maybe?
« on: January 06, 2021, 12:34:26 PM »
Debating whether or not to get a carbon steel pan.

I have a couple of stainless steel pans, and a couple of teflon pans, but the teflon is wearing out and I'm not all that crazy about the stainless pans. Even a lump of butter sticks in them.

So... yes? no? maybe?

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BobR

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Re: Carbon steel pans... yes? no? maybe?
« Reply #1 on: January 06, 2021, 12:44:49 PM »
I like my carbon steel pans. Like cast iron they take a little bit of maintenance but once properly seasoned they are hard to beat. You can use steel tools in them, take them from stove top to broiler, good for searing.

Some of them can get pretty spendy which could be a down side. Lighter than cast iron, a good thing IMO.

If I were going to buy new cookware I would look at replacing with carbon steel for a few more skillets.

Grace Young (Chinese Chef) has a method for seasoning that I used, I don't know if it was any better than any other way but it worked.

bob

Ron

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Re: Carbon steel pans... yes? no? maybe?
« Reply #2 on: January 06, 2021, 12:59:20 PM »
I have one I bought for camping and it only went camping once.

It has been in regular use in the kitchen since I bought it a few years ago.

As a side benefit it works great for making deep dish pizza.
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K Frame

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Re: Carbon steel pans... yes? no? maybe?
« Reply #3 on: January 06, 2021, 01:10:10 PM »
I love my cast iron, but I have a glass top stove and, even with being careful, I scratched it using my big cast iron pan. So, I'm looking for something similar, and the carbon steel seems to be a good substitute.
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Ben

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Re: Carbon steel pans... yes? no? maybe?
« Reply #4 on: January 06, 2021, 01:11:47 PM »
My carbon steel pan has become my most used pan. For most applications, I will even grab it over the cast iron. It is by far the most expensive pan I have ever bought, but to me, worth every penny.

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K Frame

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Re: Carbon steel pans... yes? no? maybe?
« Reply #6 on: January 06, 2021, 01:37:41 PM »
Hell with it, for $30 I bought it.
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BobR

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Re: Carbon steel pans... yes? no? maybe?
« Reply #7 on: January 06, 2021, 02:51:49 PM »
Hell with it, for $30 I bought it.

That works, one thing with that one the handle will probably get hot. Be sure to use a hot pad, gloves or even something like this .

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K Frame

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Re: Carbon steel pans... yes? no? maybe?
« Reply #8 on: January 06, 2021, 02:59:17 PM »
I've got a silicone pan handle for my splatter screen that should work nicely on it.

If it doesn't, I have multiple other options.
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Jim147

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Re: Carbon steel pans... yes? no? maybe?
« Reply #9 on: January 06, 2021, 06:02:12 PM »
I have a big 12-14" with high sides I love to use when I need to cook that much.
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zxcvbob

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Re: Carbon steel pans... yes? no? maybe?
« Reply #10 on: January 07, 2021, 09:43:54 PM »
Hell with it, for $30 I bought it.

Let us know how it turns out.  I've had my eye on that same pan.
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Re: Carbon steel pans... yes? no? maybe?
« Reply #11 on: January 08, 2021, 02:36:56 PM »
I really like my carbon steel pan.  Seasoning is a bit different from cast iron.

What I found to work great is to use the peelings from a couple potatoes, 1/3 cup oil and 2/3 cup salt.  Cook on medium heat until the potato peels are pretty dark, 10 minutes or so.  Discard contents, clean pan, and dry.

Ben

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Re: Carbon steel pans... yes? no? maybe?
« Reply #12 on: January 08, 2021, 02:41:36 PM »
I will say that the only negative to my carbon steel pan was the time it took to remove that *expletive deleted*ing beeswax coating.  :laugh:
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K Frame

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Re: Carbon steel pans... yes? no? maybe?
« Reply #13 on: January 08, 2021, 03:16:16 PM »
Fill it partially with water and then boil it on the stove top for 2 or 3 minutes. Dump the water, fill it with hot tap water and detergent and scrub.
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Kingcreek

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Re: Carbon steel pans... yes? no? maybe?
« Reply #14 on: January 08, 2021, 03:21:05 PM »
I own only one CS cooking vessel. I bought a large rolled carbon steel wok at a Chinese market when I was a college student over 49 years ago. It’s been great and I’ve used it on the gas range, an outside propane burner (fish fryer type), and over many wood campfires.
For everything else, I prefer my vintage cast iron. But if I didn’t have that, I would certainly consider decent CS pans or skillets.
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Re: Carbon steel pans... yes? no? maybe?
« Reply #15 on: January 09, 2021, 02:09:21 AM »
I own only one CS cooking vessel. I bought a large rolled carbon steel wok at a Chinese market when I was a college student over 49 years ago. It’s been great and I’ve used it on the gas range, an outside propane burner (fish fryer type), and over many wood campfires.

