stovetop grill pans

[arbuclo]

I'm interested in getting a grill for the top of the stove so I can get those great grill marks without having to use the BBQ all the time. I've read the Epicurious taste test article but would like more input. They do suggest that castiron is the way to go. I have a gas stove top, which most are in Australia, and I usually cook for 2 people but sometimes more than that.

Anybody have any purchasing recommendations for such grills like brand, materials, size, how best to use them?

Lori

[Taboni]

Only one choice really

Lodge grill pan

and be sure to get one of these Approved crud remover

Season (or splurge for preseasoned) and you're all set. FYI don't drop it or you will definitely break something.

[tommy]

cast iron lodge. that's pretty much it.

[oraklet]

search flea markets and garage sales. go for cast iron. anything weighing half a ton will do, and they can be had dirt cheap. don't season, as the pan will be so hot as to ruin any seasoning, anyway. scub it off under hot water after use - if need be, violently. heat gently to evaporate leftover water between ridges.

Edited November 5, 2003 by oraklet (log)

[tommy]

i'd actually recommend seasoning. my has held for some time now, and i generally have the burners as high as they will go.

[oraklet]

that may be, then - but there's no reason to, really. it's not like you're making omelets on a grill pan. grilling is brutal stuff - just look at the amount of smoke that's kicked off.

edit: ok, if you don't plan on using it very often, seasoning may keep it from rusting. i don't know how long it takes to start rusting, mine hasn't ever.

Edited November 5, 2003 by oraklet (log)

[Dave the Cook]

Brief discussion here.

I recommend Lodge as well, especially if you can use one of the larger, two-burner models. I am not thrilled with thier round pan, but I haven't found anything better. Definitely spring for the seasoning -- it doesn't cost much, and ensures that your pan gets off to a good start.

[fimbul]

arbuclo, you asked about size too. My best response would be "big."

In the US, Lodge cast iron is indeed the way to go, and I think their grill pans only come in sizes around 11" or so (er... 28 cm. or thereabouts?). If I were you, I'd aim for a similar size or a touch larger. It's hard to get really good grillmarks in a crowded pan, and, if you're cooking for 3 or 4, a 10" pan is really too small.

Just be careful not to get a pan so large you can't heat it evenly. I'm often caught in stores clutching the 15" Lodge pan to my chest and cackling maniacally, but I've never actually brought one home. I think it'd be *way* more than my stove could heat evenly.

But it's *so* pretty.

*edit*

Ooh! I just realized what dave was talking about! Yes, the long rectangular, fits-over-two-burners thing might also serve you well, assuming it'll work on your stove.

Edited November 5, 2003 by fimbul (log)

[Suzanne F]

Welcome arbuclo! in addition to what they all said.

If you can't get the Lodge brand in Australia, just get the heaviest, most solid cast iron you can find. Don't fool around with fancy LeCreuset -- it's great, it's pretty, but in this case cheaper is better.

DO season it, if you can't find the pre-seasoned kind.

DO dry it immediately after washing.

DON'T worry that you'll hurt it by scrubbing. Just reseason periodically.

[arbuclo]

Thanks for all the tips. VERY helpful! Lodge is the top recommended brand in the Epicurious Taste Test newsletter too. I've never seen them in Australia but I haven't really looked very hard. I think I'll shoot off an email to them.

Can't wait to get one now!

Lori

[tommy]

lori, you might want to poke around their website here.

[Richard Kilgore]

Yes, season or buy pre-seasoned. And after drying it on the stove top, spray or wipe it with some neutral oil and let it heat a little more on top or in the oven.

[arbuclo]

Can anyone see the email address for Lodge? I've looked all over their website and all I can see is their mailing address and phone number. I want a grill! :-)

Lori

[MatthewB]

Can anyone see the email address for Lodge?  I've looked all over their website and all I can see is their mailing address and phone number.  I want a grill! :-)

Lori

What about ordering from Amazon?

[mrbigjas]

Things I've noticed about stovetop grill pans:

1. You better have a good exhaust hood, or your house is gonna fill up with smoke real fast, and will smell like that for days each time you use it.

2. If you get a two-burner one and you have a regular white (for instance) porcelain stovetop, it's going to turn brown by the time you get the pan good and hot. This comes off with soft scrub or barkeepers friend, or whatever.,

3. To make it act like a grill, you have to heat it for way longer than you thought necessary, especially if you have a regular ol craptacular stove like I do.

I agree with everyone else about all the stuff they've said. I have the regular round lodge and the two-burner one, and use them all the time, since my living situation kind of precludes most grills except for this $500 one that I can't afford right now.

[BettyK]

Can anyone see the email address for Lodge?  I've looked all over their website and all I can see is their mailing address and phone number.  I want a grill! :-)

Lori

What about ordering from Amazon?

Unfortunately international shipping is not available for such items. I just double checked their shipping restrictions.

[oraklet]

Welcome ™ arbuclo! in addition to what they all said. 

If you can't get the Lodge brand in Australia, just get the heaviest, most solid cast iron you can find.  Don't fool around with fancy LeCreuset -- it's great, it's pretty, but in this case cheaper is better.

DO season it, if you can't find the pre-seasoned kind.

DO dry it immediately after washing.

DON'T worry that you'll hurt it by scrubbing. Just reseason periodically.

ok, so it seems the pros want to season grill pans. but why?

[tommy]

there's a whole thread or 5 on seasoning. the reasons, i'm guessing, include, but are not limited to:

they won't rust.

their non-stick properties really come out when seasoned.

