Matfer Bourgeat 11-7/8" Carbon Steel Fry Pan Review: The French Pan Chefs Won't Replace
If you've ever stood next to a line cook hammering out 40 covers a night, the pan in their hand was probably this one. The Matfer Bourgeat 062005 — French-made, 3mm thick, plain black steel — is the kind of cookware that earns its keep one sear at a time. Bottom line: it's an exceptional pan if you'll commit to seasoning it and keep it dry. It's a frustrating purchase if you wanted "nonstick" out of the box.
What you're actually buying
This is Matfer Bourgeat's model 062005: an 11-7/8" round carbon steel skillet (close enough to "12 inch" for shopping purposes) with a riveted iron handle and a roughly 3mm thick body. The cooking surface is about 9.5 inches — usable space drops because of the sloped sides, which is normal for any fry pan. It's induction-compatible, oven-safe to high temperatures, and has no coating to scratch, peel, or off-gas.
Out of the box, the pan ships with a thin protective wax that has to be scrubbed off before first use. After that, it needs to be seasoned — meaning you bake or sauté thin layers of oil onto the surface to build up a natural nonstick patina over time. There is no shortcut. The 062004 (11-inch) and 062003 (10-1/4-inch) variants are the same design at smaller sizes if 11-7/8" is more pan than your stove can handle.
Performance and real-world use
Matfer Bourgeat has been Cook's Illustrated's top-pick carbon steel skillet since their 2015 test, and held the spot through the 2018 retest. The reasons hold up in normal kitchens too. The 3mm body retains heat aggressively without the warping you can get on cheaper carbon steel, and it gets ripping hot fast — you can sear a steak the way you'd sear it in cast iron, but with less weight and a more responsive handle.
Once seasoned (and the seasoning genuinely takes weeks of regular use to mature), eggs slide. Not Teflon-slide, but close enough that you stop thinking about it. Fond builds beautifully for pan sauces, and unlike nonstick the pan welcomes high heat, deglazing, and the occasional metal spatula. The steel handle is comfortable bare-handed at moderate heat but gets dangerously hot when the pan goes in the oven — a folded towel or silicone sleeve becomes a permanent kitchen reflex.
Maintenance is where the relationship gets honest. The pan cannot live in the dishwasher, cannot sit wet, and cannot soak. Hot water, a stiff brush, dry immediately, wipe with a film of oil, done. Skip a drying step and you'll find a rust freckle the next morning. Strip the seasoning with a tomato sauce simmer and you'll be back to slightly-sticky eggs for a week.
- Cook's Illustrated's #1 carbon steel pick across multiple tests — a track record few pans match
- Heavy 3mm gauge holds heat like cast iron but with a flatter, more responsive cooking surface
- Once seasoned, develops genuine nonstick performance for eggs, fish skin, and crepes
- No coating to wear out — properly cared for, it's a generational pan
- Induction-compatible and oven-safe at high temperatures, including under a broiler
- Significantly lighter than comparable cast iron at the same size
- Seasoning is a real chore: protective wax has to be scrubbed off, then multiple seasoning rounds before the pan performs
- Steel handle gets searingly hot — a glove or towel is mandatory, not optional
- Rusts quickly if left wet or stored damp; tomato, wine, or lemon-heavy dishes can strip the seasoning
- No helper handle at this size; an 11-7/8" pan full of food is a wrist workout
- "Made in France" pricing — significantly more than a Lodge carbon steel skillet that performs comparably once seasoned
Cooks who already use cast iron and want something flatter, lighter, and more responsive. Anyone learning restaurant-style searing, omelets, or fond-building pan sauces. Buyers who think of cookware as a 20-year purchase and don't mind a maintenance ritual.
Anyone hoping for plug-and-play nonstick — buy a quality PTFE-coated pan instead. People who routinely cook tomato sauces, wine reductions, or citrus-heavy dishes in their main fry pan. Anyone who can't commit to drying and re-oiling the pan every single time it's washed; the rust will arrive within days.
The Matfer Bourgeat 062005 is the right answer if the question is "what carbon steel pan will outlast me?" — and the wrong answer if the question is "how do I make eggs less annoying tomorrow morning?" Worth the higher price over Lodge or generic carbon steel mainly for the heavier gauge and flat warp-resistant base. **4.5/5** — half a point off only for how much patience the seasoning curve demands.
Sources
- Matfer Bourgeat 11-7/8" Round Frying Pan — Cook's Illustrated #1 Fry Pan (Cook's Direct)
- Matfer Bourgeat Carbon Steel Skillet Review (The Kitchn)
- The Black Carbon Steel Guide (Matfer Bourgeat USA)
- I Love My Carbon-Steel Skillet — Why Did I Wait Five Years to Season It (America's Test Kitchen)
- Matfer Carbon Steel Pan Review — Is it better than Cast Iron? (Curated Cook)