Best Carbon Steel Pan: Where Testers and Owners Disagree

The best carbon steel pan for most people is the de Buyer Mineral B 11-inch fry pan. It has the strongest owner record of any pan checked here: 10.8% of the 1,928 written Amazon reviews for the 11-inch are one or two stars. The catch: de Buyer ships it unseasoned and rates it for only 10 minutes at 400°F in the oven. The other four each have support from at least one test, and owners mostly agree.

I may earn a commission if you buy through the Amazon links on this page, at no extra cost to you.

Quick Comparison

The headline star rating on Amazon pools every size of a pan, so the figure after it is the share of one- and two-star written reviews for the exact size linked. Lodge and Merten & Storck are the cheapest of the five; the other three sit in a clearly higher tier.

How These Picks Were Chosen

This is a research-based guide. I do not own any of these pans, and none of this page comes from my own cooking. For each pan I put three things side by side: what independent testers concluded, how owners rate the exact size linked, and what the maker itself says about the oven, induction and the factory coating.

The tests are from Wirecutter, which tested nine pans in 10- and 11-inch sizes; CNN Underscored, which tested eight; America’s Test Kitchen (ATK); and Reviewed. CNN Underscored tested its skillets on a portable induction cooktop, while Wirecutter ran most tests on gas and fried one egg per pan on induction to check flatness.

The owner figure is the share of one- and two-star reviews among the written Amazon reviews for that exact size, because one size of a pan can have a very different record from another. A pick needed a supportive test and a share near 20% or lower, from at least 100 reviews. The Made In is the exception: it is here for its 1,200°F limit and the flat base Wirecutter found on a smaller Made In pan, and its weaker record is stated plainly.

Owner reviews are not lab data, and people with a problem are more likely to write one. I found no source that gives long-term failure rates for any of these pans, so the owner share is the best durability signal available. Each buy box had a new item for sale when checked.

Where the Testers, Owners and Makers Disagree

This table is the reason the ranking looks different from the test sites. Two test winners, the OXO and the Misen, have the worst owner records of any pan checked, so neither is a pick.

The maker column is from each maker’s own pages: de Buyer’s Mineral B FAQ, Mauviel’s M’Steel care guide, Lodge’s carbon steel care page, Made In’s carbon steel frying pan page, GreenPan’s carbon steel guide and Matfer’s black steel guide. The tester figures for Misen and Matfer are from CNN Underscored, ATK and Saveur, and Saveur says its list follows expert recommendations rather than a test.

The 5 Best Carbon Steel Pans

1. de Buyer Mineral B Fry Pan, 11 Inch — Best for Most Cooks

Best for: stovetop cooks who are happy to season a pan before the first meal.

De Buyer says the Mineral B comes with a beeswax finish to protect it against oxidation, but it is not seasoned when you buy it. It is made in de Buyer’s own factory in the Vosges region of France.

ATK tested the 12.5-inch size and put it in its Recommended tier: it browned foods well, released them well once seasoned, and its high-angled handle and heft made it harder to maneuver than other pans. The owner record is why it leads this guide. The 12.5-inch, the size ATK tested, sits at 12.5% one or two stars of 1,156 written reviews, so both sizes beat every other pan checked.

The oven is its weak point. De Buyer lists only the Mineral B pans with a cast stainless steel handle, such as the Mineral B PRO, as oven-safe, and says all its Mineral B fry pans can resist up to 10 minutes at 400°F. This 11-inch is the standard model 5610.28, and its Amazon listing gives a maximum oven time of 10 minutes. ATK praised all-metal handles that go in the oven with no temperature limits, and its Recommended de Buyer does not meet that by its maker’s own rule.

On induction, de Buyer’s leaflet asks for a moderate temperature, no booster, and no overheating of the empty pan. It calls those precautions essential for pans from 26 cm across, about 10 inches, which includes this one.

• Size: 11 inch across, with an 8.3-inch cooking surface and a weight of 4.75 lb, per the listing
• Factory finish: beeswax, unseasoned
• Oven: up to 10 minutes at 400°F
• Lid: de Buyer advises against lids, which it says steam the food and give it a metallic taste

Pros:

• Lowest one- or two-star share of any pan checked, from the largest base of reviews for its size
• De Buyer says its French handle is designed to stay cool on the stove
• A test-site recommendation for the same pan in a larger size
• Bare steel with nothing to wear off but the seasoning you build

Cons:

• Arrives unseasoned, so the first session is your job
• Rated for only 10 minutes at 400°F in the oven
• ATK found the handle angle and weight awkward on the 12.5-inch
• Sold by a third-party seller, Akuru24 US, and shipped by Amazon

Verdict: buy it if you cook mostly on the stove and want the pan owners complain about least. Skip it if you finish steaks or bake in the oven often; the Mauviel below is built for that.

