Lodge Logic L10SK3 12-Inch Pre-Seasoned Skillet
|
List Price: Our Price: $18.99 You Save: $8.51 (31%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $18.24 (click here) Category: Kitchen See more product details |
|---|
Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Lodge Logic L10SK3 12-Inch Pre-Seasoned Skillet
Customer Review: You ain't made cornbread 'til you've made Johnnycake in a cast iron skillet!
Summary: 5 Stars
As much as I love and cherish my genuine (and no longer manufactured) Corning Ware Pyroceram cookware, it's just not the right stuff for making cornbread, or, more specifically, Johnnycake.
What's the difference, one may ask? Well, cornbread baked in glass or lightweight metal comes out with a soft barely formed crust. Johnnycake adds the crackle of a fried crust, and the only way to attain it is with a cast iron skillet, like Lodge's Logic Pre-Seasoned 12-incher.
Since it's pre-seasoned, it's like inheriting that coveted been-in-the-family-for-years skillet without waiting for someone to die. On top of the stove, nothing fries chicken better or makes crustier hash brown potatoes. Many gourmet chefs insist on cast iron for searing meats and preparing pan gravy or sauces, no matter how the meat is going to be finished. If you really want to see the family's eyes pop, serve up some plate-size pancakes for breakfast this weekend.
In the oven, cast iron holds the heat better than anything else. Scalloped potatoes bake up wrapped in crusty goodness. Ditto for a pineapple or peach upside-down cake.
But this pan really struts its stuff when you're in the mood for honest-to-goodness Johnnycake. You start by preparing a double batch of your favorite cornbread recipe or mix. While the batter rests, put your Lodge Logic skillet on the stove, lay in 2 or 4 strips of bacon and fry 'em up good and crisp. Drain the bacon on paper towels and carefully tilt the pan until the sides are coated in bacon fat. Pour off the excess and put the skillet in the oven as it preheats.
When the oven's ready, stir down the batter, pull out the oven rack and dump the batter in all at once. Listen! Hear that sizzle? That's the outside of your cornbread frying! Close the door, let it bake and then cool it about 15 minutes before you turn it out on a cutting board. Great Googly-Moogly, that's some fine eatin', especially if you sprinkle a little crumbled bacon on top of the butter and honey!
You say you're a vegetarian? Gotcha covered! Melt half a stick of Nucoa margarine in the skillet instead of frying bacon. Butter will burn at these temperatures and the delicate flavor will cook out, so save the butter for when your Johnnycake comes out of the oven.
You could even use a cooking spray, but don't come crying to me if it's not as good. I tried to warn ya.
Oh, and here's a delicious bit of irony. I just saw Emeril Lagasse making Johnnycake on Food Network. Was he using one of his Chinese-made EmerilWare cast iron skillets?
Nope. Emeril's favorite skillet is a Lodge.
Customer Review: Good Quality, Great Price
Summary: 4 Stars
I purchased this Lodge 12 inch skillet along with the 8 inch skillet. I am happy with my purchase. The pan seems to be very solid and cook evenly. I have only cooked a few things so far. First I cooked cornbread, it turned out amazing. I have also cooked some sausage and eggs, they also cooked well. The eggs stuck to the pan a little, but not a big deal. As I use the pans more I'm sure the seasoning will continue to build up and the pans will become more non-stick. But they were still easy to clean up, I just added some water in the pan for a few minutes and the food came right off, with a scrub brush. Good price on Amazon and free shipping is great. The pan should last a life time.
When I first got the pans, I decided to polish the pans using sand paper. I read on another review that you could use sand paper to help polish the pan, which would make it become non-stick more quickly. After doing some research it seemed to make sense, many companies producing cast iron cookware use to polish their pans, many years ago (but of course to save on production cost they stopped doing this.) When you get the pan you can feel/ see the rough cast finish. I took an orbital sander and started with an 80 grit and worked up to 220 grit sand paper. You sand down the pre seasoning that was applied direct from Lodge, but soon the bottom of the pan becomes much smoother, and almost shiny. Having this smoother surface also allows the food to slide easier making them more non-stick. Cast Iron pans build up a nice black Patina over time. This patina is essentially the pores of the pan filling in with oil/fats. Eventually the patina builds up to fill in all the pores and the pan should become more non-stick. While I did sand away the pre seasoning that was applied by Lodge, my guess is that with a smoother surface and with fewer pits to fill, the seasoning/ patina will build up faster, to make the pan become non-stick more quickly. Seasoning the pan is simple, you do this by taking a fat/oil and coving the pan with the oil and then placing it in the oven for a few hours. You should season you pans even though Lodge pre seasons them for you. The more you cook in your Cast Iron pans the better they will perform, as they continue to builds up the patina, making the pan almost glossy black (this is a good thing). The patina also helps prevent rust. Even if take a standard pan the patina will build up over time and fill in all the pits. Over all the Lodge pans seem to be good quality, they should last a life time, I am happy with my purchase, and I look forward to seeing what food I can prepare in my new cast iron pans.
Customer Review: A word about the pre-seasoned part
Summary: 5 Stars
I grew up with cast-iron (pre-Teflon days)and know the benefits. I moved away from it with the new (at the time) non-sticks that made their appearances from time to time with new and better coatings. I have reverted to cast-iron because of superiority. I still use the non-sticks for casual and fast cookings but use cast-iron the majority of the time. I love to cook and like to feel connected to my cookware (weird, huh?) Once they are seasoned properly (properly is key), they are very hard to beat for anything other than recipes that call for non-reactive cookware. What the cast-iron novice needs to understand is that it takes a while for cast-iron to become the be-all. One that isn't familiar with cast-iron will expect too much, too fast. With some understanding, that novice will have the patience to wait it out, so to speak. The payoff is worth it. Without that patience and understanding, the newcomer will get become disillusioned and even disgusted and shove it to the back of the cupboard.
