Lodge20 x 10.44 Inch Pro-Grid Reversible Cast Iron Grill/Griddle – Double Burner Cookware, Pre-Seasoned, Non-Toxic, Made in USA, For Stovetop, Oven, Grill & Campfire

Some months ago, we went on a bit of a spree and purchased a whole bunch of Lodge Logic cast iron cookware items from Amazon. Our family had been using some pretty awesome Calphalon (aluminum/nonstick) cookware for fifteen years or so. The Calphalon was (and is) still holding up quite well (nothing, and I mean *NOTHING* can destroy that cookware), but we wanted to make the move to cast iron for all the usual reasons.Cast iron requires a bit of care - especially early in the relationship. Lodge Logic cookware comes pre-seasoned, which is nice, but you're probably going to want to treat it out of the box, anyway. There are innumerable website and videos (i.e. on YouTube) showing how to properly care for and season cast iron cookware. The effort is minimal for the payoff and you can take some solace in the fact that each time you use it - and subsequently care for it properly - it gets BETTER. It bears mentioning that I did not always "get" the concept of cast iron cookware and the black carbon coating it develops. Many, many years ago, I did a college housemate a "favor" and scrubbed his perfectly seasoned cast iron skillet down to the bare metal. It was CLEAN (and temporarily destroyed). I was a moron and my housemate let me know it, but, cast iron being what it is, it was possible to re-season it and get it back on the road to awesomeness.Lodge Logic items are sold at many common brick-and-mortar retailers so you can get a first hand idea of the size and weight of many of their items before ordering online. At the time I purchased these items from Amazon, though, the prices could not be beat and - absurdly enough (this stuff is HEAVY) - Free SuperSaver Shipping was available across the board.Now, for this particular item: Lodge Logic LPGI3 Pro 20-by-10-7/16-Inch Cast-Iron Grill/GriddleUTILIZATION- We have a typical four burner glass-top stove (with a warming element, too). The left side burners are "small" burners with a "bridge burner" between. This is where we use the griddle.- For cooking most things, we've settled upon setting all three burners (front/back/bridge) to about 6 out of 10. If you have a Spinal Tap stove that goes to 11, maybe try a 7. Put the burners on and let it heat for a little while. You'll know when its ready to roll (water beads, sizzles, and evaporates the same on different parts of the grill).- On the flat side, we have cooked pancakes, french toast, sausage, scrapple, grilled cheese, cheesesteaks, and hamburgers.- On the ribbed griddle side, we have cooked rib-eye steaks, filet Mignon, London broils, kielbasa and peppers, chicken breasts, and pork chops.- This item works great with the Lodge Logic Pre-Seasoned Round Cast-Iron Grill Press. We purchased two of them. When cooking steaks, chicken, burgers, etc..., having the presses reduces cooking time, reduces splatter, and keeps the food from curling up on the sides.CLEANUP- If you can wash it while it is still warm, all the better. Hot water + a plastic scrub brush (no SOAP!) works great. If you're just using the flat side, cleanup takes seconds. When using the ribbed griddle side, it can take a bit longer, obviously, because of the grooves and the types of things cooked on that side (meats). We lucked out and found a plastic kitchen scrub brush with a handle...the hard plastic head of which fits PERFECTLY within the grooves to scrape out the stuff that settles there. I once cooked steaks on the ribbed griddle side and left it on the stove until the next evening (oops!) and it cleaned up with hot water almost as easily as it would have the night before.- Dry it thoroughly and, with a paper towel, apply a very thin layer of vegetable oil everywhere. If you happened to use your oven to cook, throw it in there while the oven cools. The heat will be enough to get rid of any residual moisture and do a bit to expand the metal to allow further seasoning to occur.PROS- The griddle heats very evenly. I've filled it with meat from stem to stern and, with very little rotation, consistently end up with evenly cooked meals.- You can use whatever kitchen utensils you like with this puppy...kid gloves are not required. I've got a metal spatula that was in drydock for much of the Teflon era that has new life.- People love the ribeye steaks I make on the outdoor grill. The results indoors are different, for certain, but are absolutely outstanding. In fact, the results you can achieve with this item indoors may be more reminiscent of the high end steak houses (i.e. Ruth's Chris or The Capital Grille) than what you can get grilling outdoors.- It's big. You can accomplish things on this griddle that you cannot with a frying pan. For example, we buy those big bags of boneless/skinless individual chicken breasts from [a box store] and you can get eight or nine of those things jamming at once (so nice...throw them - frozen - right on the grill and season them for quick dinners).- It's cast iron. 'nuff said on that.CONS- It is HEAVY. That's not a problem for most people, but, in my case, my wife refuses to manipulate this griddle on her own. She asks me to set it up for her because she fears the weight and composition (a giant chunk of iron, baby!) combined with a glass stove top is a recipe for potential disaster. She is a wise woman. No big deal, really, since I do most of the cooking.- Fire up that range hood fan! This thing will throw off some serious smoke, especially when cooking meats. You've been warned.- Cleanup will suck if you don't have the right tools to do it. It's tempting to whip out the green scrubbies and get between those grooves, but you don't want to scrape off that precious carbonized coating. As I mentioned, a sturdy plastic kitchen brush is your best friend.- We bought separate, darkly colored dish towels to use on all of our cast iron cookware. When drying after cleaning, the towel may pick up some of that dark residue, which is fine because scrubbing all of that off would be pretty stupid. Don't ruin your nice white kitchen towels.IN THE END- This is a five-star item. The "CONS" are more warnings than anything...I would not recommend this item for your 88 year old grandma who doesn't have a range hood. Warnings aside, the results are consistently delicious. The product is well-built, works as advertised, and, if treated right, will still be in use by your great-grandchildren and beyond. How cool is that?EDIT: Almost 3 years with this griddle and I still love it. I use it all the time. At this point, it is perfectly seasoned with a healthy coat of carbon and NOTHING sticks to it. I clean it easily with a dishwashing brush and hot water. I shake off the water and put on the bridge burner on the glass-top stove and turn it on high for about 90 seconds and turn it back off - that gets rid of any water. It never rusts. My wife still hates it because it is heavy, though. Meh.

