Our decide
This reasonably priced pan is lighter than a conventional cast-iron skillet and just a little shallower. It’s an excellent form for searing, roasting, and sautéing.
The Lodge Chef Assortment 12 Inch Forged Iron Skillet did nicely in all our assessments, and impressively it was the lightest of all the cheap skillets we examined (although some $80 to $100-plus pans weighed a bit much less). Whereas it’s just a little shallower than the traditional Lodge, this skillet’s barely sloped sides make it nice for searing and roasting. It has a cushty deal with, a very good manufacturing unit seasoning, and like different Lodge skillets it’s nonetheless made within the USA.
The Lodge was a strong performer at nearly each process. We poured scorching oil with out dribbles and cooked bacon to a crisp with out having to rearrange the strips. Cornbread fell out of the pan with a crunchy golden crust and steak got here out evenly and deeply browned. Fried eggs slid out as effortlessly as from a nonstick skillet.
However what actually made the Lodge skillet stand out from the competitors is its lighter weight mixed with its reasonably priced worth. At 6½ kilos, it weighs a full 2 kilos lower than the normal 12-inch Lodge skillet and is extra comparable in heft to among the $200 or $300 pans we examined. (If you happen to’re keen to pay extra for a barely lighter pan, Lodge additionally makes the Blacklock Triple Seasoned Forged-Iron Skillet, however we expect the Lodge Chef Assortment carried out higher general).
The edges of the Lodge Chef Assortment skillet are additionally a few quarter inch decrease than the traditional Lodge’s, which is able to lower steaming if you’re browning burgers, serving to you obtain a terrific sear. One other factor that differentiates this skillet is that the perimeters of the pan are rounded, so it’s simpler to maneuver a spatula for flipping pancakes or for stirring greens. The light curve doesn’t lower the cooking floor (which is a beneficiant 10 inches throughout and sufficiently big to simply match a big rib eye steak, 6 ounces of bacon, or 4 giant fried eggs) and truly makes it just a little extra forgiving when you’re making an attempt to squeeze in yet another egg.
The small stick deal with is positioned at a slight angle and is smoother on the spot the place it meets the pan, making it extra ergonomic than the quick, straight deal with on the unique Lodge. The roomy helper deal with on the opposite facet of the skillet is sufficiently big to wrap your fingers beneath with a cumbersome pot holder. Once we have been pouring scorching oil, our grip on the deal with was safe, and we all the time saved management of the pan.
Like different Lodge pans, the Chef Assortment skillet is extensively obtainable and really reasonably priced, if barely increased priced than the model’s traditional fashions. Lodge skillets can be found on a number of web sites (together with Amazon) in addition to by means of nationwide retail chains, independently owned {hardware} shops, and cooking shops.
How the Lodge Chef Assortment Skillet has held up
Flaws however not dealbreakers
The Chef Assortment skillet is shallower than the traditional Lodge and holds about 2 cups much less. Its capability could possibly be problematic when you’re braising one thing like pork chops with greens and can make it harder to fry rooster with out threat of harmful oil overflow. When you can all the time braise or deep-fry in a Dutch oven as an alternative, when you’d like to have the ability to do these items in your skillet, we advocate the authentic Lodge 12-inch skillet as an alternative.
The lighter weight of the Chef Assortment skillet is also a slight downside when you have been browning a really thick piece of meat like a tomahawk steak, as a heavier pan will maintain in additional warmth and provide you with higher second-side browning. Nevertheless, we didn’t discover a distinction between the Chef Assortment and the heavier conventional Lodge after we seared half-inch-thick strip steaks.
Lodge doesn’t have a proper written assure or guarantee on its traditional cast-iron ware. That stated, many people have Lodge skillets at house that vary in age from 15 to twenty years outdated and have by no means had an issue. The dearth of a guaranty doesn’t concern us as a result of Lodge cast-iron skillets are very sturdy, and Lodge has a very good repute for customer support.