I've got a carbon steel wok I received as a Christmas gift from my ex-wife about 30 years ago.  I love the darn thing, unlike my ex-wife.  I have been on an Asian kick recently, so the wok has seen a fair amount of use on our gas stove.  Beats the heck out of using a regular frying pan for stir frying anything.
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K Frame

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Re: Carbon steel pans... yes? no? maybe?
« Reply #16 on: January 11, 2021, 12:07:23 PM »
OK, I've used it a couple of times since I got it Saturday.

So far, so good.

Yesterday I made ham and bean soup, so I used it to sweat the onions. Nothing very taxing about that.

After I cleaned it last night I gave it a light coating of oil and heated it until it smoked.

This morning I made eggs for breakfast. Sprayed some Pam in it. Some very light sticking, but overall not bad at all.

I'm going to be using it this evening to cook some ground turkey.

So far I like it. The weight is good and it perfectly fits the burners on my stove.
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Re: Carbon steel pans... yes? no? maybe?
« Reply #17 on: January 11, 2021, 04:04:50 PM »
Re-seasoned mine today.

I inadvertently damaged the seasoning by deglazing.
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K Frame

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Re: Carbon steel pans... yes? no? maybe?
« Reply #18 on: January 11, 2021, 04:25:03 PM »
"I inadvertently damaged the seasoning by deglazing."

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K Frame

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Re: Carbon steel pans... yes? no? maybe?
« Reply #19 on: January 12, 2021, 06:52:11 AM »
I'm really liking this pan so far.
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brimic

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Re: Carbon steel pans... yes? no? maybe?
« Reply #20 on: January 15, 2021, 04:52:49 PM »
I used one for a few years, until I accidentally figured out how to make my cast iron pan work. The only advantage I see to steel is they are MUCH lighter, and tend to start with a much smoother surface, where new Lodge pans need to be hit with a flap wheel and boiled in bacon grease for a week before they start to be pleasant to work with.
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Re: Carbon steel pans... yes? no? maybe?
« Reply #21 on: January 15, 2021, 04:58:23 PM »
I used one for a few years, until I accidentally figured out how to make my cast iron pan work. The only advantage I see to steel is they are MUCH lighter, and tend to start with a much smoother surface, where new Lodge pans need to be hit with a flap wheel and boiled in bacon grease for a week before they start to be pleasant to work with.

I found out that with cast iron, cooking at a lower temp and more fat (i.e. butter) makes them less sticky.  I can slide an egg around in my newer 13.5" Lodge now when cooking.

I have been thinking about a carbon steel pan for my grill for making veggies up when grilling meat. Just because it's lighter and I constantly be flipping my veggies.
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zxcvbob

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Re: Carbon steel pans... yes? no? maybe?
« Reply #22 on: January 15, 2021, 05:15:02 PM »
I've always had trouble getting and keeping a cast iron pan seasoned.  Well a few months ago I was cleaning out my pantry and the can of shortening was starting to smell rancid.  (it takes a *long* time for shortening to turn, this can of shortening might have been many years old)  I warmed up my iron skillets a little and wiped them down with it before I threw the can away.  I put the skillets in the oven and forgot about them.  I pulled them out a week or two later to use the oven, and they were seasoned very nicely.  I'm enjoying using them. 

I wipe them with a paper towel with a little turkey fat on it when I am finished with them to maintain the seasoning.  (vegetable oil gets sticky when it dries; it's too unsaturated.  Beef or pork fat doesn't dry.  Poultry fat seems to be about right, it dries and hardens very slowly.  I suspect the iron is a catalyst)
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brimic

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Re: Carbon steel pans... yes? no? maybe?
« Reply #23 on: January 16, 2021, 04:34:52 PM »
I found out that with cast iron, cooking at a lower temp and more fat (i.e. butter) makes them less sticky.  I can slide an egg around in my newer 13.5" Lodge now when cooking.

I have been thinking about a carbon steel pan for my grill for making veggies up when grilling meat. Just because it's lighter and I constantly be flipping my veggies.

Yep, lots of butter, olive oil, or bacon grease, and nothing sticks.
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K Frame

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Re: Carbon steel pans... yes? no? maybe?
« Reply #24 on: January 20, 2021, 01:28:17 PM »
The more I use this thing the more I like it.

I pan seared a couple of thick boneless pork loin chops last night for dinner.

A heavy does of no stick spray and no sticking problems at all. Then I dumped in a can of hominy after I pulled the chops to rest. Again, no sticking issues.

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