Merten & Storck Pre-Seasoned Carbon Steel 8” Frying Pan Skillet, Use on Induction, Stove and Grill, Durable, Even-Heating, for Searing, Grilling, Oven Use, and Campfire, Indoor/Outdoor

This has got to be the ugliest set of pans I own and I seriously would fight you for them! Tired the non-stick stuff flaking all over our food, I set out to find a good replacement. I have a great set of cast iron I used for a while but the weight and a glass top stove didn't work in the long run and neither did stainless options. A chef friend suggested I get a “cheap nasty carbon steel pan” to try out and not be out a ton of cash if I didn’t like it. At the time of purchase, this brand had the best ratings and best price, so, I got the 10” skillet. At first I was skeptical but each time I cooked and seasoned it, the pan performed perfectly. They cook like cast iron, are light, and a fraction of the cost of expensive non-stick toxic cookware. It’s been on the grill over flames and did not warp or flake. I loved this skillet so much I added the 12” and the 8” to my kitchen pans. That’s all we use now, even my 10 year old kid.This is a solid skillet that will do exactly what you want. Follow the care instructions and you’ll be handing this down with the cast iron as well!Thanks for a fantastic well crafted product!

I've had this pan for over a year and I use it almost daily. It is the perfect pan in my opinion, like a cross between cast iron and stainless steel, lightweight, able to be seasoned, nonstick. I hardly ever have an issue with things sticking and it cleans up really easily. The only thing to be aware of is it rusts super quick if you don't dry it. But I always make sure to quickly scrub it with soap and water, dry, and apply a thin layer of olive oil to re-season. If you ever have trouble just take a brillo pad and clean it up and re-season.

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.

After trying about six different pans over the years, this one has definitely performed the best. After just a few uses, it naturally becomes more non-stick, even without seasoning it myself (it comes pre-seasoned). It has a nice weight to it, not too heavy, but it still feels solid. The handle does get hot though, so I’d recommend getting a sleeve for it. It takes a little practice depending on what you’re cooking, but overall it’s a decent pan.