[slkinsey]

I'd like to be the voice of dissent here and explain why I don't think seasoning is important or even desirable on a grill pan:

1. If you are using the grill pan appropriately -- which is to say, heated until screaming hot -- (a.) real seasoning will never develop, only a carbonized coating; (b.) any "seasoning" that does build up will burn and be damaged every time the pan is subjected to extremely high heat (which should be always) -- this is why "seasoned" cast iron grill pans smoke so much even before there is any food in them.

2. The main advantages of proper seasoning are (a.) makes the pan less reactive, which prevents rusting and also mitigates food reactions to some degree; and (b.) imparts a certain amount of "nonstickness" to the pan.

These advantages do not particularly apply to cast iron grill pans for a variety of reasons: (a.) as explained above, it is virtually impossible to build up and maintain good seasoning that confers the advantages described above on a grill pan if it is being used with appropriately high heat; (b.) because grill pans are not used to cook foods where chemical reactions with the food are a concern, the reduction in reactivity conferred by seasoning is not important (I'll get to rust later); and (c.) due to the fact that the food is only contacting a tiny surface area of the pan (the ribs), and at very high heat, sticking to the pan is not a significant concern -- especially if the food is lightly oiled before putting it in the preheated grill pan.

So, really the only advantage of seasoning in a grill pan, as I see it, is the prevention of rust. For that, I simply wipe on a thin coating of oil before I put the pan away. This is not to say that I think one should actively try to keep the pan totally raw, but I think it doesn't make sense to go to the trouble one normally takes to build up and maintain seasoning. This means that I think it's ok to clean the pan with water, detergent and a scouring pad after use, and I don't think one should bother going through all the rigmarole of brushing the pan with Crisco and baking it in the oven and all the other things that go along with seasoning. In my experience, the more "seasoned" a grill pan is, the more smoky it is. And, in my apartment anyway, using the grill pan is smoky enough without the additional smoke created by burning away some seasoning.

(NB. Of course, this doesn't apply if you don't use the grill pan over super-high heat, but IMO it doesn't make much sense to use it any other way.)

[tommy]

(NB. Of course, this doesn't apply if you don't use the grill pan over super-high heat, but IMO it doesn't make much sense to use it any other way.)

that, to me, is the caveat. i'm not always grilling meat at 15,000 degrees. sometimes i even find myself cooking a chicken breast on it.

and i'll reiterate: my seasoning pretty much stays on, even with repeated use at the highest heat my burners can put out. your mileage may vary. smokes the whole freakin house up, though.

[Fat Guy]

If the seasoning is staying on, where is the smoke coming from?

[Fat Guy]

By the way, anodized aluminum is also a good material for grill pans. There are several Calphalon models available from Amazon for $39, and they have larger available diameters than the Lodge offerings. Just don't get the old 13" model because it's too thin and will warp. But I've seen newer ones that look like they can handle any heat.

[tommy]

If the seasoning is staying on, where is the smoke coming from?

as you know, it's coming from the seasoning and the meat. however, i doubt that all of the seasoning is coming off, just as i doubt that all of the fat is coming out of the meat.

i see this turning into one of those "i'm right and you're wrong and i simply can't believe you because i know better" discussions. i'll bow out now, with my still-seasoned grill pan.

[slkinsey]

If you're not using the pan at high heat, then undoubtedly the seasoning is building up and staying on -- so it's definitely not an "I'm right and you're wrong" situation. You are definitely right in the context of your use of the pan.

That said, if you find smoke coming out of the pan after preheating it empty over high heat for 5-7 minutes, that smoke is coming from the seasoning burning off. There are no two ways about it -- that's what's happening.

Now... this is not to say that a grill pan used consistently over high heat doesn't eventually turn black and take on many of the superficial trappings of seasoning. This is from the carbonized oil and whatever else that ends up sticking to the pores in the iron. But it never does take on the slick, smooth, slightly shiny look of well and truly seasoned cast iron. Again, if you don't use high heat, it's a completely different story.

In re to FG's suggestion of anodized aluminum... I'm not so sure I'm down with that. Aluminum has a significantly lower specific heat per unit volume than iron -- so low, in fact, that an aluminum pan would have to be several times thicker than an iron pan to have a similar heat capacity. Heat capacity, as explained in my eGCI cookware tutorial, is especially important when cooking foods where you want the heat to start high and stay high throughout. On the other hand, since the actual surface contact is so small in a grill pan it's possible that the influence of heat capacity is mitigated somewhat, in which case aluminum might have some advantages due to its having much better thermal conductivity.

[Dave the Cook]

By the way, anodized aluminum is also a good material for grill pans. There are several Calphalon models available from Amazon for $39, and they have larger available diameters than the Lodge offerings. Just don't get the old 13" model because it's too thin and will warp. But I've seen newer ones that look like they can handle any heat.

Ditto on the old Calphalon grill pans. Mine folded up on the first use.

I haven't seen the new design, but I am dubious, because though I usually trust Fat Guy, I don't trust Calphalon.

As for seasoning, I see Sam's point. But you don't have to get the pan screaming hot simply to get a nice quadrillage (which is what most people use it for, I think). I let the empty pan soak up energy for a while over medium-high heat, then crank it all the way up just before putting the food in. For most things, this works just fine, and minimizes the smoke.

Caveat: I rarely use the grill pan for anything but vegetables. I live in the South, where it's 75 degrees in the middle of November, and if I really want to grill something, I do it outside. This is not quite saying that grill pans are for tourists, but it's pretty close.