Carbon Steel Pans



Until three weeks ago the default pan in my kitchen was my big cast iron skillet. It is a well seasoned pan that I can fry an egg in, flip it and remove it from the pan with a spatula as if it were one of those disposable non-stick pans. Two drawbacks to using it is its weight, and straight vertical sides. The weight and straight sides makes it impractical to try to impress people by flipping things in the air, and catching it back in the pan. Of course if you could do that with that big heavy pan it would be impressive indeed, just don’t expect me to try it. The third disadvantage is that short stubby handle, that gets about as hot as the pan its self.

So what happened three weeks ago to oust the default pan from my stove top? Well lately I had been reading about carbon steel pans. Carbon steel pans have many of the same properties as cast iron, as far as cooking is concerned. Seasoned in much the same manner as you would season a cast iron pan, you get the same non-stickiness, only without all the weight, and the carbon steel pans are relatively inexpensive, as is cast iron. Eager to get one of these pans I started researching, and shopping around.

My first stop in shopping is Amazon.com. Not only do they sell just about everything in the world, but there is much to be learned about each product right there on the site. Not only do they provide detailed information about many of their products, but customer ratings, provided by people who have used the product. I find the customer ratings very helpful, and some raters go into great detail as to why they ether like or dislike a product. As a customer reviewer you can give a five star or less rating, with the stars appearing at the beginning of your review. I like to read all the reviews, just in case some of the positive ones are put there by manufactures, or retailers.

I discovered several brands of carbon steel pans on Amazon. One of the brands featured at Amazon was A Joyce Chan carbon steel stir fry pan, in other words a wok. I found that very convenient, because I already own a Joyce Chan Stir fry pan, that sees a substantial amount of use in our kitchen, as a stir fryer, so it’s already seasoned. I immediately fried an egg in it and got the same result as the cast iron pan. I still plan to buy a dedicated twelve inch carbon steel pan, because I do use the wok with my bamboo steamer now and, than which requires boiling water in it which  destroys the seasoning, but I’m not in as big a hurry as before.

If you have an uncoated wok with a wide flat bottom, the kind you would buy for an electric stove, it is essentially a fry pan. Season it and you can make one large pancake, or three small ones, or an omelet very easily in it. All the brands listed on Amazon have an average of four to four, and a half star ratings. So far the only retailer I have found selling steel pans in my area is a seller at the regional produce market. Check your local restaurant supply shops, and you might have your carbon steel pan tomorrow. As far as Joyce Chen woks, you can find them almost anywhere.

Oh!, by the way I did not put my cast iron pan in the recycling ben. It still fries up a mighty fine pork chop, and makes the best cornbread ever, but that’s another post.

What About The Slow Cooker?

I’m writing this post in response to something that Jean Smith Lanoue, http://www.facebook.com/#!/jeanjeanthecookingqueen, posted on Facebook. She’s doing a survey on slow cookers, for something she is writing, and I'm thinking about writing about the tools, and gadgets I use in my kitchen. Maybe this is a good excuse to get started on it. Thanks Jean. Anyway, about the slow cooker.

My wife collects them. She can’t see one at a garage sale and not buy it, so we have way more than we need, but the one we actually use is a Rival “Smart-Pot”, with 4, 6, 8, and 10 hour settings plus warm. To me a slow cooker is nothing but a brazing machine. How do I decide to do three to five hours of brazing in the oven, or on top of the stove, or eight to ten hours in the slow cooker? It all depends on how soon do I need the dish, and most importantly what time of day will it be, when I have to take the food out of the cooker?

The only problem with using the slow cooker is, if the food is getting done when it’s time for me to go to bed. At 11:00 PM, I don’t want to set up another two, or three hours, waiting for the stuff to get cool enough to put in the refrigerator.  I can recall several nights, at bed time, putting the food in a big aluminum bowl, filling an even bigger aluminum bowl with ice, and…, well you see where I’m going with this; all so I can refrigerate the stuff, and hit the sack.

My favorite times to start something in the slow cooker is, early in the morning or late at night. If we plan to be gone most of the day, and want dinner to be ready when we get back, I get the slow cooker up early. If I plan to serve great northern beans, or pulled pork for breakfast, the slow cooker has to stay up all night taking care of that.

Things I like to cook in our “Smart-Pot”, are pork shoulder, dry beans, and collard greens, with smoked ham hock, or smoked turkey parts. For the closest thing to the way I do pulled pork in the slow cooker, check out what Bridget said at, “The Way the Cookie Crumbles”.  http://www.crumblycookie.net/2008/05/30/crockpot-pulled-pork/ 

Bean Recipe?

Gotta love the bean. In our house beans are sort of a staple. From string beans, to pork and beans out of the can, you just can’t stay mad at a bean for too long. We cook dry beans a lot, but I don’t think there is a recipe, in the sense that it’s the same every time. The beans depicted in the picture is just beans, and that ham bone which possessed whatever flavors my daughter put on the ham. I didn’t even bother to ask. “Thank you”, is what I said. It was a little sweet, and thank goodness I didn’t add any salt to the beans, because it was perfect.

All I have as far as a recipe is just the process of cooking dry beans. Rinse thoroughly, sort through to make sure it’s all just beans, and let them soak, at least a few hours, but overnight is best. Sometimes I might have beans soaking for several days in the fridge so when I’m ready for them they are ready for me.

What goes in the beans all depends on what I got, or how much time I have to be fiddling around with them. Sometimes it’s just beans and water. There’s all kinds of ways to flavor beans that are already done. For instance, if you pan fry meat, such as chops, bacon, or a steak deglaze the pan with some of the beans.

Usually I have onions, bell peppers, and celery in the house, so that’s what usually goes in. I like to chop an onion, a pepper and a couple stalks of celery. Mix the trilogy together, pan cook half until it gets all caramelly, and sweet, than put in the beans and the raw trilogy. Add enough water until it’s at least an inch or two above the beans. I like to start with a can of beer, and top it off with water, or whatever stock I might have, but just plain water ain’t bad.

As far as meat is concerned, I like smoked ham hock, smoked turkey, or a well flavored ham bone. I’m into poaching chicken, now so the next time there’s a chicken handy I might try poaching it, or part of it with beans. I like dishes you can put on and leave it to its own devices for a few hours, then serve right from the pot.

You know what’s good with beans? Corn bread, but that’s another story.