If you haven't already taken the leap into cast iron you should think about it. First off the pan is cheap, durable and generally non-stick. Does this mean nothing will stick to this pan? No but if you have the right temperature and use the right amount of fat/oil when cooking and take care of this pan it will take care of you. I would say this pan excels at proteins first and foremost. I have cooked bacon, eggs and pancakes right after one another and nothing stuck to this pan. I would say vegetables are also a favorite in this pan as well because of the great flavor this pan helps create through the oil and char you can achieve with this pan.

If you are the type of person that cooks and then puts the pans in the sink for a later time then cast iron might not be for you but I have left this pan in a sink for a few hours or on the stove top overnight and cleaned the next day so it is worth a shot. If you are the type of person who lets pans soak in water overnight or puts them immediately into a dishwasher for cleaning then this pan is definitely not for you unless you are willing to make an exception with this pan.

Did I have immediate success with this pan right away? No I didn't. I had food stick and I had issues with cleaning the pan and reseasoning the pan and had to look for advice on the internet to solve my issues because not many people use cast iron so I couldn't ask them.

Some of my mistakes were simple ones to make as I have always used either stainless steel or non-stick pans. I didn't wait long enough for the pan to heat up. Take it easy and heat this pan up on medium before you start cooking. Don't think this amount of iron will be hot in 5 minutes. You may need to wait 15 minutes to get this pan heated evenly but I would say put the pan on the heat before you start your prep. The next issue is using enough oil. You don't need a ton of oil but you should use a healthy amount. If you are frying then yea sure use a ton of oil but generally your food doesn't need to be swimming in oil but coat the bottom of the pan. I would advise against using black pepper on your steak if searing. The high temps will burn the pepper causing smoke and burnt flavor on your steak. You are better off using just salt before cooking and fresh cracked pepper afterwards. Acidic food like tomatoes are okay in the pan but make sure you have a well seasoned pan. I would stay away from sauces but cut up tomatoes in the pan for your first few uses should be fine. You need to build a good layer first before tackling sauces. This pan excels at bacon and frying so if you are in the mood to do either this pan will be your best friend. The pan is shallow so it isn't meant for deep frying but I have done fish and chicken where I had to flip and it worked great.

Also take care of this pan. Scrub it down with soap and water. Yes you can use soap I do all the time but I also rinse thoroughly and dry immediately over heat and spread another thin, thin, thin layer of oil on it too. Every other month or so I give it a good scrubbing and then apply a light coat of oil and stick in a 500 degree oven, upside-down for an hour or so and then turn off the oven and let it cool. This adds additional seasoning to the pan. You can overseason the pan which I have done and all I did was heat, scrub, wash which eliminated most of the excess seasoning. A salt scrub can help as well or if you really are in the weeds you can get a more aggressive scour pad and remove all the seasoning and start from scratch. Shouldn't take more than 30 minutes to strip and then dry. The time in the oven will be what takes the most time but at that point its set and forget. You just need multiple layers so it will need a lot of oven time like 6 hours or more depending on your diligence.

The best advice is keep cooking and don't be afraid to experiment, keep the temperature lower than you think you need and don't rush the food it will be done when it is done.

Lodge is a great product. Cooks well. Food is evenly cooked. Handles oven heat. highly recommend. great size and durability and rust resistant.

I picked this up back in October, and it's quickly become one of my most-used pans. I can see why it's such a top seller.

What I love:

· Built to last – this thing is solid. No worries about non-stick coatings wearing off or chemicals leaching. It's pure, simple, durable iron.

· Great heat retention – once it's hot, it stays hot. Perfect for getting a good sear on steak, crispy skin on chicken, or even baking cornbread. I've used it on the stovetop, in the oven, and on the grill—it handles it all.

· Natural non-stick with use – the factory seasoning is a good start, but it truly becomes non-stick the more you cook with it. Fry an egg after a few months of use, and it slides right off.

· Versatile – oven-safe, stovetop-safe (including induction), campfire-safe. It really does it all.

