which is better for cooking,steel pans or cast iron pans?

the pan makes little if any difference.

Hi, I especially would like to know from people with experience - what is the best type of pan for frying steak? My criteria are to have it very hot and retain heat evenly so as to cook a steak quickly and allow it to remain rare (this is question (1)) -

(2) - what is the most suitable oil, considering high smoke point, affordability and availability, and minimal imparting of flavour?

 

Cheers

Klaus

Since steak should be seared closed so to speak. I would favor cast iron as it can take and hold and dispurse heat better.  Each type of pan has a different use in cooking. Experience  and experimenting will tell you which is best for you.  Also you do not need any oil just a squirt of pam . The steak will start cook the moment it hits hot surfasce and starts throwing out its own fat.

There's a little more to cooking a steak than "what kind of pan." If the steak's more than 3/4" thick or so, it's probably best practice to sear in the pan and finish in the oven.

If that's the process, I don't like to use heavy cast-iron because it holds too much heat and overcooks the bottom side of the steak. I generally prefer carbon steel for that purpose and almost everything else which doesn't involve cooking with anything acidic enough to mess up the pan's cure. But, since just about the only reason I cook a steak in a pan at all -- as opposed to an outdoor or stove top grill, or the broiler -- is to make a pan sauce. So, I almost always use either a stainless or stainless lined pan.

As long as your pan is heavy enough to hold some heat, but not so light that you have to fight hotspots; and isn't nonstick, you can do a creditable job with just about anything.

As a rule, I don't like to use large cast iron pans for anything which involve moving the pan much; because it's so heavy. Kind of ironic since our "core set" of copper with stainless interior has such thick layers, it can't be much lighter. FWIW, if I were to cook a steak in a pan, I'd more likely use that than one of our carbon steel or cast-iron pans because of the ensuing pan sauce; and more likely than one of our stainless pans, because they're too big. Size matters. You want close fitting, but not crowded.

Most restaurants -- including some very good ones -- use aluminum for just about everything; and darn near all of the rest goes into the oven in stainless steam-table pans. If that doesn't tell you how important the "right" material is, you're not enjoying the cast irony.

BDL