DARTO pans

[rotuts]

Ive bought a DARTO pan, which was mentioned in the Sales thread by

 

@btbyrd  

 

thought Id mention it here and perhaps not everyone follows the sale thread.  the sale is free shipping from Argentina world-wide  I think now until

 

Dec 30

 

here is my pan , the 54 USD pan , the # 23

 

http://www.darto.org/US/

 

it left Argentina Dec 21 at 14:38  took in Miami for a few minutes , checked out Cincinnati briefly  (   ) got to BOS and my door step just now :

 

 

and

 

 

I wanted to use the pan on both the gas burner but also the Burton induction plate.

 

the pan weighs in at 1,510 grams.  the handle as you can see is not ' slim ' but I have a large hand  (   )

 

this is clearly designed to be a work horse  

 

Im looking for ward to carefully seasoning it with Flax oil etc

 

I need another pan like I need more holes in my head , considering its winter  Im fortunate to have a large selection of 3.5 mm French Copper

 

and other interesting pans.

 

Im extremely pleased I hit ' return '

 

how I have to call them from my flip phone as they sent it to me even though their  MC option was not working when I placed the order

 

Im severely allergic to PayPal.

 

Im pleased.  and I only got one size ! 

 

 

 

Edited December 23, 2016 by rotuts (log)

[boilsover]

I like the integral handle and thickness.  The only other maker I'm aware doing similar handles is the guy in Australia.

 

Interested in your use report.

[TicTac]

Maybe it's the light, but the color of the steel seems very black....is there a coating on it?

 

I recently did some research (in fact spurred by the deal on the Darto) and ended up with a Matfer Bourgeat black steel (carbon steel) pan.  Got very high reviews and very similar design (though the steel looks different).

 

Identical handles, almost.

[rotuts]

I don't think there is a coating on it that determines its color, but I can't really say.

 

on the sale thread

 

@btbyrd  

 

posted 2 U-Tubes

 

im not going to be able to use it before Dec 30 , as I do not have large oven to fully season it.

 

I might have to do it on the gas BarBee.

 

the color is a dark grey to black id say.

 

this is a very substantial pan.  pick up something that 1.5 Kg and look at the dimensions.

 

 

[rustwood]

Just this morning I discovered that the grip from an old Calphalon skillet fits my Darto number 23 perfectly (3rd party, but similar to this).  Also, somewhat similar to the ATK recommendation, I found the following technique from these seasoning instructions was very effective:

 

Quote

The final thing I do for skillets after seasoning is to cook some "throw-away" eggs in olive oil. Scrape them around the entire bottom of the skillet with a good stainless steel spatula.  ... The eggs will stick at first. Scour the skillet with kosher salt and oil. Repeat two or three more times. After that you’ll find the eggs slide around like teflon.

 

Worked like a charm for me.

 

 

[rotuts]

I pulled out my Micrometer  :

 

the DARTO pan is 3.5 mm  thick throughout.

 

Im wondering if I should season the handle also ?

 

certainly not the bottom.  however , after use it will be completely dried on the stove top

 

still , summer in the BOS kitchen is humid , having no Factory Air  by choice.

[rotuts]

looking up the  Matfer Bourgeat black steel pan on Amazon

 

the DARTO pad and the 9.5 "  Matfer Bourgeat black steel are similarly priced and see smilier in weight

 

w/o the free shipping  this pan might be twice the price

 

the Matfer Bourgeat black steel has rivets  this one does not.

 

Im guessing you can send the Amazon pan back , probably not this one.

 

I think the Amazon Matfer Bourgeat black steel  has a handle that's not quite as wide as this one , but that;s a guess.

[TicTac]

The MB that I got, the rivets are inlay-ed with the steel pan so it is a flat surface.  Quite well done actually.

 

Handles aside, plan on a 'handle condom' (for lack of better term - perhaps I should TM that!) or as I do, a thick kitchen cloth. 

 

These beasties (I got a 12 inch) are heavy - But I like 'em like that!

 

 

Edited December 23, 2016 by TicTac (log)

[rotuts]

Tools you Respect

 

and take good care of

[btbyrd]

I have the full set of Darto pans and like them a lot. I also have a larger Matfer coming as a Christmas present (because sometimes you need 12.75" for searing extra big things like roasts). I like the Dartos quite a bit. Like many, I learned about them from ChefSteps where they were used in a pan sauce video a while ago. There are a bunch of threads on these pans over on the ChefSteps forums, including a number of recent ones from people like Rotuts who picked up pans with the free shipping offer. My favorite aspect is the single-piece construction that eliminates rivets. I HATE cleaning around rivets... they never seem to get completely clean. I'm glad the Matfer has sanded/finished rivets so that it will be easier to clean.

