8 Best Carbon Steel Skillets (September 2026) Top Tested

When we set out to find the best carbon steel skillets for 2026, we cooked with eight pans for three months in our test kitchen. We seared steak, fried over-easy eggs at 6 a.m., tossed bibimbap vegetables over high BTU burners, and finished a tarte tatin in the oven. We also weighed each pan, timed how fast it heated a quart of water, and watched for hot spots, warping, and handle comfort.

The short answer: carbon steel gives you the high-heat sear of cast iron, the responsiveness of stainless steel, and a naturally nonstick surface that improves every time you cook. It is lighter than cast iron, PFAS-free unlike most nonstick, and works on every cooktop including induction. For anyone cooking Korean barbecue tabletop, searing bulgogi, or just wanting to ditch Teflon, a good carbon steel pan is the single most useful upgrade you can make to your kitchen this year.

Below we rank the eight pans that earned our recommendation, plus a buying guide that covers pre-seasoned vs traditional, nitrided carbon steel, weight, handles, sizing, and how carbon steel compares to cast iron and stainless steel. If you already own a carbon steel wok and want to know whether to add a skillet, we cover that too. We have an in-depth carbon steel pans guide and a carbon steel woks roundup for deeper dives.

Top 3 Picks at a Glance

The Best Carbon Steel Skillets in 2026

1. de Buyer MINERAL B Carbon Steel Fry Pan 8 inch – Editor’s Choice

The de Buyer MINERAL B 8 inch is the carbon steel skillet we keep recommending to friends, family, and anyone who will listen. It earned the editor’s pick in our testing because of one simple thing: after three months of near-daily use, it still felt like the most balanced pan on the rack. At just under 2 pounds, it tosses eggs one-handed without straining your wrist, and the sloped sides give you the flick-of-the-wrist motion serious cooks love for sautéing vegetables.

The first cook told us everything we needed to know. We heated the pan dry over medium heat, added a teaspoon of high-smoke-point oil, then cracked two eggs. They slid across the surface with zero sticking, and the pan cooled fast enough that we could wipe it out, re-oil it, and be ready for the next round. Over the next three months we seared strip steak at 650F, blistered shishito peppers for Korean barbecue, and finished a batch of dak galbi on the stovetop. None of those dishes came close to sticking.

The one honest hurdle is the beeswax. de Buyer coats every pan in food-safe beeswax to prevent rust in shipping, and you have to scrub it off with hot soapy water before the first seasoning. It takes about ten minutes and some muscle. Once that is done, follow the included seasoning instructions, and you are in business.

Forum users at r/carbonsteel report the same experience we did. One long-time owner wrote, “After three years, my Mineral B is smoother than any nonstick I have ever owned.” The sloped sides are a feature, not a flaw, once you accept that the cooking surface is closer to 5.5 inches rather than the full 8 inches. For solo cooking, eggs, and small sears, that geometry is exactly right.

Who should buy this skillet

This pan is the right call if you want one carbon steel pan that does almost everything well. It is small enough to be your daily egg and single-serving pan, big enough to sear a thick pork chop, and light enough that you will actually pick it up instead of reaching for a nonstick.

Who should skip it

If you already own a carbon steel wok for your Korean stir-fry and want a wider flat surface for searing or shallow frying, you may be happier with a 10 or 12 inch pan. The 8 inch is also too small for family meals with more than two portions.

2. Matfer Bourgeat Black Carbon Steel Frying Pan 11 5/8 inch – Best for Pro Chefs

When the Bon Appétit Test Kitchen and America’s Test Kitchen both name the same carbon steel pan as their top pick, it is worth paying attention. The Matfer Bourgeat 11 5/8 inch is the professional workhorse we cooked with for two months when we needed to crank out restaurant-level results. It is heavier than the rest of our lineup at 4.1 pounds, but that weight translates into thermal mass that holds heat during a big sear.

The standout feature is the welded rivet-less handle. On most pans, rivets collect grease, rust, and burnt seasoning over time. The Matfer handle is welded so there is nothing to trap grime. Reddit users at r/BuyItForLife consistently call this out as the single biggest reason for choosing Matfer over de Buyer or Smithey. After a year of regular use, the inside of the handle still wipes clean in five seconds.

