Replacing CI with Carbon Steel

[edmonds]

Replaced our old electric glasstop stove with a new GE-brand Cafe glasstop.
Decided we should also replace out CI skillets with new carbon steel, which should not scratch the glasstop as readily.
The CI skillets were my go-to pans, and they have a well seasoned interior. But the outside bottom is a little rough.
So skillets are being relegated to grilling and campfire cooking. But still gotta keep a Dutch oven for stovetop/oven though.

Two new de Buyer skillets: the 9.5" on the left is before seasoning, the 12.5" on right was after oven seasoning (and frying an egg).

To get really good seasoning, you gotta cook on them. Here's a couple of strip steaks cooking in the 12.5"

Sear may not be quite as good as I got on my CI, but it shouldn't be hard to dial it in.

Here I sauté veggies (and beef) for Guinness stew.

See here for cooking Guinness stew over a campfire (with country blues accompaniment).

Here I sear boneless chuck short ribs

for Mexican beef and pinto bean soup.

See here for cooking Guadalajara soup over a campfire using chuck (with Lonesome Road Blues).

And for breakfast, I fry some homemade beef bacon

and vegetables for scrambled eggs (with cheese).

Eggs slide around nicely on skillet while cooking, but require a little more scrubbing to clean afterwards.

Overall, carbon steel pans are working well. Just need to cook some more with them.

Although carbon steel pans may be lighter than CI, don't expect a very noticeable difference.
Thanks for looking.

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

Nice. I recently went back to using carbon steel. Love your music.

 

[Buckeye1]

Great looking pans and meals!!!

Don’t be afraid to use CI on glass I do it every day.

 

[fxsales1959]

Replaced our old electric glasstop stove with a new GE-brand Cafe glasstop.
Decided we should also replace out CI skillets with new carbon steel, which should not scratch the glasstop as readily.
The CI skillets were my go-to pans, and they have a well seasoned interior. But the outside bottom is a little rough.
So skillets are being relegated to grilling and campfire cooking. But still gotta keep a Dutch oven for stovetop/oven though.

View attachment 689524

Two new de Buyer skillets: the 9.5" on the left is before seasoning, the 12.5" on right was after oven seasoning (and frying an egg).
View attachment 689525

To get really good seasoning, you gotta cook on them. Here's a couple of strip steaks cooking in the 12.5"
View attachment 689526

Sear may not be quite as good as I got on my CI, but it shouldn't be hard to dial it in.
View attachment 689527

Here I sauté veggies (and beef) for Guinness stew.
View attachment 689528

See here for cooking Guinness stew over a campfire (with country blues accompaniment).
View attachment 689540

Here I sear boneless chuck short ribs
View attachment 689541

for Mexican beef and pinto bean soup.
View attachment 689542

See here for cooking Guadalajara soup over a campfire using chuck (with Lonesome Road Blues).
View attachment 689543

And for breakfast, I fry some homemade beef bacon
View attachment 689544

and vegetables for scrambled eggs (with cheese).
View attachment 689545

Eggs slide around nicely on skillet while cooking, but require a little more scrubbing to clean afterwards.
View attachment 689547

Overall, carbon steel pans are working well. Just need to cook some more with them.
View attachment 689548

Although carbon steel pans may be lighter than CI, don't expect a very noticeable difference.
Thanks for looking.

good to know of options. I have a glass top also and have been relegated to using CI on side burner of the Napoleon. I still have a whole set of Cuisinart from about 15 years ago when they weren't all Chinesey. CI is used mostly for pink hot steak searing and batches of country ham and red-eye gravy.

 

[JLeonard]

Great looking meals! and cook ware.

Jim

 

[chopsaw]

Nice write up . My Son has a small carbon steel pan , that came " Factory seasoned "
I was using it to do a chicken cutlet with a lemon sauce . Put an awesome crust on the chicken .
Everything was great until I squeezed the lemon in to build the sauce . Watched my awesome chicken meal turn dark gray . The lemon stripped the pan as clean as the picture above .
Ruined my supper and pissed off my Son .

So I set out to bring it back . After a few cooks it built a real seasoning . They are great pans .

Love the long handle .

Replaced our old electric glasstop stove with a new GE-brand Cafe glasstop.

Left turn here , but I've been in the market for a new one . I have a GE glass top now that sees cast iron everyday . All the new reviews say they scratch easy . I think most times people just like to complain . So any input on the top so far ? How 'bout the GE in general ?

 

[edmonds]

Nice write up . My Son has a small carbon steel pan , that came " Factory seasoned "
I was using it to do a chicken cutlet with a lemon sauce . Put an awesome crust on the chicken .
Everything was great until I squeezed the lemon in to build the sauce . Watched my awesome chicken meal turn dark gray . The lemon stripped the pan as clean as the picture above .
Ruined my supper and pissed off my Son .

