Equipment Expert Adam Ried shares his top picks for cast iron skillets.
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Can any woman imagine this man on top of her ? yikes
How much money does America’s test kitchen receive from Smithey for each sale from your affiliate links vs the other affiliate links? We can’t really make an educated decision without these numbers.
I bought a set of three no-name cast iron pans forty years ago and still use them. After years of use the outsides became caked up with carbon.I put them in my wood stove and burned off the carbon, then I had to re-season them. These pans will never wear out. The same no-name set costs about $30 at Walmart.
The best cast irons are 100+ years old,..like my newest ones…the older ones, are better.
Smithy❤
Bought some cheap cast iron years back. And angle grinder and some sanding pads got them pretty smooth easily enough. I only did the cooking surface, and it didn't do anything for the weight, but hey, it works. I did have to preseason them all obviously.
Hi
i would love to have a modeen smoother pan but th3 price just doesnt justify it.. especially since they cant really hold a seasoning as well as bumpy lodge
i have good luck with vintage wagners though ¯_(''-)_/¯
more cast iron reviews. NOTHING CHINESE,
I bought a lot of Griswold stuff right before the prices went nuts. Far superior to Lodge.
You can fix a Lodge up by sanding the inside smooth. Time-consuming.
lame test
Stargazer is the best pan all around and reasonably priced!
Lancaster is right there with smithy
All my raw cast iron is Lodge.. made in the USA and under 50 bucks, and works like a charm once seasoned.
The heavier the better! Don't fall for the "lightweight" meme.
Good information… thanks. I have literally a Ton of cast iron from my Grandmother and Mom. The finex 12 is the most expensive I've bought… and it is heavy. But… it sears and browns beautifully and with the shape… and handle… makes a great serving piece… directly off of the stove, out of the oven, or off of the Grill. None of the new ones are any better at all than some of my old Griswolds and Wagner's 🙂
To say cast iron will last a lifetime is an understatement! Mine was my great grandmother’s and it’s stamped 1909!
Lodge for the win IMO. Thank you.
My cast iron pan is from about 1950 and is listed as a fried chicken pan in that the sides are higher than a fry pan. I love this because there is less splatter. I think it is a Wagner. (Bill from Canada)
I have over 50 cast iron skillets. Many are vintage skillets by the old-time producers: Griswold, Wagner & Lodge. I also have some of the newer cast iron skillets. My skillets run the gamut from light to extraordinarily heavy. I don't find cooking on the thinner skillets to have any more uneven browning than the thicker skillets. All cast iron skillets have hot spots (if you don't believe me, get out an infrared thermometer and check the temperature while it is preheating; I noticed a temperature difference of over 60 degrees in various places in a new Lodge heavy skillet). Cooking with any cast iron skillet has a learning curve. Whether it is a thinner or thicker skillet, the learning curve is the same.
I'm staying with the Griswold Number8 pan that my mother got in the 1950s. I also own a Griswold Number 8 Dutch oven that my mother-in-law got second hand in the early 1950s. Interestingly, although the two are supposedly the same size, the lids aren't interchangeable.
I've taken an 80 grit sandpaper to my Lodge Cast iron to knock down the high points of the casting artifacts. Works very well and it doesn't have to be perfectly smooth. No need to buy overpriced cast iron. I suppose there is the advertising concept of "snob appeal" that comes into play when you own an overpriced product!😊
It's interesting how ATK and Wirecutter are on different pages here. Wirecutter said the Smithey was slower to heat up, had uneven heating, had some of the manufacturer seasoning flake off, and was one of the only ones that did not release cornbread without sticking.
Why wasn't the Stargazer 12 inch skillet included. It is American made, machined smooth, and has a larger handle like Adam claimed most testers preferred. I have a 10.5 Inch Stargazer and it is easily my favorite Cast Iron pan in that size. It is about in the middle of your price range, and the handle is made with a Y shape that helps slow how quickly the handle gets hot. And a pour lip that stretches all the way around the pan.
why is she trying to hurt this man
Cant go wrong with cast iron
I'm struggling between a 12" from Field Co or the one from Smithey. I like that the Smithey has a larger cooking surface, but the weight – which contributed to it beating the Field Co skillet vis-a-vis even heating – is a problem for me due to chronic tendonitis and some arthritis. For the money, I want the best pan I can get, but 1-1/2 to 2 pounds makes a big difference. Am I really gonna notice the difference in day-to-day cooking vs the difference I will definitely notice in weight?
America's Test Kitchen is a shill for these expensive equipments. 😂
Just you wait, in 6 months they will be recommending the new Yeti $400 cast iron pan. 😂
$200 pays for 2 months of most people's electric/cooling bill. 😂
Paid advertisement 🤡
My favorite cast iron pan I bought at a flea market in 1973. It had obviously been promoted to camping service by its previous owner.
Please test the german STUR cast iron
I got my cast iron for 5 bucks in 2013 from a flea market.
I've never had any luck with cast iron. Regardless of my cloddish handling of these behemoths, the thought that the slick surface is compliments of baked-on grease is not for me. No doubt if you scrapped off some seasoning and put it in a petri dish, you would get some amazing critters growing there for sure.
I got a set of 3 cast iron pans from JCPenny's but not sure if it's seasoned and ready to use of if I need to do something with it, I'm somewhat intimidated by it, I hear it should not be washed in soapy water, but how do I use it for the first time, just wipe with a wet cloth?
Slant logo Griswold.