Cast iron and carbon steel cookware: or I'll never trade in convenience for quality (and health) again! (1 Viewer)

[DaveF]

Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind. This will likely be late June, at the earliest, as an anniversary present and possibly Fall or Winter for birthday or Christmas.

My big question is whether to get the 12” (as on my wishlist) or to get a smaller 9” pan. I like my 12” All Clad for all around cooking, so I think the 12” is good. I have an 8” teflon fry pan I use for eggs but not too much else.

 

[Carlo_M]

@DaveF in case life gets in the way and I forget, don't hesitate to DM me and I'll check out that cookware place. One thing to keep in mind is that the slopes on Matfer's pans are pretty pronounced. I have the 9" one (technically sold as 8 5/8") but the cooking surface is only about 6" diameter. It's like if a flat bottomed mini-wok and a traditional pan had a baby. I use it for eggs, yes, but also for fast single serving re-heats. I'll never microwave Asian restaurant leftovers again (esp. Chinese, Thai, etc.) when I can just heat this up really fast (faster than CI, about as fast as SS) and just saute it back to life. In fact most of those restaurants use woks which are made of the same material so in essence you're just quickly re-cooking it in their manner.

If you're going to want to cook 2-3 serving size meals you'll want to go with at least the 11".

 

[Carlo_M]

One thing to mention, and I think Dave you mentioned having trouble with seasoning. What I would recommend for any carbon steel and cast iron is this (and I've done this on 3 different cast iron pans and one carbon steel):

• For carbon steel only: make sure you remove all manufacturer oil/wax/etc. Some are easier to remove than others. Do some online research to see how to determine that all the manufacturer oil/wax is fully removed. It should look like bare steel and, if you really want to know it's all off, you can leave it wet and watch it rust (you can remove the rust easily). I don't recommend letting it rust, but that was more to drive the point home that you want to be down to the bare steel.
  • The updated Matfer pans that ships wrapped in the plastic bag, and DeBuyer pans from what I've seen have the easiest to remove oil/wax. Older Matfer (which mine was) will require a lot of elbow grease, soap, and hot water.
  • I went with Matfer over DeBuyer for the following reasons: 1) no rivets on cooking surface, and 2) higher oven safe temps (some DeBuyer models have a coating on the handle which only makes it oven safe to like 400 or 450F).
• For seasoning both carbon steel and cast iron:
  • You can do the potato peel/oil/salt method in the Uncle Scott video. I found that putting the tiniest bit of oil (canola or grapeseed) or Buzzywaxx - and I mean a minuscule layer, so small that you're not sure it's even there - and then putting it in a 450F oven for 1 hour and then turning it off and leaving it to cool overnight is enough to do the first layer of seasoning.
  • For carbon steel I'd be sure to coat both the inside and outside.
  • For cast iron, depending on the model you buy, you may only need to coat the inside. That's what I did for the Smitheys (since the outside is very rough but the inside is polished).
• While you can repeat this multiple times, over multiple days, it will not result in a "bulletproof" seasoning right away. And some will strip off over natural cooking (some dishes you make will be acidic without you knowing it and strip some of it).
• So ultimately my next advice after the first seasoning is just to cook with it.
• Moderate your expectations. Parts of the seasoning will strip. There will be a "splotchy looking" phase for your pans. It may last weeks or months depending on how often you cook. Just keep cooking, avoiding known highly acidic dishes (that's for your enameled cast iron or stainless steel pans) and the pan will just naturally darken.
• Over time and enough use, they start to look like what is in my pictures. It won't get there immediately and it won't get there all at once. There will be a "puberty" phase for the seasoning, like a teenager with acne. Just keep cooking and it will pass.
• Just be sure to fully clean and dry (using stove heat to get rid of water you can't see is left behind) after each use. Occasionally put a very thin layer of oil if needed and cook it on the stovetop at high temp for maybe 15-20 minutes if needed. But I've only done that maybe 2-3 times over the year I've owned the pans, and probably only did it out of paranoia and not due to actual need.

Just like our awkward teenage phase, just let your pan grow through it by constantly using it. Once you get out of that phase, you're golden. It took me about 7-8 months with once a week (or less) use. If these become your daily drivers you'll likely get out of that phase much sooner, especially if you cook a lot of meat/proteins at high heat.