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Lodge 12" Cast Iron Skillet
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Cheap and tough, a cast-iron skillet is a kitchen workhorse
Few pieces of kitchen gear improve after years of heavy use. In fact, we could think of only one: the cast-iron pan. As you cook in it, a cast-iron pan gradually takes on a natural, slick patina that releases food easily. Well-seasoned cast iron can rival, and certainly outlast, a nonstick pan. Cast-iron pans are virtually indestructible and easily restored if mistreated. Their special talent is heat retention, making them ideal for browning, searing, and shallow frying.
Lodge Classic Cast Iron Skillet, 12"
BEST BUY - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Our old winner arrived with the slickest preseasoned interior and only got better. Broad enough to cook two big steaks, it browned foods deeply, and its thorough seasoning ensured that our acidic pan sauce picked up no off-flavors. Though its handle is short, the pan has a helper handle that made lifting easy. It survived abuse testing without a scratch. An excellent pan, at an excellent price, that you’ll never have to replace.
We maintain strict objectivity in all testing.*
STICKING ★★★
BROWNING ★★★
EASE OF USE ★★★
DURABILITY ★★★
KEY: GOOD ★★★ FAIR ★★ POOR ★
Details
Ovensafe To: At least 1,000°
Cooking Surface: 10 in
Made in: USA
Item Number: ATKCP
Weight: 8 lb, ¾ oz
Shipping
How We Tested Cast Iron Skillets
We bought 10 cast-iron skillets, six enameled and four traditional, each about 12 inches in diameter. Prices ranged from $21.99 to a whopping $179.95. We included our old favorite, from Lodge, in the lineup, along with our former Best Buy, from Camp Chef ($21.99). Comparing the new pans with our old winners, we set about scrambling eggs, searing steaks, making a tomato-caper pan sauce (to check if its acidity reacted with the pan surface), skillet-roasting thick fish fillets that went from stove to oven, baking cornbread, and shallow-frying breaded chicken cutlets. At the end of testing, we scrambled more eggs to see whether the pans’ surfaces had evolved. To simulate years of kitchen use, we plunged hot pans into ice water, banged a metal spoon on their rims, cut in them with a chef’s knife, and scraped them with a metal spatula.
Winning Traits
- Longer handles
- Large helper handles
- Broad cooking surface
- Sides that are at least 2 inches tall
* OBJECTIVITY FIRST, LAST, AND ALWAYS.
America’s Test Kitchen does not accept advertising and conducts equipment tests without the knowledge of product manufacturers. Exclusive equipment offers are sourced only after the test results have been published in our magazines and on our websites.
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