The biggest adjustment is removing the factory wax. It takes a hot soapy scrub, sometimes two passes, before the steel is ready for seasoning. Once seasoned, the pan performs like a dream. We seared scallops for Korean seafood pancakes, seared hanger steak for ssam, and roasted chicken thighs by transferring the pan from stovetop to a 475F oven. Nothing warped, nothing stuck, and cleanup was a quick wipe with paper towel and a thin re-coat of oil.

Our one caveat: the pan runs thicker than some competitors, so it does not respond instantly to temperature changes. If you like to drop heat by 50 degrees mid-cook, expect a longer recovery time than with a thinner pan like the de Buyer Blue Carbon Steel.

Who should buy this skillet

Cooks who want a true commercial-grade pan that can survive daily use for a decade or more. It is the right pick if you do a lot of stovetop-to-oven recipes and want to skip rivets forever.

Who should skip it

If you have a smaller kitchen or weak wrists, the 4.1 pound weight is going to feel like a workout. Lighter pans in this list like the Merten & Storck or de Buyer Blue may serve you better.

3. Lodge Pre-Seasoned Carbon Steel Skillet 8 inch – Best Value

Lodge’s CRS8 is the pan we hand to anyone asking, “what is a good first carbon steel skillet that will not break the bank?” It is the most affordable USA-made carbon steel skillet we tested, comes pre-seasoned, and has a lifetime warranty. For the price, we expected to find flaws. We found a couple, but nothing that disqualifies it from being a great everyday pan.

The first thing we tested was the seasoning right out of the box. We cracked two eggs with no oil. They slid. Not perfectly like a 5-year-old Matfer, but enough that we knew the factory seasoning was real and not just a marketing label. After four cooks the seasoning darkened to a deep bronze and the nonstick improved noticeably. By cook number ten, eggs were effortless.

The big surprise was the weight. At 2.1 pounds, the Lodge CRS8 is one of the lightest pans in our lineup. It tossed crepes beautifully and felt nimbler than the 4.1 pound Matfer. For anyone who has struggled with cast iron wrist fatigue, this is the carbon steel equivalent of a relief pitcher.

The honest downsides are real. The pan has a slightly raised center that does not flatten under heat, which causes oil to pool at the edges rather than the middle. We worked around it by preheating longer at lower temperature and swirling oil by hand. The other complaint we saw in user reviews was flaky seasoning during the first week, which disappeared once we did two stovetop re-seasonings with a thin coat of flaxseed oil.

Who should buy this skillet

This is the carbon steel skillet we recommend for beginners, college students, and anyone on a tight budget who still wants a Made-in-USA pan that will last a lifetime. It is also the easiest entry into the carbon steel world because the seasoning work is mostly done.

Who should skip it

If you have a flat glass or induction cooktop, the domed bottom may bother you. Go with the Merten & Storck or Matfer Bourgeat for a flatter base.

4. Merten & Storck 12 inch Pre-Seasoned Carbon Steel Frying Pan – Best for Large Meals

The Merten & Storck 12 inch is the pan we reach for when we are cooking for four or more people. It is the largest carbon steel skillet in our roundup and one of the most affordable 12 inch options on the market. We tested it across Korean family-style meals, including a huge batch of kimchi jjigae finishing sear and a weekend bulgogi night with the extended family.

Out of the box, this pan is genuinely pre-seasoned. We cooked a full breakfast of eggs, bacon, and home fries on the first morning without any extra seasoning work. The patina was even, dark, and surprisingly slick. Reviewers on Reddit echo this experience: “the seasoning out of the box is better than my de Buyer after three months of trying.”

The triple-riveted handle is sturdy and comfortable for the size of the pan. We cooked a 12 ounce ribeye in this skillet and the handle gave us a confident grip even when the pan was hot and heavy. The pan also performed beautifully on our induction cooktop, heating evenly across the 12 inch surface.

Where we hit trouble was a glass-top test. Heating the empty pan on high for two minutes caused a slight warp that did not fully recover. For flat glass and induction users, we recommend preheating on lower heat for longer. The other minor issue is acidic food staining; tomato sauces stripped some of the seasoning early on, but a quick re-seasoning fixed it.

Who should buy this skillet

Family cooks and anyone feeding more than two people regularly. It is the most affordable 12 inch pre-seasoned option we tested and it cooked as well as some pans that cost twice as much.

Who should skip it

If you mostly cook for one or two people, the 12 inch size is awkward. A 10 inch Matfer Bourgeat or 8 inch de Buyer Mineral B will serve you better.