Left turn here , but I've been in the market for a new one . I have a GE glass top now that sees cast iron everyday . All the new reviews say they scratch easy . I think most times people just like to complain . So any input on the top so far ? How 'bout the GE in general ?

Lemon and tomatoes are supposed to be bad for the seasoning, even for CI although I never had a problem with my CI. Maybe it depends on how deep your seasoning is.

Here is our previous 20 year old stovetop. I used cast iron on it all the time. Don't remember how marked up it was when we moved in 15 years ago, but I bet the CI caused at least part of it.

We want to minimize damage to the new one, so switching to carbon steel and regular stovetop cleaning.
So far we like the new Cafe. Got it on sale from BestBuy.

 

[chopsaw]

Lemon and tomatoes are supposed to be bad for the seasoning, even for CI although I never had a problem with my CI. Maybe it depends on how deep your seasoning is.

I use tomato sauce in my cast iron without issue , but I clean it right after using .
The carbon steel was a factory pre season . That's probably why it came off so easy .

That pretty rough . Almost looks like high heat damage . I had that happen on a different top .
Mine sees cast iron daily , but still looks pretty good . 17 years old , but was new to me .

We want to minimize damage to the new one, so switching to carbon steel and regular stovetop cleaning.

Yup . I get it . That's why I've been going back and forth for a couple months now .
Thanks for the reply , I appreciate the input .

 

[6GRILLZNTN]

Magical things happen when you put a DA polisher on a glass top stove.

And yes, it sees CI frequently!

 

[JeffShoaf]

If your wallet is nice and fat, take a look at Solidtechnics. There call it machine-wrought iron but it's more like carbon steel. They basically heat up flat stock and press it to form the pans. Made in Australia (where they started) and America, but they're reworking their American process and have pretty limited stock. You can order from Australia if you're willing to pay for shipping and are willing to wait for your plans. They have a stainless steel line manufactured in a similar process.

I have a few of their "lightining" pans ("lightining" is their line of thinner pans that are lighter than their regular kind) that I got via Kickstarter campaigns. I have a skillet and a perforated "flaming" pan to use on the grill, as well as a wok. They're definitely lighter than cast iron which is easier on my arthritic hands with carpal tunnel issues. The handles do stay pretty cool - no pot holder needed for stove top or grill top (as long as you don't close the lid on the gasser or put the lid on the kettle).

 

[nlife]

I have de Buyer carbon steel that I like using on my single burner GasOne butane stove. They're really responsive to changes in heat temperatures when compared to CI.

They work pretty good on electric stoves, but I prefer to use CI. Might be different if I had a glass top range with a larger burner that fit the base of the pan better.

 

[Fueling Around]

Never used a carbon steel pan. Closest I came was my old Revere Ware pans that I still miss.

We have a glass smooth top in Florida and it sees regular use with CI and SS pans.
The trick is to scrub the exterior of all the pans so it doesn't release oils onto the glass top that carbonize. Regular cleaning of the glass top is also a must. I'm thinking that DA trick would be much easier than the green scrubby and the glass top cleaner after my wife boils over the dutch oven which is every time she cooks in it.

Now, what is the attraction for glass smooth top? I hate them. Slow to heat and slow to cool.
We have an old fashioned 40 year old coil top in Minnesota. Spills and boil overs drop into the pan and clean up easily.

My real love is a gas range top. Fast on and fast off.

 

[6GRILLZNTN]

Never used a carbon steel pan. Closest I came was my old Revere Ware pans that I still miss.

We have a glass smooth top in Florida and it sees regular use with CI and SS pans.
The trick is to scrub the exterior of all the pans so it doesn't release oils onto the glass top that carbonize. Regular cleaning of the glass top is also a must. I'm thinking that DA trick would be much easier than the green scrubby and the glass top cleaner after my wife boils over the dutch oven which is every time she cooks in it.

Now, what is the attraction for glass smooth top? I hate them. Slow to heat and slow to cool.
We have an old fashioned 40 year old coil top in Minnesota. Spills and boil overs drop into the pan and clean up easily.

My real love is a gas range top. Fast on and fast off.

I honestly can't stand my glass top. I must be related to your wife because I'm a messy cook. I have to keep a plastic scraper, and glass cleaner close by any time I cook. About once a month I have to break out the DA. My mom has a gasser, and that thing is awesome.

 

[civilsmoker]

Seasoned carbon are nice pans. We have a coupe carbon flattop griddles for the big camp chef. They are workhorses!