Tiger Board Logo

Donor's Den General Leaderboards TNET coins™ POTD Hall of Fame Map FAQ
GIVE AN AWARD
Use your TNET coins™ to grant this post a special award!

W
50
Big Brain
90
Love it!
100
Cheers
100
Helpful
100
Made Me Smile
100
Great Idea!
150
Mind Blown
150
Caring
200
Flammable
200
Hear ye, hear ye
200
Bravo
250
Nom Nom Nom
250
Take My Coins
500
Ooo, Shiny!
700
Treasured Post!
1000

YOUR BALANCE
controversial subject?
storage This topic has been archived - replies are not allowed.
Archives - General Boards Archive
add New Topic
Replies: 23
| visibility 662

controversial subject?


Aug 4, 2020, 4:46 PM

stainless vs. cast iron vs. carbon steel

Object - the perfect indoor steak.

I have been a cast iron devotee for years but just ordered a 5 ply 12" stainless aluminum core pan after using one in a rental house in Edisto. I actually thought it heated more evenly, got just as hot, weighed less and was easier to use than cast iron. In fairness the house had a kick ### brand new wolf range but my gas stove at home does fine with cast iron, so...

I'm thinking my extensive set of cast iron fry pans might slowly get replaced. I had done everything from eggs in the morning to sauces in cast iron but between the blackstone griddle and this stainless steel pan for searing, I'm not sure the cast iron will have as much use.

2024 purple level memberbadge-donor-15yr.jpgbadge-ringofhonor-fordprefect.jpg flag link military_tech thumb_downthumb_up

Oh and...


Aug 4, 2020, 4:47 PM

I have a carbon steel wok that is great for chinese but I've been doing that stuff on the griddle too.

2024 purple level memberbadge-donor-15yr.jpgbadge-ringofhonor-fordprefect.jpg flag link military_tech thumb_downthumb_up

Just keep one for cornbread.***


Aug 4, 2020, 4:51 PM



badge-donor-05yr.jpgringofhonor-aero.jpg flag link military_tech thumb_downthumb_up

Cast *******


Aug 4, 2020, 4:57 PM



2024 orange level memberbadge-donor-10yr.jpg2011_nascar_champ.gifringofhonor-celti_tiger-110.jpg flag link military_tech thumb_downthumb_up

.


Only time I use stainless is if it's something I'll


Aug 4, 2020, 5:00 PM

be deglazing post-cooking. You still can't season a stainless steel pan.

2024 orange level memberbadge-donor-20yr.jpgringofhonor-obed.jpg flag link military_tech thumb_downthumb_up


Yeah...


Aug 4, 2020, 5:08 PM

I cooked eggs in one and they didn't stick at all with just a little olive oil. Never thought that was possible and I would still prefer a really good ceramic non-stick for eggs, but it changed my view. That and the fact that the aluminum spreads the heat a lot more evenly and you get no hotspots. It heats up faster too.

I love cast iron, but even on a good range top, your're going to have spots with temps different enough to keep stuff from cooking evenly.

2024 purple level memberbadge-donor-15yr.jpgbadge-ringofhonor-fordprefect.jpg flag link military_tech thumb_downthumb_up

Re: Only time I use stainless is if it's something I'll


Aug 5, 2020, 9:34 AM [ in reply to Only time I use stainless is if it's something I'll ]

I'm pretty much this. I have both cast iron and stainless (no carbon steel, yet). I use them for different tasks. I can nail a steak in either but finishing sauces and ingredients will decide which pan i use.

However, I don't use any modern cast iron either. It's all vintage pieces that I've found or been gifted and restored myself. So they start out smoother than a modern lodge for instance. I have been eyeing Smithey's and some higher end CI but just can't get myself to pull the trigger when i can have more fun hunting vintage and restoring it myself.

And I agree with your post below about getting the seasoning right the first time and then just wash/dry repeat.

flag link military_tech thumb_downthumb_up

Heard several frans singing the praises of carbon steel.


