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See why.The Best 12-Inch Carbon-Steel Skillets
What if one pan could do everything the best traditional stainless-steel, cast-iron, and nonstick pans can do—and, in some cases, even do it a little better?
By Updated Sept. 1, 2022
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See Everything We Tested
What You Need To Know
Even if you’ve never heard of a carbon-steel skillet, you’ve almost certainly eaten a meal made in one. Restaurant chefs use these pans for all kinds of tasks, from searing steak to sautéing onions to cooking eggs. French omelet and crêpe pans are made of carbon steel, as are the woks used in Chinese restaurants. Even Julia Child had a few carbon-steel pieces alongside her familiar rows of copper cookware. In European home kitchens, these pans are hugely popular. Somehow, though, despite their prevalence in restaurants, carbon-steel cookware never really caught on with home cooks in the United States. Given their reputation for being as great at browning as they are at keeping delicate foods from sticking, we wondered if it was time that changed.
We bought seven carbon-steel skillets, all as close as possible to our preferred size of 12 inches for a primary skillet, priced from $39.95 to $79.95. For fun we also threw in a $230 hand-forged version made in Seattle, Washington. Bearing in mind carbon steel’s multipurpose promise, we decided on a range of recipes for our testing: frying eggs, turning out cheese omelets, pan-searing steaks, and baking the traditional French upside-down apple dessert known as tarte Tatin, which begins on the stove and moves to the oven. Along the way we’d evaluate the skillets’ shape, weight, handle comfort, and maneuverability. Washing the pans after every test would let us judge how easy they were to clean and maintain. Our key question: Could this one type of pan actually make owning the other skillets we’ve always had in our arsenal—stainless-steel tri-ply, cast-iron, and nonstick—more of an option than a necessity?
In Season
The first thing we learned about carbon steel is that, like cast iron, it rusts when it’s bare. It requires seasoning, a process that bonds oil to the pan to not only provide a layer of protection but also start the process of making the pan nonstick. While two of the skillets we ordered came preseasoned, the other six arrived sheathed in sticky beeswax or thick grease to block rust formation in transit. After scrubbing off this temporary coating (which was sometimes easier said than done), we followed each manufacturer’s seasoning instructions. At first we wondered if the need for seasoning might end up being a deal breaker. But we found a favorite seasoning method that is relatively easy.
When we got cooking, we were astonished at how nonstick even the initial seasoning made these pans. Our first test was to fry an egg in a teaspoon of butter. In nearly all of the pans, the egg slipped around like a puck on an air hockey table. Omelets slid out in perfect golden oblongs...
Everything We Tested
Highly Recommended
- Cooking: 3 stars out of 3.
- Nonstick: 3 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 3 stars out of 3.
This affordable pan had it all: thick, solid construction; a smooth interior with no handle rivets to bump the spatula or trap food; an ergonomically angled handle; and sides flared just right for easy access but high enough to contain splashes. Steaks formed a deeply crisp crust, tarte Tatin caramelized beautifully and released neatly, and fried eggs just slipped around in the pan.
- Cooking: 3 stars out of 3.
- Nonstick: 3 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 3 stars out of 3.
This costly, beautifully designed pan is a hand-forged piece of art, but it’s also built to work hard. It arrived preseasoned, with the metal heat-treated to a lovely shade of slate blue, though it darkened with use. With its broad cooking surface, nicely flared sides, and perfect browning and release, it was a pleasure to use. Our only quibble (besides price): It’s heavy. The large helper handle is a useful addition. Available at bluskilletironware.com.
Recommended
- Cooking: 3 stars out of 3.
- Nonstick: 3 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 2.5 stars out of 3.
Very spacious and sturdy, with low sides and a reliably slick surface, this pan browned evenly but felt slightly heavier than ideal and lacked a helper handle to share the weight.
- Cooking: 3 stars out of 3.
- Nonstick: 3 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 2 stars out of 3.
Solidly built, handsome, and well-designed—with low flaring sides, a handle at an accessible angle, and a slippery surface that never stuck—this pan was maneuverable and easy to use. Its seasoning was nicely durable. Its only flaw: a too-small cooking surface that made the pan feel cramped for full-size recipes—it would be best for recipes serving two. Available at kaufmann-mercantile.com.
- Cooking: 3 stars out of 3.
- Nonstick: 3 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 1.5 stars out of 3.
This roomy, beautifully constructed pan browned foods well and with great release, eventually. The instructions for seasoning had us coat just the cooking surface with oil, leaving the sides to fend for themselves; they stuck and tore tarte Tatin. After more cooking, the sides caught up and the pan didn’t stick. Its high-angled handle and heft made it more difficult to maneuver than other pans.
- Cooking: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Nonstick: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 1.5 stars out of 3.
With enough cooking space and the lower-angled handle we prefer, this pan had plenty of promise. But it provided a slightly less slippery release than the top pans, and its sides were a bit too shallow. Its weight made it hard for testers to maneuver.
Recommended with reservations
- Cooking: 2 stars out of 3.
- Nonstick: 2 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 2 stars out of 3.
This comparatively light pan was very comfortable to lift and handle, and its factory preseasoning seemed like a plus because we could start cooking right away. But in contrast to the other pans in the lineup, its slick seasoning actually deteriorated as we cooked, and food began to stick. Slightly thinner, it also ran a little hot with a tendency toward hot spots; apples caramelized unevenly.
Not Recommended
- Cooking: 2 stars out of 3.
- Nonstick: 2 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 1 stars out of 3.
This thin pan became superhot superfast—perfect for restaurants, where orders need to move fast, but not so great for home cooks. High, cupped sides made it hard to slide a spatula beneath foods, and an extra-long, steeply angled handle poked us as we stood before the stove. Hot spots made apples caramelize unevenly when we made tarte Tatin. The bottom warped by the end of testing.
Reviews you can trust
Reviews you can trust
The mission of America’s Test Kitchen Reviews is to find the best equipment and ingredients for the home cook through rigorous, hands-on testing. We stand behind our winners so much that we even put our seal of approval on them.
Lisa McManus
Lisa is an executive editor for ATK Reviews, cohost of Gear Heads on YouTube, and gadget expert on TV's America's Test Kitchen.
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