- Another day, another gadget.
Today we're testing the Butter Pat Cast Iron for $195.
Like, super luxury.
Compared to the Lodge at $30.
So here it is, this is the Butter Pat.
It doesn't look like your normal cast iron,
like the Lodge.
And I love the Lodge, I love this,
and it's affordable, it's amazing, it doesn't stain.
This is your standard cast iron, like, what you think of.
It's super super black.
With the Butter Pat it's like this beautiful,
like, off-black.
Also the texture is a little bit different.
It's very smooth, whereas this one you definitely know,
the texture is a little bit coarse.
Right off the bat, very different.
So, why is this pan,
like, five times more expensive than this?
Three different tests today.
We're gonna text for evenness,
with our flour test, my favorite thing in the world.
Of course we're testing steak,
because for my perfect steak it's always cast iron.
And my favorite thing ever
to make with a cast iron, fried rice.
One of the things about cast iron is that
rust is a big problem.
You have to season it right,
and you have to sort of learn how to use a cast iron.
But today we're gonna see how well it's pre-seasoned,
and we're gonna test it straight out of the box.
For our 1st test, it's our flour test.
So we're gonna start with the Lodge.
We're gonna use a controlled heat with the Breville,
because it gets super hot.
Alright, so it's on.
Just want an even layer of flour on the bottom of the pan.
Yup, it's a little uneven.
The middle is, for sure,
heating up a lot quicker than the edges.
It didn't pass the test.
Dude, I think it's pretty even.
Compared to the Lodge, where it was, like,
a very clear distinct middle burn.
Okay, I see it finally getting some color.
It looks like it wants to be
a little bit more even than the Lodge.
Alright, this looks done.
So, flour test, it looks like the Butter Pat
did a little bit better job than the Lodge.
So I think that I'm gonna go with the Butter Pat
for the flour test.
Okay, next test will be our steak.
Just to make sure that this is super even,
we're gonna blast this in a 500 degree oven
for about 10 minutes to get it ripping hot,
and then we'll time it exactly,
back on the stove put our steaks on,
and see who does a better searing job.
It's been 10 minutes, pans are in the oven,
500 degrees, getting ripping hot.
We're gonna put it on two burners at the same heat,
and sear the steaks for three minutes and check 'em out.
Alright, here we go.
So we're just gonna slightly oil these guys.
Oh, look at that smoke.
Oh, wow, you can immediately feel, it feels very different.
This one's super smooth.
Okay, so our steaks, seasoning with just some salt.
So we'll put these down exactly at the same time.
And I'm just patting them down
so we can ensure that there's no air pockets.
And then three minutes.
So guys, it's been three minutes.
I mean, I dunno, they're like pretty dead even.
Let's do the other side, why not?
Okay, three minutes on the other side.
How's that look?
Dead even, it does its thing.
With this test I think it's almost dead even.
I mean, it both created that beautiful crust on both sides.
So, I think that it's just a dead tie right now,
at this point.
Okay guys, so we saw our steaks sear nicely.
So we're gonna move on to my favorite thing ever,
fried rice in a cast iron.
So, the greatest thing about these fried rice dishes
on the cast iron is that beautiful crust
that it forms on the bottom.
That's what really makes fried rice for me.
Testing the functionality of a dish that I do everyday
I think is very important.
The fried rice with the fried egg,
it's gonna be the perfect test for this.
So, I do wanna mention, with the Butter Pat,
after searing the steaks we cleaned the pan,
and it left a mark, and it won't go away.
So I feel like over time, this definitely,
will change in color and feel.
Which is fine as long as it's doing the job.
But it's a little sad, because it was very beautiful.
Okay, so, fried rice.
We're gonna sear the meat 1st,
then we'll do the vegetables, then the rice,
and then the last part of it will be the eggs,
and if the egg sticks you have a bad cast iron.
We'll see how it goes.
Alright, so a little bit of oil.
We'll add the steak.
Season each layer generously.
I mean, at this point,
there's not really that much of a difference.
This is nicely seared,
so at this point I'm gonna take out my steak,
and do my vegetables.
I'll add my veggies.
I'm just gonna let this cook a little bit,
and then we'll add the rice.
So, a little trick, when I add the rice
I like to scoot my vegetables to one side.
And we'll add the rice.
And then we'll go ahead and add the vegetables.
This is a little weird,
because the top of my pan with this Butter Pat is,
like, not sticking at all,
but then the bottom is, like, really really sticky.
So it's like, kind of, like, unevenly seasoned.
Alright, so I'm gonna add my meat back at this point.
I'll add a little bit of seasoning with soy sauce.
Tiny bit of sesame oil.
Smells so good.
Yeah, this one, I mean, it's sticking,
and then, kind of crusty thing forming.
I mean, this is not a bad thing.
I think the crust is good, but it's sticking.
Very sticky on the bottom.
I want it to slowly crust up.
So you can see that crust forming,
and actually, this is not sticking that much.
It's pretty good.
The Lodge is killing it.
I mean it's not sticking very much,
and it formed a nice crispy crust.
If this is worth $200 it better be, like, sliding off.
I mean, it's doing a good job,
but definitely, it's very sticky.
But actually the crust looks very good on this.
You know what, we'll do the egg, we're gonna scramble it,
you could do it fried or either or,
but with a scramble you'll be able to see
how much the egg's actually sticking.
And I like to just, like,
pop it in here and scramble it in the pan.
Alright, when I go like that you see,
you see this sticking,
creating this weird thin egg layer.
The Butter Pat, you know what, it's weird,
certain areas it is forming that,
and in certain areas it's not forming it.
On the edge of the Butter Pat it's not happening,
but right where that middle is.
But this one it's, like,
definitely happening all throughout the pan.
So, when you learn how to clean the Butter Pat it might be,
like, a better result.
At this point there's, like,
certain areas where the steak was cooking that's creating,
like, this really weird, like, sticking action.
Also, mind you, these pans are brand new.
So it just takes awhile to, like,
really break it in, and season a cast iron.
So that could be our fault,
but we cleaned them the exact same way.
Alright, so you can that this egg is still stuck
on the bottom of the Lodge.
Let's check this guy.
Yeah, and with this one, still sticky, it's not seasoned.
Okay, so these are done.
We saw that,
maybe, there was slightly more sticking
of the egg action going here,
than the Butter Pat but I think it's, like, very similar.
And it had more to do with seasoning of the pan in between,
than the actual pan itself.
I feel like the brand really didn't matter that much.
Cast iron is cast iron, right?
Lodge is awesome, because it's just,
it's a workhorse, it, like, does the deed.
Nothing really wrong with it, it's cast iron.
The Butter Pat, a little bit fancier, there's, like,
more seasoning and coating on it right out of the box.
But really, I don't think that there is
much of a difference,
especially compared at a price point at 200 versus 30.
So, in conclusion,
the Butter Pat may look a little bit fancier,
and maybe for a really nice gift for someone it's great.
But for your 1st cast iron pan I would recommend a Lodge
just because of the price point.
It's not the same price, so, it's up to you.
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