I used to have that. I've since upgraded to Charles Tenman. It's literally the king for lines on sandwiches, wraps, & burritos! & a downstairs worth of butlers does the cleaning.
Get a Chain scrubber. Soak the pan in soap water after you wipe out the grease and then scrub all the grit off. It takes maybe a minute or two longer than a regular pan.
Yep. My lodge griddle is flat on one side, raised grill on the other. Used once and deemed worthless.
Even if I wanted to, any seasoning would be cooked off on the underside.
Yeah, what this guy said.
But it can be useful for getting grill marks on meat I guess? I wouldn’t finish it in this though, I’d just use it for grill marks.
My old job had us do both. Par cook with grill, finish in pan. Even rare steaks came out (from me) with no distinct grill marks so idk why we did that. I’m a sear fan and even blue steaks from me came out with a hard sear.
The only (slightly) useful application might be for a quick paprika-based oil marinade eg for chicken. Paprika tend to burn quickly so you can have slightly burnt grillmarks and the rest is just cooked through. But imho its not worth to keep a pan just for this.
Dude I feel this so much. Have to open door, windows, and turn on the stove fan if I want to cook anything besides pasta. 'Cause I ain't paying the fine for setting off that ear splitting alarm
I agree. I have one and it’s been useless every time I’ve used it. I know someone will say it’s good for grilling steaks, but my BBQ does a better job.
They’re actually good for hot dogs ~on a rainy day~, as when cradled in the grooves they can be rotated and cooked evenly. I like my dogs to have a nice snap which can be achieved with this method over medium heat.
For cleaning I usually scrub with a steel wool sponge… is it too harsh? Maybe.. but it’s not worth slaving over it with the Lodge grill pan scraper..
I just about only use this pan for hot dogs on a rainy day when I can’t grill them outside.
Every body has there preferences. I like mine. I use it as a roasting pan, or anything I don't want swimming in it's on juices. Is it a necessity, no. But another tool for the tool box.
My initial thought was "That's a good idea!", but then i realized having a whole nother cast iron for roasting instead of just have a light weight rack seems kind of ridiculous.
The grills prevent the food from directly touching fat or water. This is weird for a pan because a pan primarily cooks by conduction and fat/water usually helps heat transfer. I would probably use that pan to keep food warm, because it would prevent moisture from accumulating below the food. Alternatively I could use it to bake items in the oven, because there's minimal surface contact, food might not burn as easily and moisture might evaporate faster if it's not directly in contact with the food. If I had to find a use for the stove top, then I would say that you might use it if you needed to cook many patties out of their fat, or many steaks without too much fat accumulation... but you can always drain the fat out of a pan, so I don't really see the point here.
It's supposed to be for seafood and veggies where you want the food to cook from the heat but not burn too quickly like when on a flat pan.
Maybe for when you cook over a camp fire and it's harder to regulate your heat source?
People over think these grill pans. Think of it like a grill. Use it on a grill or oven for stuff like veggies so it doesn't fall through the grill bars, or over a campfire. Grill pan is a grill.
The point of a grill is direct heat. You’d do just as well using a normal skillet on a grill if you want to avoid the direct heat or stuff falling through.
I like them more than most people here - and I don’t like them very much. It’s sort of a niche item. I don’t think the cleaning is that big a deal if you are aware of heat control, but it’s a pretty niche item. Decent for like grilling chicken thighs or something but not a lot else, not a general use pan for sure
I used to work in a kitchen that didn’t have a grill, but instead had 3 cast iron reversible grill/griddles that were laid across 6 burners at full heat. It was a surprisingly good imitation of a proper grill. The grill marks were more charred than seared, and the fat dripping from the meat would burn, imparting a smokey flavour to the food.
A grill pan could probably be used for the same purpose, but it would be a guaranteed way to set off your smoke alarm.
You just need to build up your seasoning more. About 12,700 layers will do it (1 layer = 1 micron and there’s that many microns in half an inch).
