Matfer Bourgeat 062007 Black Steel Round Frying Pan, 14 1/8-Inch, Gray

This pan is a great all-arounder that I usually reach for when I need a medium pan. I personally enjoy cooking with it more than my similar stainless and cast iron pans.More details:- Handle's shape works well for tossing- Handle length helps it dissipate heat so it's more comfortable to grip while in use- The whole pan, handle included, is oven-safe- Handle is welded to the pan so there are no rivets. This is awesome because it makes the pan easier to clean- Angled sides are great for tossing (small stir fry, flipping eggs, etc.)- Moderately nonstick once it's seasoned (but initial seasoning is trickier than cast iron)- It ships with a protective coating that takes a frustrating amount of elbow grease to remove- After years of use, it's developed a barely-perceptible warp on high heat that doesn't seem to affect cooking on an electric rangeI have frying pans from Lodge, de Buyer (Mineral B) Cuisinart (Multi-Clad Pro), and All-Clad (D3) that I can compare this to.Shape-wise it's similar to my All-Clad and de Buyer pans; its sides have a lower angle (~45°) than the more vertical Lodge or Cuisinart sides. I think the lower angle is more generally useful because it works well for tossing and also makes it easier to slip spoons or spatulas under whatever's cooking.It's heavier than stainless pans (1724g vs my 10" Cuisinart's 1081g) but lighter than cast iron (my 10" Lodge is 2483g). I'm a lightweight adult male and can comfortably pick it up one-handed and toss food in it. (I would not do the same with the Lodge.) It's too heavy for my (much smaller) wife to do the same.Between my 8" de Buyer and 10" Matfer Bourgeat carbon steel pans, I prefer the Matfer Bourget. The de Buyer's handle has a coating (epoxy?) that limits its heat resistance; it doesn't handle ovens well and mine has even degraded where the handle connects to the pan. It also uses rivets to join the handle and pan, and they're a nuisance when seasoning the pan and a nuisance to clean.Relative heat retention is less than the Lodge cast iron, more than the stainless All-Clad and Cuisinart, and about on par with the de Buyer (the de Buyer might be a little thicker and thus have marginally more heat retention). I think it's a comfortable middle ground for most cooking.I've never gotten Teflon-like non-stick performance, but it's better than stainless and plenty good for everyday cooking with eggs and fish.I use this pan most of the time, but there are niche use cases when I reach for something else:- A nonstick pan (didn't list it above because it's a sauté pan) for delicate foods that I *really* don't want to stick- Stainless steel for cooking acidic stuff like tomato sauces (they can mess with the pan's seasoning if they sit in it too long)- Clad stainless when extra-even heat retention is needed (though I've not had trouble with this in practice)For reference, I've used this pan for just over 3 years.

I have been on a serious quest for the perfect frying pan my entire adult life. A pan that doesn’t scratch, is nonstick, can go from stove top to oven, easy care, long lasting, doesn’t cost $400, and, should the situation call for it, can be used as a weapon.After doing a ton of research, I decided to try the Matfer Bourgeat. This. Pan. ROCKS. The more I use it, the better it gets! To be honest, there was a slight learning curve while attempting to get the manufacturer’s protective coating off. Yes, it’s there. You just can’t see it until you actually start to scrape it off. Or jab at it with a fork like I did. I remembered reading review after review as to what a challenge it was for many new pan owners to scrub said coating off. I initially tried a pot scrubby thingy, gave that up within two minutes. I then went straight to my Holy Grail of cleaning implements; the SOS Pad. Yep, that bad boy, combined with a little elbow grease, conquered the factory coating in less time than it originally took me to decide which size pan to order. Point is BUY THIS PAN. AND a box of SOS pads, if you haven’t got any on hand. Matter of fact, they ought to include one pad with the pan purchase. Sort of a bonus, and it may save a lot of consumers some headache and googling.Anyhoo, my pictures show my pan half way through the de-coating process. According to the directions on the pan’s label, I then seasoned it stove top with veggie oil, a cardiac arrest-worthy pile of salt and a whack of potato peels from Christmas dinner. Threw that ungodly concoction out, then went thru same process a second time. Boom. Took an hour or so, and definitely did the trick; first think I fried up was a proper omelet. I’ll tell you that folded little egg gift from god slid out of the pan almost perfectly. Almost. After the pan’s third or forth use, it’s definitely nonstick, even the sides.I wash it by running it under hot water and running a dish brush over it. No soap. Then dry it and rub a little olive oil all around the inside. Done. Boom.Size wise, I have the 10.25”. It is large enough to fry two eggs, make an omelet, or three pan cakes. (We like small pan cakes.) Holds heat very well with very even distribution. Handle is a typical restaurant handle, oven safe, but doesn’t offer heat protection. It’s called a towel or a cozy, people. Oh, and it’s heavy. Too heavy for my elderly mother to lift easily, but heavy enough that if you belted somebody in the head with it, they are not getting up any time soon. And the pan would probably show no sign of damage. Maybe that’s not a selling point to the average consumer, but it may be relevant if you’re cooking dinner during the zombie apocalypse outbreak.I seriously love this pan. It lived on top of the stove for several weeks even when not in use, cuz it made me happy just looking at it. I told my family that I would marry it if I could. I do plan on buying another, a larger one. I just hope my first pan doesn’t get jealous.