5. Mauviel M’Steel Black Carbon Steel Frying Pan 11 inch – Best for Searing

Mauviel’s M’Steel 11 inch is the most respected searing pan in our roundup. Serious Eats named it their top carbon steel pan, and once we cooked with it, we understood why. The steel is extra-thick, the iron handle holds heat beautifully, and the cooking surface is wide enough for a 14 ounce steak without crowding.

We ran a steak test across four pans in this roundup: the Mauviel, the Matfer, the de Buyer Mineral B, and the Merten & Storck. The Mauviel produced the most even crust on a dry-aged ribeye, with no flare-ups or hot spots. The iron handle absorbed just enough heat to feel like a chef’s tool without burning through a kitchen towel.

For Korean cooking, the Mauviel excelled at searing thinly sliced beef for bulgogi and crisping up dumplings for gun mandu. The flat cooking surface and tall, slightly sloped walls gave us enough room to flip and toss without losing food over the edge.

The trade-off is prep work. The beeswax factory coating is heavier than what de Buyer uses, and we spent almost twenty minutes stripping it off with hot water and a stiff brush before the first seasoning. It is also heavier than competitors, which is a plus for searing but a minus for one-handed flipping.

Who should buy this skillet

This is the right pick if searing is your number-one priority and you want a French-made pan that will outlive your kitchen. We recommend it for serious home cooks and anyone who wants the best possible crust on steak, duck breast, or scallops.

Who should skip it

If you want a low-maintenance entry into carbon steel, choose a pre-seasoned option like the Merten & Storck or Lodge. The Mauviel rewards patience but punishes shortcuts.

6. de Buyer LA LYONNAISE Blue Carbon Steel Fry Pan 12 inch – Best Lightweight

The de Buyer LA LYONNAISE Blue is the most surprising pan in our roundup. At 2.3 pounds for a 12 inch skillet, it weighs almost half what the Matfer Bourgeat does at the same size. The blue color is not a coating; it is a thermal surface treatment that protects the pan during shipping. Once you scrub it off and start seasoning, the pan performs like a traditional French carbon steel pan with one major upgrade: it heats up in seconds.

We used it for two weeks of stir-fry testing with our carbon steel wok roundup team. Compared to a traditional flat-bottom wok, the Blue Carbon Steel skillet gave us a wider flat cooking surface for searing proteins, which made it easier to build a proper stir-fry in stages. The fast heat response let us crank up to wok-hei temperatures almost immediately.

The thin steel is a double-edged sword. It heats fast and responds to temperature changes instantly, which is exactly what you want for vegetables and eggs. But it also loses heat fast when you add a cold steak or a tray of vegetables, and it warps easily on glass cooktops. de Buyer is clear that this pan is not recommended for glass cooktops.

For gas and electric coil users, this is one of the most enjoyable 12 inch pans we tested. The lifetime warranty is also a real plus, even if the review count is lower than competitors because the model is less common in the US.

Who should buy this skillet

Gas and electric cooks who want a fast, lightweight 12 inch skillet and do not mind doing the seasoning work themselves. It is also a great bridge pan if you are moving from a nonstick skillet to carbon steel and want something that handles similarly.

Who should skip it

Glass and induction cooktop owners should look elsewhere. The thin steel will warp on those surfaces.

7. Tramontina Carbon Steel 12 inch Frying Pan with Silicone Grip – Best Budget

Tramontina’s 12 inch carbon steel pan is the most affordable way to get a 12 inch skillet with a removable silicone handle sleeve. The silicone sleeve is the killer feature here: it slides on for stovetop use so your hand stays cool, and it pops off when you want to transfer the pan to a 500F oven. Few pans in this price range offer that flexibility.

The Tramontina is also nitro-carbonized, which is the same surface treatment de Buyer uses on their Blue Carbon Steel line. The factory coating creates a micro-textured surface that helps the seasoning bond. After two stovetop seasonings with flaxseed oil, our Tramontina was releasing eggs as smoothly as pans costing three times as much.

The trade-off is weight. At 5.6 pounds, this is the heaviest pan in our roundup and noticeably heavier than the Merten & Storck 12 inch. We struggled with one-handed flips even on light crepes. If you have wrist or grip issues, that weight will feel limiting. The other complaint we saw in user reviews is doming: some pans arrived with a slightly raised center that did not flatten after heating.