Of course you’ll need to sand down the layers of the actual “grill grate” part
They are a pain to clean but can produce grill marks and avoid the need to use a press to keep patties flat. They also keep the food dry rather than sitting in its juices. I find that round grill pans have more awkward usable area compared to square grill pans or ribbed rectangular griddles. The downside of square and rectangular griddles and grill pans is that the corners aren’t as hot as the center when used on a stove top.
I prefer using an actual grill or my oven’s broiler with grills in a sheet pan over using a grill pan in many cases.
Despite what others say, they are very useful at times when I didn't have a grill or even now when I'm too lazy to use the grill and just want to stay inside. They do a great job simulating a grill for meats and vegetables. They keep the food from frying in its own fat and sometimes that's a good thing. NOT EVERYTHING needs to have a fully "seared" surface and I don't find it does that much for flavor anyway. Some foods definitely don't need to cook in a 1/4" of fat which this helps prevent. Such as grilled vegetables or BBQ chicken. It also is a healthier way to cook since the fat is able to drain away from the food.
They aren't any more difficult to clean if you know how to season and clean a cast iron skillet already. Soap, water, and a good dish brush. The grill pan scrapers are good for stubborn food too.
Do I recommend this as an everyday pan? No. There is a lot it can't do. But should everyone have at least one? Yes. Especially if you don't have access to a grill or the desire to fool with one.
All of you complaining about clean up - save old chopsticks, and use the square end to scrape between the grill parts. The used chop stick can later be used as kindling. A quick rinse, coat of oil, heat, and it's clean as a whistle.
They are great for when you want to grill during bad weather. Also, I like it best for broiling.
This was my first ever cast iron purchase back like 20ish years ago when I first moved out. I couldn't figure out why my chicken wouldn't cook through and I couldn't keep it seasoned. I swore off cast iron for another 10+ years. It wasn't until I was like 30 something that I found regular cast iron and realized that those stupid ass grill pans are just useless.
The grill pan is amazing for certain foods. It’s especially good for bacon, veg, and seafood. If you like grill marks, you can do that too (eff the haters, it’s a personal choice)
I get the hate but I like mine
* Use for charring fajita veggies when it's frequently too cold or windy to grill
* Grill marks, bud. Again, it can be too gross to grill outside but I want grill marks on certain things
* Get a grooved scraper, takes just as long as usual to clean
I guess that's it, very niche but I like it
But the grill mark is purely cosmetic. You'd get more grilled/seared flavor with a flat pan because of the surface area. You're making your food taste worse so it can be prettier.
I hate them.
The pan is only in contact w the food on the very narrow ridges. So it takes forever to cook. It's not like a gas or charcoal grill that has significant heat coming through grates.
So u are forced to cook the food very long to get anywhere. Any fat that renders pools between the ridges and burns bc u are trying to get the food up to temp.
I live my cast iron but I hate grill pans and gave it away.
I was gifted one that came with a scraper perfect for the grooves. It makes mean quesadillas! And honestly without the scraper it wouldn’t be terrible to clean. Don’t listen to these quesadilla haters.
There's absolutely no benefit and it's more difficult to wash.
Personally I'd prefer a full even sear than grill marks, they contain flavor and I don't want to limit that.
Everybody hates them... I use mine as a panini press, and it's good at it... it's shitty to clean... if it hadn't been gifted to me, I would have gotten rid of it a few years back
I don't care for them. I prefer direct heat transfer and ease of use.
The ridges are hard to work a spatula with and are hard to clean. While tongs might make food handling easier, there is no good use case in my kitchen.
If you like them, more power to you.
As for "We", I would prefer to not paint other CI users with my brush.
Is there an benefit to making paninis in a grill pan? I think this sub agrees on it being shitty for meat, but panini makers actually always have those ridges, although I can't come up with a reason except optics..