A few things to know:

· It's heavy. Not a big deal for everyday cooking, but if you have wrist issues or prefer lightweight pans, it's worth noting.

· Care is different – no soap in the dishwasher (hand wash only), and you need to dry it thoroughly and rub a thin layer of oil after each use to maintain the seasoning. It sounds like a lot, but it becomes second nature quickly.

· The surface isn't glass-smooth like vintage cast iron or some higher-end brands, but it still performs great and smooths out over time.

Overall, this is a fantastic workhorse pan that will last a lifetime if cared for. Highly recommend for anyone who enjoys cooking—whether you're new to cast iron or a seasoned pro.

Sorry for the long review - for the short review, count the stars!

I'm a bit of a purist. I always season my cast iron - new, or used (hey, I don't know WHAT someone else used that old piece of cast iron for - maybe cleaning auto parts). I sand it down to bare metal, starting with about an 80 grit and finishing with 200.

Then I season. The end result is a glossy black mirror that puts Teflon to shame. There are two mistakes people make when seasoning - not hot enough, not long enough. These mistakes give the same result - a sticky brown coating that is definitely not non-stick, and the first time they bring any real heat to the pan, clouds of smoke that they neither expected or wanted. I see several complaints here that are completely due to not knowing this.

But there were a few pieces I needed (yes, needed, cast iron isn't about want, it's a need), and this was one of them, so I thought I'd give the Lodge pre-seasoning a try. Ordered last Friday, received this Friday - free shipping, yay!

The first thing I noticed was the bumpy coating. The inside is actually rougher than the outside, and my hand was itching for the sandpaper, but that would have defeated the experiment. This time, I was going to give the Lodge pre-seasoning a chance before I broke out the sandpaper. So I scrubbed the pan out with a plastic brush and a little soapy water, rinsed well, put it on a medium burner, and waited. Cast iron tip number one - give it a little time. Then give it a little more time. Cast iron conducts heat much more slowly than aluminum, so you have to have a little patience.

Then I threw in a pat of butter, and brought out the natural enemy of badly seasoned cast iron - the egg. And, sure enough, it stuck - but not badly, just in the middle. A bit of spatula work and I actually got a passable over-medium egg. Hmmm. But still not good enough. So I cleaned up the pan, and broke out the lard.

I have only one justification for using lard. I don't remember Grandma using refined hand-pressed organic flax oil, or purified extra-virgin olive oil made by real virgins. Nope, it was pretty much animal fat in her iron. A scoop of bacon grease from the mason jar beside the stove and she was ready to cook anything. Grandaddy wouldn't eat a piece of meat that had less than a half-inch of fat around it. "Tastes like a dry old shoe.", he'd declare if it was too lean. In the end, I'm sure their diet killed them, but they ate well in the meantime. Grandaddy was cut down at the tender age of 96, and Grandma lasted till 98. Eat what you want folks - in the end, it's pretty much up to your genetics.

So I warmed up my new pieces, and smeared a very thin layer of lard all over them - use your fingers. Towels, especially paper towels, will shed lint, and lint in your seasoning coat doesn't help things at all. Besides, it's kinda fun.

Here's cast iron tip number two - season at the highest temp you think you'll ever cook at - or higher. If you don't, you won't get the full non-stick thing, and the first time you bring it up to that temp you'll get clouds of smoke from the unfinished seasoning. I put my pieces in a cold oven, and set the temp for an hour at 500 degrees (F, not C). Yeah, I know, Lodge says 350. Lodge doesn't want panicked support calls from people whose house is full of smoke. Crank the heat up.

You have two choices here. You can put a fan in the kitchen window and blow smoke out of your house like the battleship Bismarck under attack by the Royal Navy, or invest in an oxygen mask. You will get smoke. You will get lots of smoke, especially if you're doing several pieces at once, like I just did. This is a good thing - that's smoke that won't be jumping out to surprise you the first time you try to cook with any real heat. The goal is to heat until you don't get smoke, and in my experience, 500 degrees for an hour does that pretty well.

