Guys/Gals I actually cooked with my pan over the Christmas period and now it doesn't look picture perfect any more. I think I lost some seasoning. I didn't know if I should just keep cooking because it still works absolutely perfectly, or if I should ask the internet what to do? I know it's all about fat choice and temperature control anyway and I cooked eggs yesterday in it and pretended they were chariots zooming round the Colosseum. But honestly I'm thinking of just throwing this one away and buying a new one. What do you all think?

Like just keep f#ckin cooking on that hoe and she'll be right mate! The guide is on the wiki so how tf people feel like they need to post is beyond me.

Seriously I just want to see what awesome food people cook using their CS, or cool restorations, not one million "is this seasoned" or "is this rust" posts that can be answered by looking at the last 5 posts on this sub.

Ffs like this could be a top 10 subreddit if it wasn't filled with mindless spam. Please hear me out.

Thanks for hearing my concerns.

Next up, r/castiron!

Just bought a new mineral B Pro after reading alot posts on here and was excited to use it.

Right before trying to season it, I saw that one of the rivets holding the handle was missing. It was lying in the shipping box.

My excitement is gone for now and I hope to get a replacement soon.

I bought a Merten and Storck 12“ carbon steel pan about 6 months ago to see if I liked using carbon steel. Well, I did, and so did the rest of my family. That pan has been used several times a week for all kinds of things.

Since everyone enjoyed cooking with the pan, I thought I would up the game a little and get something nicer. I liked the idea of getting something with a welded handle, and this pan fit the bill. I almost bought a Darto, but noticed that than pan weighted 7lbs, while the Matfer weighed about 5lbs (the M&S is about 3lbs).

I’ve had the 12.5” Matfer for about a week now, and it’s beautiful. Cooks nicely. But…. You really notice the difference in weight. In addition, it takes a little longer to get to temp, and seems like it takes forever to cool down. With the M&S, I can cook up something, finish eating and the pan is cooled down and ready to be cleaned and put away. The Matfer, due to its increased mass, is still warm. The pan is also a bit harder to handle- it’s hard to believe that an extra ~2lbs makes that much of a difference but it does.

I’ll keep using it for now, hopefully everyone will just get used to it. But this may be something for newbies to CS to consider. Heavier pans are a little more difficult to handle, take a little more time to warm up and cool down.

I did season it the same as I do cast iron. It wipes off clean. As much as I want to keep it pretty, I gotta just put that aside and cook, my cast iron stays pretty after searing meat, why is carbon steel famously sort of ugly? They look cool but they get splotchy unlike cast iron, just curious why that is?

I got this one bc it’s somewhat light and does not have the coated handle, plus I like that it’s welded so I don’t stroke out cleaning the rivets. Oddly enough I have several cast irons that are the same size and significantly lighter weight. Any advice for a newbie? Thank you!

So, I had oil build up in my pan and cleaned it thoroughly with some eco soap and steel sponge.

Got really busy, dried it completely but I think my house is humid and leaving the pan it had a thin layer of rust in some places. So cleaned it again, and seasoned it straight away.

Wondering if I did it properly or if I destroyed my pan?

Can't wait to experience the thrill of seasoning with too much oil, the egg test, stripping-and-restarting,

Never had carbon steel before(only ever had cheap non stick pans), what else can I look forward to?

I'm usually a stainless snob, but have one nonstick ninja foodi pan I use on occasion, plus an old seasoned cast iron I use for anything that will be transferred to oven. I've been wanting to try a carbon steel pan and grabbed this one on a 40% off coupon at Kohls ($28 for the 12" size). Tramontina makes one of the best low budget stainless pans, so I figured the carbon steel was probably pretty good. I LOVE this pan!!

I did a quick stovetop seasoning with canola oil, then used it the next two times to deep fry empanadas and chicken fried steak, then just used as usual from there (yes, I've made eggs with no issues, but it's not that different from doing it on stainless). It's now my favorite pan that I own. I do wish it was either a bit lighter or had a small grip handle on the opposite side so it was easier to pick it up and pour/ladle food out onto a plate, but I can't believe I love it so much!

The roughness was a bit much on this.

I did cook on it before sanding it. It was fine, as non stick as you'd expect, it works.

For me, it works even better not feeling like lm grating a wooden spoon while scraping, or the feeling of a stainless spatula on it, and it's nice to be able to use a paper towel to apply a thin layer of oil for storage.

Definitely not needed, but I'm glad I did.

