Sometimes in this wild life you stumble upon a rabbit hole that ends up being more like a vast chasm. Such is the state of interest and appreciation for the world of carbon steel pans. One might think this humble node of cookery might be overlooked in favor of heritage-credited cast iron, utilitarian nonstick, or trending hexagon hybrid pan technologies. You would be wrong; carbon steel is no also-ran, no runner-up.
There is an intense, rabid fandom for this style of cookware that shocked even me, and I write about, like, mineral water influencers. From a busy subreddit to a secret world of obsessive home and professional chefs to in-demand artisan carbon steel craftsmen who sell their wares by raffle ticket, the dedication and appreciation to carbon steel runs deep. It is a roaring American foodways subculture that has gone largely uninvestigated by the wider press, and I can only hope to scratch the surface of doing it justice with this guide (after the surface is scratched, of course, I advise reseasoning the pan with grapeseed oil over high heat).
What is carbon steel? It’s a kind of in-between style of pan (made of an iron-carbon alloy) that splits the difference, more or less, between the easy utility of stainless steel and the long-lasting hardiness of cast iron. With the right care and use, carbon steel pans move effortlessly between various styles of cooking, allowing you to fry an egg and sear a steak, all using the same skillet. There is a slight learning curve to using these pans, for which YouTube and forums (like the above Reddit hub) are your friends. But they’re also tanks—they stand up to use and wear, and can be reseasoned again and again to get the most out of your cooking experience.
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What Kind of Carbon Steel Pan Should You Buy?
Carbon steel panmakers run the gamut of size and style, from tiny craftsman operations to heritage brands gone big-time to crafty Instagrammy upstarts (it’s like looking at a pan-shaped mirror of America). Price of course plays a major role in selection, and as I tested and cooked with pans over the course of a few months, I was surprised and impressed at how well some of the pans at the lower end of the cost spectrum cooked.
Take it from me, and from the carbon steel nerds online, when I say that your first carbon steel pan will not be your last carbon steel pan. Because this cookware varies so greatly in size, depth, and best intended purpose, it’s hard to stop at just one. A flat skillet works great for some styles of cooking; for other styles, a big, deep pan or even a wok is what you’re really looking for. My advice would be to start with one of the entry-level pans in this guide, then—when you’re fully #CarbonPilled—consider investing in an heirloom, small-production pan from an independent maker. Treated right and well-loved, a carbon steel pan can become a family heirloom, the sort of thing you’ll pass on to your kids and display proudly in your home.
I cooked and cooked and cooked with these pans over the course of three months, putting various models and styles through their paces and coming out with the recommendations above. Every single pan in the guide was given a couple of baseline cooks—a fried egg, a sauteed onion—and then as I got to know the pans better, I began thinking about them in terms of certain dishes and applications, poaching chicken in the deep Smithey Forge pan, for example, or using Lodge as my go to for frying bacon.
Multiple pans were tested for each product category, with a focus on under-$55 pans as well as “deep” pans and flat skillets.