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Matfer Black Steel Pans
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Matfer Black Steel Pans
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Product Description
Made from carbon steel, also known as black steel—which is heavy enough to retain heat, but thin enough to heat up quickly—these Matfer fryers are sure to become your go-to saucepans. Available in three sizes, the pans need to be broken in or “seasoned” for non-stick use Read More
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keyboard_arrow_downsteve.v
169
Jun 22, 2017
If carbon steel is supposed to be lighter, I can't imagine how heavy cast iron is. This pan is super heavy. Getting a lighter one.
MRivera
22
Mar 26, 2018
This pan is awesome! I followed all the steps from America's Test Kitchen to clean and season it. First I ran it under hot water and scrubbed it with a scouring pad and soap. I made sure to scrub both sides multiple times.
To season, I used the recommended 2/3 cup of salt, 1/3 cup of oil and 2 potatoes worth of peels. I used medium to high flame and stirred almost constantly, making sure to rub the peels along the side walls as well. The metal won't start to brown until the peels are blackened and the oil begins smoking. If you have a grill, I would recommend using it instead of the stove. There was a lot of smoke! I would have liked a deeper season, but I had to stop because of the smoke. There was too much oil, so I ended up adding another 1/4 cup of salt. I would also suggest a 3rd potato if you have the 12in pan. I'm going to do additional seasoning with my flaxseed oil, but this will do for now. I need a break from the smoke lol. I did apply a light coat of flaxseed all over the pan, including the bottom, after it cooled down.
After just one round of seasoning, it's pretty non-stick already! I fried up some spam (don't judge) and it was like a slip n slide in there hahaha. Immediately after, I tested out 4 scrambled eggs and nothing stuck! Later on in the day, I tried to fry up 2 over easy eggs and it was sliding around like the spam! My new favorite pan for sure.
After it cooled down (took a while, since it retains heat so well), I just wiped it out with a paper towel. It looks like nothing ever happened and still has its mirror like seasoning. To store it, I just wiped it down with a thin coat of flaxseed all over and stuck it in the oven. I like to keep my cast iron in there too since we don't have much room in the kitchen, just tbh.
All in all, I would highly recommend these types of pans. It's the perfect balance between stainless steel and cast iron. Plus, you don't have to worry about that nasty teflon coating junk ending up in your food. I'm looking forward to using this for the years to come. As long as the handle weld holds up, this pan should last forever!
To season, I used the recommended 2/3 cup of salt, 1/3 cup of oil and 2 potatoes worth of peels. I used medium to high flame and stirred almost constantly, making sure to rub the peels along the side walls as well. The metal won't start to brown until the peels are blackened and the oil begins smoking. If you have a grill, I would recommend using it instead of the stove. There was a lot of smoke! I would have liked a deeper season, but I had to stop because of the smoke. There was too much oil, so I ended up adding another 1/4 cup of salt. I would also suggest a 3rd potato if you have the 12in pan. I'm going to do additional seasoning with my flaxseed oil, but this will do for now. I need a break from the smoke lol. I did apply a light coat of flaxseed all over the pan, including the bottom, after it cooled down.
After just one round of seasoning, it's pretty non-stick already! I fried up some spam (don't judge) and it was like a slip n slide in there hahaha. Immediately after, I tested out 4 scrambled eggs and nothing stuck! Later on in the day, I tried to fry up 2 over easy eggs and it was sliding around like the spam! My new favorite pan for sure.
After it cooled down (took a while, since it retains heat so well), I just wiped it out with a paper towel. It looks like nothing ever happened and still has its mirror like seasoning. To store it, I just wiped it down with a thin coat of flaxseed all over and stuck it in the oven. I like to keep my cast iron in there too since we don't have much room in the kitchen, just tbh.
All in all, I would highly recommend these types of pans. It's the perfect balance between stainless steel and cast iron. Plus, you don't have to worry about that nasty teflon coating junk ending up in your food. I'm looking forward to using this for the years to come. As long as the handle weld holds up, this pan should last forever!
charliewat
0
Feb 22, 2019
Think smoking means the oil is breaking g down turning into a polymer which is what the coating is that’s nonstick
FriedShoe
188
Mar 3, 2017
Any carbon steel pan is a good pan, but these things are absolutely not going to provide "Better Heat Distribution". This type of pan does best on a large burner that can provide consistent heat because steel is going to soak up that heat and spit it right back out again; where flames touch the bottom of the pan it will be hot and where the flames do not reach it will be noticeably cooler. If on an electric stove, the surface temperature will vary widely as the stove cycles through turning on and off.
