Carbon Skillets

[old onion]

While cleaning out the basement last week,I trashed some old pans that were the cheap,non stick junk that you would buy at Walmarts but I made one fatal mistake,I tossed out the wife's old Crepe pan.Now she wants a carbon steel crepe pan for the replacement.Can't say as I blame her.I let her skim through the available options and she picked the 9-1/2" Mauviel crepe pan.I wanted to try the DeBuyer since I already have a couple Matfer pans but she shunned at the price and the $18 shipping on top of it.So guess I'll find out what a Muviel is like now. I hope she doesn't miss anything else that I filed in the big green garbage bag.

[mauichef]

While cleaning out the basement last week,I trashed some old pans that were the cheap,non stick junk that you would buy at Walmarts but I made one fatal mistake,I tossed out the wife's old Crepe pan.Now she wants a carbon steel crepe pan for the replacement.Can't say as I blame her.I let her skim through the available options and she picked the 9-1/2" Mauviel crepe pan.I wanted to try the DeBuyer since I already have a couple Matfer pans but she shunned at the price and the $18 shipping on top of it.So guess I'll find out what a Muviel is like now. I hope she doesn't miss anything else that I filed in the big green garbage bag.

I wait for my wife to go away before I start clearing stuff out. Last time she left I must have dumped 4 or 5 big sacks of (her) stuff. She is in Florida right now (thus me not in Chicago) so I will be heading to the landfill this week

[old onion]

While cleaning out the basement last week,I trashed some old pans that were the cheap,non stick junk that you would buy at Walmarts but I made one fatal mistake,I tossed out the wife's old Crepe pan.Now she wants a carbon steel crepe pan for the replacement.Can't say as I blame her.I let her skim through the available options and she picked the 9-1/2" Mauviel crepe pan.I wanted to try the DeBuyer since I already have a couple Matfer pans but she shunned at the price and the $18 shipping on top of it.So guess I'll find out what a Muviel is like now. I hope she doesn't miss anything else that I filed in the big green garbage bag.

I wait for my wife to go away before I start clearing stuff out. Last time she left I must have dumped 4 or 5 big sacks of (her) stuff. She is in Florida right now (thus me not in Chicago) so I will be heading to the landfill this week

I'm telling!

[lsboogy]

Just glad my better half is the one to toss things, and she asks me if I'm okay with it. She tossed a very old tier knife I had picked up at a garage sale years ago (pre WWI thing) and when I asked her where it was she just told me. I told her just to tell me when she wants to toss something -

Little crepe pan and a big cast iron lodge did all the duty this weekend - lamb chops, trout,some cod, potatoes, eggs, veg. Only used a stainless pot for doing pasta - love camping - especially on the shores of Lake Superior. Old carbon steel stuff goes in every kitchen - from Michelin 5 star to a campfire and does it with aplomb.

[old onion]

Just glad my better half is the one to toss things, and she asks me if I'm okay with it. She tossed a very old tier knife I had picked up at a garage sale years ago (pre WWI thing) and when I asked her where it was she just told me. I told her just to tell me when she wants to toss something -

Little crepe pan and a big cast iron lodge did all the duty this weekend - lamb chops, trout,some cod, potatoes, eggs, veg. Only used a stainless pot for doing pasta - love camping - especially on the shores of Lake Superior. Old carbon steel stuff goes in every kitchen - from Michelin 5 star to a campfire and does it with aplomb.

Ok,you win.You are now my new camp cook. Wife and I haven't been camping for years since her mother moved in with us.We can't leave her and she is to old to go anywhere.Before that,we used to camp all the time or backpack.Of course we ate freeze dried food when backpacking.After two tours of duty in Vietnam,walking from sun up to sundown with a heavy pack on my back,I swore that I would never hump the boonies again.Funny how things change.But you talking about cooking and camping brings back memories of the times I used to go to Northern Ontario with my buddies for fishing and bear hunting and we always pitched a tent and cooked by the shore over a nice camp fire.Memories! Food just naturally tastes better outdoors.Well,except for the C-rations we ate in the Nam that were left over from the WWII and the Korean war.