Let the pieces cool in the closed oven. Then re-grease and repeat. And repeat again. And don't glop the fat on. Just enough to coat. More thin layers are better than fewer gloppy layers. I managed four layers last night without my neighbors calling the fire department.

Seems like a lot of work? Look at it this way. It's a lifetime commitment. Treat your iron well, and it will love you right back like you've never been loved before. And this is pretty much a one-time deal, unless you do something silly.

The end result of my all-night smoking up the kitchen exercise? Dry, absolutely no stickiness, black as a coal mine at midnight and shiny - but still bumpy - could it possibly work with that rough surface?

I put the skillet back on a medium burner, put a pat of butter on and tossed in a couple of eggs. After the whites had set a little, I nudged them with a spatula, and they scooted across the pan. I'll be... it works. My wife came back from the store and wanted scrambled eggs. If there's anything that cast iron likes less than fried eggs, it's scrambled. But it was the same thing all over again. No stick. No cleanup. Just a quick hot water rinse with a brush in case something got left on the pan (I couldn't see anything, but hey), then I put it on a med-hi burner till dry, put a thin coat of lard on the pan and waited until I saw smoke for a minute. Let cool and hang up. Done.

So. do I like the bumpy texture of the Lodge pre-season? Nope. Does it work? Yes, and contrary to my misgivings, it works very well. My wife pointed out that even some Teflon cookware has textured patterns in it. The Lodge pre-season isn't a perfect surface out of the box - but it does give you a big head-start. After a night's work, my iron is ready to face anything, and you just can't beat that.

Lodge makes a great product. For the quality, durability, and versatility, you can't beat Lodge cast iron. Plus, it's made in America. I like that. If you've never experienced cast iron cooking, you've just been cheating yourself. Plus, the price, for a piece of lifetime cookware, is insanely cheap.

And my sandpaper is still on the tool shelf.

Good pan. Even heating. Perfect middle size and easy to use. Cleans well with copper scrubber. No rust so far, just make sure to clean it before use so the flavor soaks in.

I bought 2 of the Lodge Seasoned Cast Iron Skillets 6.5 inches...I already had the 8 inch for a few years now and love it that i wanted some smaller ones for my toaster oven and making a skillet cookie since never in my life have made one...Last night i made a brown butter chocolate chip skillet cooking in this cast iron in my toaster oven and it was perfect...it cooked evenly. fit right into my Hamilton Beach 4 Slice counter top Toaster Oven with no problems..heating up nicely with no problems that i noticed...I sprayed it first with Baker's Joy baking spray with flour on the cast iron then pressed my homemade cookie dough into the cast iron pan without any problems in the toaster oven it went at 350 for 20 min and was nicely done... was easy to pull in and out of the toaster oven its not light as a feather but also not a ton bricks to pick up either has a nice weight to it...I see these lasting me for years to come...once all done I washed it in hot water little bit of dawn dish soap dried it really well right after washing and re seasoned it with carapelli unfiltered extra virgin olive oil... best olive oil and ive tried all kinds over the years and nope nothing compares to this extra virgin olive oil i def recommend trying it out... anyway was very easy to season again and the pre seasoning of it was fine i didn't notice any distinct smell or ruining of my baked good in it at all...it is sturdy and made of excellent quality def would recommend this cast iron pan ... can't wait to get and try out their bread loaf pans and def the cupcake / muffin pan....

Back in the early days when you bought a stove you could get a cast iron skillet for free. Today you have to buy one but the quality is as good as it ever was. The thickness of this adds to the evenness of heat distribution which is why I like it so much. Easy to clean and non-stick. Some say that you never use soap on a cast iron skillet but you can actually use a little bit of soap just wipe it clean and dry it off completely when you're finished using it. Add a little bit of heat if you want to make sure it's 100% dry.

Bought the three pack. I really don’t like the rough surface on the cooking area. Some try and smooth or polish it sanding or grinding. Years ago I bought a Lodge fancy 1896 10” saute pan with riveted stainless handles. It came with the rough interior of the current skillets and I sanded it fairly smooth.

