Carbon Steel Skillets

[Ringel05]

Just replaced all my cast iron skillets with OXO pre-seasoned carbon steel skillets. Already loving them. They're not that expensive and unlike the expensive ones these come with a removable silicon handle sleeve plus being a fraction of the weight of cast iron. The pre-season pans are non-stick right out of the box, just as slick as non stick coated pans.

Of course at some point in time they will have to be re-seasoned just like cast iron.

 

[WorldWatcher]

Bought a small (I think it was 8") De Buyer carbon steal pan about 6 months ago. It was unseasoned out of the box and so put it through multiple seasoning cycles.

Seems OK, use it mostly on the weekends for eggs for my wife and I. That way I can just do a wipe for cleaning and set it aside to help build even more seasoning. At first (even after seasoning I got some stickage, but that has slowly subsided to where I know get about the same performance as non-stick for fried eggs. Scrambled still have a couple of spots where I get some stickage but that should improve over time.

One thing that helped was changing how I cooked the eggs. With a non-stick it was throw in a pad of butter, let it melt then add eggs even before the pan was up to full temperature. With the CS it actually helps to heat the pan more to the point where you are starting to get bubbling in the butter but before it goes brown. Then add the eggs. If the timing is right, because the pan is at a higher temperate the bottom of the eggs flash cook. Give them a few seconds, then use your flipper to separate egg and pan and at that point they slide around just like a new non-stick pan.

It's weird that with non-stick pans non-sticky degrades over time. Like with a good cast iron, CS will become more non-sticky over time. As long as you maintain a good season coat of course.

[Note to Self: OK, it's about time to pick up some steaks or pork chops and give those a try.]

WW

 

[Dekster]

I don't use my cast irons much TBH. I have several uncoated steel/aluminum pans I mainly use.

 

[Ringel05]

Bought a small (I think it was 8") De Buyer carbon steal pan about 6 months ago. It was unseasoned out of the box and so put it through multiple seasoning cycles.

Seems OK, use it mostly on the weekends for eggs for my wife and I. That way I can just do a wipe for cleaning and set it aside to help build even more seasoning. At first (even after seasoning I got some stickage, but that has slowly subsided to where I know get about the same performance as non-stick for fried eggs. Scrambled still have a couple of spots where I get some stickage but that should improve over time.

One thing that helped was changing how I cooked the eggs. With a non-stick it was throw in a pad of butter, let it melt then add eggs even before the pan was up to full temperature. With the CS it actually helps to heat the pan more to the point where you are starting to get bubbling in the butter but before it goes brown. Then add the eggs. If the timing is right, because the pan is at a higher temperate the bottom of the eggs flash cook. Give them a few seconds, then use your flipper to separate egg and pan and at that point they slide around just like a new non-stick pan.

It's weird that with non-stick pans non-sticky degrades over time. Like with a good cast iron, CS will become more non-sticky over time. As long as you maintain a good season coat of course.

[Note to Self: OK, it's about time to pick up some steaks or pork chops and give those a try.]

WW

CS pans are high heat and will come to temp quite rapidly and heat retention is the same as cast iron.

 

[Hellokitty]

Do you wash these skillets with soap? I have a few nice cast iron skillets that were my grandmas but don't use them because you can't wash them with soap which I did when I 1st got them over 20 years ago, so they need to be reasoned, which I tried and screwed up.

 

[gipper]

Do you wash these skillets with soap? I have a few nice cast iron skillets that were my grandmas but don't use them because you can't wash them with soap which I did when I 1st got them over 20 years ago, so they need to be reasoned, which I tried and screwed up.

I wash my cast iron with a little soap after each use. Let dry than just a little oil wiped around and ready for next time.

 

[WorldWatcher]

Do you wash these skillets with soap? I have a few nice cast iron skillets that were my grandmas but don't use them because you can't wash them with soap which I did when I 1st got them over 20 years ago, so they need to be reasoned, which I tried and screwed up.

Get one of these. It’s like medieval Ring mail armor. Small interlocking rings of steal. Used to remove crusty bits in cast iron cookware. Usually I never need to use soap. Just a good clean and wipe.

Once cleaned I do a VERY lite wipe down with oil. Usually Avacado or grapeseed because of the high smoke temperature. When I say lite, I mean a couple of drops to wipe the whole pan.

You shouldn’t need to use soap very often, but if you do. Clean and towel dry. Put the pan on the stove and turn on high heat to get the pan very hot. While the pan is hot do a wipe down with one of the oils above then set to the side to cool. Never wash cast iron with soap without reseasoning before storage.

JMHO of course.

WW

 

[Hellokitty]

View attachment 758101

Get one of these. It’s like medieval Ring mail armor. Small interlocking rings of steal. Used to remove crusty bits in cast iron cookware. Usually I never need to use soap. Just a good clean and wipe.

Once cleaned I do a VERY lite wipe down with oil. Usually Avacado or grapeseed because of the high smoke temperature. When I say lite, I mean a couple of drops to wipe the whole pan.

You shouldn’t need to use soap very often, but if you do. Clean and towel dry. Put the pan on the stove and turn on high heat to get the pan very hot. While the pan is hot do a wipe down with one of the oils above then set to the side to cool. Never wash cast iron with soap without reseasoning before storage.

JMHO of course.

WW

I have 1 CIS I recently received from my mother-in-law that's well seasoned I will try the suggestions out.

 

[Ringel05]

Do you wash these skillets with soap? I have a few nice cast iron skillets that were my grandmas but don't use them because you can't wash them with soap which I did when I 1st got them over 20 years ago, so they need to be reasoned, which I tried and screwed up.

The only time I use soap in mine is just before I re-season it with both cast iron and carbon steel. After wiping out the pans with hot water and a unsoaped Dobie scrub pad I wipe dry and rub in a tiny amount of oil after letting the skillet warm up a little on the stove. I don't get it hot like wold watcher does, you can actually warp the bottom of the pan if you're not careful. For any crusted on food bits I use course salt and a paper towel.

 

[WorldWatcher]

The only time I use soap in mine is just before I re-season it with both cast iron and carbon steel. After wiping out the pans with hot water and a unsoaped Dobie scrub pad I wipe dry and rub in a tiny amount of oil after letting the skillet warm up a little on the stove. I don't get it hot like wold watcher does, you can actually warp the bottom of the pan if you're not careful. For any crusted on food bits I use course salt and a paper towel.

100%

I agree course salt especially for carbon steel.

I do that also, Ring cleaners are for really crusty cast iron.

WW

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

Love the steel pans!!! While they dont hold heat as good as cast iron does they still do a better job than aluminum pans.

The first coat....

And the last coat....
Ended up doing 6 coats.

 

[Markle]

Just a suggestion for future use. I have several very old cast iron pans and use them frequently.

How to Care for Cast Iron Hardware at Home - Alton Brown

From curing to cleaning, Alton Brown's cast iron care guide covers everything you need to know about caring for this hearty kitchen hardware.

altonbrown.com