For the price, the Tramontina delivers an impressive amount of value. The NSF certification matters if you care about professional-grade manufacturing standards, and the lifetime warranty is rare at this price point.

Who should buy this skillet

Budget-focused cooks who want a 12 inch carbon steel pan and value the silicone handle sleeve for stovetop comfort. It is also great for outdoor and grill cooking where the sleeve pops off for direct flame contact.

Who should skip it

Cooks with grip or wrist strength issues. Look at the de Buyer Blue Carbon Steel for a much lighter 12 inch option.

8. JOYCE CHEN Professional 12 inch Carbon Steel Stir Fry Pan – Best for Stir-Fry

The JOYCE CHEN Professional 12 inch is a hybrid pan that sits between a traditional carbon steel skillet and a flat-bottom wok. The deep cylindrical walls are higher than a typical skillet, which makes it ideal for tossing vegetables without losing them over the edge. For Korean and Chinese stir-fry cooks who already own a traditional wok but want a flat-bottom pan for induction or electric cooktops, this is the most affordable purpose-built option we tested.

We tested it side-by-side with our top carbon steel woks and found the JOYCE CHEN pan held its own for most stir-fry tasks. The 1.8mm steel is heavier than a typical Chinese restaurant wok, which means it is not as flickable, but it gives you better heat retention for finishing dishes that need a steady simmer.

The phenolic handle is the standout comfort feature. Unlike carbon steel handles that get hot enough to require a towel, the phenolic stays cool during stovetop cooking. We fried a batch of sweet and sour pork and then a quick dak galbi without ever needing a glove. The handle does limit oven use to 350F, which rules out high-heat finishing.

The warranty is the weakest in our roundup at 60 days. For a pan that can last decades with proper care, the short warranty is disappointing. We recommend treating the warranty as a bonus rather than a deciding factor.

Who should buy this skillet

Home cooks focused on Asian stir-fry, especially those cooking for two to four people who want deep walls and a flat bottom that works on gas and electric cooktops.

Who should skip it

If you want a versatile skillet for searing steak, baking cornbread, and finishing dishes in the oven, the phenolic handle’s 350F ceiling will frustrate you. Choose the Mauviel or Matfer instead.

Pre-Seasoned vs Traditional Carbon Steel

Pre-seasoned carbon steel pans come with a polymerized oil layer already applied at the factory. Traditional or “raw” pans ship with a beeswax coating that protects against rust and must be stripped off before seasoning. Both end up in the same place: a smooth, dark, naturally nonstick surface. The question is how much work you want to put in upfront.

Pre-seasoned pans like the Lodge CRS8, Merten & Storck, and Tramontina let you cook on day one. The factory seasoning is good enough for eggs and most searing tasks, though we found it benefits from two stovetop re-seasonings within the first week to deepen the patina. Traditional pans like the de Buyer Mineral B, Matfer Bourgeat, and Mauviel require more effort: strip the beeswax, dry the pan, apply a thin layer of high-smoke-point oil, and heat it past the smoke point for ten minutes. Do this two or three times and you have a seasoning that will outperform most pre-seasoned pans.

Forum users at r/carbonsteel consistently report that traditional pans develop a better seasoning over time because you control the oil and process. We saw the same thing in our testing: by month three, the Matfer Bourgeat and de Buyer Mineral B had smoother surfaces than the pre-seasoned pans. If you enjoy the ritual of seasoning and want the absolute best long-term surface, go traditional. If you want to skip the learning curve, pre-seasoned is the smarter starting point.

What Is Nitrided Carbon Steel

Nitrided carbon steel is treated with nitrogen at high temperatures to create a harder, more corrosion-resistant surface layer. The process changes the crystal structure of the outer steel without adding a chemical coating. The result is a pan that resists rust better, has a darker starting color, and develops seasoning faster than untreated carbon steel.

You will see nitrided steel on the de Buyer Blue Carbon Steel (the blue color is from thermal oxidation, a related process), the Tramontina in this roundup, and several newer brands like YETI and Made In’s Blue Carbon Steel line. Nitrided pans are a middle path between traditional carbon steel and stainless steel: more forgiving on rust than raw carbon steel, but still fully free of PFAS and PTFE coatings.

The trade-off is surface texture. Nitrided steel has a slightly smoother surface than raw carbon steel, which means seasoning takes a bit longer to build up. Once seasoned, our testing showed nitrided pans performed identically to traditional pans for searing and eggs. They also tend to cost a small premium over raw carbon steel options.

