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Mar 22, 2024 · Our Favorite US-Made Cast Iron Skillets & Pans. Best Overall: Lodge Chef Collection Cast Iron Skillet ⬇ Jump to review; Best Large Skillet: Stargazer Cast Iron Skillet ⬇ Jump to review; Best USA-Made Dutch Oven: Field Company Preseasoned Dutch Oven ⬇ Jump to review; Most Attractive: Nest Cast Iron Dutch Oven ⬇ Jump to review
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- The Winners, at A Glance
- The Tests
- What We Learned
- The Criteria: What to Look For in A Cast Iron Skillet
- Our Favorite Cast Iron Skillets
- The Competition
- FAQs
- Why We’Re The Experts
You just can’t beat this cast iron skillet that’s been a longtime Serious Eats favorite. It sears superbly and has hovered around $25 to $30 for time immemorial. If you’re new to cast iron, this no-frills, durable skillet is a solid choice to start with. It's the one I recommend to anyone who asks. The 10-inch Lancaster weighs a little over four po...
Throughout testing, I used our winning enameled cast iron skillet from Le Creusetas a control. 1. Heat Conduction Test: I set the skillets over medium heat and immediately took the temperature of the cooking surface (left, center, right) with an infrared thermometer. Then, I set a timer in 30-second increments and took the temperature in the same m...
Which Size Cast Iron Skillet Was Best?
A 10- to 10.25-inch skillet will serve most people well—it’s the perfect size for frying up some eggs, flipping a few pancakes, or searing steaks. It’s what we reviewed in the past and what I stuck to in this update. That said, if you’re looking for a slightly larger skillet, all of our winners are available in bigger versions. A 12-inch skillet, for example, is large enough for a family of four or for more substantial servings. For example, I like using my dual-handled Lodge cast iron skille...
What Can You Cook in a Cast Iron Skillet?
I often reach for my cast iron skillet when I'm shallow frying meatballs or chicken piccata, searing steak, or cooking up pancakes. Cast iron excels at these tasks partially because it has a high thermal mass—basically, it retains heat really, really well. This means you can add pancake batter, remove the cooked pancakes, and the pan will still be quite hot—immediately ready for the next batch. It also means that frying oil stays at a more consistent temperature, so it'll take less time to re...
Artisan Vs. Lodge Cast Iron Skillets: What's the Difference?
One difference between old-school and new-school cast iron skillets is the color and texture of the pans. Newcomers like Lancaster and Smithey make brassy pans with smooth, shiny surfaces, while Lodge and Victoriasell black skillets with a grainy texture. The pan’s color reflects its seasoning: The darker it is, the more seasoned it is. (Seasoning is a buildup of polymerized fat, which creates a nonstick surface.) The brass-colored pans I tested (from Lancaster, Stargazer, and Smithey) were p...
A cast iron skillet should be durable and easy to maneuver—you’re dealing with a ripping hot pan after all. All of my top picks were on the lighter side, which made lifting cornbread out of the oven less of a workout. Helper handles and pour spouts were optional features that, while helpful, weren’t essential. Surface texture is often an indicator ...
What we liked: This no-frills skillet from Lodgehas been a longtime Serious Eats favorite—and for good reason. It’s affordable, durable, and nonstick out of the box. It beautifully seared steak, baked golden cornbread, and fried eggs slid right off the surface. What we didn’t like: It’s on the heavier side compared to other winners (though it wasn’...
Lodge Chef Collection 10 Inch Cast Iron Skillet: This isn’t a bad pan per se; it seared well and didn’t have any issues cooking fried eggs. However, I didn't love the curved sides, which reduced co...What's the difference between bare, seasoned, and enameled cast iron?
A bare cast iron skillet has not been seasoned (take a gander at the next FAQ to find out how to do this!). A seasoned cast iron skillet has been coated with fat and heated, creating a polymerized layer that’s naturally nonstick. Finally, an enameled cast iron skillethas a cast iron core that’s coated in, well, enamel. This makes it more nonstick out of the box, and it doesn’t require seasoning.
How do you season a cast iron skillet?
It’s easy! First, take your freshly unpackaged skillet and give it a wash just in case there are any errant metal bits from the manufacturing line. After hand drying, you can set it over medium heat for a few minutes to ensure all the water is gone. Then, preheat your oven to 450°F. Rub the entire skillet with a neutral, high-smoke point oil (canola oil works) and place it in the oven for 30 minutes. Carefully remove the skillet (it’ll be hot), rub with more oil, and repeat another three to f...
Do I need to pre-season my cast iron skillet?
All of the cast iron skillets we tested were sold pre-seasoned or had a pre-seasoned option. In this case, you don’t need to do any more seasoning off the bat—you can get cooking and let that seasoning grow over time. If you buy a bare, unseasoned cast iron skillet, you’ll need to season itbefore getting started so you don’t end up with food stuck on the pan.
She previously tested gear at America’s Test Kitchen and worked in restaurants and bars, too.For this review, Grace tested 10 cast iron skillets (with the Le Creuset enameled skillet as a control) by examining their heat conduction, frying eggs, searing steak, and, in the winners, baking c...Daniel Gritzer first tested cast iron skillets back in 2019. His favorite from that testing, the Lodge Cast Iron Skillet, is still our winner.Jun 10, 2024 · By Andrew Palermo. Updated June 10, 2024. Are $200 cast iron skillets actually better than ones that cost $25? And which cast iron skillet is the best regardless of price? In this guide, I answer those questions by putting 6 of the most popular cast iron skillets through a series of tests.
Jun 10, 2024 · Best Value Cast-Iron Skillet: Lodge 10.25-Inch Cast-Iron Skillet. Best Cast-Iron Skillet For Searing: Smithey No. 10 Skillet. Best Enameled Cast-Iron Skillet: Le Creuset Signature...
- Anna Stockwell
Mar 20, 2024 · Whether you want to spend $20 or $200 these are the best cast iron skillets for even-heating, beautiful browning, and quick-searing.
Sep 1, 2021 · Looking for American-made cast iron cookware? We've done the research and provided details on 10 reputable brands made right here in the USA.
Jan 4, 2024 · October 2022. A cast-iron skillet is great for everything from searing a T-bone to roasting a chicken, and it will become naturally nonstick over time. We’ve tested 16 skillets since 2017,...