Cast iron avoids this problem to some extent by being massively thick (in comparison to a normal pan) so it holds on to heat well and because it takes a long time to heat up which gives it a chance to distribute that heat well enough.
Most modern stainless steel pans are bonded to an aluminium plate, or are layered with aluminium, just because steel is so bad at distributing heat. Carbon steel is not significantly different in this regard. The specific heat of iron is half that of aluminium so it needs to be much ticker to approach similar levels of performance on its own.
edit: Still a good pan. Carbon steel is often used in restaurants, but so are very large burners that can provide little or great amounts of heat consistently under the entire bottom of the pan.
Cast iron avoids this problem to some extent by being massively thick (in comparison to a normal pan) so it holds on to heat well and because it takes a long time to heat up which gives it a chance to distribute that heat well enough.
Most modern stainless steel pans are bonded to an aluminium plate, or are layered with aluminium, just because steel is so bad at distributing heat. Carbon steel is not significantly different in this regard. The specific heat of iron is half that of aluminium so it needs to be much ticker to approach similar levels of performance on its own.
edit: Still a good pan. Carbon steel is often used in restaurants, but so are very large burners that can provide little or great amounts of heat consistently under the entire bottom of the pan.
K.T.N
1264
Mar 11, 2017
FriedShoeI've been hesitant to get these thin pans in the past. I have some old electrical elements in my oven, and they are not they are not totally flat, either. So heat distribution is pretty spotty. And as you say, you'll want a consistent heat source that can cover the full bottom of the pan for these to perform well. Gas is king for cooking, of course, but if you have good, flat electrical coils on your stove that are big enough, that can work well too.
The suggestion to use an induction burner/plate really makes this practical for me, however. It gets me past the issue I have with my electric burners, and covers the bottoms of the pans I plan to get.
The suggestion to use an induction burner/plate really makes this practical for me, however. It gets me past the issue I have with my electric burners, and covers the bottoms of the pans I plan to get.
WRay
19
Keyboard Club Member
Mar 14, 2017
Unfortunately, not a correct understanding. As others have said, steel conducts heat much more slowly than aluminum, so unless your heat source is quite uniform, steel pans will have hot and cold spots, compared to aluminum, or copper.
LuckyBoi
56
Jun 9, 2017
Would get one here, but i was looking for 12" and theyre the same price on amazon atm.
Lynyrd
13
Jan 15, 2018
The offset is that Amazon is not charging shipping. Today's 1/5/18 and their 12 5/8 is under $44.
Lynyrd
13
Jan 15, 2018
Like the business observation. Lived in Seattle and Portland for ~37 years; I miss people. I do not miss the rain, lol.
namhod
1991
Jun 8, 2017
I have a pretty good cast iron collection. What would be the advantages and disadvantages of black/carbon steel vs cast iron?
nubrigol
13
Jun 11, 2017
Don't forget that the weight is a plus with the cast iron. More weight means it can hold more energy/heat so once it gets up to temperature it keeps the temperature at more of a steady level as food is added to it. It also transfers that heat to the food at a faster rate. Not sure how much lighter carbon steel is, but a much lighter weight wouldn't be a huge selling point for me. Man cast iron can be unwieldy, though...
LuckyBoi
56
Jun 11, 2017
nubrigolTrue, cast iron will hold heat longer, once it gets heated up. This will heat up faster though, not too much faster that it will surprise you and burn your dishes but faster than cast iron.
MonkeyBoy54321
102
Jul 11, 2017
I have this pan, but I did not buy it through massdrop. I bought it from Amazon although the reason I bought it is because I saw it on massdrop and missed the drop. I own the 10 inch pan. I also own a lodge 10 inch pan and I will be comparing the both of them quite frequently in this review.
So first off when you get the pan it is covered in a protective wax coating. At least I believe it was wax. The only thing I remember about it was how fucking hard it was to remove it. I have never experienced a protective layer like this. I ran it under scalding hot water for 10 minutes and was still unable to remove it all. I had to use the potato skins and salt thing they recommend to get rid of the rest. This was my least favorite part of the pan but you only do it once so it's not a deal breaker.
Now cast iron is heavy, but so is carbon steel. Not as heavy but heavy nonetheless. I don't believe this really puts carbon steel above cast iron since you mostly leave it on the stove top anyway. The reduced weight does allow you to toss food unlike carbon steel. The shape of the carbon steel pan is better suited to flip food or to make a stir fry while a lodge pan might break your wrist if you attempt to do so. But now you must ask yourself if you want to give up other benefits of cast iron, the most important one being baking. So basically you get a lighter pan which allows you to flip and toss food, but you lose the ability to bake in the pan. I mean it's not impossible to bake in carbon steel, but good luck finding a recipe.
