How are you liking your Darto pans?

Back in December, it seemed that a lot of people were putting in orders for Darto's carbon steel pans. I'll eventually be putting in an order for some and was wondering what sizes people found to be the most useful. I'm fairly sure I'll be getting their largest skillet (the No. 27) and am undecided between the smaller pans. I'm thinking that bigger is better, but am curious to hear people's experiences.

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HammeredChef_DEFINITELY_does_NOT_work_at_22134

Brandon I have the 23 and 27 and really want the big paella pan. I mostly cook for two so the 23 is fine but, I certainly wouldn't give up my 27. I have played with them on the seasoning side and for me the best way was to coat them with canola oil wipe them all over and cook it upside down on my big gas burner. An egg in these, after just a little work, will slide around like a hocky puck on ice. The only reason I kept my teflon is if I'm doing something acidic. I gave my daughter my cast iron pans, I wish I had gotten the Dartos years ago.

Rob

mendel_115066

I got 2x20, 2x23 1x27 and 1x15. I usually cook for only myself thus I use the 20 and the 23 most, but for bigger things the 27 is great. Really like them, but unlike HammeredChef still use a teflon pan for my omelettes. They are a great weight and the rivetless handle is a great idea.

mendel_115066

Haha, be careful when pluralising Darto like that...

Also, could you please go into more detail about your seasoning technique? And when you say eggs slide around, is that using an oil/fat or just straight in the pan? thanks

tshewman

I have the 23 (I think) and should have gotten the 27". I'm pleased with it so far and the maintenance isn't much different than cast iron and I personally don't find them heavy as the long handle gives the user allot of leverage. I tend to use rendered beef fat for seasoning and so far, up keep has been a breeze since. For searing I prefer the cast iron. Sauteing the Darto. Though it's not a "must have" I am very pleased with it as I use it many times a week. If you can swing it, do it. JMHO.

Brandon_Byrd_40557

Thanks for the feedback so far, everyone. I'm set on getting the 23 and the 27. I feel like anything less than 20 wouldn't get much use from me. Anyone especially loving the smaller sizes?

mike.minasian

I bought 2 27s, 1 23, and 1 20. The 23 and 20 are shockingly small. If I had to do it again, I wouldn't bother with anything but the 27s. That being said, the pans are great so far. I did a single seasoning to each, but Darto recommends 10 coats...not sure if that's necessary. The seasoning step is still a bit of a mystery to me overall. Definitely want @HammeredChef_DEFINITELY_does_NOT_work_at_22134 to weigh in, because I clearly am not an adept carbon steel seasoner.

digitaldookiez

I have only used the 27, but it is a heavy pan for me. I actually prefer it to cast iron for searing. I seem to get a much more even and nice sear, especially on fish. Perhaps my cast iron just isn't up to snuff, but I feel like the heat transfer is a lot better with the Darto pan. Even with my ugly, uneven seasoning on it, it works great and I can also cook eggs in it easily. It has become my go-to, all-around favorite pan. Let us know your thoughts when you get them!

mendel_115066

If its any help, I did my seasoning by doing 5 or so coats with very small amount of oil (TBH it doesn't matter which, it's the glycerol that polymerises, not the FAs). Eg. Coat->Heat to smoke point and continue till no smoke left -> Cool -> repeat. Then I used a lot of oil and shallow fried some stuff to finish it off. I can get an egg to move around with no added fats...

Brandon_Byrd_40557

So I broke down and ordered the 27 and 23. I'm hoping that I'll be able to get Teflon out of my kitchen once and for all. It's not that Teflon bothers me, but that synthetic nonstick pans get worse every time you use them. And before long, they'll be dead to you. Worthless. But the prospect of a non-stick surface that gets better with time and that can sear with the best of them promises to be ideal for most of my cooking needs. So I'm excited about my order.

Dat shipping tho.

Brandon_Byrd_40557

Anyone use them with induction? Most induction units generate hot spots in the pan that are directly above the induction element. You need a conductive pan to spread out the heat evenly in order to best take advantage of these burners. Cast iron doesn't heat particularly evenly. Does carbon steel?

tshewman

I have used it on my induction and it seems to suffer from the same issues as cast iron regarding heat dispersion. For searing, I prefer the traditional cast iron over the darto (in this case). I haven't done the sugar test as yet though for hot spots so take that for what it's worth.

tangma27

Let us know how it is!

Brandon_Byrd_40557

Sounds about right.

Brandon_Byrd_40557

Will do! They're already in Miami and should get to me in just a few days. Shipping's expensive, but it's apparently pretty quick.

tangma27

Yeah! Honestly Imho feel like it's prob better to throw that money spent on shipping into buying a nice pan here but I guess we'll see! Only time will tell. And you. Posting on this forum. :P

Brandon_Byrd_40557

If I'm reading the tracking information correctly, DHL is scheduled to deliver these today. Which is insane because they shipped only two days ago.

mike.minasian

Hence the really expensive shipping

Brandon_Byrd_40557

The Darto Report

Arrived in record time. First impressions: These things are heavy. These handles are burly.

Got them washed and seasoned them a few times.

The No 27 is a beast, roughly 11 inches from rim to rim. It weighs in at a hefty 4lb 11oz. The No 23 (just around 9" rim to rim) is 3lb 6.5oz. For reference, my 12" All Clad stainless skillet is 2lb, 11oz. The carbon steel is much, much heavier. Here's a shot of the three together.

