Mauviel M'Steel Black Carbon Natural Nonstick Wok/Stir Frying Pan With Iron Handle, 11.8-in, Suitable For All Cooking Surfaces, Made in France

Why it's worth it

Extra-thick French black steel with a riveted iron handle, flat-bottomed and rated for every cooking surface. It holds temperature better than anything else here, so cold chicken hits the pan without killing the sear — but at over six pounds, tossing is basically off the table.

Nothing else here holds heat like this pan. At just over six pounds of thick black steel, it behaves more like a deep sauté pan than a traditional wok. Drop in a cold chop or a duck breast and the surface barely flinches, so you get an actual crust instead of gray, steamed meat. If a lot of your cooking is searing protein and only some of it is stir-fry, this is the one.

It's flat-bottomed and rated for every cooking surface, induction included, which quietly makes it the most flexible pan in this guide. Owners on glass tops and induction hobs — the people our two round-bottom picks leave out entirely — consistently land here. The extra mass also compensates a little for induction's lower ceiling: it takes longer to get there, then stays there.

From our review of 5 woks for high-heat cooking, by David Sinclair, Managing Editor

What we like

• +Nothing else here holds heat like this pan
• +It's flat-bottomed and rated for every cooking surface, induction included, which quietly makes it the most flexible pan in this…
• +Mauviel is a long-established French cookware maker, and the build shows it
• +The iron handle is a genuine feature, not just old-fashioned

What to know

• –The weight is the real cost
• –That iron handle gets hot within a couple of minutes on the stove, so a towel or a silicone sleeve is mandatory rather than…