Every Kitchen Needs the Omni-Functional Made In Blue Carbon Steel Frying Pan

The Spruce Eats purchased Made In Blue Carbon Steel Frying Pans for multiple rounds of official testing. This product review is based on results from those, as well as my personal experience cooking with one I purchased myself.

After I started working for The Spruce Eats last year, the Made In Blue Carbon Steel Frying Pan was the first piece of kitchen equipment we recommended that I actually bought with my own money. It was our top-rated carbon steel pan, and it was on sale for Amazon Prime Day. I couldn't say no, and I've found it's worth every cent.

This pan's carbon steel material combines the best aspects of stainless, cast-iron and nonstick, and its unique high-sided shape can perform all the tasks of a traditional sauté pan, a wok, or a small saucepan. Plus, it's completely oven-safe. It's not so much a multitasker as an omni-tasker.

Material: Carbon Steel Is Just Right

Whether a pan is made of cast iron, stainless steel, or carbon steel, it's mostly iron. But the other materials mixed in with the iron determine how it works for cooking. Stainless steel combines iron with metals like chromium and nickel to make a shiny, corrosion-resistant material that's lightweight but doesn't conduct heat as well as denser metals. Cast iron, despite the name, is a mix of iron with a high proportion of carbon, making it heavy, dense, and very good at transmitting heat but also quite vulnerable to rust if not rigorously maintained.

The carbon steel in Made In's pans splits the difference, with a smaller amount of carbon than cast-iron for a pan that performs nearly as well for searing but weighs less and is easier to take care of. I have a cast-iron pan that's the same 12-inch size as my Made In, and I've pretty much stopped using it. The Made In weighs half as much, cooks just as well, and is easier to keep nonstick. The pan ships pre-seasoned (though you can buy an unseasoned version if you really want to do it yourself), and it only gets better-seasoned with use.

Design: Sleek and Attractive

Right out of the box, the Blue Carbon Steel pan really does look blue, with a lovely shiny finish that shows off the material. That goes away as you develop the seasoning, with a mottled black color that gradually fills in the whole surface. In testing, the darker areas released foods easier, so you can literally see the pan becoming more nonstick as you use it.

The arc-shaped stainless-steel handle is quite long, giving you good leverage to pick up a pan full of food and also keeping the end of the handle well clear of the stove flames. The tall, rounded sides of the Made In give it a unique shape that's useful in multiple ways: You can use the same shaking motion you'd use with a wok for stir-frying, but there's also plenty of flat surface on the bottom for searing and browning without moving food around. The sides help keep loose items from spilling out, though their angle is wide enough that it's easy to slip a spoon or spatula in. They're also tall enough to accommodate deep- or shallow-frying, or to use the pan like a saucepan to whip up a soup or sauce, or even steam some dumplings.

Cooking: Better Than Cast Iron?

A great way to test pan's ability to transfer heat is to put it over a cranked-up burner and sear a steak. If you get smoke, sizzle, and crisp browning, you've got a good pan. Cast iron is fantastic at the sear test, and the Made In's carbon steel does just as good of a job. This pan is also completely oven-safe (and grill- and campfire-safe), able to handle temperatures of up to 1,500 degrees without damage. Combine that with a lighter weight than cast iron for ease of tossing food and moving the pan around, and you've got one pan that can do pretty much anything.

However, as with stainless steel, it's important to let this pan get nice and hot before you add food. Anything that hits a cold pan is prone to sticking, so let the thing sit over the fire for several minutes as you prep and chop and mix, and then start cooking. It might be a bit of an adjustment if you're used to nonstick cookware, but only a bit.

Cleaning and Maintenance: A Bit of a Pain

Like cast iron, carbon steel cannot go in the dishwasher, and you'll have to take good care of its seasoning layer to keep it nonstick. Made iIn says to use only plain water to scrub off residue, as soap or long soaks can strip off the seasoning layer.

In practice, however, I haven't found this pan to need quite as strict maintenance as cast iron. I make sure to clean it soon after use so food bits don't dry in place, but I have used a sponge and dish soap without ruining the seasoning. In fact, in the nine months I've owned the pan, I haven't needed to re-season it at all. Here's my secret: After washing, I dry the pan thoroughly, put it over high heat, and rub on a very thin layer of vegetable oil with a paper towel. Shut off the heat when the oil just starts to smoke and you'll get a reinforced seasoning layer every time you use the pan.

Price: Moderate, And Worth It

You can get a comparable cast iron or stainless pan for somewhat less than the Made In Blue Carbon Steel Frying Pan, but overall it's pretty reasonably priced. The small extra investment is worth the payoff in long-term performance. (Plus, the pans go on sale for a nice discount once in a while—keep an eye out!)