The No 23 is in the foreground. It's just the right size to fry two eggs in. Breakfast would have to wait, though, because the first task is to check its searing performance. To this end, I present a massive, obscenely marbled dry aged strip steak.

Got a solid sear on all sides. Smoked out my kitchen. Basted with lots of butter, garlic, and thyme. Golden brown deliciousness all around. Basting in these pans is a real pleasure.

Then I moved the steak to a cooling rack and put it in a 200F oven until the core got up to 125F. Solid.

The pans seared very well compared with cast iron, and it heated and responded faster than cast iron typically does. Searing performance is much better than stainless clad constructions. As far as non-stick is concerned, it may be too early to say. I had no release problems at all with the steak. This morning I had a few minor issues with some fried eggs, but I imagine that these pans will be super-duper slick after a few weeks of use. As of now, they've been seasoned roughly 12 times, so they're well on their way.

All I want to do is cook eggs and sear things. So we'll see how that goes.

Final impressions: These things are heavy. They sear and release like a dream. But the handles are, perhaps, a bit too burly. They do feel great when you grab them with a side towel.

Brandon_Byrd_40557

Darto just sent an email that their international shipping costs will now be half what they were in the past. If only I'd waited two weeks... It reminds me of the time when - after years and years of wanting one - I finally got a Thermapen and then Thermoworks announced an upgraded model. D'oh!

satguymtl

Unreal shipping speed! I ordered the 27 and 23 Friday morning and DHL knocked on my door today (Wednesday) -- and the box had even been opened and inspected by Canada Customs and taped back up... Wow.

These are seriously heavy pans. The metal is quite a bit thicker than any of my Mineral B pans, and the 27 cm (11") Darto weighs a good pound more than the 12.6" De Buyer crêpe pan that had been doing searing duties as a sideline. My one niggle is that there is a small nick on the inside of the 27 at the edge of the flat cooking surface, but I suspect it's from careless re-packing at customs; when I opened the box, neither pan was inside its respective burlap bag. I'll have a go at it with some emery cloth to smooth the burr before washing and seasoning it.

Also, neither pan sits as flat on my Ceran cooktop as the French pans, but unlike with the stainless and aluminum pans I'm not too concerned as these will be my higher-heat go-to pans. I've also noticed that the flat handles have some give or "spring" to them, as they aren't cupped like the De Buyer and M'Steel pans' handles, but this won't be an issue at all.

As noted, the 27 is surprisingly not as big as I'd imagined. Here's hoping Nicolas produces a 34 cm (13") version at some point. It'll be a beast's fat mother in law, but I suspect he'll include a helper handle. Right now I can't see doing more than a couple of pieces of protein in it at one time -- forget doing a whole chicken's worth of parts.

I can't wait to get them seasoned up and working.

Vinh_Dinh_328356

Francesco, I'm planning on buying a bunch of pans for myself and some coworkers. How much were the customs charges?

satguymtl

No customs charges (Canada). Nicolas showed a value of $10 each on the export paperwork, and I guess by looking at these simple pans they had little reason to doubt it.

satguymtl

I used the Darto seasoning instructions on a Ceran stove top, with grape seed oil (fairly high smoke point). The only difference in my process was when each layer began to smoke I wiped the excess oil (the "sweat") with a paper towel to prevent high spots, which have been the usual flaking points on my DeBuyer pans. High spots have no issues on CI pans, but on smooth stamped or spun steel they flake easily. After 12 layers I was able to achieve a smooth, dark, satiny coat from edge to edge with no high spots.

My first test is always omelettes (omelets?), even though the recommended approach is to continue cooking oily or fatty foods for the first while. I used the ATK recipe (2 whole, 1 yolk, whole milk, salt and pepper), heated the pan for one minute on medium before adding 7 g of clari. When the clari bubbled, I added the egg mix and lowered the heat to medium-low, and threw in the the fillings other than cheese. I agitated the mixture briefly with a fork, then checked the edges. Using a silicone spoonula I lifted all the way around and the batter began to slide around on its own. The 27 is heavy and I had trouble getting the wrist action for a good flip. I used the spoonula instead (a couple of days later I made it in the 23 and it flipped perfectly; the shape of the curve is somewhere between AllClad's skillet and French skillet shapes, and is perfect for me), topped with cheese, folded and plated. It was better than any omelette I've made in NS or SS pans, and easier than in any CI or the DeBuyer pans.

The only tiny issue I have is they are not perfectly flat, so they tend to spin a bit on a smooth cook top. However, these pans are definitely thicker than the DeBuyer Mineral B (3mm) pans. I don't have a way to measure the bottoms, but my callipers show the sides at 3.8 mm, and they seemed to heat very evenly with no uneven pooling of the oil.

Overall these will be very handy in my simple kitchen, a definite complement to the SS, NS anodized and enamelled CI pans.

Vinh_Dinh_328356

Got my pans after 3 days crazy shipping! Wasn't too impressed by customs handling my pans. I also noticed there were a lot of burrs on my pans which I need to clean up. What I'm most worried about is that they're not perfectly flat like my de buyer pan. Did you find this to be an issue? Other than that they look great, just waiting to clean them up before I use them

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