[lsboogy]

Onion - Get your kids to take care of her for a few days and go camping if possible I love the fall (warm days, cool nights) - Lake Superior camping is great till the end of October as it starts to get cold then. I lived in Montana for a while, but my better half is averse to winter camping so we only go till the snow starts to stick around here. And we tend to camp within 50 feet of the car so we can bring in food and wine - eating good when camping is a requirement for us

I would guess you could find a great spot for some outdoor food easily - maybe even just a quick overnight to a park. And food always tastes better over a campfire - glad I could re-ignite a spark in ya. My 214's are from a bit later, so I thank ya brother - I grilled tonight in the rain (weber q) and the cod was wonderful - little olive oil and salt, and the Brussels sprouts with some shaved carrot, bacon and pine nuts hit the spot as well.

[old onion]

Onion - Get your kids to take care of her for a few days and go camping if possible I love the fall (warm days, cool nights) - Lake Superior camping is great till the end of October as it starts to get cold then. I lived in Montana for a while, but my better half is averse to winter camping so we only go till the snow starts to stick around here. And we tend to camp within 50 feet of the car so we can bring in food and wine - eating good when camping is a requirement for us

I would guess you could find a great spot for some outdoor food easily - maybe even just a quick overnight to a park. And food always tastes better over a campfire - glad I could re-ignite a spark in ya. My 214's are from a bit later, so I thank ya brother - I grilled tonight in the rain (weber q) and the cod was wonderful - little olive oil and salt, and the Brussels sprouts with some shaved carrot, bacon and pine nuts hit the spot as well.

Thank you for your service too Isboogy. Unfortunately,my daughter and her husband live out of state and my only cousin who came and stayed at the farm to feed the horses,sheep and chickens,dogs and cats,while we were camping or fly fishing has since passed away.We are on our own.Been to Montana back in 99 and packed in on horseback through the Bob Marshall Wilderness area for ten days,most beautiful country I have ever been in.Only hold up was beating the fires with wet horse pads until the fire fighters showed up.You remember that year when the big fires hit.Anyhow,the fire fighters made us saddle up and move on because we weren't trained and certified so we rode for ten hours straight until we were safe and free to enjoy the beautiful mountains.
Cooking on my Weber Charcoal grill ( second one) is the best thing since sliced bread,my first one lasted over 40 years,outside.Only back slide on them is they went from the nice wood handle to that gray rubber handle.Not nice of them.Oh and pine nuts,would you believe that I have never ever tried them? Nope,never,but now I think I am going to have to check them out.You made that dish sound very tempting.

[lsboogy]

Onion -

I lived in Bozeman and Gallatin Gateway in the 80's and early 90's - remember the Yellowstone fires well. Glad you got out without too much happening. Got a fire pit in your back yard? I do, and I have used it to cook in on occasion - when you need the pan right on a set of low coals - making do is where it's at most of the time. Food just plain feels better when you're happy and doing it over coals. Get the better half and sit by a wood fire anywhere you can - nice glass of wine and some great food - star gazing after. Live well

Quick thought - I used to just put some coals on the top grid of a charcoal weber and use direct heat on pans when I did not have a fire pit - taught my daughter to cook camp eggs that way - she and her boyfriend still do it that way - cook anything in a carbon steel pan the same way.

It's a great night for some carbonara - best when done over direct heat. Little pancetta, black pepper (sift the hulls out), garlic, half a small onion - take 2oz pancetta per serving, dice it, render over medium heat with the onion, add a couple teaspoons of pepper and a few cloves of garlic (whole cloves minus skins) - cook for a couple minutes till the garlic takes over, pull the garlic out and add pasta and make a sauce from the fat and pasta water. Top with a bunch of oregano and some basil, and then Romano till you pop. Great meal with some nice bubbles or a Pinot Gris

[mauichef]

Hey guys...this thread has gone way off track.
I am going to move these last posts somewhere else.
Let's keep this thread about the OP please.
Aloha!

