4 ms·
I would like to throw in a strong rec for carbon steel. I was (and to a degree still am) a big cast iron guy, but I find that these days I use my carbon steel
by tomtheelder 5y ago
I would like to throw in a strong rec for carbon steel.
I was (and to a degree still am) a big cast iron guy, but I find that these days I use my carbon steel pans much, much more frequently. They share many of the benefits of cast iron in terms of durability, oven safety, high temp cooking, natural non-stick, etc. However they can be much, much lighter and their heating properties make them superior for many, and I would argue most (but not all!), applications.
These days if someone said they needed 1 quiver killer pan, I would unquestionably recommend a carbon steel skillet over a cast iron one.
If you're someone who likes using cast iron, I think you are doing yourself a major disservice by not trying carbon steel.
- lmilcin 5y agoI bought a set of carbon steel pans and my cast iron ones fell into complete disuse. Especially carbon steel crepes pans (https://www.debuyer.com/en/poele-a-crepes-mineral-b-1472.html https://www.debuyer.com/en/poele-a-crepes-mineral-b-1472.htm...) are completely unbeatable. I have two of them and I can feed a small crowd of family and friends faster than they can eat. Nothing sticks if you take proper care. The best thing, they are dirt cheap.
- aceazzameen 5y agoSame here. After getting rid of our scratched teflon pans, we bought large and small de Buyer carbon steel pans. We have 2 cast iron pans also, but barely use them anymore. The lighter carbon steel ones are much more versatile. We do, however, still use our cast iron griddle for making bacon in the oven. Comes out perfect every time. For anyone reading who is new to carbon steel, the trick to non-stick cooking is making sure the pan gets hot. And if something does stick? It pretty much wipes right off while the pan is still hot.
- lmilcin 5y agoAnother trick is to use sharp metal utensils. If you use wood it will just smear stuff on the pan, not helping at all. By complete accident my spatula is also from DeBuyer (https://www.debuyer.com/en/flexible-turner-slotted-fkofficium-1024.html https://www.debuyer.com/en/flexible-turner-slotted-fkofficiu...). It is very sharp and it easily scrapes anything that dares to stick (due to my mistake of not getting it hot enough), without smearing it.
- abustamam 5y agoI am not very experienced in the world of cooking but don't most chefs recommend _not_ using metal utensils on metal pans? I've never heard of carbon steel prior to today so is it special in some way?
- harambae 5y agoI've always heard to not use metal on Teflon. I think metal on metal is OK.
- aceazzameen 5y agoAlmost all woks and sometimes flat top grills in restaurants are made from carbon steel. Flipping burgers with metal spatulas has never been a problem for cooks. Same thing here. Although I've never really had to scrape mine with a metal utensil before. Just turn food. Seriously things rarely stick, unless I'm impatient about preheating. Pros are they can take very high temperatures, you can be rough with them, are non-stick when seasoned and at a proper temperature (like cast iron), and much lighter than cast iron. Cons are you don't want to cook liquidy acidic foods in them that often (removes the seasoning off the pan), they can rust easily if not seasoned, and require slightly more maintenance then stainless steel or Teflon pans. Basically you're not washing these with dish soap. Just a rinse, maybe some scrubbing with kosher salt, and heating it on the stove to dry and sterilize it. Keeping it lightly oiled when cooking or storing it helps too. They're a great work-horse pans. We got ours after having to throw out our last scratched Teflon pans. Making scrambled eggs in carbon steel was hard at first, but over time as a better seasoning developed and figuring out the right temperatures to use, I now get the same results as I use to in Teflon.
- mhb 5y agoThis sounds good, but I think I need to recalibrate my cheapness scale. $75 for an 8" fry pan isn't what I'd call cheap.
- pjlegato 5y agoThe big win for cast iron is its higher heat capacity. It takes longer to heat up, but once hot, the temperature drops much less when you add cold / room temperature food to fry, resulting in crisper and less soggy output.
- tomtheelder 5y agoHeat capacity is not a straight win, it's a double edged sword. Like you said temp drops less when food goes in, and that can be great in certain applications. However, you also lose a lot in the way of temperature control. The slow rate at which it heats up and cools down means finer temperature adjustments are much harder to do. In my experience the searing/frying performance of carbon steel is not an issue for the overwhelming majority of things I cook, ergo I don't really care that cast iron has a higher capacity. The tighter temperature control, on the other hand, is always nice. I still use my cast irons sometimes for things where that heat capacity is really nice (searing a huge steak or something like that), but I use carbon steel much more frequently.
- jamcohen 5y agoIt also depends on your stove. Mine’s electric and alternates the heating element on and off to try to maintain the desired temp. The heat capacity helps to smooth out temperature fluctuations but if I had a nice gas stove I’d probably switch to carbon steel.
- greyhair 5y agoWhich is also why a good carbon steel wok is a nive tool to own. My son bought me one a couple years ago, it gets used for more than just stir fry.
- penguin_booze 5y agoI'm a recent member of the carbon steel club, and I like it so far. I'm really loving the carmelization on my cheese omlette!
- BostonEnginerd 5y agoThey also have better compatibility with glass cooktop’s as they are much smoother and less likely to scratch.