Merten & Storck Pre-Seasoned Carbon Steel 12” Frying Pan Skillet, Use on Induction, Stove and Grill, Durable, Even-Heating, for Searing, Grilling, Oven Use, and Campfire, Indoor/Outdoor

This review is of the 10 inch frying pan pros: It really comes with all the promises that they make. It is pre-seasoned, really. It is just as good as nonstick as long as you use oil, not butter only, to cook anything. It is lighter than cast iron by a good bit. It is heirloom quality. You could dent this pan or even fold it in half and still heat it back up, bang it back into shape re-season it and it will still work. If the rivets got damaged you could grind them off and re-rivet the handle and it would work just fine. The very first try out of the box I cleaned it up and I heated it up to very hot to burn off any contaminants that might have been on it and then I proceeded to fry not one but 6 eggs with less coconut oil and butter than I use in my normal Teflon pens (I combine the two because butter keeps the oil from beating up and spreading evenly across the pan surface). Not only did the eggs not stick, I mean I didn't even have to use a spatula for any small stuck areas, it simply slid around in the pan like a brand new ceramic. Not only did it perform perfectly but it also flipped all six eggs, perfectly. Because of the taller sides and steeper angle of the sides I didn't think it would work but again to my amazement it worked perfectly. Can't really say enough positive about my experience so far. These cons are not really cons in context. But to provide a good context you need to know that carbon steel is substantially heavier than stainless steel or aluminum but on the plus side much lighter than cast iron even "lighter built" cast iron. The handle is a very heavy duty steel handle (and here's the only thing I can say that's negative about the pan is that the handle is not really that comfortable to hold, but I knew what the shape was going in and that's on me) and probably didn't need to be that heavy duty, but it is and it does get hot is if its under heat for quite a while or at high heat. I'm going to make some slide on wooden covers but that's because I can. The pan heats up way faster than our cast iron stuff and does hold its heat for quite a while. The texture is very smooth compared to cast iron and I'm very happy with it. If you're looking for a way to buy once and own forever. Looking for a way to get away from repurchasing ceramic and eating ceramic and Teflon when they break down then I can't recommend anything better than this pan for its shape and consistent durable construction, this company For availability and price. I'm not excited about having to re-season and pay attention to that process. But everything has a pain, pick your pain. I'm no longer interested in wondering if I'm eating Teflon or having to repurchase 30 to 40 dollar pans every couple of years or as soon as my children or others who use the pans cause a scrape.

