The 7 Best Grill Pans of 2023, Tested and Reviewed

Other Grill Pans We Tried

• Lodge Chef Collection Seasoned Reversible Grill/Griddle: If you have a stove with a long, oval-shaped burner, this $50 reversible grill pan may be a good option for you. Its extra-large size makes it easy to cook a variety of food at once, and during testing, it produced beautiful char marks with minimal sticking. Plus, you can flip the pan over and use the flat griddle side for cooking pancakes, veggies, and more. However, if you have a standard stovetop with round burners, you’re better off with a standard grill pan that will fit on top of an individual heating element.
• OXO Non-Stick 11-Inch Grill Pan: Unlike the other grill pans we recommend, this $50 model is made from hard-anodized aluminum with a nonstick coating. It’s very lightweight, and its handle actually stays cool to the touch while you’re cooking — unlike most cast iron pans. Despite having very short ridges, this pan did create grill marks on foods like grilled cheese and zucchini, but it’s not a great option if you want to cook fatty pieces of meat, as they’ll end up sitting in their own juices.

Things to Consider Before Buying a Grill Pan

Material

You can find grill pans that are made from a variety of materials, but cast iron grill pans will ultimately deliver the best results. “Cast iron is my go-to material for grill pans because of its superior heat retention and even distribution,” says Pernell. Cast iron grill pans typically deliver the most defined char marks on your food, and most are oven-friendly, as well.

If you don’t want the hassle of caring for a traditional cast iron pan, you may want to look for an enamel-coated model like the Le Creuset Signature Cast Iron Grill Pan or Staub Enameled Cast Iron Grill Pan. These pans have a smooth, nonstick enamel finish that makes them much easier to clean and maintain, yet they still deliver the superior heat retention of cast iron.

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Size and Shape

Grill pans are available in both square and round forms, and in our testing, we found that square options generally fit more food. “Ten to 12-inch pans work best because surface area is important in a grill pan,” explains chef David Figueroa, co-founder of Melinda’s Hot Sauce. “Overcrowding a pan leads to steaming and not searing, and that isn’t what you want.”

It’s also important to select a pan that will fit fully on your stove’s burner. If the sides overhang, the pan may not heat up evenly, making it more challenging to cook.

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Finally, you’ll want to consider the height of the pan’s walls. The higher the walls, the easier it will be to flip over large pieces of meat. High walls also help to minimize grease splatter while you cook.

Handles

Cast iron grill pans can be quite hefty, weighing up to 10 pounds, so it’s important to find one with well-designed handles that make it easy to move on and off the burner. Some designs, such as the Lodge Grill Pan, have a long pan handle and a smaller loop handle on the front, providing multiple ways to pick up the cookware. Alternatively, designs like the Victoria Cast Iron Grill Pan have two loop-style handles, which often makes them lighter in weight and more compact to store.

How We Tested

To find the best grill pans out there today, we put 20 different models to the test, cooking with them for a total of 28 hours. We made four different dishes with each grill pan — grilled cheese, roasted zucchini, pork chops, and hamburgers — and we also made pancakes on any models that doubled as a griddle. As we cooked with each pan, we looked at factors like their ergonomics, heat distribution, heat retention, performance, and ease of cleaning, evaluating how well they cooked different types of food.

After all the testing was complete, we scored each product on its design, ease of use, performance, and ease of cleaning. This data was then used to rank the products, and the top scorer was the Lodge Cast Iron Square Grill Pan, which earned a perfect 5 out of 5. It was closely followed by the Le Creuset Signature Cast Iron Grill Pan, which followed close behind.

Why Trust PEOPLE?

Camryn Rabideau is a freelance writer and product tester who specializes in home products, and she’s previously tested several grill pans herself, including the Cuisinart Enameled Square Grill Pan. While writing this article, she pulled insights from the PEOPLE Tested team’s firsthand testing notes, and she also spoke with two experts — food blogger Yaz Pernell of By The Forkful and chef David Figueroa, co-founder of Melinda’s Hot Sauce — for insights on selecting a grill pan and how to best use them in your kitchen.

What Is People Tested?

We created the PEOPLE Tested seal of approval to help you find the very best products for your life. We use our unique methodology to test products in three labs across the country and with our network of home testers to determine their effectiveness, durability, ease of use, and so much more. Based on the results, we rate and recommend products so you can find the right one for your needs.

But we don’t stop there: We also regularly re-review the categories in which we’ve awarded the PEOPLE Tested seal of approval — because the best product of today might not be the best of tomorrow. And by the way, companies can never buy our recommendation: Their products must earn it, fair and square.

In short, PEOPLE Tested provides recommendations you can trust — every day, every purchase.

Source: https://gardencourte.com
Categories: Outdoor