Which pan?

Here are the pans:

Lodge - Folks swear by it, and it gets great reviews. It's thinner/lighter than the de Buyer.

de Buyer - Folks swear by it, and it gets great reviews. Spendy! (but I do like nice things)

Thanks for your input.

-Andy

 

Winco....

 

I cannot comment on the Lodge, but can say I have been using the Mineral b daily for 2 years and love it. It has great heat distribution, no big issues with hot/cold spots and is reasonably non-stick.

Not saying this as fact, but thinner/lighter in this instance leads me to believe there may be higher propensity for warping.

 

Bacon's going to win....bacon always wins .

If you decide on a lodge, I would recommend you look for an older model. The newer lodge pans have a texture to them, I believe. I've seen people sand down the new ones, so it may not be that big of a deal. I don't have any experience with the de Buyer.

Most all of my CI pans are old and smooth.

 

Hi Christopher, I'm pretty sure Andrew means Lodge's steel pans not their cast iron pans.

Anyway, I have this which never gets mentioned probably because of the price :http://www.amazon.com/Matfer-Bourge...2907526&sr=1-20&keywords=carbon+steel+skillet

GREAT pan. It may be exactly the same as the Paderno/World Cuisine pan which is a third of the price, I don't know.

As for seasoning, I don't do the rituals that everyone else does. I just cook bacon. Over and over and over. It works.

 

Doh! I completely misread that in the poll HAHA!!! The Bacon option hypnotized me

Carry on LOL

 

I have a debuyer carbon and a lodge skillet. Just in case it makes a difference, there is more surface area to actually fry in the lodge due to the sloping of the pan sides in the debuyer. As a result, I went up to the 14" debuyer with the helping handle for a bit more surface area. I prefer the debuyer due to the smoother cooking surface. However, bacon IS king

Edit, apologies I was referring to lodge CI, no experience with lodge steel

 

I use Vollrath at work. They get the job done.
http://www.webstaurantstore.com/vol...ogleShopping&gclid=CN7Pw-aT27wCFckWMgodACsAfA

 

I own a 24 cm and a 28 cm De Buyer Carbone Plus and a 24 cm Mineral B Element Omelette pan. The omelette pan is only from the Mineral B series because it's not available in the Carbone Plus series. Both are basically the same stuff, including thickness of the steel. The Mineral B has a different handle finish (i say different, not better imo), a bee engraved in the middle of the pan (useless) and a yellow bee silicone button on the handle (useless as well) and are coated with bees bax. The coating is only there to prevent the pans from rusting while on the shelf in shops. It's just a higher priced version of the Carbone Plus series, tailored to be sold to private end customers rather to professional chefs. That's why you find them much more often in online shops than the Carbone Plus.

These three pans are really good. They get hot fast with lower heat setting. They are almost non stick after a few uses already and i did not even make an effort to build a patina. The pan gets a bit darker and better with every use.

 

Good to see that worked. :bacon

You're speaking a language my bank account understands, chef! Thanks for the link. :line

-Andy

 

OK so here comes the big question....



Ready.......



What do you plan on cooking in it (mostly as in what type of cooking)?

 

Stir fry dishes, eggs (and occassional bacon), seared meats, and curries mainly. It's going to replace our nonstick pan that's on its way out.

I'm planning to season whatever I get using this method to help make it as nonstick as possible.

All our cookwear, aside from a small Lodge skillet, is tri-ply stainless that we bought around 2006 or 2007 from JC Penney. The Cooks pots and pans available today are nowhere near as nice as the versions we purchased.

-Andy

 

Are these measured edge to edge (full pan diameter)? Most pans are, but I thought I'd check with you before I order. The 12.5" pan seems to be about the same size as our current large pan. We normally cook for 4 to we'll have leftovers for nights when we don't have time to cook.

-Andy

 

I never measured, I just use them. We have around twenty smaller ones and 5 larger ones. The smaller ones I can get about 1.25 pounds of brussels sprouts in before tossing gets messy/hard. The larger ones I can makes a sauce with 2 dozen 8/12 shrimp. Those are huge shrimp. I think the smaller ones are 9 in and the large ones are 12. The 12's are decent sized.

Vollraths will get your feet wet. I don't season mine at work, They are semi seasoned but too many people would use the steel wool on them.

 

How do you feel about a flat bottom wok with a western style handle?

I've got several steel frying pans but I mostly reach for my 10" or 12" flat bottom wok for the type of cooking you are planning on doing.

For Oriental cooking (with a spatula turner) I prefer a round bottom but for plain frying the flat bottom ones are nice

Search for Atlas Metal Spinning Woks. They were a San Francisco based company but long out of business. I have had several of their woks over the decades and they are pretty nice (lifetime investments).

 

I definitely want to get a carbon steel wok pretty soon. They're a mine field, so I really appreciate you're recommendation.

I actually just found a good deal on de Buyer Carbone Plus pans, so I ordered a few of those. I can't wait to try them out.

 

Thanks for the link. I've tried flaxseed oil several times, and my cast iron pan always ended up mottled like his "bad" example. I'll try again. If I can get a surface like he had on his "good" example, I'll be happy.

 

I found specs online for the de Buyer Carbone pans, so I matched the size of the pans' flat bottoms to the size of our stove's eyes. The pans I ordered are 9.5" in total diameter.

 

I think many very thin coats of oil and allowing the pan to cool completely between each oil coating is critical. I guess I'll find out for sure soon enough.

 

what do you consider spendy? I find the debuyer to be relatively economical, and you can find good buys on the 'non-mineral B' types that are essentially identical to the minerals, but without the beeswax coating. But seasoning is key, so do it right - I'd go carbon pan for proteins, and stainless for sauces.

looks like you made a good choice already - let us know how they work out!