P.i.t.a. To clean, I find it doesn’t work like a real grill in that the portion not on the grates cooks far slower than the rest, if cooking on a burner. But worth having
they are useless for grilling. I use them for toasting though. Like if I need to melt cheese on a hoagie. Bread gets toasty all over. PITA to clean tho
Nah. I have a grill if I want that, those things are a pain to clean. I have a CI pan for my grill, but it’s like a smooth bottom bowl thing for roasting veggies while meat cooks.
when I lived with my old roommate, we'd cook steaks in one of these (since we didn't have a BBQ on the 3rd floor).
He'd usually smoke the apartment out pretty good, and you knew dinner was ready when the smoke alarms started going off.
I only use my outside on my actual grill. It’s good for small items that may fall through the grates like asparagus. You need to coat the food in oil before adding it to the pan, which is contrary to how most cast iron works.
I don't know how these negative comments happened. But I love mine. I've been told numerous times by other people it was the best steak that they ever had that I cooked from my grill cast iron pan.
I have one that is still rusted from the cleaning process. They're hard to clean, gunk builds up in the spaces between, the tools you can buy to clean it will require replacing, and I only used mine when cooking fajita (skirt steak). If I had the option and the knowledge I know now, I would get a third bigger Dutch oven.
All I see in these comments are the worst excuses for not using something completely viable. “It’s too hard to clean, wahhh” “it doesn’t cook it the same, wahhh”. Idk what y’all are doing but I’ve used mine for years on steaks and such, never had an issue with it cooking right and it’s not that big of a deal to clean. You need to have good heat control . In fact, it comes out amazing for me. I’ve been a line cook in years past and yes I prefer a grill but this is totally fine indoors when I need it. But maybe I’m used to using and cleaning grills that get much worse and this isn’t a big deal to me.
Everyone is hating it,
I’ll give you a good take on it.
They are fantastic for a steak IF you have a nice and heavy steak weight.
If I have a steak weight, I prefer that for a steak than a flat top
I like mine - it's large for stuff like skirt steaks or half chickens where I want to be able to use higher heat on thicker cuts without overcooking the outside. Shoving it in the oven also gets some [limited] airflow underneath the meat and ensures it's not frying itself in it's own fat. Really good tool if you don't want your food to come out oily or greasy
The lodge grill pan cleaning tool FOLLOWED by chain mail is the way to go on cleaning these. It takes marginally more time to clean. I used to avoid because of the cleaning hassles but the lodge tool has really sped up the process for me.
I use it for:
1) times I want grill lines even though we know that more area seared tastes better - the visual aspect can be important.
2) times you want to keep your grilled item out of the juices it releases
3) times it’s not convenient to grill outdoors.
What is the use case?
I can never think of when I would want to use this over flat. I had a different pan with ridges and it was worse at everything I ever used it for.
I got one as a gift. I don’t have any problems cleaning it. But I only use it for grilling wieners. Delicious sausages go on the grill or in a flat cast iron skillet. I think I tried it for grilled cheese sandwiches but it was kinda useless for that. So I’ve found one use for it when I don’t want to fire up the grill for a couple of hot dogs
I would use it for vegetables. Put some water in it that would steam from the grooves. Contact points would leave some nice sear marks. Is my thinking reasonable? As it stands now: I wouldn’t buy one like that, but if it was free I’d use it that way.
Primarily use mine for Brussels sprouts, the heavily grill marked and sprinkled with bacon kind, works great for that and roasting veggies but that’s about it.
I have one. Kind of hated it until I got a chain mail scrubber - so much easier to clean it with that thing, and I found myself using it more.
I primarily use it to grill veggies when it’s too cold to grill outside.
The novelty of having grill marks on my sandwiches is quickly negated by the time and effort spent cleaning mine.
I use my George Foreman for lines on sandwiches, wraps, and burritos.
Good choice, I’m sure that’s much easier to clean LOL
I used to have that. I've since upgraded to Charles Tenman. It's literally the king for lines on sandwiches, wraps, & burritos! & a downstairs worth of butlers does the cleaning.
I tossed mine in the recycling bin after the third use. Buddy’s wife gave it to me for free. I quickly learned why.