First of all, the 'pre-seasoned' is little more than hype. Yes, any cast-iron does need to be seasoned but it takes much more than one introduction of "oil to heat" to achieve that seasoning. One has to cook several, if not many times in cast-iron for it to become indispensable. After the first few times of cooking and cleaning the pan, coat the inside with an almost undetectable smear of vegetable oil and heat it up briefly on the eye. Don't let it smoke. Allow it to cool down and wipe excess oil off. There won't be much because as the iron heats, it expands, allowing the oil to actually soak into the iron. When it cools, the oil molecules are trapped. It prevents rust and makes the pot or pan easier and easier to clean the more it's used. Additionally, the initial roughness of the cooking surface itself will smooth out. A patina will emerge from the scraping and stirring. This new surface will readily release food when you clean it. It is an eventual process but it will occur. You will see it happening. This will sound strange, but you will actually fall in love with it. You have nurtured it to it's present wonderfulness and will actually look forward to using it. It becomes more than just a way to cook food; it becomes almost an integral part of the food being prepared.
Again, don't be discouraged after using it a few times. Stick with it and follow the above instructions and you will reap enormous culinary rewards. It will make cooking an even more joyous experience. If you don't know how cooking can be joyous, maybe tolerable is a more operative description.
Customer Review: Get buff while you cook
Summary: 5 Stars
Is it heavy? Absolutly.
Do I love it? You betcha!
Pros:
Flavor: Imparts that cast-iron-flavor to your food that only a cast iron pan can. If you find yourself wondering how you get that fajita flavor in your homemade chicken fajitas, it's not the seasoning spice, it's the pan.
Clean-up: is easy and there's no rush. I've cleaned the pan hot right after I was done cooking (with water and a scrub brush) and I've also left it on the stove a week; dirty with food dried to it--I had the flu give me a break--and i just re-heated the pan and scrubbed it out, voila clean pan again. I learned a great clean up trick. Wash the pan then put it on the stove on med-hi heat, the water will evaporate. Then, while the pan is dry and hot THEN I oil it with vegitable oil while the pans pores are nice and open. Turn off the heat and let it cool then wipe out excess oil with a paper towel. This keeps my pan in great shape.
Heat: is even and I find that I only need to ever crank the heat up to medium to cook chicken and still get a nice crust or medium-hi for blackening.
Buffness: My left arm is %25 stronger than my right arm because it does all the pickups, adjustments and dirty work.
Coolness: When people come over for dinner and see you serving queso con carne out of a cast iron pan you get the Oooooo's. Also, you can make a pretty sweet clock for the kitchen with one using a clock it from the craft store and a drill.
This pan stays on the stovetop year-round. Last night it was rainy so I made blue cheese buffalo burgers in it instead of busting out the grill.
Things I learned while using this pan:
-You don't need to buy the lid, just use an old lid from the teflon pans you don't use anymore or the actual teflon pan, I just stack it on top of the cast iron pan.
-Oven mitts, or a dish towel are your friend, forgetting to wrap one around your hand before grabbing this will make you remember.
-If your food is sticking, chances are it's not the seasoning on the pan it's just that your item isn't cooked enough yet. Chicken will stick like a mofo when you first set it down in the pan. You have to give the meat a chance to sear before you start mucking around and trying to push it around. Same with fish, drop it in, leave it alone.
Cons:
It's heavy. Some days I'm tired and the phone is much lighter so I dial and see what my friends made for dinner or order a pizza.
Customer Review: The Original Hot Foot
Summary: 5 Stars
At 12 inches across, this skillet is big! And being cast iron, it's also heavy. Add to that the matching cover and it really does take two hands to handle this whopper! Note the extra handle on the front of the beast. It's there for a reason. It makes the skillet manageable despite the weight.
The second item to note is that this skillet is not dishwasher-safe. It requires special attention. That's not unique in the world of cookware, but this one requires a little babying. I've found that the extra effort is minimal and not as mysterious as some of the reviews here have made it out to be. In short, just follow the manufacturer's guidelines. They're from people who know this product and they're straight-forward.
So with the negatives out of the way, I have to say that we love this skillet! We have cooked plenty of items in it and use it several times a week. Fried chicken, steaks, chuck roasts, you name it.
For steaks, just crank up the heat to max, (we have a gas stove, so electric might be different), put a little oil, salt, and pepper on the steaks, and put them in for 3 minutes uncovered. Then flip and leave for 3 minutes. Then flip, turn off the heat, and cover for 3 minutes. Then flip and cover for 3 more minutes. That's it. It's all in the skillet and it comes out perfect. (adjust times for thickness of steak.) The thickness of the cast iron lets the skillet retain the heat and distribute it. With the lid on, it acts as a Dutch oven.
For roasts, we start the same way, but searing the roast for 6 minutes in what Alton Brown calls a "rocket-hot" skillet. 3 minutes on each side, then cover it and slide it into an oven set on BROIL. Leave it there for 5 minutes/pound. (a 2-pound roast = 10 minutes.) Then turn off the oven and leave the roast for about an hour. DON'T OPEN THE DOOR! Simple and delicious.
About the only thing we don't cook in this skillet is eggs. They do tend to stick. I have to think we're doing something wrong since my in-laws cook eggs in theirs with no problems. Of course, they've had theirs since Lincoln was a toddler, and these skillets do seem to age very well, as long as you take care of them.
Bottom line: If you don't mind the heft and the extra bit of maintenance, this skillet will serve you well for years. And if you have kids you can inspire in the kitchen, this could become one of your treasured family heirlooms.