Lodge Logic L8SK3 10-1/4-Inch Pre-Seasoned Skillet
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List Price: Our Price: $14.09 You Save: $2.90 (17%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Category: Kitchen See more product details |
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Lodge Logic L8SK3 10-1/4-Inch Pre-Seasoned Skillet
Customer Review: not much better than the Original Finish
Summary: 4 Stars
I got a whole bunch of cast iron skillets and lids from Amazon awhile ago, and overall, I'm pretty happy. If you read the other reviews, they're pretty much consistent. I would like to re-emphasize that these suckers are HEAVY. And since the handles get hot as well, you have to be extra careful to use mitts or the like as much as possible.
I like to use the lid to help drain excess liquid, using one hand to hold the handle of the skillet and the other to push the lid down onto the skillet, but the combined weight of skillet, lid, and food makes it rather difficult to this. Also the consideration of making sure that your skin is not making any contact with the iron pieces makes it even more difficult, especially because you have to use some sort of oven mitt or holder, and therefore your hands are kind of slipping around. I'm not exactly sure why the skillet can't be thinner and therefore lighter and still retain its good properties... Perhaps durability? I don't know.
I got the pre-seasoned as well as the original finish at the same time, and I didn't find the pre-seasoned any better as far as the non-stickiness was concerned. If anything, the pre-seasoned skillet was a little more bumpy on the surface and I had to season it more to get it to be truly non-stick.
But it does look better than the original, with the matte black finish all around the skillet.
Another thing I noticed was that the iron skillet gets super-hot. I melted couple of my spatulas that were fine on other pans, on the same heat setting of my stove... I'm now using a wooden spatula, which also works well for scraping off food residues.
Due to this hotter-than-other-pans consideration, I wondered if I could use another regular frying pan lid instead of the iron lid - or would it crack? Dunno - too scared to try.
Go ahead and get one or two for yourself and see if they're for you. Don't try to "save" money and get $125+ worth at once to get some money off like I did.
Customer Review: Cast iron convert
Summary: 5 Stars
Normally I do not write reviews - but this skillet worked out so good that I felt compelled to write one.
We typically have been using Calphalon Nonstick or Anodized Aluminum or TFal's non-stick skillets. We cook a lot (atleast 5 times a week - 3 or 4 kinds of dishes every time - ranging from simple vegetable stir-fry to extensive chicken and meat preparations). Non-sticks, even with only hand-washing and great care, have been lasting couple of years - anodized aluminum lasts longer but costs a lot more.
Got this skillet on a whim (had a $25 Amazon gift certificate - hence little downside to the decision). When we got it my wife (she's the one who cooks most) wasn't exactly happy - "way too heavy and will this work well ?" That was six months ago - now she and I are solid converts to cast iron. You can cook anything with this one - fantastic even heat distribution (beats my Calphalon Anodized Aluminums hands down - the non-sticks are ofcourse far worse) - nothing burns or remains undercooked - high heat or low simmering heat doesn't matter - and nothing sticks to the skillet (as good as the expensive non-sticks we have) - the food tastes just like my grandma and mom used to make them - and the best part is this Lodge's cast iron cookware costs less than half of my cheapest Calphalon. Also, teflon-coated non-sticks are now suspect because of all the new findings of it being a potential carcinogen (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/28/AR2005062801458.html ) - we've stopped cooking with teflon-coated stuff esp. now that we have cast iron. Maintenance is quite easy too. Use hot water to wash, scrub it with a stiff brush and put a few drops of cooking oil and coat it all around. Not any more labor intensive than the non-sticks and anodized aluminums.
Cook using cast iron and you'll be amazingly surprised!!
Customer Review: It's all true - this pan is amazing
Summary: 5 Stars
This pan is totally amazing. I won't repeat what other reviewers said - this pan is really amazing and praises from other reviewers are all true. Just a few extra points:
1. Totally non-stick! It's not 'almost' non-stick, it is 100% non-stick. But, please don't try to fry half-frozen burgers ona brand new pan - the pan needs a few uses to develop non-stick layer. Besides, extremelly cold / frozen food sticks a lot more than room-temperature or slightly cool (refrigerated) food.
