I picked up a Lodge 12” Grill Pan, basically a squared skillet with raised grilling ridges, mainly for cooking steaks, chicken, and pork products, while it works great for filet Mignon, cleaning the ridges is a pain, standard flat cast iron is easier to clean
I discovered it also has another great use, grilling hot dogs, start the dogs in the center of the pan, resting between the ridges, then roll to the next ridge as it cooks, when you reach the outer edge, it’s nicely cooked, and if done right, you can create a nice checkerboard grille pattern on the bun, especially a New England style top split roll
Cast iron works on every cook surface, gas, electric, induction, it is a little tricky on glass cooktops, you need to be careful with it, but it’ll work
You can also start on a cooktop and move to the oven to finish, try doing that with any other metal cookware
Cast Iron releases no toxic gasses, adds iron to food, and will last multiple generations, and it’s inexpensive, only drawback is the weight.
Can’t quote MacTech:
"Cast Iron releases no toxic gasses, adds iron to food, and will last multiple generations, and it’s inexpensive, only drawback is the weight.
Cast Iron is the only way to cook."
I worked with a guy who restored old cast iron things in his spare time, and he was convinced that there was one single American cast iron cookware supplier that had reputable wares. He claimed that all of the “other” stuff was made from radioactive Chernobyl scrap metal.
That was his claim, anyway.
Those pans are awesome for simple and delicious grilling of breads and pita indoors. Just let it cool and brush out the crumbs before storing. Anything else that runs juices invariably makes the pan impossible to clean properly.