Heat retention is better in the lodge pan, but the mautfer pan heats up quicker. They're equally good in Browning though. I think the mautfer pan beats any cast iron in this regard. Cast Iron takes too long to heat up and cool down. I can't think of a situation where you would want so much heat retention.
Seasoning is definitely easier in a carbon steel pan. The reason for this is because you can see it happen, while in a traditional cast iron you'll barely notice a difference. There are many methods to season carbon steel, but the one I use is the burning method. It's basically just burning oil in the pan. The oil has to be spread pretty thin though. Cast Iron more time consuming to season but I believe the seasoning lasts longer. On my carbon steel a simple spoon or fork will remove the seasoning, but this might just be because of the way I seasoned it. I think in respect to seasoning carbon steel is better since it is easier to apply and is more nonstick, although cast iron holds the seasoning better.
Oh and one other thing I found out while cooking with the mautfer pan was that cold food will stick to the pan. I think it has something to do with the polymerization and what not. So let your food warm up a bit.
TLDR Carbon steel is better than cast iron when it comes to stovetop cooking, but cast iron is more versatile. Regardless the mautfer black is probably the best carbon steel pan out there so just buy a lodge and mautfer and call it a day.
So first off when you get the pan it is covered in a protective wax coating. At least I believe it was wax. The only thing I remember about it was how fucking hard it was to remove it. I have never experienced a protective layer like this. I ran it under scalding hot water for 10 minutes and was still unable to remove it all. I had to use the potato skins and salt thing they recommend to get rid of the rest. This was my least favorite part of the pan but you only do it once so it's not a deal breaker.
Now cast iron is heavy, but so is carbon steel. Not as heavy but heavy nonetheless. I don't believe this really puts carbon steel above cast iron since you mostly leave it on the stove top anyway. The reduced weight does allow you to toss food unlike carbon steel. The shape of the carbon steel pan is better suited to flip food or to make a stir fry while a lodge pan might break your wrist if you attempt to do so. But now you must ask yourself if you want to give up other benefits of cast iron, the most important one being baking. So basically you get a lighter pan which allows you to flip and toss food, but you lose the ability to bake in the pan. I mean it's not impossible to bake in carbon steel, but good luck finding a recipe.
Heat retention is better in the lodge pan, but the mautfer pan heats up quicker. They're equally good in Browning though. I think the mautfer pan beats any cast iron in this regard. Cast Iron takes too long to heat up and cool down. I can't think of a situation where you would want so much heat retention.
Seasoning is definitely easier in a carbon steel pan. The reason for this is because you can see it happen, while in a traditional cast iron you'll barely notice a difference. There are many methods to season carbon steel, but the one I use is the burning method. It's basically just burning oil in the pan. The oil has to be spread pretty thin though. Cast Iron more time consuming to season but I believe the seasoning lasts longer. On my carbon steel a simple spoon or fork will remove the seasoning, but this might just be because of the way I seasoned it. I think in respect to seasoning carbon steel is better since it is easier to apply and is more nonstick, although cast iron holds the seasoning better.
Oh and one other thing I found out while cooking with the mautfer pan was that cold food will stick to the pan. I think it has something to do with the polymerization and what not. So let your food warm up a bit.
TLDR Carbon steel is better than cast iron when it comes to stovetop cooking, but cast iron is more versatile. Regardless the mautfer black is probably the best carbon steel pan out there so just buy a lodge and mautfer and call it a day.
MonkeyBoy54321
102
Dec 2, 2017
Ok so how I tested the cold food thing was with eggs. I took eggs straight out of the fridge and threw them on the pan immediately. These eggs stuck to the pan. Then I let some warm up a bit, either by placing them in warm water or by letting them sit out. These did not stick.
Ok so meats are very different from eggs. If you put cold chicken in the pan, it will eventually release but will leave significant amount of fond on the pan. Room temperature meat will not leave as much fond and instead will leave it all on the meat.
Those are just my observations and I could be totally wrong, but what I meant about the food was letting it warm up.
drKrieger
7
Dec 2, 2017
MonkeyBoy54321Interesting observations; looking forward to getting my pan and seeing what happens. Eggs especially.
K.T.N
1264
Mar 9, 2017
BTW, there was an equipment test in Cook's Illustrated last year that opened my eyes to how great these thin carbon steel pans are.