Aug 4, 2020, 5:08 PM

I ain't know, because I don't have one. If you can get the same sear as cast iron, then like aero said, you've mostly whittled down the utility of cast iron relative to the maintenance it takes to keep them functional, with the exception of cornbread and corn pudding and the like (and maybe carbon steel does those like a boss, too).

My dad got me and my sis 10" Butter Pats for Crimmas this year. I didn't know anything about them until I looked them up a few months after, but it's a damn $200 pan. They did a ton of research in how to make cast iron thinner and more evenly cast, and more importantly, how to make it smoother than a baby's ass. The latter requires hours of hand polishing, which most companies don't mess with, and why the same pan from Lodge is 1/10th of the price. It's a killer pan though. The 14" one is $400. I had mostly quit on cast iron, primarily because of the ceramic cooktop I've had for almost 3 years, but this pan is pulling me back in. Used it a few times to cook sourdough English muffins.



Dad's crappy coil burners--they still work (somewhat), so he won't justify buying a new range.



2024 white level memberbadge-donor-15yr.jpgbadge-ringofhonor-19b.jpg flag link military_tech thumb_downthumb_up

That could be the thing...


Aug 4, 2020, 5:11 PM

I've got some old cast iron that I bought at farmer's markets or found in my wife's grandmother's storage units and that stuff is much smoother and thinner than the lodge pan I bought. And they do work much better. Maybe the key is just spending more money on cast iron.

2024 purple level memberbadge-donor-15yr.jpgbadge-ringofhonor-fordprefect.jpg flag link military_tech thumb_downthumb_up

You probably have Wagner cast iron pans


Aug 5, 2020, 12:09 AM

IMO, you can't get any better than those. Wagner was around pre-1900 to around the mid-1900's. Look on the underside & you will be able to make out the name, as well as the size (or number) of the pans.

flag link military_tech thumb_downthumb_up

“To See a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour.” WB


That's cheating.


Aug 4, 2020, 5:17 PM [ in reply to Heard several frans singing the praises of carbon steel. ]

Keep using and using that cast iron pan, and by the time it is passed to your great grandkids, it will be every bit as smooth as that $200 one.

2024 orange level memberbadge-donor-20yr.jpgringofhonor-obed.jpg flag link military_tech thumb_downthumb_up


Eh. For as hipster as we are, I've just never been enameled


Aug 4, 2020, 5:21 PM

with cast iron (intentional? MAYYYYYBE), because cleaning them when you burn something on them sucks so very much. I had to use salt and scrub the shit out that pan yesterday after getting it too hot for the first coupla English muffins.

2024 white level memberbadge-donor-15yr.jpgbadge-ringofhonor-19b.jpg flag link military_tech thumb_downthumb_up

I'm a bit of a cast iron neophyte (1 year-ish)


Aug 4, 2020, 5:26 PM

but if it's sticking that bad isn't that a sign that you need to hit reset and redo the seasoning process?

I realize you probably have every Good Eats episode memorized, but aren't you supposed to do the three step season/cool cycle? I did that and have simply cleaned with hot water afterwards and haven't had jacksquat stick to it since.

2024 orange level memberbadge-donor-20yr.jpgringofhonor-obed.jpg flag link military_tech thumb_downthumb_up


Yeah, but I probably push the envelope on searing temps.


Aug 4, 2020, 5:31 PM

It was accidental a couple nights ago because dad's stovetop is, well, ~30 year old coil burners. I was probably a couple hundred degrees high, and also probably lucky I didn't crack the pan. Doesn't matter how seasoned you are if you overshoot that much. I put two rounds of Crisco on this one, and did the 500 degree-90 minute upside down run and then turned the oven off, but if you ask 10 people, they'll give you 10 different ways to season cast iron.

2024 white level memberbadge-donor-15yr.jpgbadge-ringofhonor-19b.jpg flag link military_tech thumb_downthumb_up

I put it on the boiler burner on high...


Aug 5, 2020, 2:36 PM

and coat it with oil. Turn the exhaust fan on high and let the oil burn off while I wipe wipe up any pools of oil that form. I repeat two or three times until it's pretty slick. Most days I just wipe it out with a towel, but if I sear something I'll hit it with salt and hotwater I'll do another round on the burner when I clean it, just to dry and add to the seasoning. The lodge never gets as polished looking as the older stuff but it works.