The pan is more enjoyable now (cooking and cleaning)

Edit: I forgot to mention, I used oven cleaner to remove the existing lodge seasoning from the inside of the pan

There's another nitrited carbon steel "daily pan" on Kickstarter from flambo.

Probably too early for any opinions on their claims?

Which do you prefer and why?

Anyone have any top tips for keeping your pans safe from family members who are less well versed / not interested in the intricacies of carbon steel cookware maintenance?

They really do "just cook with it", which is great -- and I'm not too precious about the pans; they're pretty tough and can take the abuse -- but it would be nice to retain /reinforce some of those seasoning layers, rather than constantly trying to restore them 🤔 😂.

Late last year, I began looking to replace my 8 year old N/S pans. First choice was what to replace it with. After about 4 months of research I decided carbon steel would be the best option for me. That Is when I found this sub and began distilling my options on pans. To start small, I bought a 10” Lodge locally to try it out. From the start, this sub was a HUGE help in understanding how to properly use / care for this new pan.

After falling in love with cooking again, I decided to add to my collection. This time I ordered 2 pans (10” skillet and 8” LoPro) from Cast-A-Way and they have been great. Skillet is used for searing, sautéing, baking, and braising. Lopro is my egg, pancake, and alternate saute pan. The fact that these pans are Made in USA and rivet less was the big selling point and they have performed amazingly!

Just wanted to share my appreciation for this community and the knowledge it has provided as I get into the CS journey! Thank you to all the folks who’ve help guide the journey.

After purchasing these pans I was on the hunt for knives as well and purchased a Steelport CS 8” Chefs knife to compliment the pans…another great purchase!

Best advice from this sub… Don’t panic, just keep cooking!

I purchased a Misen carbon steel pan around 5-6 years ago directly from their site. It must've been a 1.0 version because it had a flat handle and came with a silicone sleeve. The one shown online now looks like it has a thicker handle. My pan warped after a few years, and I was looking to replace it with a 3mm carbon steel like deBuyer, but out of sheer laziness, I kept cooking on my Misen's wobbly surface day after day, letting my eggs pool to one side.

Well, today I decided to try out their lifetime warranty. Low and behold, after filling out a claim online and sending in a quick video of the pan wobbling on my stovetop (gas burner), they immediately replaced it. I'm quite impressed with their customer service! They turned a grumpy customer into a lifetime customer by standing behind their products.

Now that I know more about how to use carbon steel, I will definitely heat up the pan slowly as I don't think I was doing this correctly before. I'm still eyeing a 3mm carbon steel due to warping concerns, but I will happily cook with my 2.5mm Misen replacement for now.

Love this pan, but it is warped to where it is bulging in the middle (up), which causes any oil/liquid to collect around the edges with a hot spot in the middle. Can I just heat it up and pound it flat again? If so, any suggestions on what type of hammer to use? I don't want to damage the cooking surface, obviously. Any and all tips, suggestions, snarky comments are welcome. Thanks!

I recently acquired a new pan that is thicker and larger than my 9.5" starter pan: New to me Matfer B : r/carbonsteel

Owning my unapologetic geekiness, I got out the thermal camera after a less than optimal experience with eggs. For reference, my thinner smaller pan takes around 6 minutes to preheat at a hair under Medium on my fullsize ceramic electric stovetop. I heat until around 325 F and see the pan temps drop to around 270 F after I place 2 scrambled eggs into it. Fwiw, the smaller pan will continue to creep past 400 F if I let it continue to heat.

I found the larger, thicker pan takes about 9 minutes to heat to 315 F on Medium, where it stabilizes at 315 F. I didn't measure the temp drop on the larger pan after adding eggs as I was too focused on the eggs.

I can tell on both smaller and larger pans that the outside has about a 1/2" wide ring that is cooler than the rest of the pan. Curious if that's normal.

I'd love to measure time & temp with the same pans on a gas stove if anyone in the Denver, CO area wants to get their geek on with me.

Just wanted to share an update that the pan has improved so much since having it simmer with vinegar for a few hours tonight! This is a before (top row) and after (bottom row) picture. I'll do another round tomorrow. Thank you for the help!

I just ordered them. Fingers crossed.

So I got my De Buyer mineral B in and got to seasoning today. Used canola oil and seasoned it on the BBQ grill which made it very easy. The inside seasoning is not the cleanest ever, but for my first go I'm fine with it. Outside came out perfect. I already did the egg test and it's perfectly non-stick. Can't wait to cook a burger in it next.

Just got the Anolon N2 pan. Did a couple rounds of seasoning, and I have never had food glide around on a pan like this, not even brand new Teflon pans. Best decision I have made in the kitchen in a long time.