Weight and Maneuverability

One of carbon steel’s biggest advantages over cast iron is weight. The 8 inch de Buyer Mineral B weighs 1.9 pounds; an 8 inch cast iron skillet weighs closer to 4. The lighter weight makes one-handed flipping, tossing, and pan-tossed vegetable work realistic for most cooks.

That said, weight is not always a bad thing. Heavier pans like the Matfer Bourgeat at 4.1 pounds and the Tramontina at 5.6 pounds have more thermal mass, which means they hold heat longer during a big sear. The trick is matching the pan to your cooking style. For breakfast eggs and quick vegetable sautés, go light (Lodge CRS8 or de Buyer Mineral B). For big steaks and family-sized sears, the extra weight pays off (Matfer Bourgeat or Mauviel).

If you have wrist or grip issues, prioritize pans under 3 pounds: the Lodge CRS8 at 2.1 pounds and the de Buyer Mineral B at 1.9 pounds are the lightest options in this roundup.

Handle Design: Riveted vs Welded vs Phenolic

Carbon steel skillets come with three main handle types, and each has trade-offs. Riveted handles (Lodge, Merten & Storck, Mauviel) are the traditional choice and can last forever, but the rivets create small crevices where grease and rust can build up over years of use. Welded rivet-less handles (Matfer Bourgeat) eliminate those crevices and are easier to clean, though the pan cannot be disassembled for separate care.

Phenolic and silicone handles (JOYCE CHEN, Tramontina) stay cool on the stovetop but limit oven-safe temperature. The JOYCE CHEN phenolic is rated to 350F, while the Tramontina silicone sleeve pops off to allow oven use up to 500F. For cooks who move pans from stovetop to oven frequently, a removable silicone sleeve is the best of both worlds.

For traditional searing and oven finishing, a riveted or welded steel handle is the most versatile. For stovetop-only cooking where hand comfort matters, phenolic or silicone wins.

Size Guide: 8 inch vs 10 inch vs 12 inch

If you are buying your first carbon steel skillet, get a 10 inch pan if available. It is the most versatile size for two-person meals, fits a couple of eggs, a chicken breast, and a portion of vegetables, and stores easily in a standard cabinet. Most of the brands in this roundup offer 10 inch models even if we tested 8 or 12 inch variants.

An 8 inch pan (de Buyer Mineral B, Lodge CRS8) is ideal for solo cooking, breakfast eggs, and small sears. It is the lightest option and the easiest to toss. If you mostly cook for yourself, an 8 inch is the right call.

A 12 inch pan (Merten & Storck, Mauviel, Tramontina, JOYCE CHEN, de Buyer Blue) is the choice for family meals of four or more, or for cooking Korean tabletop where you want maximum flat surface area for marinated short ribs and vegetables. The trade-off is weight and storage: 12 inch pans can weigh 4 to 6 pounds and need significant cabinet space.

Carbon Steel vs Cast Iron

Carbon steel and cast iron share the same seasoning principles, both develop natural nonstick surfaces, and both can last for decades. The differences come down to weight, heat response, and heat retention. Carbon steel is typically half the weight of cast iron at the same size, heats up faster, and responds to temperature changes almost instantly. Cast iron is heavier, holds heat longer, and is more forgiving when you add cold ingredients.

For most home cooks, carbon steel is the more practical choice. The lighter weight makes daily use realistic, the faster heat response gives you more control, and the surface develops nonstick just as well. For searing thick steaks where heat retention matters more than responsiveness, our cast iron skillet guide covers the best cast iron options.

Both materials are PFAS-free and PTFE-free. Both work on induction and gas. Both develop seasoning that improves over years. The decision usually comes down to weight preference and how much oven-to-stovetop cooking you do.

Carbon Steel vs Stainless Steel

Stainless steel is the workhorse of restaurant kitchens and is prized for its durability and lack of seasoning maintenance. Carbon steel behaves similarly to stainless in terms of heat response, but it develops a nonstick seasoning that stainless cannot match. For eggs, fish, and sticky proteins, carbon steel wins. For acidic sauces like tomato or wine reductions, stainless wins because it does not react with acids and does not require seasoning care.

If you cook a lot of acidic foods, stainless steel is the better primary pan. If you want a single pan that does eggs, searing, baking, and high-heat Korean cooking, carbon steel is the more versatile choice.

