Swapped my cast iron for carbon steel last month, total game changer on the line

I used to baby my cast iron pans like they were my first born, seasoning them after every service and getting paranoid about someone scraping them with a metal spatula. Then my sous chef in Austin showed up with a carbon steel pan and let me run it on a busy Friday night. It's lighter, heats up way faster, and honestly the non-stick surface after a good season is borderline magical. I made the full switch for my station about 3 weeks ago, and I haven't looked back. The only thing I miss is that deep sear on a thick ribeye, carbon steel just doesn't hold heat quite the same for that. Anyone else made this swap, or do you stick with cast iron for certain dishes? I'm still figuring out which pans should go where for different cuts.

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sarah_brown19h ago

Swap half the station over last month myself. Love that carbon steel for fish and veg, it just responds so quick. But I kept one lodge pan under the pass for thick cuts. Nothing beats that iron for a serious ribeye crust. Different tools, different jobs.