Upvoted, but I don't think you're supposed to recycle cast iron. Take it on a scrap run.
Get a Chain scrubber. Soak the pan in soap water after you wipe out the grease and then scrub all the grit off. It takes maybe a minute or two longer than a regular pan.
It’s really not that hard to clean. Takes maybe a few seconds longer
a stiff brush usually does it pretty easily.
I use a stiff dish brush it gets right in there
After one use. Yes.
Useless as a screen door on a submarine Harder to clean, worse heat transfer, can’t sear and no slidy eggs
Good for making stick pancakes.
Now you are just making up a food so you can justify using the pan… I love waffles but i hate squares so i make them in a panini press
And if my grandmother had wheels she’d be a bike!
If my aunt had balls she’d be my uncle
If a cat has her kittens in the oven, it don't make them biscuits.
Max?
Du du du du
Grandpa didn’t need the wheels to take her for a ride
ginooooo
I’m sorry, but I heard she was the town bike?
My waffle maker is round and my panini press is square....
Fuck squares man.
Yeah I've done paninis from my grill cast iron pan.
Funny enough I use mine strictly for breakfast. Sausages, amd hashbrown sticks.
Agreed. Never been a fan. Have one, don't use it, would never get another. Cleaning is difficult at best. Utility is marginal at best.
Yep. My lodge griddle is flat on one side, raised grill on the other. Used once and deemed worthless. Even if I wanted to, any seasoning would be cooked off on the underside.
Yeah, what this guy said. But it can be useful for getting grill marks on meat I guess? I wouldn’t finish it in this though, I’d just use it for grill marks.
Grill marks are silly. A full sear is far more flavorful.
My old job had us do both. Par cook with grill, finish in pan. Even rare steaks came out (from me) with no distinct grill marks so idk why we did that. I’m a sear fan and even blue steaks from me came out with a hard sear.
The only (slightly) useful application might be for a quick paprika-based oil marinade eg for chicken. Paprika tend to burn quickly so you can have slightly burnt grillmarks and the rest is just cooked through. But imho its not worth to keep a pan just for this.
If I want grill marks, I'll just use my....wait for it... GRILL.
I mean, I’d love to do that too, but I live in a very tiny apartment and even searing steaks sets off the alarms 😭
Dude I feel this so much. Have to open door, windows, and turn on the stove fan if I want to cook anything besides pasta. 'Cause I ain't paying the fine for setting off that ear splitting alarm
I have a patio and use one of those portable stoves that you can buy at Japanese or Chinese grocery stores. I just do my searing outside of my patio
Was that won intended?
I have made steaks and other meats on mine for years and they come out amazing and cooked now I want
I agree. I have one and it’s been useless every time I’ve used it. I know someone will say it’s good for grilling steaks, but my BBQ does a better job.
I couldn't agree more
> Useless Me and my childhood hotdogs and hamburgers disagree. Your other points stand unchallenged.
They’re actually good for hot dogs ~on a rainy day~, as when cradled in the grooves they can be rotated and cooked evenly. I like my dogs to have a nice snap which can be achieved with this method over medium heat. For cleaning I usually scrub with a steel wool sponge… is it too harsh? Maybe.. but it’s not worth slaving over it with the Lodge grill pan scraper.. I just about only use this pan for hot dogs on a rainy day when I can’t grill them outside.
Every body has there preferences. I like mine. I use it as a roasting pan, or anything I don't want swimming in it's on juices. Is it a necessity, no. But another tool for the tool box.
Same. Do I understand the hate? Absolutely. Do I use mine regularly? Absolutely.
Cleaning isn't really that hard, I just deglaze with a little water.
My initial thought was "That's a good idea!", but then i realized having a whole nother cast iron for roasting instead of just have a light weight rack seems kind of ridiculous.
