Chef Skillet Worth It?

S

SteveT

Member
Is a chef skillet sufficiently useful to be worth hunting down a BSR chef skillet? I was looking at the Lodges for sale in Walmart today, and thought they might be useful, because of the bowl-shape. Tonight, I found a BSR chef skillet on the forum, and since I'm a BSR guy...the hunt may be on.

Any input?

Merry Christmas,
Steve
 
I have one.

The answer depends on how you cook. If you like to use utensils on a stationary pan, it doesn't really add much value.

But if you like to pick up the pan and toss the things being sautéed by using the technique where you "shake" the pan, the chef skillet is much better shaped for that. It's also surprisingly light for CI of its era.
 
Up front you should know my comments come from a user and not a collector. As I see it, the advantage of a chef skillet is that the shape of the sides allows you to "flip" whatever you're sauteing/frying. I don't want to do that with the weight of a cast iron skillet so for me, a cast iron chef skillet is not "worth it." Having said that, they seem to be very popular and on the want or must have list for a lot of folks.
 
I use my BSR chef skillet for flipping up to two eggs or a pan full of vegetables at a time and it works well for me. I don't find the chefs pan too heavy. And I like the fact that I don't have to wash a spatula.
 
Weight/size rules. If I’m going to do 2 lbs. of home fries in a size #8 skillet, it’s time to pass on the CI and out comes the copper. My comfort and fun points stop at 4 1/2 to 5 lbs. combined weight of iron and food. My #7 BSR comes in at a little over 4 lbs. empty. I suspect the chef skillet is close.

I'm probably older than Todd.

Hilditch
 
I didn't realize BSR made chef skillets. I've never seen one and I've actually searched for chef skillets quite a bit on eBay. I've never pulled the trigger due to relatively high prices and questionable condition I've received on the few pieces I have purchased from eBay.

Question about the prices: Are the chef's skillets that uncommon that they command a seeming premium over similarly sized skillets? Just curious to know anyone thoughts about what is reasonable if I see one in my travels. And are there any that are actually considered collectable? Most of them I've seen seem to be made after what would generally be considered collectable.

Thanks!
 
I picked up one a couple of weeks ago for $14. My daughter is a BSR girl. For that price, it was worth it to add to her user collection.
 
Thanks all for the input. I'm looking at this more from a user perspective than as a collector - the BSR chef skillets were made in the 70s/80s, I believe, so not truly collectibles. I also wonder how smooth the cooking surface would be, since this is well after BSR automated, compared to the modern Lodges (clearly, they won't be like Red Mountain skillets!). It has been months since I added anything to my accumulation of users, so I sorta have "the itch," I'm looking for a Red Mountain #3 and now a chef skillet.

http://www.modemac.com/cgi-bin/wiki.pl/Special_Pans_by_Birmingham_Stove_and_Range seems to have the most info about them.

My cooking technique involves a stationary skillet and a spatula, so that's something to think about. While I'm hunting a BSR chef skillet, maybe I can work on technique with other pans. In my mid-40s, the weight of a CI skillet & contents hasn't been an issue for me...yet.

The newly made Lodges I saw at WallyWorld were also $14, if that helps to "scope" the price question.

Thanks again for the input - I'm amazed how many responses this question received, in short order!
Steve
 
SteveT said:
I also wonder how smooth the cooking surface would be, since this is well after BSR automated, compared to the modern Lodges (clearly, they won't be like Red Mountain skillets!).
Click to expand...

They did grind down the cooking surface to be smooth, despite the era. The surface is not as nicely refined as my RMs, you can see some of the grinding traces, but it is certainly much smoother than an unfinished surface.

In comparison I have a BSR Square Skillet from about the same timeframe that is thick, heavy, and rough-surfaced like a modern piece. So they did some extra steps with the Chef Skillet.

If you'd like, I'll weigh mine the next time I have a chance. I do remember it being lighter than my comparably-sized old RM #8, though.

EDIT: If you're interested, here's the thread where I posted my chef skillet when I first got it, starting with post #2. I don't mention the actual weight but I did say it was a full pound lighter than the #8...
http://www.castironcollector.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4156
 
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I have a BSR 10 chef skillet, see pics below. It's cooking surface is smooth as glass, it weights approximately 3 lbs 10 oz. I use it most weekends for cooking all kinds of eggs which don't stick to the pan using very little butter. The cooking surface is the same quality as my Wagner chef skillets, 1386 (3 lbs 2 oz) and 1384 (2 lbs 2.5 oz), which where made circa1930's. You can't beat the quality of a BSR Chef skillet as a user. You won't be disappointed. I started practicing flipping my eggs in the chef skillet over the sink. That way if I had a bad flip, the clean up was easy!
 