My guide to seasoning carbon steel covers the first session.

Check Current Price on Amazon

2. Merten & Storck Pre-Seasoned, 10 Inch — Best Budget Pre-Seasoned

Best for: starting to cook without a seasoning session, in the lightest pan here.

Two of the four tests chose it. Wirecutter made it the runner-up: it was pre-seasoned but not fully nonstick when new, needed a metal fish spatula for the first egg, and after two weeks of cooking and seasoning, fried eggs flipped easily. CNN Underscored named the 10-inch its best budget carbon steel pan, and found it took about a minute to reach 300°F, with a center ever so slightly raised.

GreenPan, which calls Merten & Storck its sister brand, says the pans come pre-seasoned and that the protective wax glaze should be washed off with hot soapy water first. The size matters more here than anywhere else in this guide. The 10-inch has 20.9% one- or two-star reviews of 757, against 37.8% of 815 for the 12-inch, so only the 10-inch, the size both testers used, is linked.

I could not find an oven limit from Merten & Storck or from GreenPan’s carbon steel pages. CNN Underscored gives two different figures, 660°F in its summary and 600°F in the body, so I would treat the lower one as the ceiling until the maker states one.

• Size: 10 inch, with a cooking surface of about 8 inches and a weight of 2.64 lb, per the listing
• Factory finish: pre-seasoned, under a protective wax
• Oven: no maker figure found

Pros:

• Chosen by two separate tests, both in the 10-inch size
• In the lower price tier
• Lightest pick, at 2.64 lb
• Pre-seasoned, so it can go straight on the stove

Cons:

• Not fully nonstick when new, by Wirecutter’s account
• No oven limit from the maker, and the tester figures conflict
• The 12-inch has a much worse owner record, so sizing up is a gamble
• A slightly raised center, per both tests

Verdict: buy it if you want to cook eggs within a week or two and spend less. Skip it if you need a 12-inch pan, or if you plan to use the oven a lot.

Check Current Price on Amazon

3. Mauviel M’Steel With Iron Handle, 11 Inch — Best for the Oven

Best for: searing on the stove and finishing in a hot oven.

Mauviel says the M’Steel works on induction, gas, electric, ceramic and halogen, and in the oven up to 680°F thanks to its riveted iron handle. That is the highest oven figure among the unseasoned picks. It ships with a food-safe beeswax coating against rust in transit, which Mauviel says to remove before the first seasoning.

ATK named the 12.6-inch M’Steel its winner: it browned evenly and cooked beautifully in every test, quickly became reliably slick, and felt slightly heavier than ideal. Reviewed lists the 11-inch, the size linked here, as its best carbon steel pan, though it tested the 12.5-inch. ATK also reports that its lab tests on the Mauviel found no arsenic, and chromium at levels it calls safe under EU standards.

The other two tests were less kind about its base. Wirecutter found the 11-inch rocked very slightly on flat surfaces and needed several rounds of seasoning, and CNN Underscored called it the heaviest skillet it tested, with a slightly uneven bottom. Owners are cooler than the testers. The 11-inch has 20.9% one- or two-star reviews, from only 158, which only just clears the 100-review minimum used here.

• Size: 11 inch, with an 8.4-inch bottom inside and a weight of 4.4 lb, per the listing
• Factory finish: beeswax, unseasoned
• Oven: up to 680°F
• Thickness: Mauviel gives 2 to 2.5 mm; ATK lists the 12.6-inch at 13 gauge and 2.5 mm. Both figures are under the 2.6 mm ATK preferred, though ATK still made it its winner

Pros:

• Highest oven limit of the unseasoned picks, at 680°F
• Winner or top pick in two of the four tests
• ATK reports no arsenic in its lab test of the pan
• Iron handle, riveted, with nothing to melt

Cons:

• Two of the four tests found the base not quite flat, which matters on induction
• Heavy: the heaviest skillet in one test and slightly heavier than ideal in another
• Arrives unseasoned and, per Wirecutter, needed several rounds of seasoning
• A small owner base for this size

Verdict: buy it if the oven matters to you and you cook on gas. Skip it if you have a glass induction top and want a pan that sits dead flat.

Check Current Price on Amazon

4. Lodge Seasoned Carbon Steel Skillet, 10 Inch — Best for Grill and Campfire

Best for: cooking over a grill or a campfire, and a low-cost first pan.

Lodge says carbon steel can go over any heat source: stovetop (including induction!), oven, grill, campfire. Its pans are formed by spinning and stamping carbon steel, have riveted handles, and are seasoned at the foundry with 100% natural vegetable oil in the USA. Lodge’s use-and-care sheet adds that the handles get hot and that pans should always be lifted on smooth-top stoves.

