Misen Pre-seasoned Carbon Steel Kickstarter Campaign

[jfmorris]

For those of you into carbon steel pans, or thinking of it, Misen has a new kickstarter that yields a really good deal on their 10" and 12" carbon steel pans - they are doing a new version of them, pre-seasoned, and you can get "early bird" pricing through tomorrow:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...ac00%3D.sTBLfC

I had been wanting their 12" as the only carbon steel I have at the moment is my wok, but they've been out of stock of the 12" for a long time. This puts it as a discount, and the seasoning is already done/started for me. The drawback is that as a Kickstarter campaign, you won't get the goods until November...

I did a similar kickstarter to get my Misen dutch oven last year, and have been really happy with it, especially given I got it for way under what it sells for now.

[Bkhuna]

That's very tempting. I've been wanting a largel carbon steel skillet and this is a good discount. I almost bought a 12 in. Made-in carbon steel when the were doing a run of pre-seasoned, but they were expensive.

[rickgregory]

Nice but... I vacillate on fancy carbon pans. They're simple carbon steel. You want a certain thickness to them to prevent warping, but once you have that, they're really very basic things. Design aesthetics aside, it's hard for me to spend much on one. The two I have are simple Winco pans for about $30. You can find these at most any restaurant supply store.

Frankly, the idea of running a Kickstarter for something this basic is kind of annoying, especially since they *aren't* inexpensive. This page shows their 10" pan at $75, but you can get Matfer and De Buyer pans for about the same price right now and the Made In pan is just a bit more.

Unless you really specifically want the Misen, any of the above would be great pans.

PS: if seasoning is a problem (you don't want to do it, can't, etc) I'd simply avoid carbon steel. Sure, the pre-seasoning is a slight convenience, but the reality is you need to maintain seasoning early on anyway. Lodge CI is preseasoned.. but it's a thin coat and you need to really build it up a bit in use.

[Bordonaroj]

I have to agree here, I use a Mauviel carbon steel pan set and i think i only paid around 40 for each. I like Misen and bought one of their knives, its good, not great.

[Steve B]

I have all of Misen's Pots and pans except the Dutch oven. Their steel, cardon steel and non-stick. I'm really happy with all of them.
Only issue I had is one time making chicken piccata the carbon steel pan made the chicken a funky dark brown color. I can only assume it was something that didn't wash off from my previous cook.

[Troutman]

Chicken Piccata...yum!! That's definitely in the Italian Classics Series !!

[jfmorris]

Well, debating myself pulling the trigger on the 12" or even both. Right now I have a hodge podge collection of one 12" CI, one 12" non-stick, two 10" stainless left over from old sets, and one 8" non-stick. Or should I go buy cheap carbon steel at Webrestaurantstore.com?

[STEbbq]

I am too tempted so I have told myself that I can buy similarly priced Lodge pans off Amazon if my willpower gives out later. Or maybe something from webresturant.

[jfmorris]

So those of you with carbon steel, any point in having both sizes (10 and 12), or just the 12? Right now I find myself using my Lodge 12" CI most of the time, followed by a 12" Oxo nonstick, then an 8" Oxo nonstick if just doing eggs.

[rickgregory]

jfmorris - I use an 8 and a 12. 8" is nice for frying a couple of eggs or scrambling them, etc. But it's too small for frying bacon etc. Now... I'm single. So for you, I'd go either 10 and 12 or just 12 depending on how you use pans like that.

I have no non-stick. A seasoned CS pan with some oil is almost as good and a) I want to be able to build sauce out of fond and b) I don't like to eat the non-stick coating (when it wears off... where does it go? Right...)

As for buying a cheap one... Up to you and how important aesthetics are to you. The french style pans have handles that curve up and back whereas most of the cheap pans just have straight handles. Functionally, I don't think there's a great difference if get at least a 2mm pan so you minimize rthe chance of warping.

EDIT: If you've not cooked with CS and are curious, I'd get an inexpensive pan and try it out.

[58limited]

I have the Misen 10 and 12 and I like them. But, I don't "need" them. I have tons of cast iron that I use most of the time. They do respond to burner adjustments quicker than CI so that is nice for certain things. It is nice having both depending on how much food I'm cooking - I like options.

[rickgregory]

To 58limited's point... I have CI too. Some of it is older Wagner and so lighter than the current Lodge stuff but all my CI has more mass than the CS. As he points out, CS responds faster to heat changes. One consequence of that is that if you want to sear steaks, the CI will do that better since it is thicker and the temp wont drop as much when plopping on a steak.

Conversely, it's comparatively poor at doing sautés where I want to drop from a medium high to medium low temp etc.To

[willxfmr]

My GF is not going to be amused when my pan collection grows again. But I have months before I have to worry about it, so when the 10" and 12" show up, I'll just send her your way!

[Old Glory]

I bought this one and I am happy with it. I think it was recommended by Kenji or Serious Eats.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00462QP16/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

[DavidNorcross]

I have the Lodge carbon steel and it is fantastic.

[jfmorris]

I was looking at that one on their web page - is it smooth inside? The photos made it look kind of rough like their cast iron. I like my Lodge 12" skillet I've had since the 90's.

[DavidNorcross]

I would say it is smooth yes. However, know this is the only carbon steel pan that I have so I have nothing to compare to. I can tell you that it quickly became my favorite pan above all. Great product.

[jfmorris]

Well, I've actually decided to resist this Misen sale/kickstarter for now, even though it is a good deal compared to their normal prices. I've been happy cooking with my Lodge 12", and still need to work on continuing to build up seasoning on my 14" carbon steel wok from the Wok Shop. And with spring and summer moving in, I fully expect to spend the next 6 months working on chasing the perfect burger among other recipes on the flat top outside...

[tbob4]

Loved looking over some of those recipes! Thanks a ton. I want to perfect a smash burger with a cheese skirt. I’m good at both BUT the time needed to make the perfect skirt overcooks a thinly smashed burger. I think I have an idea.

[shify]

tbob4 - I don't think you could get a good cheese skirt without drastically overcooking the burger. My smashburgers maybe cook 30 seconds after the flip.

Just cook a frico on the side and add it to your smashburger (with melted cheese, naturally). Problem solved!

[tbob4]

shify - that was my thought. There is something nice about the two becoming one, though.

[Finster]

Just recently bought 2 carbon steel pans. An 8 and 11.5 inch.
I went with Matfer solely because the handles are welded, as opposed to riveted, to the pan...
So far, very pleased with both