The grill pan challenge: which makes a better burger?

Pictured above are two grill pans made by Lodge.

In recent years, Lodge changed the design of their grill pans.

The one on the left is an older model, which has pointy ridges, that are higher and spaced farther apart.

This was fine for grilling meats, but not so much for grilling sandwiches; When you pressed down on the sandwich, the ridges would poke holes in the bread.

Newer models have short, square and stubby ridges that are flat, and spaced closer together.

This was better for sandwiches, and Lodge claimed that consumers preferred the new design. I was told that it made better grill marks.

But, I was convinced that the older model made a better burger, due to the ridges being higher, and maintained this belief for 2 years.*

*I addressed this issue in my previous article.

So I decided to see for myself, by making a burger in each pan. This was also the first time I used a grill press* for burgers.

*I recently tried a grill press on bacon, and was very happy with the results.

I prepared the burgers my usual way,* except this time, I first cooked down the chopped onions in olive oil before mixing into the meat.

*If you'd rather not click to that article, my "usual way" is chopped onions, Worcestershire sauce, black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder.

While cooking, I found that using the grill press was easier on the new design; On the old design, the burger would be pushed down into the pointy ridges, which made it harder to flip, and didn't stay together as well.

So, the burger on the new design grill pan, maintained its shape better during cooking, especially when using the grill press. Now for the taste test.

Both burgers were equally good, regardless of the pan it was cooked on.

So I can finally conclude, that the new design grill pan is fine for burgers, with the added benefit of being better for grilled sandwiches.

Does that mean I'm going to ditch the old grill pan? Of course not.

The Lodge round grill pan

This is the Lodge round grill pan. The above pan is 11 1/4 inches.

This particular pan was originally called a "top o stove broiler".

Its "burger capacity" is 3 medium sized burgers (1/3 pound each).

This pan, although it's still for sale as of this writing, is being discontinued and replaced by a 10 1/4 inch pan.

Other round grill pans Lodge has made in the past are here and here.

A Lodge employee told me that they changed the size of this pan because consumers with smaller kitchens in urban areas are requesting a smaller grill pan.

Also, the Lodge 10 1/4 inch lid will now fit this grill pan; Previously, there were no lids that fit Lodge grill pans. The pro logic round grill pan did have a matching lid, but that's been discontinued.

It should be noted that the 11 1/4 inch round pan, as well as the older model square pan, had pointy ridges that were spaced farther apart.

The newer model square pan, as well as the new 10 1/4 inch round pan, have short, square and stubby ridges that are flat and spaced closer together.*

*See my next article for a photo comparison.

The advantage is that you can make panini sandwiches with a grill press, without the pointy ridges poking holes into the sandwich.

I wonder which one is better for burgers, though.

I've been told that the new, shorter ridges make much better grill marks.

Maybe so, but appearance of grill marks isn't my first priority.

I plan to try making burgers in each pan soon. The proof will be in the pudding!

two more rare pieces, previously listed on ebay

I recently found these cast iron pieces listed on ebay, which I had never seen before.

One is a red enameled cast iron pot, shaped like a rooster. I don't know what brand, or when it was made.

The other apparently is a Lodge ribbed jumbo oval serving griddle.

It was listed as a "fish frying pan", but it was actually a jumbo sized fajita pan with ridges for grilling.

The model number was JOR2 and I have not been able to find any other information on this pan.

A Lodge employee just told me that those pans were made and sold only in Australia. Australians like to grill outside on the pan, and then bring it straight to the table.

Neat idea, and I would think Americans would like that too, no?

Anyway, I decided to combine both pieces into one article, since I had so little information on each of them.

re-thinking my strategy for eggs

This is the Lodge single burner reversible griddle, which I had never considered getting until this morning.

I posted previously about the Lodge 8 inch griddle, which is my designated "egg pan".

I talked about how it's best to choose one pan specifically for eggs.

I chose that pan for eggs because I had an electric stove with small burners, and that pan was just the right size to cover the burner without hanging over.

See, on a traditional electric stove, the burners aren't always level. So my eggs would always slide to the side of the pan. If the pan was bigger than the burner, then the side was not directly on the burner, and not as hot. What an aggravation!

(Yes, there was one large burner, but that was always being used for bacon while the eggs were cooking).

So for THAT stove, this pan was perfect for eggs.

But now I live in a new house with a gas stove. These burners are bigger, they're square, and they're always level.

As a result, I don't need such a small pan for my eggs anymore.

The above pan would perfectly fit the burners on my new stove.

I wouldn't use the grill side, as I already have a grill pan. Just the flat side for eggs.

Wait, don't you already have a double play griddle? Can't you just use that?

Yes, but just as with the large burner on my old stove... that's already being used for bacon!

practical use of the double burner griddle

Today was my first experience with a double burner griddle.

In a previous post I stated that these griddles were not recommended for use on electric stoves, and since that was the type I had at the time, I would not be getting one.

I now live in a new house, with a gas stove (yes!), so I decided to try one out.

Lodge sells two different double burner griddles: The double play, pictured above, and the "pro grid" which is 20 inches long and has handles.

I chose the double play because it was shorter and more likely to fit in my oven.

I found that it fit perfectly across the two gas burners. I preheated the pan so that the heat would be evenly distributed when cooking.

I tried it with pancakes and bacon, and am quite happy with it.

Since the griddle has no handle, and I'm used to using griddles with a handle, there was a bit of a learning curve. You definitely want to wear an oven glove on your other hand because the griddle will slide around a little when flipping food.

You also don't want to crowd the pan too much. Two pancakes at a time is fine, no more than three.

