Best pan for cooking steak: Cast Iron or Copper Core?

Hi

I went through the same exercise recently and I would suggest a third option.

Check out a carbon steel pan, this is what resturants use for cooking steak. You can get an amazing sear and get the pan smoking hot without all the drama of All Clad or cast iron. The All clad will be a nightmare to keep clean, the first time you use it it will look dirty and used, this is fine with steel or iron as they are designed that way but for a $200 all clad you dont want that.

For a budget option check out Paderno, around $45 or the ultimate is De Buyer, around $80 list on Amazon but you can find for around $57 if you shop around.

Alan 

First off, both your links go to the All-Clad listing. Have no idea why that is. Reading the link indicates a 4-inch skillet. Surely that's not correct?

All that aside, of the two materials there's no question that cast iron is the better choice. Indeed, for any searing operation cast iron is a better choice than stainless, no matter what it's lined with.

That said, I agree with Welshstar about carbon steel. Although not as commonly available (you won't find it in supermarkets or regular housewares stores) it has a number of things in its favor. Among them: It provides all the advantages of cast iron but, item for item, weighs about 1/3 less. The handles do not heat up. It is easier to clean and maintain.

I hear All Clad makes the best stuff?

You hear wrong!!!

As to carbon steel, there are, in general, two classes of them. Blue steel tends to be thinner, and has at least one less heat treatment. And it tends to be less expensive. Black steel is usually a thicker gauge, has undergone additional treatment, and is more expensive.

Within those two groups there are, of course, different qualities. Generally, de Buyer is considered the best. And it's price point reflects that.

I have carbon steel skillets ranging from 8" to 14" in size. If I were only buying one, I'd by-pass the 8" and go with a 10" as the minimum. Why? Because carbon steel pans have sides that slope more sharply than others. The nominal size, however, is based on an across-the-rim measurement. Thus, an 8" deBuyer has a cooking surface that's only 5 1/2 inches. It would be difficult to get even a small steak in that size pan.

Day-in and day-out, I find the 10" and 12" pans to be most useful.

Here is one source of carbon steel you might want to look at:

http://www.knifemerchant.com/products.asp?manufacturerID=110&mtype=2#483

And here's another:

http://www.twinsupply.com/vollrathfoodservice/products.asp?cat=187

I second (or third) the suggestion for a carbon steel pan. Compared to cast iron, it's lighter, easier to move around, etc.. so you can use it for many more things.

I use Matfer Bourgeat, but have heard lots of good things about the Vollrath that KYH just linked to. 

http://www.culinarycookware.com/bourgeat-round-frying-pan.html

The prices on the Vollrath link are way to high.

I use the De Buyer 12.5 inch mineral fry pan and I paid $57 from northwestern cutlkery in Chicago, I cant find it on their website though

Carbon steel by De Buyer offered at Kerekes Baking Supply: Bakedeco.com.

How important are grill marks to you? That's the determining factor.

We've trained ourselves to believe that grill marks (as opposed to an even sear) are the sign of a well-made steak. That pan will produce them for you. The procedure is: Get the pan screaming hot. Drop the steak (or pork chop, or whatever). Wait until it self-releases. Then, depending on your pattern-of-choice, either flip the steak entirely, or turn it 90 degrees to create a cross-hatch pattern before flipping.

The downside is that the grill pan is more limiting, because anything you want to cook in it will be supported only by those raised ridges. So you'll be trading overall usefullness for the ability to put grill marks on a few items.

KY  is correct The grill marks that are put on the steak are, as far as I am concerned for decoration. They make the steak more  appealing to the eye, but not to the taste as much as searing the whole steak on a good red hot flat surface would be.

Circum:

Just get yourself a flat bottomed 10 inch or wider carbon steel frypan and be done with it.  You be there.

Best,

-T

Hi

I love my carbon steel for the high heat stuff, my non stick for the delicate stuff but ive not really found a good stainless pan for fish. Ive bought All Clad and to be honest found it to be overpriced junk, poor quality and terrible finish plus its so hard to keep clean.

What do you guys think of the new Demeyere range being carried by Williams sonoma, i saw the new Atlantis pan and thsi thing is beautiful, it is heavy solid and very well made. Anyone got any experiences ?

Alan