Perfect fry pan

This is an update to my original review below. I have now owned this pan for over a month. The pan is now black. After each use, I would either wipe up the residue with a napkin (if it's not too sticky) or wash it with hot water and a stiff brush, no soap (if there is stuck-on food). Then, I heat up the pan on medium heat for about 3 minutes to dry off any moisture, apply a thin layer of olive oil (just add olive oil to a paper napkin & wipe the napkin on the pan, wipe off any excess) and heat it for another 5 minutes. After completion, wipe off any remainder excess oil to prevent stickiness and just leave the pan on the stove to cool off. The non-stick characteristic waxed and waned a bit during this period. Hubby reported that it was nice & non-stick when he used medium heat to fry an egg but a bit sticky when he used high heat. From my experience, it is mostly non-stick now. When I fried rice in this pan, there was some stickiness but I was able to scrape it off with a bamboo spatula and the pan surface remained clean. (This would have been impossible with my stainless steel pans.)The carbon steel seasoning does seem to be weaker than cast iron seasoning. Although my pan is black, there are areas with more seasoning (around the sides) and areas with less (at the bottom) eventhough I always season the entire pan. Perhaps the oil binds better to the pebbly cast iron surface as opposed to the smooth carbon steel surface.Overall, carbon steel is my new favorite to replace teflon coated pans. The seasoning ritual takes about the same amount of time as scrubbing a stainless steel pan so I am happy with this skillet. I plan to buy the larger 12 5/8" skillet to cook more food at once.------------------------I have my set of Lodge cast iron pans and dutch ovens but Hubby complains of the heavy weight when he wants to fry a few eggs. So, I bought him this pan due to its lighter weight and similar searing characteristics as cast iron. Seasoning carbon steel is easier than seasoning cast iron. After scrubbing the new pan with plenty of elbow grease, soap and hot water, put it on the stove over medium heat until it is dry and add 1/3 cup oil, 2/3 cup salt & the peel of 2 potatoes for 8 - 10 minutes. Use a spatula & stir occasionally and push the potato peels to the sides of the pan. The mix will turn brown as the oil heat up so turn on your exhaust fan. After 10 minutes, wait for the mix to cool & discard it. Wipe the now darkened pan. I did this seasoning once and the pan was barely darkened. So, I repeated the process again by peeling off more of the potatoes. After the repeat process, the pan was substantially darker (light amber) but it was splotchy around the rim area and had a large dark spot for about 70% of the bottom. I wiped off the pan and pan friend scalloped potatoes & eggs in the newly seasoned pan. Wow, wow, wow! It was non-stick! My fried egg skated around the pan without any sticking! This carbon steel pan is more non-stick than my seasoned cast iron pan! As a further test, I fried frozen flat bread on both carbon steel & cast-iron pans. The golden brown results are similar although the carbon steel pan is about 30 seconds to 1 minute faster since it took less time to heat up. My family is sold on carbon steel. It is too expensive to replace all of our cast iron pieces but we plan to buy a few more carbon steel pieces to round out our pan collection.

I like this pan a lot. It cooks great. Nice even heat, easy to season. The downside is it is very heavy for a small pan, which is good for heat retention. However, the heavy weight makes the handle uncomfortable if you like to flip while cooking. The edges of handle dig in to hands.Overall I would recommend it is a great pan and heats evenly and cooks really well. I found it easy to season by following the instructions included with it. (I use gas cooktop)