Stovetop grilling

[Dave the Cook]

Last Christmas, I received a Calphalon grill pan. I don't know which line, but it's the one with the polished v-shaped handles that Fat-Guy goes on and on about. The handle is actually OK, but the pan warped its first time out. (Looking at the construction, it's easy to see why.)

I'm still using it, but I'd like one that doesn't rock 'n' roll so much.

Today, I got an e-mail advertising this LeCreuset piece at what looks like a pretty good price ($40):

Does anybody have any experience with it?

Any other recommendations?

[Suzanne F]

I love my 10" Round Lodge cast iron grill pan. Cost maybe $25, certainly no more.

[tommy]

yeah, round lodge cast iron grill pan is a near-perfect piece of equipment.

although that le creuset thing sure do look purdy.

[Dave the Cook]

although that le creuset thing sure do look purdy.

Seductive, isn't it?

What's the deal with Griswold?

[Spoonful]

I have a IBILI cast iron reversible grill-griddle pan, of rectangular shape that fits on two burners.

[Dave the Cook]

I have the Lodge version of the two-burner grill, and I loved it when I had a gas cooktop. Now I have a ceramic top, and it is unworkable. One of these days I'll replace the range, but until then I need a single-burner solution.

Also, the dishwashers complained that it was too heavy.

[Wilfrid]

I've been using a Le Creuset grill for several years, and it shows no signs of wear despite the high temperatures. Unlike the one picture, it's rectangular with a single handle (like a saucepan) which makes it damn heavy to lift. Otherwise, it's fine.

[Toby]

What's the deal with Griswold?

My best cast iron pans are Griswold, made in Erie PA. I got them years ago in thrift stores. I suspect they're no longer made. Sometimes you can find them at yard sales, swap meets. They never ever lose their seasoning.

I have an 11" ridged cast iron pan for grilling -- it says made in USA on back. It works fine.

[g.johnson]

We have the Le Creuset 10" circular grill pan. I love it but Yvonne finds it a bit heavy.

[Fat Guy]

The Calphalon grill pan is a piece of crap. I have one too, and in my experience it's the worst product made by the company. One of these days I'll write a letter complaining and maybe I'll shame Calphalon into an exchange for a different piece.

I think this is an area where cast-iron is the way to go, and while Le Creuset is nice there's no reason to pay the Le Creuset premium and that handle configuration looks pretty silly (I also don't know what the size is).

You pretty much have three choices with cast-iron: Round one-burner, square one-burner, or rectangular two-burner reversible griddle/grill. My preference is the square one-burner design, and if you have two of them it's just as good as having the rectangular one but a lot more manageable.

It's only $9.99 at Amazon.com. And if you buy two of them plus a book you'll get into the free shipping category (for orders over $25).

[Fish]

How the heck do you clean these things ? I have a Le Creuset ridged grill pan, and I never use it because it's such a pain to clean. I love grilling veggies in it, but unless it's a special occasion, I rarely bother.

[tommy]

cast iron is simply one of the best values in cookware out there. if they *tripled* the price, people wouldn't hesitate to spend the money. there aren't many things on this planet that last for practically a lifetime, and cost under 20. 'cept herpes.

[spqr]

How the heck do you clean these things ?  I have a Le Creuset ridged grill pan, and I never use it because it's such a pain to clean.  I love grilling veggies in it, but unless it's a special occasion, I rarely bother.

I too have a Le Creuset 12-inch grill pan. I too don't use it very often, because it's difficult to clean and also because using a grill pan in the house without ventilation is not a good thing. When I want to grill something I fins it easier to light a fire in the old gas grill, summer or winter, than to lug out the Le Creuset.

[Fat Guy]

Tommy: Cast iron really is amazing stuff, isn't it? I know so many people who have thousands of dollars worth of cookware but not a single piece of cast iron. I've tried a few times to get food magazines to let me do a cast-iron-versus-all-other-types-of-cookware cookoff test demonstrating that the best cookware for the largest number of kitchen applications is a $10 cast iron skillet, but nobody was buying.

Spqr: That's the reason I use the broiler a lot more than I use a grill pan. Stuff doesn't splatter and smoke as much in the oven, or maybe it does but it stays contained and doesn't contaminate the whole house. I clean the oven every once in awhile and that's that. Of course overhead broiling and grilling are not identical processes, but they're close and most of the differences cut in favor of broiling.

[spqr]

Oddly, I have never been a fan of broiling. I don't know why. I am vaguely afraid of it as a technique.

[pjs]

Lodge rules. Open all the windows, turn on all the fans, cut the wires to the smoke alarm and heat that sucker 'til it glows cherry red.

PJ

[Fat Guy]

Spqr, there are some issues with broiling. The big one is that you can't see the food, so you can only test it intermittently and therefore you have to trust timing and experience. But once you learn the parameters of your broiler, assuming your broiler is adequate (some ranges just don't have broilers that are worth using), it's a great tool. The steaks and burgers I make under my broiler come out very well, and I'm my own harshest critic in such matters.

[spqr]

FG: I don't doubt that there is a learning curve to getting to be proficient with a broiler. I don't doubt that broiled foods can be very tasty. I guess I prefer to grill rather than broil. I am more comfortable grilling than broiling. The last thing I broiled was a salmon steak and that was, maybe, 15 years ago. I didn't ruin it but I remember being a nervous wreck for the 15 minutes or so that I was actually cooking.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

I consider my grill pans major workhorses. I prefer Copco, but Le Creuset isn't too far behind. As previously prescribed, you need a super fan, and you need high heat, at least at the start. Cleaning is a breeze: when cooled, let soak for a while. If you have better things to do, overnight. Then, as I posted somewhere else, get one of those little 2" square plastic pot scrubbers, about a buck a piece, and simply run up one side of the grids and down the other. A really abused pan will take maybe 3 minutes.

The major advantage of Copco and Le Creuset over Lodge and Griswald is that they have a coating on the cast iron. Other than that, I have no preference between the two.

[Double 0]

Speaking of grill pans. How about microwave grill pans? It only makes one thing, thin sliced bacon, but it makes it great.

[jaybee]

I prefer Copco,

Margaret, could you point me in the direction of a web site that sells this brand?

[Suzanne F]

How the heck do you clean these things ?  I have a Le Creuset ridged grill pan, and I never use it because it's such a pain to clean.   I love grilling veggies in it, but unless it's a special occasion, I rarely bother.

Cast iron purists, avert your eyes. What follows is heresy

I put my (very well seasoned inside and out) Lodge grill pan in the kitchen sink fill it with hot water and a little dish soap and let it soak overnight Then in the morning I give it a little rub with a plastic scrubber or a piece of steel wool re-soap, rinse, and dry it and rub on a little Crisco before I put it away. Works fine for me.

[pjs]

Once again I agree with Suzanne. An occasional judicious application of steel wool on your cast iron does no harm and gets the built-up carbon crap out.

PJ

[Fat Guy]

Plastic scrubbers and steel wool are for wimps! You need the big-ass stainless steel scrubbers that the potwashers in restaurants use. No soaking or soap necessary -- they clean cast-iron pots in seconds.

[maggiethecat]

Suzanne is, as always, right. The beloved ten dollar cast iron pan does not need any cleaning coddling. Soak it and scrub it.

Nor does it need fancy seasoning. Cook a couple of hamburgers one day. Bacon and eggs the next. It's seasoned.

Fry, bake, braise. Bob's your uncle. A big cast iron skillet is the pan we use most...way more than the All Clad or Mauviel copper.