That $50 carbon steel pan that finally clicked for me

I spent ages fighting with nonstick pans that kept peeling after a few months. About 8 months ago I grabbed a cheap carbon steel pan off Amazon for $50 and man it was rough at first. Everything stuck, I got frustrated, almost threw it out after the third attempt at seasoning. Then I just started cooking fattier stuff like bacon and eggs in butter every morning for two weeks straight, now nothing sticks and I don't even need oil half the time. Any of you guys have a pan that took forever to break in?

3 comments

3 Comments

kelly_nelson951mo ago

My carbon steel pan took about SIX full weeks of daily use before it really started feeling right. I remember the exact day it clicked - a Wednesday morning when I fried an egg with almost no butter and it slid around like glass. Before that I had to scrape stuff off constantly and I was SO ready to give up on it. Now it's my go-to for everything except tomato sauce and acidic stuff. I honestly think people give up too soon on these pans because they expect instant nonstick like teflon.

xena_fox391mo ago

Six weeks is dedication, ngl.

simon7175d ago

Six weeks is dedication, ngl" - I hear you but honestly I think thats way too long to wait for a pan to work right. I tried the carbon steel thing and gave up after three weeks. Scraping food off every morning drove me crazy. I get that some people love the ritual of breaking in a pan but for me if a pan needs that much work just to be usable, its not the pan for me. I switched to a mid range nonstick and never looked back. No shame in that if you ask me.