Pretty much the same thing I do with the blackstone out side, but I went to long between uses and got a rust spot that i have to clean and re-season.

2024 purple level memberbadge-donor-15yr.jpgbadge-ringofhonor-fordprefect.jpg flag link military_tech thumb_downthumb_up

Question on the sourdough english muffins


Aug 5, 2020, 9:17 AM [ in reply to Heard several frans singing the praises of carbon steel. ]

Are those true sourdough? I have a longstanding yeast based recipe I use with great success but just can't get the english muffins right with my sourdough starter.

flag link military_tech thumb_downthumb_up

They are, at least to the extent that I trust my SIL gave me


Aug 5, 2020, 10:47 AM

actual sourdough starter a month or two ago. This is the recipe she passed along:

https://www.baking-sense.com/2019/02/14/sourdough-english-muffins/


The two times I've made them so far, the proofing stage took more like 6-7 hours than the 3 or so in the recipe, but other than that, it seemed to work pretty well. Killer English muffins, but they take more time and effort that I particularly enjoy. But you get 18-20 out of a batch, and they freeze really well, so I'll probably keep making them until I don't.

2024 white level memberbadge-donor-15yr.jpgbadge-ringofhonor-19b.jpg flag link military_tech thumb_downthumb_up

You know what?


Aug 5, 2020, 2:42 PM

MY GREAT GREAT GRANDDIDDY DIDN'T RUN THEM THAR LIMEY BASTAGES OUTTA YORK COUNTY TWO HUNDRED AND 40 SOME ODD YEARS AGO SO'S I STILL HAD TO EAT THEIR STUPID MUFFINS TODAY.

ringofhonor-rhtig.jpg flag link military_tech thumb_downthumb_up


I pretty much do everything on the blackstone


Aug 4, 2020, 5:58 PM

Just made the kids steakadillas.

Cooked meat, chopped, tortilla with cheese FLAT, add meat, fold when ready, cut and serve.

Agree with aero that cast iron has its place for cornbread and the like. If you are making bacon or searing... blackstone, BGE , or nothing.

Last night was smash burgers. I hate that term as it’s really just a burger that fries in its own juices. I did make a sweet sauce out of unmeasured duke’s, ketchup, mustard and fresh garlic. Toasted the buns a little and then wrapped in foil for that steamy goodness

flag link military_tech thumb_downthumb_up


I call that "Door Sauce"


Aug 5, 2020, 9:28 AM

As in whatever is in the door. I make batches at a time and put into the pointy top squeeze bottle you can get from Amazon for a couple bucks.

flag link military_tech thumb_downthumb_up

I have a carbon steel wok


Aug 4, 2020, 7:50 PM

it is good for cooking slivers of steaks

2024 white level memberbadge-donor-15yr.jpgringofhonor-willmo.jpg flag link military_tech thumb_downthumb_up




Cat on a tin roof, dogs in a pile,
Nothin' left to do but smile, smile, smile!!!!


Do you have a shittywok?


Aug 5, 2020, 2:26 PM



2024 orange level memberbadge-donor-20yr.jpgringofhonor-obed.jpg flag link military_tech thumb_downthumb_up


What did you end up going with?


Aug 6, 2020, 11:09 AM

I'm in the market for a 12" pan and I hate the weight of a 12" cast iron pan.

flag link military_tech thumb_downthumb_up

I bought a Made In stainless 5 ply


Aug 6, 2020, 12:22 PM

it compares well to and some people think better than the all clad copper core, Difference as I understand it is about 90 bucks and the All clad has one layer of copper between two aluminum layers at the core while the Made In has three layers of aluminum.

Probably within the year I'll get a carbon steel pan and see how it does as well. I've already got a bunch of cast iron.

https://prudentreviews.com/all-clad-vs-made-in/

2024 purple level memberbadge-donor-15yr.jpgbadge-ringofhonor-fordprefect.jpg flag link military_tech thumb_downthumb_up

Replies: 23
| visibility 662
Archives - General Boards Archive
add New Topic