Big Iron: Cast Iron & Carbon Steel Pans

scdub

scdub

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May 29, 2004
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Hello Pan People!

Last weekend I was out with my wife looking for a rocking chair for her. In one shop I found a pan that was almost an exact match to my favorite and most used pan in the house - a Wagner #6 (9”) skillet. I was about to pass it up when I realized my kid will likely be moving out soon, so I got it for his birthday so he can start practicing.

Here it is after I smoothed out the seasoning with some 0000 steel wool and Dawn dish soap - took about 45 minutes of scrubbing:
056711FC-CD22-4693-80EF-4C596300FD33.jpeg73EA9B36-04EA-4162-A0A6-40B92F4F2238.jpeg7E93E02A-B419-4BEF-9330-646863926D9A.jpeg

And after about 10 coats of grape and flax seed oil:
A4D1271B-C1C7-4163-8863-6C4C094BB0AA.jpeg

And next to my own #6 and #8:
CBC029F8-BEAD-490C-A0E0-0D09EED102B2.jpegF4D5C897-0980-4DC1-A37F-E196732A1189.jpeg

The only differences I’ve noticed are that on my Son’s pan, the lip on the rim is much narrower than on the other two pans. Also the one I just got seems to take a smoother finish with the oil for some reason.
43570D31-FAF2-4626-B6B7-FD1A8CE265F1.jpeg
86E4299E-62B6-4615-93DF-CE1E069286A3.jpeg
Anyway - those are mine - let’s see yours. :)

Also - I’m in the market for a lighter weight carbon steel pan. I’m leaning towards the Mauviel 9.5” frying pan, but I’d love to hear/see other suggestions.
 
That is an enviable set of pans you've pictured. Well done.

Just to reduce some confusion, you did NOT include a picture of a rocking chair, right? If you answer that you did, I would suggest investing in some optical correction devices, rather than a carbon steel pan.

Anyway, this article from Serious Eats is instructive:
https://www.seriouseats.com/best-carbon-steel-pans-7093873

I have a couple of Misen carbon steel pans, which I'm quite pleased with. They're 8" and 10". There seems to be some bad press about these pans, and indeed they may have been discontinued, as they don't appear on their website today. That said, their website is very volatile these days.

Good luck with your search.
 
scdub said:
The only differences I’ve noticed are that on my Son’s pan, the lip on the rim is much narrower than on the other two pans. Also the one I just got seems to take a smoother finish with the oil for some reason.
Click to expand...
Another difference - the “new” pan for my kid is a full 10 ounces lighter than my original one!

So, I’m guessing that the “new” pan is probably slightly older based on that… Pretty nice.
 
A fine looking specimen, especially at that price. Of course, if your wife likes it, then it's priceless.

Umm, do you have to season the chair, given that it's part of a thread about cast iron?
 
I have two Lodge cast iron pans that I bought new. One 10" from about 20 years ago which was not pre-seasoned, and 8" pan from just a few months ago, which came pre-seasoned. But either way, the first thing I do is to use my orbital sander and some 80 grit sandpaper to smooth out the bottom of the pan. That removes the factory pre-seasoning, and then I start the seasoning process from scratch. Both are totally non-stick with fried eggs, and I like them both.

I also have a Matfer 8 5/8" carbon steel pan, and it's not that light. In fact, it's close in weight to my small Lodge pan (I've never actually weighed them). It's a well made pan, and non-stick with eggs, but I find that searing meat with it often pulls the seasoning up from the bottom of the pan. It's frustrating, because I then feel like I need to go through the seasoning process again. So I use it for eggs, and that's about it.

Of the two different types, I lean towards cast iron.

Edit: BTW, it's probably not an issue with a frying pan, but it's a good idea to test used cast iron cookware for lead, just to be sure no one has been using it for melting lead for casting bullets, fishing weights, etc. Sounds anal, I know, but it can't hurt.

Edit again: I just check the weight.

8" cast Iron pan: 3lb, 3.8oz
8 5/8" carbon steel pan: 2lb, 15.1oz
 
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scdub said:
Hello Pan People!

Last weekend I was out with my wife looking for a rocking chair for her. In one shop I found a pan that was almost an exact match to my favorite and most used pan in the house - a Wagner #6 (9”) skillet. I was about to pass it up when I realized my kid will likely be moving out soon, so I got it for his birthday so he can start practicing.

Here it is after I smoothed out the seasoning with some 0000 steel wool and Dawn dish soap - took about 45 minutes of scrubbing:
View attachment 2072893View attachment 2072878View attachment 2072890

And after about 10 coats of grape and flax seed oil:
View attachment 2072896

And next to my own #6 and #8:
View attachment 2072902View attachment 2072906

The only differences I’ve noticed are that on my Son’s pan, the lip on the rim is much narrower than on the other two pans. Also the one I just got seems to take a smoother finish with the oil for some reason.
View attachment 2072907
View attachment 2072908
Anyway - those are mine - let’s see yours. :)

Also - I’m in the market for a lighter weight carbon steel pan. I’m leaning towards the Mauviel 9.5” frying pan, but I’d love to hear/see other suggestions.
Click to expand...
That came out really well. Can you share some details of the process you used?
 
Yes details please- one of my kids left the cast iron pan in the sink over the weekend a while ago and it developed rust😡
It is sitting on my workbench waiting to be sanded and seasoned- which will be a unique task for me.
 
Found this on clearance for small money at the local big box. With the handle cut off it fits the smoker perfectly (a pan of beans one level down from the pork butt - yum!). But the cast finish - rougher than the driveway and that's gravel. Sorted and serviceable though after a bit of attention.

JODHLEo.png


ReDyhr7.png
 
Blue Sky said:
That came out really well. Can you share some details of the process you used?
Click to expand...

Ernie1980 said:
Yes details please- one of my kids left the cast iron pan in the sink over the weekend a while ago and it developed rust😡
It is sitting on my workbench waiting to be sanded and seasoned- which will be a unique task for me.
Click to expand...

Sure thing.

First off, if you’re dealing with an old pan that has a smooth interior finish, you might not need to sand at all.

The above pan had a tiny bit of rust and some bumpy areas of seasoning when I bought it, but I was able to get it very smooth again just by scrubbing with Dawn dish soap, hot water, and 0000 steel wool.

On a newer Lodge or similar pan with a bumpy interior finish, I’d say sand away until that sucker is smooth.

Once you have a smooth pan you can start seasoning.

Most oils CAN work, but some are better in that they polymerize at a lower temperature, so it’s much easier to get multiple coats without as much heat or time.

I’ve used pure flax seed and grape seed oils with good success. Flax seed oil is not for cooking but is safe once polymerized. Grape seed oil is supposed to be ok for cooking but I’ve heard that there might be issues with some seed oils so I don’t necessarily suggest cooking with it.

There are many methods for seasoning, but this is fast and easy for me:

1) Coat the pan lightly in oil.

2) Using a dry paper towel/rag, REMOVE all excess oil. (This is important, especially for the interior of the pan, to insure a smooth finish - wipe it out thoroughly or you’ll get little speckles of hardened oil).

3) Heat over a burner on high and watch carefully until you see the first whisps of smoke.

4) Immediately turn the burner to medium or low and let the pan smoke for another 10 - 30 seconds or so. You don’t want to burn off all the oil, but it has to get to the smoke point to begin polymerizing.

5) Move the pan off the burner and allow to cool to the point that you can touch it (or close to that).

6) Repeat.

I like to season 3 pans at a time so I can rotate them around on the stovetop and always have one on the burner while the others are cooling.

Good luck!
 
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