One of the best parts of being outdoors in warm weather is open-fire cooking. Whether you’re in your backyard, at the beach, or camping out, there is nothing better than the aromas of smoke mixed with the smell of fresh air. It’s essential to use the right tools when cooking outside. You need a pan that can handle high heat and deliver even cooking while also being light enough to maneuver or carry.

Now you might be thinking to yourself, “why do I need to place a pan over a grill?” One of the most common occurrences when grilling is uneven heating. A very common saying is “know your grill,” meaning that you should know where the grill is at its hottest and coldest. However, when you place a pan on your grill, it acts as a centralized heating component, resulting in even heating and perfect sears. Additionally, using a pan keeps all of the juices in the pan while also adding the additional flavor of smoke and flame. So which pans are best to use?

Stay Away from Cast Iron

While cast iron pans may seem like the right choice, they’re way too heavy to be lugging around, and their uneven heating can cause your food to burn in a matter of seconds if you aren’t paying attention. We prefer to use carbon steel cookware.

The Perfect Pan for your Grill

is the ultimate choice for outdoor cooking. Carbon steel is lightweight and heats up evenly and quickly. It can also handle heat up to 1200F, making it the perfect choice for open-fire cooking. With seasoning built up over time, carbon steel cookware can also achieve non stick qualities and is safe to use on any surface, whether you’re grilling over a charcoal grill, gas grill, or open-fire. And with Made In’s variety of carbon steel pieces, you can cook anything you want on a grill this summer. 

Frying Pans

Using a

keeps small ingredients from falling through the grates, looking at you asparagus, shrimp, radishes, onions, and shishito peppers. With the ability to use a frying pan on the grill, you can tackle all cooking tasks in one place. Plus, it gives your grill another type of surface, in addition to the grill grates. You can sautée peppers and onions in your frying pan while using the grill to cook your sausages and toast your buns. Or you can sear scallops in your frying pan and grill corn on the grates. The possibilities are endless, and since frying pans have handles, you have a lot more maneuverability.

Paella Pans (Aka Plancha Pan)

are a fantastic tool to have while cooking outdoors. Not only are they perfect for paella (duh), but they also serve as a great plancha, creating a hot flat surface perfect for making smash burgers, sautéeing vegetables, rendering bacon, and cooking eggs. The flat surface and shallow walls of a paella pan allow for easy flipping, too, giving you more accessibility on a grill than you’ve ever had. 

This summer, turn to carbon steel cookware for outdoor cooking. It’s ability to respond to changes in temperature, get super hot, and act as a centralized heating component make it the perfect summer pan. Whether you’re making smash burgers on your paella pan, charring shishitos in your 10” frying pan, or basting a ribeye in your 12” frying pan, carbon steel will help deliver endless meals with no hassle.