Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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219 of 221 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
You must understand cast iron seasoning, January 26, 2002
There are many combo grill/griddles on the market at a much higher price. None, however, perform like this one, IF properly seasoned. All cast iron cookware, WHEN properly seasoned, in my opinion, are essential weapons in the kitchen. The comments critical of the reversible sides and the effect of heat on the griddle down (or grill down) entirely miss the point. Cast iron is seasoned with oil, fat, etc. All are hydrocarbons. As oil on the cast iron is heated, the hydrogen molecules crack off, leaving a carbon residue. Carbon is an excellent heat conductor, and is the perfect non-stick surface. Over the years, this carbon residue builds up to form a perfectlhy smooth surface, that is a better non-stick than Calphalon II, and you can use a knife on it without damaging the surface. The only problem is that developing this carbon surface takes time. Not simply one seasoning session in the oven, as suggested by the Lodge literature. But everyone who knows about the benefits of seasoned cast iron, immediately recognize that the Lodge recipe of seasoning is bull. You must have patience, and the best will come. Your best bet is to get your grand mother's cast iron skillet. It will be black, smooth, indestructible, and cheap. If that is not possible, get a Lodge, and invest a few years with the seasoning process. Fortunately, the stuff works pretty well after the initial oil and bake routine. But to get the smooth carbon finsish, you must have patience. Season it. Cook fatty meats in it. Always wash it with a soft cloth and soap. Oil it with shortening. Bake it. Whatever. But in a year you will have what I consider the first essential item in any kitchen. The above comment addressed cast iron in general. My grand mother did not have a grill/griddle combo, on so I had to season this myself. Unlike the negative comments, I found that the reversable side feature, actually speeded up the seasoning process. My grill side, after only a few weeks of griddle use, looks and cooks like my grand mother's old skillets. We don't even take this baby off the stove. From pork chops to salmon, and KC strips to vegies, the grill side is used daily. Burgers and crab cakes are done on the smooth griddle side. For pancakes, however, we still use a non sexy electic Farberware griddle that I once bought for a hunting trip.
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117 of 121 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great stove top giddle/Or use for broiling!, March 7, 2002
I have a cheap gas stove and I always wanted one of those expensive versions. (You know the one's on everyone's TV kitchen) ... This griddle cooks pancakes, french toast, cheese sandwiches and eggs on the smooth side wonderfully. Just kick the burners on high, let it warm up, knock them back to medium until its hot evenly and throw the food on. Don't worry about heating an empty pan, Cast iron can take it. When a water droplet bounces and its not smoking its ready. (Smoking is too hot, duh!) The other great use is to put it in the oven, turn the broiler/oven on and let it heat up. Then toss on the steaks, ribs, or fish! Yum! The Lodge seasoning is ok for that first time cooking. You do need to wash off the manufacturing dirt, and a good coat of oil is a good way to start that carbon buildup. On the down side, the burner grates on my stove instersect with the indented handle slots. There is a slight lip on the pan so that it rests directly on the grate. If you slide the pan down just slightly and to the center of the stove, it sets in just right. But I could see that on not all stoves it would fit as well. The alternative would be to get two of the open cast iron rings that fit on the stove grates and put the griddle on top of them. (These rings are normally designed to aid in holding a small pot over a larger more open gas stove grate) (I got two cast iron grates from the hardware store. I think they were "storm" grates. In an outside fire I burnt the paint off them and now they work fine holding the griddle up off the stove. Also Lodge has a 8" castiron trivet which looks like it should work as well.) It is heavy, yup. It doesn't fit in my sink very well, but then if you've ever watched the guy at the bar & grill clean his grill, he does it right on the stove. So while the giddle is hot, give it a good scrape with the spatula, and wipe it with a paper towel. You'll get 90% of the food/grease off the pan. Then a quick rinse when it cools down gets the rest. (In the sink put a large sponge under the edge and one behind it to avoid scratching things.) Also if you cook bacon, or other high fat food, it splatters. Since the lip is low, it doesn't catch the grease spatters the way a good fry pan does. More stove cleanup...While it grills ok on the stove top, It's not a replacement for the charcoal cooker. You will need a good vent hood to catch the smoke. (Well yeah) Also if you plan on using it inside your oven, measure first! Not all ovens are 20" wide inside. (I have much older cast iron fry pans and everything that's been said about them becoming smooth and non stick is true. Took about 5 years of off and on cooking to do it, and 10 to become perfect. Grandma's pans went to my mother so I had to season my own pans myself. This pan because of the dual sided cooking only took about a month to equal that old fry pan.
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43 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A wonderful Griddle, May 2, 2000
I bought this griddle because I wanted to cook better pancakes, since I am cursed with an electric stove. (I rent) This griddle performs very well. It took a minimal amount of effort to season it (grease it permanently - instructions are included) and since then it has been non-stick with a minimal amount of PAM. The griddle has two sides, one is smooth, for pancakes, and the other is ridged for steaks and suchlike. It works very well and considering I have cast iron that was my grandmother's, it should last forever, assuming you take care of it properly.
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