The tests split more on this pan than on any other. Reviewed found the 12-inch more nonstick out of the box than any pan it tested, but ATK found the 12-inch’s slick factory seasoning deteriorated as it cooked, and food began to stick. Wirecutter dismissed it early for a rough, cast-iron-like texture, and CNN Underscored reports that the 10-inch scratched its induction cooktop surface during testing.

The 10-inch has 19.8% one- or two-star reviews of 771, and the 12-inch 24.2% of 1,386. Lodge allows the oven but gives no figure for a maximum temperature on the care pages I read.

• Weight: 3.12 lb for the 10-inch, per the listing
• Factory finish: pre-seasoned with soy vegetable oil and nothing else, per Lodge
• Oven: allowed; no maximum stated
• Thickness: ATK lists the 12-inch at 12 gauge

Pros:

• In the lower price tier
• Rated by its maker for grill and campfire as well as the stove
• Owner record close to the Merten & Storck’s
• Made in the USA

Cons:

• Rough surface, which one test held against it
• Scratched a glass induction cooktop in one test
• The factory seasoning came off in one test
• Handles get hot, by Lodge’s own sheet

Verdict: buy it for outdoor cooking or as a cheap way to try carbon steel. Skip it if you cook on a glass induction top.

Check Current Price on Amazon

5. Made In Seasoned Carbon Steel, 12 Inch — Highest Heat Limit

Best for: a large pan with the highest stated heat limit. Made In’s smaller Blue Carbon Steel pan had the flattest base in one test.

Made In says the pan is made in Sweden, heat safe to 1200°F (650°C), and suited to oven, gas, electric, induction and open fire. It is pre-seasoned with shea nut oil and coconut oil, which Made In calls the first two seasonings, and it has a hollow Stay Cool Handle and a 2mm thickness.

Wirecutter tested a smaller Made In Blue Carbon Steel pan, at just over 3 lb, and found it the only model with no curve in the center, though its curved handle threw off the balance. It did not test this 12-inch. ATK tested this 12-inch and found it a little too deep and bowl-shaped, with a pebbly surface that did not release food as easily as other pans. ATK also found that pans thinner than 2.6 millimeters tended to scorch food and warp, and Made In gives 2mm.

Owners rate it the weakest of the five: 31.5% of 149 written reviews for the 12-inch are one or two stars. It earns its place only for the heat limit and that flat-base result, not as a general recommendation.

• Weight: 4.41 lb for the 12-inch, per ATK
• Factory finish: shea nut and coconut oil seasoning
• Heat limit: 1,200°F
• Thickness: 2 mm

Pros:

• The same line had the flattest base in one test, in a smaller size
• Highest stated heat limit of the five
• Pre-seasoned
• A hollow handle meant to stay cooler

Cons:

• Highest one- or two-star share of the five picks
• Below the thickness one test preferred
• Slower to release food and to build seasoning in that test
• Deep, bowl-like shape

Verdict: buy it if the 1,200°F limit matters more to you than the owner record. Skip it if you want the safest choice; the de Buyer is that.

Check Current Price on Amazon

Pans Left Out, and Why

• OXO Obsidian: Wirecutter’s top pick, but 38.6% of 347 reviews for the 10-inch and 43.7% of 190 for the 12-inch are one or two stars, with critical titles saying the pre-seasoning fails.
• Misen Carbon Nonstick: CNN Underscored’s best pan, but 64.1% of 209 reviews for the 10-inch are one or two stars, and critical titles say the nonstick is temporary. It is also nitrided with an aluminum core, a different build from the rest.
• Matfer Black Steel: ATK withdrew its recommendation after a French recall, covered below. Two of the sizes checked had no buy box, and the 12 5/8-inch is at 27.2% one or two stars.
• Merten & Storck 12-inch: The 12-inch Merten & Storck is at 37.8%, nearly twice the 10-inch.
• BK Black Steel: Wirecutter found no warranty information for it.
• KitchenAid Nitro: Reviewed’s best rust-resistant pan, with a nitrogen-infused surface; I did not check its Amazon record, so it is not ranked.

Is Carbon Steel Safe? What the Matfer Recall Means

A regional French agency, the DDPP of Isère, recalled certain lots of Matfer Black Steel pans after a heated mild acidic solution leached arsenic, chromium and iron above levels recommended by the European Union. ATK, whose former winner it was, says it cannot recommend skillets that potentially contain arsenic when alternatives exist, and its recall article lists the affected lot numbers.

Matfer’s side is that the test boiled a highly acidic compound for 2 hours, which it calls intentional misuse, and that the decision is under appeal. Matfer says there is no recall of the pan in the United States, North America or anywhere outside the EU. I could not establish how the appeal ended: Matfer’s page still says it is under appeal.

For the other pans, ATK reports that the US has no clear standard for how much of these metals cookware may release into food, and an FDA representative told ATK that the agency will review pan formulations for suitability upon request. Lodge, de Buyer and Matfer all advise limiting acidic food in carbon steel, so keep long, acidic simmers out of the pan.