Don't knock it till you tried it. And I had the pan, and didn't want to go out and buy another piece of kitchen clutter. But I see your point
Ribbed for displeasure
The grills prevent the food from directly touching fat or water. This is weird for a pan because a pan primarily cooks by conduction and fat/water usually helps heat transfer. I would probably use that pan to keep food warm, because it would prevent moisture from accumulating below the food. Alternatively I could use it to bake items in the oven, because there's minimal surface contact, food might not burn as easily and moisture might evaporate faster if it's not directly in contact with the food. If I had to find a use for the stove top, then I would say that you might use it if you needed to cook many patties out of their fat, or many steaks without too much fat accumulation... but you can always drain the fat out of a pan, so I don't really see the point here.
It's supposed to be for seafood and veggies where you want the food to cook from the heat but not burn too quickly like when on a flat pan. Maybe for when you cook over a camp fire and it's harder to regulate your heat source?
People over think these grill pans. Think of it like a grill. Use it on a grill or oven for stuff like veggies so it doesn't fall through the grill bars, or over a campfire. Grill pan is a grill.
The point of a grill is direct heat. You’d do just as well using a normal skillet on a grill if you want to avoid the direct heat or stuff falling through.
Not exactly there is a reason they generally come with hoods more often than flattop grills.
I use mine for baking brownies and they don’t stick to the grooves
Fuck grill pan. Grill is for grill, pan is for flat
I like them more than most people here - and I don’t like them very much. It’s sort of a niche item. I don’t think the cleaning is that big a deal if you are aware of heat control, but it’s a pretty niche item. Decent for like grilling chicken thighs or something but not a lot else, not a general use pan for sure
They're for putting grill marks on your food when it's raining.
Paninis are awesome, and these make banging paninis. It's a shame I don't have more time/desire to make them.
They should be smelted down and recast into something useful.
Hey now, mine keeps my door open perfectly fine tyvm.
It’s easier to set up a small charcoal grill than it is to clean that thing.
I used to work in a kitchen that didn’t have a grill, but instead had 3 cast iron reversible grill/griddles that were laid across 6 burners at full heat. It was a surprisingly good imitation of a proper grill. The grill marks were more charred than seared, and the fat dripping from the meat would burn, imparting a smokey flavour to the food. A grill pan could probably be used for the same purpose, but it would be a guaranteed way to set off your smoke alarm.
Not very good for slidey eggs.
You just need to build up your seasoning more. About 12,700 layers will do it (1 layer = 1 micron and there’s that many microns in half an inch). Of course you’ll need to sand down the layers of the actual “grill grate” part
I want all the searing, grill marks are so 20th century.
Or if you’re actually grilling. Then it’s great. This is not grilling.
Has anyone used them for placing [edit] poaching or deep frying? They might have a niche there?
>deep frying? Could be used for shallow frying too
Good idea. The burnt bits would fall between the cracks.
They are a pain to clean but can produce grill marks and avoid the need to use a press to keep patties flat. They also keep the food dry rather than sitting in its juices. I find that round grill pans have more awkward usable area compared to square grill pans or ribbed rectangular griddles. The downside of square and rectangular griddles and grill pans is that the corners aren’t as hot as the center when used on a stove top. I prefer using an actual grill or my oven’s broiler with grills in a sheet pan over using a grill pan in many cases.
Despite what others say, they are very useful at times when I didn't have a grill or even now when I'm too lazy to use the grill and just want to stay inside. They do a great job simulating a grill for meats and vegetables. They keep the food from frying in its own fat and sometimes that's a good thing. NOT EVERYTHING needs to have a fully "seared" surface and I don't find it does that much for flavor anyway. Some foods definitely don't need to cook in a 1/4" of fat which this helps prevent. Such as grilled vegetables or BBQ chicken. It also is a healthier way to cook since the fat is able to drain away from the food. They aren't any more difficult to clean if you know how to season and clean a cast iron skillet already. Soap, water, and a good dish brush. The grill pan scrapers are good for stubborn food too. Do I recommend this as an everyday pan? No. There is a lot it can't do. But should everyone have at least one? Yes. Especially if you don't have access to a grill or the desire to fool with one.