1 year update: I happen to stumble across this listing again and it seems like the reviews are very polarized so I want to do an update and share a tip for people having sticking issues. Firstly, this is still my daily driver in the kitchen. In regards to this pan specifically, I think it's a perfectly good carbon steel and reasonably priced. That said, I have struggled with the non-stick performance and was nearly ready to give up on it before stumbling upon a "hack". So like I said originally the factory seasoning works quite well. However, that started to fade after a few weeks or so. After awhile I got annoyed and tried to apply new layers of seasoning. This is my first carbon anything pan so these attempts had varying success (seems like the best was leaving it in the oven for a good 20-30 mins and leaving it in there to slowly cool). Regardless, even if it worked great for a few days or couple weeks, it always faded again. Seemed like the "gets better with time" didn't apply to carbon steel or I was doing something wrong. I started calling it the "all stick pan" and at one point was trying to apply a seasoning layer every week or two. I bought a flexible metal spatula and this was a big upgrade. Much more effective at releasing stuck on food. Annoying that it's necessary but hey it works right? However, I noticed that simply running that spatula over the pan to remove food bits made the pan more non-stick the next time I used it. This was my first clue that I wasn't cleaning aggressively enough. Now I have a friend who loves his cast iron and he's anti-soap. He does what I'm now calling a "hot water deglaze". As soon as you're done cooking and the pan is still piping hot, throw a splash of hot water in so that it boils very vigorously. I'd only very seldom done this bc the instructions say let it cool slowly (presumably to prevent warping). However, one night I deglazed while making a pan sauce. I'd made the "mistake" of not using my stainless for that. The pan was being pretty sticky at that point. But the next morning I made eggs and boom! Super non-stick as if I'd just seasoned it. So it seems like the issue is thin layers of baked on food residue that don't come off with normal scrubbing. I've noticed some foods are more problematic than others (eg meats, and I think mushrooms). The hot water deglaze removes the remaining grime layer. Now whenever the pan starts getting a little sticky I just do a hot water deglaze after cooking and it's been great. Some of my excess seasoning layers have flaked off and it's forming a nice patina (black area) underneath. Hopefully this tip helps for some of the people struggling with sticking issues. To address warping: I did have an issue with that and I ended up pounding it out with a rubber mallet (while hot). It sits flat and stable now but does have a high spot in the middle and the oil pools around the edges as others have shown. Don't really want to pound it the other way so idk what to do about that. I just try to tilt the pan a bit to spread the oils before tossing food in. Doing the hot water deglaze hasn't caused any warping. Since I pounded it out it's been stable. Original review: Was shopping around for a cast iron and discovered carbon steel. Never heard of of it before, nor owned a cast iron, but I like the idea of it being lighter weight and heating up faster for daily use. I like the idea of a smooth surface too. Note that probably a lot of my comments pertain more to carbon steel in general than this specific pan. Pros: pre-seasoning is great. The pan is very nonstick right out of the box, on par with typical nonstick pans. It's very light and responds quickly to changes in heat. The instructions say you don't need to oil it regularly but I'm doing it anyway. But I like knowing that if that step gets skipped on occasion it's no big deal. It has a smoother surface and requires less oil than cast iron. Also, the handle doesn't get hot under normal usage which is nice. Cons: I think the biggest con here is that the pan is actually too thin. Great for lightness and responding to heat, but it warps very easy. Won't matter much on a gas stove but I have a glass top and that means poor contact, hot spots, and being annoyingly unstable (always wants to spin). You have to try to heat the pan slowly to avoid warping. And of course lack of thermal mass isn't as good for searing meat (cast iron is better for that). It's actually thinner and lighter than my stainless pan (has layers of copper and such). Also, the first time I used it I was using metal tongs and I ended up getting a nick in the bottom of the pan. Hasn't adversely affected anything but it seems like I'll have to stick to silicone cookware or flexible metal. Overall great pan and is now my go to.

Matériau excellente qualité. Facile à nettoyer et surtout pas trop lourde

This pan is very good to use. And it’s light but non-stick after used properly. We enjoy this pan a lot

I seasoned my pan before use the first time and had no issues. However after cooking 4 pieces of salmon it has left stains even after washing it immediately with hot soapy water, salt and a sponge. I never had this issue with my cast iron from Lodge so it's weird how this seemly now has a permanent stain! And no I feeling NOTHING when touching the surface, so it's clean to the touch.

Una sartén excelente. Las de acero al carbono como esta son las que hay que utilizar para una alimentación sana. Muy recomendable. Solo necesita un curado inicial, y sartén para toda la vida.

This is a carbon steel pan. Not anodized aluminium, not stainless steel, no non-stick chemical coating like teflon. It's carbon steel like the best, and cheapest, woks, and, as with all carbon steel, seasoning is not some trendy, optional, fashion thing, it's been a necessity since carbon steel first got used for woks in china 500+ years ago. They had the advantage of not having dishwashers and brillo pads so were less likely to destroy their pans this way. Instead they used water and bamboo brushes, both of which are available today, though for the most part a wipe with paper towel will do the trick. If you don't want to know about seasoning, then don't buy a carbon steel frying pan or wok. Buy a decent one that you will have to replace every few years. Treat this pan well and your grandchildren will fight over it, abuse it and you'll bin it in a month, if not sooner. And just to be clear, treating it like any other pan is abusing it. Don't, just don't, there are cheaper frying pans out there that last a lot longer than a month. They're not as good as a seasoned carbon steel wok, but they might be just what you need if you, or anyone else who will use this, is how can i put this delicately? ignorant of how to treat a carbon steel frying pan and unwilling to learn (and that doesn't even rhyme with ''duck bit', the phrase that first came to my mind).