Reviews of Mr. Bar-B-Q Cast-Iron Wok

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $29.99
Sale Price: $29.09
Today's Bonus: 3% Off

February, 2012 Update: Still love this. Our is more non-stick than Teflon at this point. Recommended it to a butcher at our local grocery store several months ago; he uses it several times a week and thinks it works great.

Note that we are now using a glass-top stove. Because this is so heavy, it does not slide around, minimizing the scratching that can occasionally occur. Fortunately, the heat gets conducted and distributed just fine with electric, but we are saving up to get a gas stove with a big flame, and I think this will really begin to shine at that point

Original review follows:

My wife and I love this wok and use it every day. The cast iron is easy to take care of and distributes the heat very well. The feature we really like is the true "wok shape." What I mean is the shape is like a bowl within the wok, but the bottom is flat for resting on our electric stove. (And it sits VERY steadily because of the weight!) This really produces good results with all kinds of stir-frying--no sticking and quickly, evenly cooked dishes.

I have to say that before we were using the Joan Chen carbon steel. I got uncomfortable with the way (even after a year) it kept rusting even when oiled, always leaving a thick residue of oxide on paper towels when we wiped the pan. I figured this was going into our food. The new cast iron wok is just like a cast iron skillet: it really doesn't throw off a lot of oxide when cared for properly.

A few tips: scrub like crazy with good stainless steel or brass before using it the first time, then boil some soapy water in it and repeat. This gets rid of the machine oil used for shipping. (Good instructions are included.)

After the first several uses, rubbing the inside down with oil and then heating the wok in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes will ensure a good start to the seasoning process. From then on, keep the wok from rusting while stored by heating it a little before rubbing it down with oil.

NOTE: I'm ordering another one today, May 3, 2008, for a Chinese friend who had lunch with us and fell in love with the wok. I see other customers have had problems with cracks and figuring out how to remove the shipping oil...I will report back when the new one arrives!

OK! I've now received two of these in great shape (5/6/08). No strange machine oil. Fantastic deal!

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

This wok is truly great. I've had it for over two years now and it is one of the most used pieces of cookware in my kitchen, even over most of our All-Clad and Calphalon pieces. It is heavy, but it is cast iron, man! It is supposed to be heavy. Well, my wife does not like how heavy it is but she too loves to cook in it. We use it for everything imaginable; stir fry, deep fry, soup, browning...you name it. This is a great buy!

05/2009 An update. My family have been using this wok for over 5 years now and I can report that it is now a beautiful black, completely nonstick wok and remains one of the most used items in our kitchen for a variety of uses (not just stir-fry). No problems ever with any of the materials and it continues to improve with time. At only 5 years old, this cast iron piece is still just a baby. The only down side, it is still heavy, which does not bother me at all, but my wife still does not care for that, but when she wants to use it I will always get it out for her. In fact, 75% of the time, it stays on the stove-top ready for the next meal as we use this so often, at least every other day. A quick rinse under the hot water faucet while the pan is still hot and a wipe with a paper towel cleans it quickly now. A quick wipe down with a light coat of Pam on a paper towel after cleaning it out and it is protected until next use, and that oil film then adheres to the surface upon the next pre-heat adding to the nonstick properties. Whats not to love? It is a simple thing.

Best Deals for Mr. Bar-B-Q Cast-Iron Wok

Ok currently i have a joyce chen carbon steel flat bottom wok which i do enjoy. It does get extremely hot but there is only one problem with it...as i start to fill the wok the temperature starts to drop so much sometimes i end up steaming the food instead of searing it (breath of wok) because moisture released from the food does not instantly evaporate but instead collects in the bottom of the wok. I have a high powered gas stove with a 16,000 BTU burner. If you don't know cast iron is one of the best materials if you don't want the heat to be sucked out of your pan by your food. Cast iron does take longer to eat up but once its hot it takes a lot to bring the heat out of it.

Ok i received my wok tonight. I could not wait to cook with it. I did not experience any of the problems that other people had. My wok did not arrive cracked. It was in fine shape. I followed the directions to season the pan. I then removed it from the oven and let it cool before i started cooking with it. I decided to cook thai food. I heated it up and let me tell you this thing was awesome. Unlike the carbon steel wok it didn't loose much of its heat when i added the food. It seared everything perfectly. I loved the shape of the pan too. It was nice and wide. For being recently cured in the oven it was surprisingly non-stick. I can't imagine when the patina develops how wonderful it will be. There are some things you got to be aware of when cooking with this wok

1) its a lot heavier than carbon steel. I did not mind this but some might. I think it had a nice feel to it

2) The temperature difference between the sides/bottom won't be as different as a carbon steel wok so be careful. When i cooked i didn't have any problem with this

3) When you turn off the wok it will retain heat longer than carbon steel so just keep moving the stuff in the wok till it slightly cools down.

So this wok is a steal for the price for $16.00 shipped i have an awesome cooking device. If i had a high power burner like they do in the resteruants (which no home stove can do) i might stick with carbon steel but with a home stove i definitly prefer cast iron.

Honest reviews on Mr. Bar-B-Q Cast-Iron Wok

Arrived w/ a crack in the side. Didn't notice it until after I seasoned it. Its made of really cheap cast iron. Spend the extra 30 or so and get a something that can take the banging around during shipping and will outlast your grandchildren. I'm returning this and getting the lodge cast iron wok.

Ohh, and the oil they treat it with so it doesn't rust before purchase is really hard to scrub off. Get one that's pre-seasoned. You still need to scrub off the wax they use to pre-season then season it yourself in the oven but its not toxic. The oil on this wok is a nasty black/grey color and smells like a gas pump when you season it even after scrubbing it out multiple times before hand.

At least amazon is picking up the tab for shipping this defective item back(reason for 2 stars. The product gets 0 stars). Shipping was speedy but the item was not packed well. Like everything else I order that's not a book and shrink wrapped to a cardboard "plate".

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Mr. Bar-B-Q Cast-Iron Wok

If you like to make your own stir fry, and you don't mind doing a little cleaning up afterwards, this wok will be a welcomed addition to your kitchen. The heat retention of cast iron allows it to create a "seared" flavor that steel won't produce on a typical gas oven. It's heavy (like all cast-iron cookware) but the inconvenience one might experience from the weight is far outweighed by its ability to create flavorful dishes.

My only gripe about the product is best phrased as a warning don't skimp when scrubbing off the "protective coating" before you season this wok! I thought I had scoured it all off but, after the initial seasoning, the first dish I cooked tasted like a science experiment (with a nauseating chemical flavor that beggars description). After a LOT more scrubbing and re-seasoning, its performing as I had hoped.

For almost making me retch after using it the first time, I deduct one star. Otherwise, this is an excellently constructed, rock-solid addition to any cooks kitchen...and at a price like this, it's a steal.