18" Madrid Discada

Run this 18" Disk on a ceramic egg grill and it's just awesome. The Outlaws / Inlaws from Questa visited and I cooked them up some fajitas on the Disko with home-made tortillas. My mother in law was just fuming cause she knows my tortillas are better than hers, but she ate them in silence anyway. Ha!

I received my newest discada - an 18 inch Madrid model - from Southwest Disk a few days ago. It is not the first one that I purchased, as I also bought a 24 inch Rio Grande model along with a portable burner back in 2013 as well - which I really like. None the less, my Madrid arrived as scheduled and in mint condition. I purchased this particular model because it is just the right size for me to use on the middle. elongated burner of my kitchen stove at home. Since its arrival I have been cooking up a storm! I have cooked a Chicken Fried Rice which came out absolutely SUPER! The rice was grainy - not overly moist and soggy - primarily because of the size of this disk which allows for room to spread out the ingredients and cook off any excess moisture. The initial and original pre-seasoning that was done on the disk also provided me with a FLAWLESS, non-stick surface to cook my dish on as well! Since then I have cooked a 'dry' chicken curry - no gravy allowing more searing and caramelization of the chicken, herbs and spices for even more intense flavors - and it turned out AMAZING and DELICIOUS! The discada is like a slightly more concave version of a traditional Indian or South Asian cooking vessel known as a TAWA or TAVA on which you can cook almost any dish that you like! So what do I like BEST about my newest disk from Southwest Disk? I really appreciate the thick, sturdy construction. The steel used is by no means flimsy and subject to scorching as are some of the other disks out there. The handles are FIRMLY ATTACHED and the welds are neat and look good. There is LOTS OF ROOM on this disk even at 18 inches in diameter for inside cooking. You can scoot cooked ingredients up the sides when done and to allow any excess oil - if there is any - to make its way back to the center of the disk and continue cooking your other ingredients. And perhaps BEST OF ALL are the NON-STICK QUALITIES that my disk arrived with because of the initial, pre-seasoning that was applied to my disk BEFORE I purchased it. All in all, I am extremely pleased with my purchase. Whenever they are back in stock and available again, I also plan to buy a rimmed MOAB model as well in the future. To put it simply, if you want the ABSOLUTE BEST out there, then Southwest Disk is THE ONE AND ONLY PLACE to get what you are looking for and the kind of quality that your hard earned dollars deserve! Many thanks David!

I cook in all sorts of "deep woods", "back in the boonies wading for trout", "entertaining my survival class clients on the ice" type of situations. The Madrid I ordered primarily sits on my aluminum Chimnea, an absolutely perfect fit. Will be sending a picture to Blue Rooster in N Minn. For those of you who have not cooked in front of a lot of people, have not learned sequencing real well, you don't want to use hardwood as your heat source. An excellent primer is to use your carbon steel indoor wok as a starter for your disk prep. Everything prepped; meat(s), densest veg, delicate veg, rice, potatoes, sauces, oils, spices, whatever you expect to use. Individual containers. Purchase the appropriate tools right away, wok shovel, strainer, tongs that work not cheap discount stuff. Buy the proper length, this is a continuous heat process. FUN. Very entertaining to Wisc folks who have never seen this up front. David at SWD makes sure the disks are pre-seasoned. Important. Continue the seasoning process. Do some YouTube homework. Workmanship is excellent. Welds, balance, handle positioning. I do smithy work, the disk is perfect enough. I have incorporated rabbit, squirrel, venison, all extremely low fat meats along with pork. Fat first, just like any other outdoor cooking. . basic oriental process. My 18" Madrid is now an entertainment feature alongside my smokers and gas grill. Undecided if I eventually buy a wok jet for gas use. Loaded it up, cooked for 12 largest group.

i wanted to add more info. seasoning this thing is challenging. i quit worrying about it and just use it. sometimes stuff sticks still, but this is a steel disc; i am not gonna break it. okay, i have been using it a lot. it is very dense, so watch the heat. you get it too hot, just turning the heat down wont save it. you will have to move the food up the hill to towards the rim. here the 18" kinda hurts you. if you have a lot of food moving it about is an exercise in patience. it is a food ballet. the 18"; i found a pound of meat to be the maximum load. maybe with more experience that will change. i made store marinated "pastor" this weekend and the pineapple chunks and sweeten meat haunted me. it burned onto the disc. i cleaned it with more oil and a fist full of salt. i scrubbed it with a paper towel. it worked great,but some of my hard earned seasoning got caught in the crossfire. this thing is fun!! between this and my trusty wok, i dont think i will cook much inside my kitchen this summer. i am using a cheapo ThunderGroup wok burner as my heat source. thankfully, it turns down super low.

i walked into my office thinking, "why isnt it Friday yet?"..wait, what? a box! it cheered me up instantly. the boxing was super professional. the Disc was nestled inside perfectly. shipping was about a week. (ABQ to the pacific ocean.) i have never held a Discada before. the heft is excellent. the weld; crazy good. i can barely detect the center hole was even there. it is welded and ground down to look like it was never there. i opted for the round-hoop handles and they are welded there beautifully. they look like bike frame welds. measured the disc, and it is 18.3". the plate is approx 1/8th thick. there is a coating on it that blackens your fingers, but there is zero rust noted. i think i will lay down an additional seasoning layer tonight. i'll stir fry some aromatics and put the entire thing into my grill (if it will fit) or oven, and try to blacken the entire thing. i think i am gonna install a hook in a kitchen wall and hang it there!! it looks that good. i was gonna DIY one initially. there is no way i could have accomplish the same product..not at this cost.

Fast shipping. Went out shortly after ordering. I was afraid what the box was going to look like, from being handled by FedEx, but it was fine. Everything was packed neatly in the box, so there was nothing bouncing around. Well made. The 18" was just the right size for two of us. Didn't even need to season it before I used it, as it already was taken care of. Tried it out. Just need to get use to cooking with it now.

I previously bought the 22" and I love it, but I thought I'd buy the 18" as well and I'm glad I did. It's a great size for everyday use, for two. The handles are great on both of them (spring handle on 22" and circular on 18"). Very well made products.

I have been seasoning the pan, cooking breakfast, seasoning the pan, cooking hamburgers, seasoning the pan. It is beginning to work. Not as fast to season as my cast cookware but I believe it will be worth it. It is built like a tank, do not believe you coul damage it in any way. Cooks nice with different temperature as you go up the pan. Takes a little getting used to but works very well.

I originally ordered a 22" disc, but it is way too big and heavy for my uses. The 18" is the perfect size. I wish I could get one with smaller handles. I was going to cut these off and make my own, but they are welded all the way around.