De BuyerMINERAL B Carbon Steel Country Fry Pan - 11” Diameter, 7.7” Cooking Surface - Ideal for Sauteing, Simmering, Deep Frying & Stir Frying - PFAS, PFOA & PFOS Free - Made in France

I now own 4 of these carbon steel mineral B pans, in various sizes.I also cook so much in a 14" wok that I thought this might be a really useful in between go to everything pan, that was a little smaller.In actual fact it turned out to not be quite as versatile as I'd thought. It's in no way the pans fault at all. The same heavy gauge heat retaining awesome stuff as all of my Mineral B's are, but the high sides that are also much closer to one another make the sides somehow more in the way when it comes to anything that might require stirring. You find yourself angling the utensil way up, which is something I didn't give any thought to in regards to reducing the size of what is effectively a kind of wok.I do like now the base IS wider that a wok. It's very stable, and because of the high sides, a great saute pan that also minimizes oil spattering.I really do like i t, but find myself reaching for it less than I thought I would.Perhaps I need some time to get used to it, but I find I'm still going for my full size wok, or my much smaller saute pans, and also my crepe pan, because it has no sides at all to get in the way.Cannot demote it for that though. It's beautiful, and it seems to have found a place in being the perfect ramen pan; searing onions prior to noodles and boiling water going in.

I really like this pan and have found it Remarkably well suited for stir-frying, braising small cuts of meat, and it has even worked well for deep frying egg rolls. If you're interested in frying steaks, etc, I would not recommend this pan as it is a bit small at the base for such things. Instead, consider the larger De Buyer Country skillet (be forewarned that it is a heavy pan) or one of the traditional De Buyer fry pans.My only complaint with the pan is that the silicone coating on the handle seems pointless--it is too thin to offer any real insulation from the heat and it has melted/cooked away at the point where the handle is riveted to the body of the pan.Seasoning: there is an incredible amount of debate/information on the web about how to season steel and cast iron pans. My experience has been that the methods for seasoning cast iron and steel are similar but not necessarily interchangeable. The method I used, one that has worked well, is to:1) Boil potatoes skins in the new pan as directed by De Buyer (this helps remove the bees wax coating that the pan ships with). Throw out the resulting grey mess;2) scrub the pan thoroughly with soap and water to get off any remaining wax;3) Heat the pan slightly on the stove to ensure that it is completely dry--about 2 minutes on medium heat;4) Using a clean paper towel, vigorously rub a thin coat of flaxseed oil onto the insides of the pan (don't forget to shake the oil well before using it and to refrigerate it). I cannot reiterate that this layer of oil needs to be very, very thin--best to apply lots of thin layers than one big thick one;5) Heat the pan until the oil cooks past its smoke point--about 15-20 minutes. Remember that seasoning IS NOT cooking and the goal here is to cause the oil to polymerize. If you are really interested, leave a comment and I will point you to a link that explains the chemistry in-depth;6) Allow the pan to cool and then repeat steps 3-6 several more times;7) After you've created a solid coating of 7-10 layers on the inside of the pan, just start cooking with it and it will continue to season on its own.Cleaning; usually I just wipe it out with a clean cloth/paper towel; however, it does, on occasion require that I use some boiling water and salt to get out crusty bits.

This is a very versatile pan, really all you need for most "skillet" cooking. Have had it all backwards, you don't need a "clean" or shiny pan. You don't need the low sides of a skillet, unless you literally know how to flip items. High sides help control the mess. Can be used kinda of like a wok, easier to deal with than a huge wok. Cook burgers, steak, chicken breast, pork chop all great. Cook with oil, like they have done for centuries.You just have to get used to "cleaning" the pan, and you don't have to get it "clean". You don't have to baby it, you can't ruin it, just don't let it rust. You can scrub the rust off and it will be fine. It will never look perfect, it will be perfectly functional.

The de Buyer Mineral B Carbon Steel Country Pan is an excellent piece of cookware. Scrubbed off the bees wax finish with hot water and paper towels (2-3 times). Pre treated the pan following the instructions for a Matfer Bourgeat carbon steel pan - oil and potato skins sauté until the skins are crisped. Kept a light coating of oil (primarily peanut or olive oil and occasionally butter). The pan is developing a very nice non-stick coating, no rust, no fuss, no bother. The heat transfer is quick and intense which is expected for a good carbon steel pan. Using it as a sauce pan, carbon steel pan, or large fry pan. Thus far very satisfied.

Bought primarily for deep frying. This pot weighs a ton but I like using it for its high sides which controls the splatters & the cleaning afterwards. Caveat: it is carbon steel & needs maintenance to prevent rusting.