My vintage heirloom Griswold and vintage Wagner are slicker even being ancient and brought back from the dead. The Griswold has been in the family at least 70 years as far as I know and maybe longer. It has been well used. Rusted. Smoke covered. Neglected for quite awhile. The Wagner has been with me at least 30 years and no telling where it had been before. It was one of my dad’s garage sale picks that ended up with me. Even with putting in the time and effort to smooth out that Lodge 1896 it’s no where near as smooth as those old skillets. So don’t waste your time as the rough surface can be seasoned easier in my observations anyway. With these I have left alone. Might make a visual difference but not worth the effort IMO. The 10 inch that came in this set all ready passes on cooking eggs without sticking after several seasonings through just cooking with it.

Bottom line I am happy with the three skillets that came. The 8,10, and 12 inch. Price was only about $20 more than the single 12 inch so I’m glad I have the 8 and 10 inch too.

I did season them as the factory seasoning 🤷🏻‍♂️ . They don’t look slick with that rough finish but actually are. Cooking will only make them better. Been great so far. For me the rough casting of the interior hasn’t posed a problem.

For those picky. There are some imperfections in casting. See some grind marks in some areas along exterior rim where casting was cleaned up. Nothing when you consider their low cost and it not affecting performance.

Spend another $100-$200 if want USA made boutique cast iron with smooth interior and better finishing. I am not saying something like a Stargazer isn’t worth the dinero as it does go through a lot more finishing and fine QC . I just wanted a beater 12 inch cast iron skillet. Preferably US made. I watched a lot of reviews that when compared to those boutique pans cooking performance wasn’t substantially better with them for the price paid then the lowly Lodge. Usually the Lodge was just as good with most comparisons except for looks.

I do like a bargain.

And I do like USA made especially when a bargain.

Bottom line: a good set of cast iron skillets people familiar with cast iron should be happy with for the price and performance.

BTW - NOT DISHWASHER SAFE for those not familiar with cast iron cookware.

Cast iron as well as carbon steel WILL RUST if left to soak in water. Or not dried completely after washing just air drying a wet skillet. Sometimes a short time on stove after towel drying followed by a light coating of oil is the way to keep rust at bay. Only say this in response to some negative reviews I have read. If the possibility of rust appearing in your cookware is a deal breaker I’d suggest you buy something made with aluminum or stainless steel.

An absolutely incredible pan! Works fabulously for:

▪︎ eggs (prepared ANY WAY)

▪︎ crepes and pancakes

▪︎ stir fry

▪︎ meat! Chicken breast, pork chips, salmon, shrimp, and tofu

And I will be using it on many more foods!

It comes pre-seasoned but they reccomend cooking something in oil on the first use.

It's truly non stick pan and I adore that the handout it ships with informs you of all materials used to make the pan. Very transparent with their practices and clean materials.

Tips they share on the handout/their site

● slowly heat the pan to your desired temperature to ensure you don't crack the seasoning. I like to chop veggies while I wait.

● the pan will release eggs/protein once it has cooked enough, don't flip too early!

● I purchased the pan scrapers to get off any food debris. It's reccomended to clean this pan with a bit of soap or salt, then dry it completely and season it with oil. Easy to clean.

This pan is something that will last a LONG time. It needs a bit more bit of care than a traditional non-stick, but it is SO WORTH IT!

これで焼くと魔法のようです。

蓋は必須です。

Will never buy anything else. Simply the best.

Sono pesanti e da pulire con attenzione ma il cibo viene buono e sicuro. I lati positivi battono nettamente quelli negativi.

Excelente sartén Lodge 8" para toda la vida! Realmente es de fácil cuidado, sólo lavarlo con un poco de jabón, una gota, tallar con el lado amarillo de la esponja tradicional o cualquier otra no abrasiva, secar inmediatamente y calentar unos 10 minutos o un poco menos en la estufa, aceitar levemente por todos lados y guardar... No sé pega nada, se limpia fácilmente... Seguiré adquiriendo éstos sartenes, ollas y comales para reemplazar los de teflón...