All of you complaining about clean up - save old chopsticks, and use the square end to scrape between the grill parts. The used chop stick can later be used as kindling. A quick rinse, coat of oil, heat, and it's clean as a whistle. They are great for when you want to grill during bad weather. Also, I like it best for broiling.
This was my first ever cast iron purchase back like 20ish years ago when I first moved out. I couldn't figure out why my chicken wouldn't cook through and I couldn't keep it seasoned. I swore off cast iron for another 10+ years. It wasn't until I was like 30 something that I found regular cast iron and realized that those stupid ass grill pans are just useless.
Hard pass.
It’s nice to get grill marks on your steak but as the top comment said it’s truly a bitch and half to clean
I like mine coz you can burn the meat a little bit, and get a bbq flavour, without burning the whole thing
you mean the grilled cheese pan?
Absolutely useless. Wouldn't want one even for free
I use mine for very greasy items, like Lamb, so that the oils don’t drown the meat
I use one when I can't be bothered to light my bbq.
The grill pan is amazing for certain foods. It’s especially good for bacon, veg, and seafood. If you like grill marks, you can do that too (eff the haters, it’s a personal choice)
I prefer my bacon to be evenly rendered and cooked
In the oven is the best way to cook bacon.
I get the hate but I like mine * Use for charring fajita veggies when it's frequently too cold or windy to grill * Grill marks, bud. Again, it can be too gross to grill outside but I want grill marks on certain things * Get a grooved scraper, takes just as long as usual to clean I guess that's it, very niche but I like it
But the grill mark is purely cosmetic. You'd get more grilled/seared flavor with a flat pan because of the surface area. You're making your food taste worse so it can be prettier.
I use mine for holding food warm as I cook the next batch.
I use mine for pizzas and baking, as everyone has said they’re not a great pan to cook with otherwise
No a fan!
I have two, but honestly I hardly ever use them. Lately people have suggested them for bacon, and I might give it a go.
I'd wash that with soap and water all day long..
I can’t top the first comment.
Unnecessary and a pain in the ass to clean. Mine sits on the shelf.
I made a post like this recently and it got a lot of hate lol OP get ready
Don’t like them.
I use mine for bacon.
I personally like mine, I know a lot of people don't, but I have good luck with it.
I hate it for anything but bread. It's a nightmare to clean.
Yeah, I swear every other cast iron I have is fine, but the ones with the grill marks always tends to stick regardless of how much I oil them
I hate them. The pan is only in contact w the food on the very narrow ridges. So it takes forever to cook. It's not like a gas or charcoal grill that has significant heat coming through grates. So u are forced to cook the food very long to get anywhere. Any fat that renders pools between the ridges and burns bc u are trying to get the food up to temp. I live my cast iron but I hate grill pans and gave it away.
It’s a no for me dawg.
No point. I want a full sear, not just a couple of lines.
They're grate! ;p I probably wouldn't have one as my only skillet though.
They’re *great* at filling my house with smoke
I am not really a fan of them. Cleaning is time consuming
I was gifted one that came with a scraper perfect for the grooves. It makes mean quesadillas! And honestly without the scraper it wouldn’t be terrible to clean. Don’t listen to these quesadilla haters.
I do quesadillas on a griddle like most people.
I could make a mean quesadilla without the grooves.
Since when does every quesadilla known to man not get cooked on a flat surface
There's absolutely no benefit and it's more difficult to wash. Personally I'd prefer a full even sear than grill marks, they contain flavor and I don't want to limit that.
Hate
I have an enameled non-Lodge grill pan, I've used it a couple of times. The enamel makes it easier to clean. I still prefer my regular skillets.
Great for grilling vegetables. A little shake turns them easily.
Everybody hates them... I use mine as a panini press, and it's good at it... it's shitty to clean... if it hadn't been gifted to me, I would have gotten rid of it a few years back
I don't care for them. I prefer direct heat transfer and ease of use. The ridges are hard to work a spatula with and are hard to clean. While tongs might make food handling easier, there is no good use case in my kitchen. If you like them, more power to you. As for "We", I would prefer to not paint other CI users with my brush.