It's worth looking up to find out more.
It's worth looking up to find out more.
CoryOBrien
12
Mar 9, 2017
K.T.NCook's Illustrated is typically behind a paywall, but they publish their findings to YouTube under America's Test Kitchen. Here's their video on carbon steel skillets, where they pick Matfer as the winner: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-suTmUX4Vbk
ChiefSmoothBrave
0
Jun 6, 2018
How different is the Black pan over the pure steel pan, with no color coating?
I'm just concerned about toxicity - the black flaking coming off, and into my food. Not sure what it's made of.
(I've seen pictures online of the black parts flaking off. Not sure I want to be eating that).
I'm just concerned about toxicity - the black flaking coming off, and into my food. Not sure what it's made of.
(I've seen pictures online of the black parts flaking off. Not sure I want to be eating that).
ezrazxz
1
Dec 16, 2018
I'm hating the grease around the rivets though but for a $12 pan from Taiwan (and no shipping costs since it's available in Manila...well, it used to be) I can live with not having those flat welds on Matfers.
ravkesef
198
Jan 15, 2018
There is a special technique for removing the protective coating involving salt, oil and potato skins. You can find it on You-Tube. The problem is that it doesn’t always work the first time. You may have to use a palm sander to do the job. Don’t worry—it won’t hurt the pan. Once you’ve removed the coating, even if you have to scrub with a green scrubber, sander, or what-have-you, you’re home free. Now you just have to season the pan, and that’s really easy. Flaxseed oil is the best. Just put a bit in the pre-warmed pan and rub it around with a paper towel to absorb the excess oil (all you really want is a micro-thin layer of oil,) and heat the pan to about 450 degrees and let it blacken. Repeat the process three or four times, and when you’re done, you’ll have a perfect non-stick pan that will beat teflon hands down. Right. Scrambled eggs don’t intimidate this pan. The only thing you don’t want to cook in it is a tomato or wine based sauces, as the acidity will remove the seasoning. If that happens, just re-season it. Also, never wash this pan. Soap will remove the seasoning. Just wipe it out with a lint-free paper towel or a micro-fiber cloth.
BarryBogave
124
Apr 6, 2018
ravkesefSalt oil and patato peel is NOT meant to remove the coating. That is meant to season the pan once the coating has already been removed, using various other techniques.
StormPE
11
Sep 6, 2018
BarryBogaveThis is incorrect. While the salt and potato peels are used during the seasoning process, the reason they are used is to help remove any left over part of the coating while seasoning the pan.
Source: https://www.cooksillustrated.com/how_tos/9588-how-to-season-a-carbon-steel-pan
DonV
67
May 5, 2017
This may be obvious since it's steel - but does anyone know if these work just as well on induction stoves?
DonV
67
May 22, 2017
Thanks for the tip! "Pure steel" pans can also burn out elements - my stove warns of not using a setting past "5" (of 10) ever with cast iron and steel pans.
steveja
11
May 23, 2017
DonV"Pure steel" is a funny term since steel is always an alloy containing at least carbon (cast iron has a lot of silica). I *suspect* the "5" setting is to avoid warping the pan due to localized heating. BTW the same problem occurs when heating pans on electric heating elements (less-so for gas burners).
The issue of localized overheating is this - steel, like most metal & alloys expand with temperature, and despite what one might think, steel (esp stainless) is a rather poor heat (and electrical) conductor. So if you heat too fast then, for example, the pan center may get hot and expands, while the outer rim remains relatively cool and expands less. This forces the pan center to bulge upward or downward, permanently warping the pan. Localized cooling, for example putting water in the bottom of a hot pan, is also a bad idea.
Aluminum & copper pans have much higher thermal (and electrical) conductivity, so it's harder (not impossible) to create warping.
Heating on a lower setting allows the temperatures to equalize across the pan to avoid warping.
The issue of localized overheating is this - steel, like most metal & alloys expand with temperature, and despite what one might think, steel (esp stainless) is a rather poor heat (and electrical) conductor. So if you heat too fast then, for example, the pan center may get hot and expands, while the outer rim remains relatively cool and expands less. This forces the pan center to bulge upward or downward, permanently warping the pan. Localized cooling, for example putting water in the bottom of a hot pan, is also a bad idea.
Aluminum & copper pans have much higher thermal (and electrical) conductivity, so it's harder (not impossible) to create warping.
Heating on a lower setting allows the temperatures to equalize across the pan to avoid warping.
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