7,9-inch Pre-Seasoned Black Carbon Steel Skillet

Get it!

My new favorite pan. Pretty easy to season & cooks eggs like glass! They literally slide around like they are on glass now. At first had a little sticking but nothing major. That gets better with every use. Such a great pan! No regrets!

Excellent multi-use skillet

TL;DR - with proper use and care, this is a worthy investment for the kitchen.

At the time of purchase, there were literally no reviews on this product, so I thought for $30, I'd gamble with some new cookware and provide some feedback for potential buyers. As I write this, I have been using this 7.9" fry pan practically non-stop for two days. This is my first ever experience using carbon steel cookware.

On arrival it was sealed in a plastic bag and coated with a very light layer of protective oil to keep it from rusting in transit. Washing this off was quick and simple. I gave it one round of seasoning with canola oil as per the instructions which were included, then fried an egg in butter as the first test. The egg stuck at first but as it cooked it loosened right up and slid across the pan like a leather sole shoe on black ice. Cleanup was simply wiping it down with a paper towel, nothing was stuck or burnt.

Pan fried potatoes have also been an excellent success with a little clarified butter, but this is where I had some trouble on day one. Turns out the blend of spices I normally cook with strips the seasoning right off the pan, causing bits of potato and spices to burn and stick. I suspect it's the lemon pepper, and it took almost five pounds of potatoes before I tried omitting the spices with excellent results. I found that they retain more flavor when added once the food is cooked and dumped on a plate. I'm not much of a cook though, so I wouldn't know if it was bad to cook the spices or not anyway.

After a three round seasoning session I was able to fry three eggs and four rounds of potatoes (sans spices) with absolutely nothing sticking when using clarified butter for cooking, making sure to preheat the pan before adding the food. Between uses I allowed the pan to cool to where it was just warm to the touch and wiped it clean with a paper towel which leaves a layer of oil behind for protection, no need to wash or scrub.

I specifically chose this make and model for the size, weight and the removable wooden handle, making it an ideal addition to the haversack for camping. I will update this review once I have more experience, especially after testing over a campfire, but I am really liking it so far.

Great pan, great value

Use this pan properly, and you will find no flaws with this exceptional value. Any complaint present in any review basically comes down to a misunderstanding of what they have purchased.

- If you are comfortable using and maintaining cast iron, you'll have zero problems with this pan.
- If you like cooking with stainless steel, you'll have zero problems with this pan.
- If you understand the concept of seasoning new un-coated cookware, again zero problems for you.
- If you have used higher priced carbon steel before, like De Buyer, Matfer, etc. you'll love this pan.
- If you have ever cooked in a professional capacity, you'll love this pan. And you won't complain about not being able to go straight from the burner to the oven, because you clearly saw the wooden handle in the picture. Even if you torch the handle over an open flame, a spare comes in the box.

However, if you expect this pan to be as light as the $11 aluminum non-stick at the local supermarket, you'll be disappointed. It's a quality pan made with heavy gauge carbon steel. It's not going to feel like an aluminum pan. If you have never used anything but coated non-stick cookware before, you should expect there to be a bit of a learning curve. Once you figure it out, this will be your favorite pan.

Season this thing properly and cook anything you want in it. Maintain it properly and you'll never need to replace it.