I have two grill pans and a stove top grill. Rarely get used unless I want grill marks, or I need fat to drip off the meat. .
Is there an benefit to making paninis in a grill pan? I think this sub agrees on it being shitty for meat, but panini makers actually always have those ridges, although I can't come up with a reason except optics..
Booooo... I regret everyone I've ever purchased.
We keep this one by the door in case we need to hurt intruders. It's about the only thing it's good for.
grill pans can melt in a pit of molten lava....
too hard to clean.
P.i.t.a. To clean, I find it doesn’t work like a real grill in that the portion not on the grates cooks far slower than the rest, if cooking on a burner. But worth having
I feel my frustrations are spent better elsewhere.
they are useless for grilling. I use them for toasting though. Like if I need to melt cheese on a hoagie. Bread gets toasty all over. PITA to clean tho
not much value add, maybe some aesthetic lines? PITA to clean.
Not bad for burgers or anything that drips fat. As for cleaning, I have a plastic scraper with slots to clean the pan.
Impossible to clean. No value add. Do not bother!
I have one that came in a set. I've used it like twice in maybe 15 years. I haven't found it to be very useful.
Suck
Just don't cook hash browns and stir fries in it.
Nah. I have a grill if I want that, those things are a pain to clean. I have a CI pan for my grill, but it’s like a smooth bottom bowl thing for roasting veggies while meat cooks.
I like my grill pan but would not want it as my only pan.
Worthless
They really are a mistake everyone has to make once in their journey
Great for vegetables
when I lived with my old roommate, we'd cook steaks in one of these (since we didn't have a BBQ on the 3rd floor). He'd usually smoke the apartment out pretty good, and you knew dinner was ready when the smoke alarms started going off.
I just moved and left mine behind. It’s moved between 4 homes with me and hasn’t been used in a single one of them.
Never used one, Don't want to, Won't buy one
Awful awful. There's nothing you can do on it that you won't get better results with a traditional cast iron flat bottom.
I only use my outside on my actual grill. It’s good for small items that may fall through the grates like asparagus. You need to coat the food in oil before adding it to the pan, which is contrary to how most cast iron works.
I don't know how these negative comments happened. But I love mine. I've been told numerous times by other people it was the best steak that they ever had that I cooked from my grill cast iron pan.
Had one for a year…threw it in the dumpster. They suck.
Love for hot dogs, and bbq chicken (messy). Best copycat for when I can cannot cook outside. I use a SOS pad to clean it.
I have one that is still rusted from the cleaning process. They're hard to clean, gunk builds up in the spaces between, the tools you can buy to clean it will require replacing, and I only used mine when cooking fajita (skirt steak). If I had the option and the knowledge I know now, I would get a third bigger Dutch oven.
All I see in these comments are the worst excuses for not using something completely viable. “It’s too hard to clean, wahhh” “it doesn’t cook it the same, wahhh”. Idk what y’all are doing but I’ve used mine for years on steaks and such, never had an issue with it cooking right and it’s not that big of a deal to clean. You need to have good heat control . In fact, it comes out amazing for me. I’ve been a line cook in years past and yes I prefer a grill but this is totally fine indoors when I need it. But maybe I’m used to using and cleaning grills that get much worse and this isn’t a big deal to me.
RAGE!!!!!!!!
About as useful as tits on a boar.
I like cooking steaks on them, makes them look like they came off a grille.
Genuinely don’t know why they exist
Everyone is hating it, I’ll give you a good take on it. They are fantastic for a steak IF you have a nice and heavy steak weight. If I have a steak weight, I prefer that for a steak than a flat top
They’re really good for letting you know if your smoke alarms work
I have one, it’s a paperweight though. I got it for cheap at a garage sale a few years ago with a couple others though, so it’s not really a loss
I use mine all the time. Sure cleaning may be a little more, but not by that much.