How to Choose a Carbon Steel Pan

Pre-seasoned or raw

De Buyer and Mauviel ship bare steel under beeswax, which you scrub off and then season. Lodge seasons with soy oil, Made In with shea nut and coconut oil, and Merten & Storck under a wax glaze. Pre-seasoned does not mean nonstick on day one: Wirecutter’s pre-seasoned runner-up needed a fish spatula for its first egg, and ATK watched the Lodge’s factory layer come off.

Induction and flatness

Lodge, de Buyer, Mauviel and Made In all say their pans work on induction, and Wirecutter reports the Merten & Storck works on it too, but flatness decides how well. Matfer warns that an induction burner can heat a pan so fast that, in rare cases, high carbon steel pans warp, and de Buyer says to raise the temperature gradually and match the pan to the size of the coil. My guide to cookware for induction cooktops covers the basics.

Oven limits

The stated limits run from 10 minutes at 400°F for the standard de Buyer to 680°F for the Mauviel and 1,200°F for the Made In. Lodge allows the oven without a figure, and I found none for Merten & Storck.

Size and weight

A 10- or 11-inch pan has a cooking surface of about 8 inches, because the walls flare. Among the 10- and 11-inch picks, the listed weights run from 2.64 lb for the Merten & Storck to 4.75 lb for the de Buyer; ATK weighed the 12-inch Made In at 4.41 lb and its 12.6-inch Mauviel at 5.1 lb. Check the owner record for the size you want, not just the model: the Merten & Storck 12-inch has nearly twice the complaint share of the 10-inch.

Care

Lodge says not to soak carbon steel or put it in a dishwasher, and to dry it and oil it after washing. The makers disagree on soap, and my guide to a rusting carbon steel pan sets out who says what and how to rescue a pan.

Carbon steel, cast iron or a wok

If you are still deciding on the metal, my carbon steel vs cast iron comparison covers weight and heat response, and the cast iron skillet guide covers the heavier option. For stir-fries, a wok is a different shape for a different job; see the best wok for induction and electric stoves. If you want a slick pan with no coating at all, the guide to nonstick pans without Teflon compares the options.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best carbon steel pan?

The de Buyer Mineral B 11-inch fry pan has the strongest owner record checked, with 10.8% of 1,928 written reviews at one or two stars, and ATK recommends it in the 12.5-inch size. It arrives unseasoned, and de Buyer limits it to 10 minutes at 400°F in the oven.

Which carbon steel pan is best for the oven?

The Mauviel M’Steel, which Mauviel rates to 680°F because of its riveted iron handle, is the pick. Made In states 1,200°F for its seasoned pan but has a weaker owner record. Avoid oven use beyond 10 minutes at 400°F with the standard de Buyer Mineral B, its maker’s limit.

Is a pre-seasoned carbon steel pan nonstick out of the box?

Not reliably. Reviewed found the Lodge 12-inch more nonstick out of the box than any pan it tested, but ATK found its factory seasoning wore off. Wirecutter’s pre-seasoned Merten & Storck needed a fish spatula for its first egg and flipped eggs easily after two weeks.

Do carbon steel pans work on induction?

Yes. Four of the five makers here say so, and Wirecutter reports the fifth, the Merten & Storck, works on it too. De Buyer asks for moderate heat and no booster on induction. Matfer warns that fast induction heating can, in rare cases, warp high carbon steel pans.

Are carbon steel pans safe?

Matfer pans were recalled in France after an acid test leached arsenic, chromium and iron; Matfer is appealing and says there is no US recall. ATK reports finding no arsenic in its winning Mauviel. Lodge, de Buyer and Matfer all advise limiting acidic food.

Which carbon steel pans should I avoid?

By owner record, the Misen Carbon Nonstick 10-inch, at 64.1% one or two stars, and the OXO Obsidian, at 38.6% for the 10-inch and 43.7% for the 12-inch, despite test wins. Also avoid the Merten & Storck 12-inch, at 37.8%, and buy the 10-inch instead.

How long does carbon steel take to become nonstick?

ATK says a solid black patina takes anywhere from a year to two of cooking, and that a blotchy patina along the way is normal. Wirecutter’s Merten & Storck flipped eggs easily after two weeks. Mauviel suggests fatty foods first, saving eggs and fish for later.

Bottom Line

Buy the de Buyer Mineral B 11-inch if you cook mostly on the stove: owners complain about it less than any other pan checked, and a test site recommends it. Buy the Merten & Storck 10-inch to spend less and skip the first seasoning, and the Mauviel M’Steel if you finish food in a hot oven. Season whichever you choose before relying on it, with the carbon steel seasoning steps, and browse the cookware guide for the rest of the kitchen.