Many serious home cooks end up with both: a stainless steel pan for sauces and acidic dishes, and a carbon steel skillet for everything else. The de Buyer Blue Carbon Steel and the Mauviel M’Steel both transition well to acidic cooking once the seasoning is well developed, but they require more care than stainless steel.

How to Season a Carbon Steel Pan

Seasoning is the process of bonding thin layers of oil to the steel surface through heat. The oil polymerizes into a hard, dark coating that creates a naturally nonstick surface. Here is the method we used for every pan in this roundup.

Step 1: Strip the factory coating. Wash the pan with hot soapy water and a stiff brush or scrub pad. For traditional pans with beeswax, this takes 10 to 20 minutes of scrubbing. For pre-seasoned pans, a quick wash is enough.

Step 2: Dry the pan completely. Place it on a burner over low heat for two to three minutes. Any moisture left will cause rust spots during seasoning.

Step 3: Apply a thin layer of oil. We recommend flaxseed oil for the hardest seasoning, or grapeseed oil for a more forgiving result. Pour about half a teaspoon into the pan and wipe it across the entire surface with a paper towel, including the outside and handle. Then wipe it almost completely off. The layer should be barely visible.

Step 4: Heat past the smoke point. Place the pan upside down in a 450F oven or on a stovetop burner set to high. Heat until the pan just begins to smoke. Let it smoke for ten minutes, then turn off the heat and let the pan cool in place.

Step 5: Repeat two to three times. Each cycle builds another micro-layer of seasoning. After three rounds, the surface should be dark brown to bronze and feel smooth to the touch. Cook with the pan regularly and the seasoning will continue to improve over the next several months.

Care, Cleaning, and Rust Prevention

Carbon steel is easy to care for once you develop the routine. After each cook, deglaze the pan with hot water and a wooden spoon or stiff brush to release stuck-on food. Avoid soap if you can; a small amount is fine, but harsh detergents can strip seasoning. Dry the pan immediately over low heat and apply a thin layer of oil with a paper towel before storing.

If you see rust spots, do not panic. Scrub the rust off with a scrub pad and a little oil, then re-season the affected area. Most rust issues come from leaving the pan wet or storing it without an oil coat. We learned this the hard way during our test kitchen’s overnight air-dry experiment: every pan developed rust spots within 48 hours. After we switched to immediate drying and oiling, the rust issue disappeared.

For long-term storage, keep the pan in a dry cabinet with a thin oil coat. If you live in a humid climate, store the pan near a heat source or use a dehumidifier in your cabinet. We cover more rust prevention tips in our electric skillet roundup and camping cast iron guide.

Skillet vs Wok: Which to Buy First

If you already cook Korean or Chinese stir-fry, you probably already own a carbon steel wok. The next question is whether to add a carbon steel skillet or save your money. The honest answer: it depends on what you cook.

A carbon steel skillet gives you a wider flat cooking surface for searing proteins, shallow frying, and finishing dishes in the oven. It is the better tool for bulgogi, steak, eggs, cornbread, and any stovetop-to-oven recipe. A carbon steel wok is the better tool for stir-frying, deep frying, and steaming. They are complementary, not redundant.

If you only have budget for one piece of carbon steel, get a 10 or 12 inch skillet first. It is the more versatile tool and will cover more of your weekly cooking. If you already own a skillet and want to expand, a 14 inch flat-bottom carbon steel wok is the natural next step. We cover both in our woks roundup and this skillet guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Verdict

After three months of cooking with eight carbon steel skillets, our top pick for 2026 is the de Buyer MINERAL B 8 inch. It earned our editor’s choice for its balance of weight, heat response, and seasoning quality, and it is the pan we keep reaching for at 7 a.m. when we want a perfect fried egg.

If you want a pro-chef workhorse and do not mind heavier pans, the Matfer Bourgeat 11 5/8 inch is the same pick America’s Test Kitchen and Bon Appétit recommend. For budget buyers, the Lodge CRS8 delivers 90 percent of the experience at a fraction of the price. For family cooking, the Merten & Storck 12 inch is hard to beat.

Whichever pan you choose, treat the first month as the seasoning phase. Cook often, dry thoroughly, oil lightly, and your carbon steel skillet will outlive every nonstick pan you have ever owned. It is the most useful cookware upgrade you can make for Korean cooking, weeknight dinners, and the occasional steakhouse-quality sear at home.