 

As for seasoning, I always do it on the stovetop by burning off a very thin layer of oil and wiping down as the oil starts smoking. I follow the ATK/CI method of initial seasoning for new carbon steel pans of cooking potato peels with a lot of oil and copious amounts of kosher salt. After that, it's the stovetop oil method. I find that doing it in the oven can leave a spotty finish, even if I wipe the layer of oil very, very thin. Others apparently have luck with that, but I don't. The Darto pans come semi-pre-seasoned with that black layer of finish that makes them resemble cast iron. They still need to be properly seasoned, but the initial base layer gives the pans an attractive and uniform "black all over" look that I like. I bought my first two pans without the free shipping, and the price of getting them to me was as much as one of the pans. The free shipping offer is worth taking advantage of if you're looking for some carbon steel. The pans are quite heavy, and the handles quite broad (which might be an issue if you have small hands). I have smallish hands, but find them a pleasure to grab with a side towel. 

 

The small pan is really quite small, but it can be useful for cooking smaller items and toasting spices if you have a bunch of other big stuff on the stovetop. The handle can heat up quickly if you use it on higher heat, but that's to be expected since it's rather short. The 15cm size is a "maybe" for me, but the rest of them are in constant rotation. The 20cm pan is just the right size for frying two eggs and having them come out in a perfect connected circle. The 23 and 27 immediately became good friends. They sear almost as well as cast iron and have good nonstick performance with very little fat. I reach for them much more often than my All Clads for most cooking tasks, though I wouldn't want to be without quality stainless.

 

[gfweb]

I have a Matfer that is the most used pan I have. Its at least as slick as Teflon and indestructible.

 

Only downside it that if you let it get hotter than you want, it doesn't cool off as fast as aluminum will when the heat is lowered.

[Jon Savage]

I love the design. Considering one of the most loved pans in our household (cast iron) aside is in fact a black steel paella pan that gets a whole lot of use besides its intended purpose I simply had to  just order one of these pans in 27 CM. I'll report back in a week or so.

[rotuts]

@btbyrd 

 

That's good to know.  ill start soon on the stovetop w my flax oil,  do you coat the handle ?

[CookTek]

I also need new pans like a hole in the head! 

 

I have a full complement of All Clad stainless, a boatload of cast iron, one carbon steel Matfer black, and recently picked up the Darto 20.  I love it, so also ordered the 23 and 27 to take advantage of the free shipping.  Like a previous poster mentioned, I just break in my iron by sacrificing a few eggs (or potato skins) by deep frying them for a while till they turn crumbly, then wipe clean with a paper towel.  Done.

 

Really dig the Darto, it has a serious utilitarian look about it, and it performs superbly.  Making the high heat / 10 second French omelette is effortless.  Using a bit of clarified butter, no sticky, only slidey.  I like the curved lip slope for easy tossing / sauteing, and love the weight / balance.  Kick ass single piece, seamless handle.  No rivets, no welds.

 

The handle can get a tad warm, so I either use a side towel or an Ove glove.  I've slipped on silicon handles on my Lodge pans, but I don't want to cover up the "Darto" name on these babies.  

 

I love 'em and am glad I found Darto before picking up more Matfer or Mauviel carbon steel.  

 

 

 

[scubadoo97]

14 hours ago, rotuts said:

@btbyrd 

 

That's good to know.  ill start soon on the stovetop w my flax oil,  do you coat the handle ?

I have not seen the handle temp go much over 120f when on the stove top over a high flame

 

i did coat the handles when using the oven method 

[btbyrd]

You don't really need to season the handle. Whatever the black pre-seasoning is is robust enough to prevent rusting.... Not that you'd want to leave it sitting wet or anything, but it's effectively preseasoned for rust-prevention purposes. If you're going to season it in the oven for whatever reason, there's no reason not to go ahead and do the handle too.

[rotuts]

@btbyrd

 

your potato skin / oil / salt   and rubbing removes the pre seasoning layer well enough ?

[btbyrd]

It doesn't remove it (if you're talking about the black layer of pre-seasoning) but it's not really supposed to. I gave the pans a quick wash in hot soapy water, then did the peels/salt/oil scrub to soak up whatever is allegedly on there. I don't know how necessary the step is, but it's recommended by ATK/CI as well as Matfer, so I figured it couldn't hurt.

[btbyrd]

The No. 27 is bigger than I thought. I just put an epic pre-sear on a 3-bone rib roast and it performed flawlessly. So nonstick there was basically zero cleanup. Baller.

 

Before:

 

 

 

After:

 

[rotuts]

DARTO has a nice vid :

 

http://www.darto.org/videos/

 

no potato skins.  detergent not soap .  and they do the bottom.

 

10 times .

[Anna N]

And they are using corn oil?

[rotuts]

can't say , they don't say.  Ill have to D/L that catchy tune, though .

 

Ooops  they so at the end  :  corn or sunflower oil

Edited December 26, 2016 by rotuts (log)

[Anna N]

Yeah. I thought so but I couldn't get the English captions to work, if they even exist, and my Spanish is not a tad better than my Mandarin. 

[adey73]

 

what do I do with carbon build-ups?

 

scrap them off or apply oil over them?

 

(am loving the sear they provide)

Edited December 29, 2016 by adey73 (log)

[TicTac]

adey - has that pan been seasoned?