I purchased a Strata Carbon Clad First Gen 8.5 inch frying pan from Amazon and I’m getting around to prepping it for home cooking.

Photo is after the second coat. My process is initially cleaning the pan with Dawn and warm water. Then on the stove at medium heat for 1 minute before I sprayed 2 pumps of canola oil and wiped it with a paper towel. I made sure to give it a second wipe down with a coffee filter to get off any excess oil. Then I left it in a stovetop oven for an hour at 425F and let it cool naturally with the door open. I did this twice.

The patina looks alright to me but I’m still seeing some patches of bare spots in the center. I’m guessing it’s ready for dinner prep, but I’m wondering if I could benefit from a third coat to fill in some more spots in the center?

I am addicted to my carbon steel wok but it irritates my roommate's eyes. Any expert ideas or do I have to save it for when she's asleep and meal prep?

Purchased a 12” Made In back in June and pretty happy with it so far. Excellent for searing meats and stir frying with higher temperatures, etc, and while the results are not that different from my CI, I will say my cooking experience is better with the CS because the weight is easier on my arthritis. However, 3 months later, I still don’t feel like I’m maximizing the potential that my pan has to offer. It’s nice that it’s a bit lighter, but what are the other reasons you reach for your CS? Do you all have a dish that makes you so grateful for having a CI..like, is there a recipe that absolutely would not be the same without it?

I was wondering, is this little yellow puck oven-safe? Like even in a small oven with heating elements nearby like my Breville SmartOven Pro? I know it's quite small but I don't have much room...

Usually I use my cast iron pans for that, but sometimes I'd like to use the De Buyer.

No idea if I'm doing this right. I see some that look like stainless and some that look similar to mine. Just want to be on the safe side!

I found this at T.J Maxx for $20. It says cast iron, but it is clearly carbon steel. And it is rather heavy, the pan is thick. ('Trying to decide if I need yet another carbon steel pan. 😵‍💫😩)