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Julia Child's tip for learning the technique is to put some dried beans in a skillet then go outside and practice until you can flip them without spilling any.
 
Cool timing with this thread, I'm in the process of restoring one now. I do want to chime in mainly to say that not *all* of them have the ground cook surface, mine is ever so slightly pebbly inside and out and it's not rust pitting. I'm anxious to get it seasoned up and try out this cast iron chef skillet flip method! I passed one up last winter that had the ground surface and when I went back to get it hours later it was gone... And oh yeah, mine has only "MADE IN USA" on the bottom.

-Mark
 
MBrehon said:
Cool timing with this thread, I'm in the process of restoring one now. I do want to chime in mainly to say that not *all* of them have the ground cook surface, mine is ever so slightly pebbly inside and out and it's not rust pitting. I'm anxious to get it seasoned up and try out this cast iron chef skillet flip method! I passed one up last winter that had the ground surface and when I went back to get it hours later it was gone... And oh yeah, mine has only "MADE IN USA" on the bottom.

-Mark
Click to expand...

Are you sure it's BSR and not Lodge?
 
MBrehon said:
Cool timing with this thread, I'm in the process of restoring one now. I do want to chime in mainly to say that not *all* of them have the ground cook surface, mine is ever so slightly pebbly inside and out and it's not rust pitting.
-Mark
Click to expand...

Thanks again for all the feedback on this thread. Today I took a little time to go through an antique mall, where I found some way overpriced iron, and a RM 3 which was acceptably overpriced, and will hit the lye on Tues (that's been on my list for a while!). There was also a BSR chef skillet, but for $30 I figured it was a) too much and b) if they're that available that I found one at the first place I stopped, wait for a less expensive example. I THINK the one I saw today was a #9 chef skillet, but wouldn't argue about it. Should have taken pics, but I was on the phone at the time....guess that's a good reason for no distracted iron hunting :)
With my luck, it'll be years before I see another, at any price!

Thanks again, and especially for the tips on learning to flip!
Steve
 
SteveT said:
Thanks again for all the feedback on this thread. Today I took a little time to go through an antique mall, where I found some way overpriced iron, and a RM 3 which was acceptably overpriced, and will hit the lye on Tues (that's been on my list for a while!). There was also a BSR chef skillet, but for $30 I figured it was a) too much and b) if they're that available that I found one at the first place I stopped, wait for a less expensive example. I THINK the one I saw today was a #9 chef skillet, but wouldn't argue about it. Should have taken pics, but I was on the phone at the time....guess that's a good reason for no distracted iron hunting :)
With my luck, it'll be years before I see another, at any price!

Thanks again, and especially for the tips on learning to flip!
Steve
Click to expand...

BSR only made the Chef Skillet in one size, 10". They didn't use the legacy stove-eye numbers for that one.

I agree, if you're patient you can likely find one for under $30.

Happy hunting...
 
Why not look into carbon steel pans? Lighter, similar material and cost effective. When looking at carbon steel, check out restaurant suppliers as they have much better pricing than retail, and most that i see, don't have requirements of a business license in order to purchase. This is in the Atlanta area.
 
G, It is a totally different cooking experience using a steel pan verses cast iron. Sort of like the difference between driving or riding in a Chevy Volt verses a Bentley Mulsanne.

Hilditch
 
Yes, most restaurant suppliers will sell to the general public if they have a storefront and customers are walk-in; it's not just your locale.

My only carbon steel pan is a 14" wok but I use it nearly as often as my CI. I don't necessarily agree with the Chevy vs. Bentley comparison, but I will agree that the cooking techniques for the two materials is fairly different.

The both have their pros and cons - carbon steel is thinner and lighter, much more resistant to thermal shock (warping and cracking), and more quickly adjusts to changes of burner temps. While CI retains heat better and cooks better from radiated heat, as opposed to conducted heat (the contact between the skillet surface and the food).

There's room for both in a kitchen. But if one is looking to use CI's properties with a chef's skillet's technique, this is a great pan. I'm quite happy with mine, and it was my #2 suggestion to Stargazer in response to their question of which additional pans one would like to see them make.
 
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