[lsboogy]

I think this is all about cooking with carbon skillets - not just comparing brands.

[Cutuu]

I got my newquist forge skillet; absolutely loving it!

[mauichef]

I got my newquist forge skillet; absolutely loving it!

Which one did you get? The 10 inch.
How do you like the handle?

[Cutuu]

I got my newquist forge skillet; absolutely loving it!

Which one did you get? The 10 inch.
How do you like the handle?

Yeah 10in fry pan. The handle is fine. It looks good, pretty good at staying cool. I wouldnt say it's uncomfortable. Although when I first picked it up, I thought it might be. There are probably some handlez that could be a little more comfortable. Still, phenomenal pan.. it meet all my expectations, which were very high.

[mauichef]

I got my newquist forge skillet; absolutely loving it!

Which one did you get? The 10 inch.
How do you like the handle?

Yeah 10in fry pan. The handle is fine. It looks good, pretty good at staying cool. I wouldnt say it's uncomfortable. Although when I first picked it up, I thought it might be. There are probably some handlez that could be a little more comfortable. Still, phenomenal pan.. it meet all my expectations, which were very high.

Thanks Ramon.

I wonder if anyone has experience with this one and the Blu or Blanc.
I am curious if they are worth the extra $100 over the Newquist.
They do look nice. But $280 - $360 for a fry pan is quite spendy!

[lsboogy]

Which one did you get? The 10 inch.
How do you like the handle?

Yeah 10in fry pan. The handle is fine. It looks good, pretty good at staying cool. I wouldnt say it's uncomfortable. Although when I first picked it up, I thought it might be. There are probably some handlez that could be a little more comfortable. Still, phenomenal pan.. it meet all my expectations, which were very high.

Thanks Ramon.

I wonder if anyone has experience with this one and the Blu or Blanc.
I am curious if they are worth the extra $100 over the Newquist.
They do look nice. But $280 - $360 for a fry pan is quite spendy!

Ive got a Blu, nice pan but I still use the old stuff most days - the Blu is very nice, but it took me 20 years to stop using Sabatier knives for a reason. The Blu is probably a better pan, but my really old stuff (unknown make with blue handles - made in France stamped in the handle so it was made for export in the 50's) has never let me down. Kind of like my crepe pans (various makers - all French) - bit of ergonomic difference, but it's all in keeping the pans seasoned. Been used on gas, electric, coals - nothing changes I. How they work. Like a good fine grained cast iron pan - nothing sticks, takes any heat source, will last for centuries

[gastro gnome]

FYI, I wound up messaging the folks at Newquist because I'm interested in something larger than a 10" pan.

They do have French skillet which doesn't appear on their Etsy page. It has higher, more angled sides. Alas, I was not interested because the base had no additional surface area compared to the 10" pan. It ran $160. Here is a picture they sent me.



They said they will be making larger pans next year and to check back in 2019 if I still hadn't found a pan that fit my needs.

[Bob Z]

That looks real nice but seems to be more of a wok almost.

[old onion]

Holy cow,you have it all dented up already.

[lsboogy]

I have a Mineral B 14 inch pan - still available it's almost 11" across on bottom flat area

[mauichef]

I have a Mineral B 14 inch pan - still available it's almost 11" across on bottom flat area

I know you have quite the carbon collection...so how does the Mineral stack up against the others?
I get the impression that other than aesthetics, in the main, they all cook about the same.
The eggs and steak don't know the difference
I am about to spring for a De Buyer carbon 11". (its a few dollars less than the Mineral. Seems almost identical other than the bees wax coating and the plastic button on the handle)
Thanks for the input.