I ordered pre-seasoned pan and re-seasoned it before first use anyway, just to speed up the process. It was 100% non-stick after only a few uses.
2. Food tastes better: everything you fry in this pan will be crisp on the outside, moist on the inside. Perfect pan! Teflon (which is an insulator) can not even compete with these characteristics of cast iron.
3. Healthy: traces of iron get into the food and improve your red blood cell count. If you are anemic - go for non-enameled cast iron. Teflon also gets into your food, but I can't see how that can be healthy for you. In fact teflon is proven carcinogen of 4 types of cancer (reference: www.webmd.com)
4. Cheap - especially if you compare it with teflon pans which you generally replace every year or so (I used to replace teflon pan at the first signs of damage - which is about one year for better brands).
5. Important: cleanup is really very important if you want to have a good pan. And it's also really easy: after you empty your pan, brush it with a stiff brush under running water for a few seconds and you're done. Since the pan is still warm, it'll dry soon and you can oil it with a few drops of oil to have it ready for the next time.
Customer Review: Worth the price but has some problems
Summary: 4 Stars
I love cast iron cooking items; I even love to season them myself. I know; I'm weird for tedious things! But after having to move several times, I lost most of my kitchen pots and pans and this skillet was a gift to me. I thought the pre-seasoning was a bonus and it should have been. But the coating was showing bare in places brand-new and I can't think of any reason why it would have left the factory this way. I totally believe the other reviewers good posts, but mine was not up to par. This was NOT a big deal to me because like I said, I love to season cast iron. So I did just that. Contrary to the ad, it is not "mysterious" or complicated, so I would suggest you look carefully at your pan to see if you need to season BEFORE you use it the first time. The second problem is the handle. It is ridiculous. I've never seen such a tiny, fragile handle on an iron skillet before. It's very short and even with my little hands, it's hard to get a healthy enough grip to lift the skillet and flip or turn it over. The loop on the other end is okay if you only intend to move it about the stove but you can do that kind of sliding with just the handle. It's as if the loop was put there to compensate for the crappy handle. This design makes no sense. Now, I'm giving this a 4-star rating because the price is GOOD. I saw this at Target's once for ten bucks. I never argue with a bargain. The quality of the iron is also good and that's all I need for now. Remember to be careful when you move the pan and to inspect it for flaws in the coating. Don't be afraid to season if you have to. A good coat of seasoning is more non-stick than any Teflon pan.Customer Review: Love it
Summary: 5 Stars
I've owned cast iron skillets before, but they were always hand-me-downs and I wanted one that I had started from new, so when I got my skillet for my birthday last year, I was thrilled.
Even though it came "pre seasoned", I still went the extra step and seasoned it some more. The result is that I can cook stuff in it and very little of it sticks...and if it does, it's not so bad I can't get it off with a bare minimum of work.
And everything just tastes better after being cooked in a cast iron skillet...fried eggs, chicken, grilled cheese, etc.
After use, I bring it over to the sink and run it, still hot, under very hot water and scrub with a long handled scrub brush made for this purpose. No soap or abrasive cleaners of any kind. Then I put it back on the stove...burner off..and let it dry during the meal. Once dry, I pour in a bit of vegetable oil, swish it around with a paper towel, and wipe up the excess and hang it on my pot rack till next time.
Another way of cleaning is to let it cool, put water in, heat on the stove and then transfer it all to the sink where, again, using very hot water and no soap, I scrub the bits out. I then allow it to dry on the burner (turned off) and reseason with oil when it's dry.
I know it sounds like a lot of work, but really, it's much quicker and easier than some of my other pots and pans...even the so-called "non-stick" ones.
I love the weight of it and the feeling of durability...properly cared for, these things should probably last a hundred years or more.