I purposely made a pancake in the middle to see if it was hot enough to cook, and it was.

I found it to be great for cooking four eggs at a time.

I conclude that if you have a gas stove, most definitely get one of these!

The double burner griddle is reversible, and has a "grill pan" on the other side.

As stated in a previous post, I'm not a fan of reversible grill pans due to seasoning issues.

However, I intend to primarily use this as a griddle. Perhaps I'll get another one to use primarily as a grill pan.

Two rare Lodge pieces I found

These are two rare Lodge pieces I recently found, that I decided to combine into one article.

Neither of them are in the 2000 Lodge catalog, so they were from the 90's or earlier.

One is a 9 inch round grill pan. I can see why it was discontinued; There's only enough room for one burger, maybe two if they're small, or one steak.

By comparison, the 10 inch square grill pan fits two big burgers, or three smaller ones, or 2 steaks.

The other is an 11 inch "new style" shallow griddle. Also known as a tortilla griddle.

This is not to be confused with the 10 1/2 inch Lodge griddle commonly sold today.

Lodge still sells a 9 inch shallow griddle. I guess they figured it's better sized for serving tortillas.

Which grill pan has more cooking area?

Pictured above are two Lodge grill pans. One is round, and one is square.

The round grill pan is 11 1/4 inches* in diameter; The square grill pan is 10 1/2 inches.

*Lodge recently changed the size of its round grill pan to 10 1/4 inches, but this article refers to the 11 1/4 inch pan.

So, many would assume that the round grill pan has more cooking area, right?

WRONG! Yes, I'm a nerd, and I pulled out a calculator.

The area of a circle is 3.14 times the radius, squared.

The radius is half the diameter, 5.625 inches.

5.625 * 5.625 = 31.64; 31.64 * 3.14 = 99.35 square inches of cooking area.

The area of a square is length times width. 10.5 * 10.5 = 110.25 square inches of cooking area.

See, I had been considering getting a round grill pan and selling the square one, since I wanted more cooking area-- but actually, I'd have LESS cooking area.

I have since obtained a round grill pan, and found that, as burgers are round, three medium sized burgers can comfortably fit in this pan.

In the square grill pan, three burgers CAN fit, but it's a bit more crowded-- even though there's technically more cooking area.

It's because of the shape of the burgers, vs. the shape of the pan.

Now, is that clear as mud?

The Lodge pro logic round grill pan - discontinued

This was the Lodge pro logic round grill pan. It didn't last long on the market.

The pan was 10 inches, but due to the sloped sides, the cooking surface was even less. It could only fit one moderately sized sandwich.

When I first saw it, I was not surprised that it was discontinued; I thought it was ugly.

This pan is not to be confused with the Lodge 11 inch round grill pan, which is still being sold.

Lodge double burner reversible grill/griddle

This is a Lodge double burner reversible grill/griddle. I don't have one.

It's meant to be used on two burners; Consumers report that the part over the burners gets too hot, while the middle doesn't get hot enough*.

*That is true on an electric stove. On a gas stove, that's not so much an issue.

The proposed solution is to preheat over low to medium heat until it's evenly heated.

Consumers have reported satisfaction with using this outdoors.

It would probably work well on a gas stove with a large center burner, or the oven.

One consumer complained that he couldn't cook eggs or pancakes due to the ridges. Um, you're supposed to use the other side for that.

Lodge also has a single burner reversible griddle. As stated in an earlier post, though, I'm not a big fan of reversible griddles, due to seasoning issues.

I would recommend a separate grill pan and griddle, single burner, myself.

Lodge has 3 different designs of this type of pan. The one pictured above is the "double play," which I suspect might be replacing the other two designs.

The other two designs are 20 inches, and too big to fit in some ovens.

The double play is 16 inches long.

Since I only have an electric stove, and these really aren't suited well for electric stoves, I won't be getting one any time soon. But if I ever get a gas stove, I'll surely try it.

Cast iron grill pans

First, I have to say that this bread, baked in cast iron, is so wonderful. That one extra step, from bread machine to cast iron loaf, made all the difference in the world. I don't know what it is, but it's true-- food cooked in cast iron just tastes better!

Now on to the subject of grill pans. You know, the skillets with the ridges. I thought they would only be useful for burgers. And yes, they DO make great burgers. If that's all you ever used it for, then it would be well worth it. But, it does more!

A grill pan is for just that-- grilling. Anything that can be cooked on a barbecue grill, can be cooked on a grill pan. Steak, fish, chicken, brats, ribs.

I prefer to start on the stovetop and then finish in the oven, so the food can be cooked all the way through without charring. Burgers and steak are an exception, since I like them medium rare.

But it's also a broiler pan. I've personally never broiled, but it can be done in this pan.

I've used the grill pan to roast meats, since the fat drips below the ridges for a healthier meal. I've even used it for meatloaf!

They sell "double sided" grill pans, that feature a griddle on the other side. I do not recommend those, and here's why:

You cook on one side, and get it nice and seasoned. Then when you flip to use the other side, the burner destroys the seasoning that you worked so hard to build up. AND, the food cooked on the other side tastes like stove burner, since that's where it's been all this time! So you have to pick which side you're going to use and stick with it, which defeats the purpose.

So while double sided grill pans may seem like an economical space saver, you are better off getting a separate griddle and grill pan*.

*Or if you have a gas stove and want a double burner pan, then get two: one for the griddle side, and one for the grill side!

I recently learned a tip for easier cleaning: Put some salt between the ridges before you grill. It won't touch the meat, since it's below the ridges.