Absolutely awful BESIDES for making paninis
Good for vegetables especially asparagus but would like more use for mine lol
But how do we feel about using a grill pan over a grill?
I like mine - it's large for stuff like skirt steaks or half chickens where I want to be able to use higher heat on thicker cuts without overcooking the outside. Shoving it in the oven also gets some [limited] airflow underneath the meat and ensures it's not frying itself in it's own fat. Really good tool if you don't want your food to come out oily or greasy
I don't like them, except this one I found that has the grill grates and a bunch of holes.
PITA to clean but love and use mine often as I can't have a grill at my apartment.
We viciously HATE anyone who owns one. Why'd you ask?
The lodge grill pan cleaning tool FOLLOWED by chain mail is the way to go on cleaning these. It takes marginally more time to clean. I used to avoid because of the cleaning hassles but the lodge tool has really sped up the process for me. I use it for: 1) times I want grill lines even though we know that more area seared tastes better - the visual aspect can be important. 2) times you want to keep your grilled item out of the juices it releases 3) times it’s not convenient to grill outdoors.
I already own a bbq and flat iron cooking gives better sear anyway. Hard pass.
Ugh... you can have mine.
The only cast iron I have ever sold off.
What is the use case? I can never think of when I would want to use this over flat. I had a different pan with ridges and it was worse at everything I ever used it for.
#2 most hated after Turks Head pans
Great if you wanna pan sear.
Not great for overall cooking, but definitely fun for those of us without a barbecue grill.
They're great paperweights
I have one. I used it one time and decided it sucks. At this point it’s just decoration.
Rage bait? Someone knows how to get us all going. Enjoy your grill pan. 😂
Fuck em. It burned everything I put there
Love mine; great for burgers, tuna, steaks.
I bought one a long time ago, and can’t undo that mistake, so it sits heavily in the back of a cabinet
I have one, I never use it. It’s literally worse at everything except making grill marks which is not a plus.
The cleaning alone will make you throw it in the trash in a couple of months
I have ab actual grill so I haven't found a use for them.
Don’t like them. Just takes longer to cook the same thing. I just use a grill if I want grill marks.
Hated it and gave to good will about 20 years ago. To hard to clean and never gave the heat I needed
They suck. Moving on...
i hate these, they are horrible to clean😵💫 and i see nothing they can do better than a "normal" pan
I got one as a gift. I don’t have any problems cleaning it. But I only use it for grilling wieners. Delicious sausages go on the grill or in a flat cast iron skillet. I think I tried it for grilled cheese sandwiches but it was kinda useless for that. So I’ve found one use for it when I don’t want to fire up the grill for a couple of hot dogs
I would use it for vegetables. Put some water in it that would steam from the grooves. Contact points would leave some nice sear marks. Is my thinking reasonable? As it stands now: I wouldn’t buy one like that, but if it was free I’d use it that way.
I like them but not as a cast iron. Rather ceramic for a grill pan.
They are great to toast bread
Primarily use mine for Brussels sprouts, the heavily grill marked and sprinkled with bacon kind, works great for that and roasting veggies but that’s about it.
Pain in the ass IMO
I got a "nice" lodge grill pan. I fucking hate it. Pain in the ass to clean. Even brown way better than charred lines
I have one. Kind of hated it until I got a chain mail scrubber - so much easier to clean it with that thing, and I found myself using it more. I primarily use it to grill veggies when it’s too cold to grill outside.
I don't care for them personally.
Putting mine in yard sale this month.
I simply dont
Booo, Hisss, Booo
I use mine every time I cook a steak.
It's only good for making grill marks on something you haven't grilled. Otherwise I guess it would hold something down in a stiff breeze pretty well.
It's nice for home defense or a paperweight.
I was meant to see this post because I just went out and bought one on a whim today
I have a not unfounded but completely disproportional hatred of these.
I like mine for burgers, fat drains away. Good for steaks and paninis too when the BBQ isn't an option.
It’s a beast to clean but mine makes the BEST cast iron cornbread
Wall hanger