We have had this thing for almost two months now and I am unsure how I lived without it for some many years. After a few weeks of cooking on it and seasoning it in between cooks absolutely nothing sticks to it. This morning we had pancakes, fried eggs, scrambled eggs, and sausage links. It handles breakfast for a large family (6 of us) like a champ. My wife is really enjoying how much I have been cooking on it. I am always looking for a meal to use it on. I really feel like our protein consumption has doubled. Haha

I don't know what took me so long to get one of these, but this unit is quickly going to become my most used piece of cookware in the kitchen. Well, it will be close between this and my Teflon pans, but each has a specific use.So this is cast iron. I knew this going in. I know how to use cast iron. There are advantages when it comes to heat distribution as well as to durability. You can beat the crap out of your cast iron, and it will last forever.Many of the reviews on this item talk about how the unit is broken or unusable. That's not true! Unless it physically cracked, it can still be used.That was my biggest concern going in because let's face it. A company that has cast iron cookware crack isn't sending a very strong ringing endorsement to the overall reputation of the company, and there were a couple of reviews here. I can only review what I saw, though.Before purchasing this, I had three cast iron pans. I had a small, circular skillet that honestly isn't going to get much use anymore. I have a small fry pan that I use a lot to make one of my dietary staples: Breakfast sausage. This one probably won't get much use anymore, either. I also had a large behemoth of a frying pan that never did get much use due to how unwieldly it is.Most of the time when I need a pan, I prefer Teflon simply because I have better results making sauces and such with Teflon.This device won't replace all of my other cast iron, as there will still be times when I need an additional pan, but it will replace most of my uses for it.When I received the griddle, I treated it like any other cast iron I've ever purchased. I gave it a quick couple of sprays with Pam cooking spray first. I prefer to use an aerosol for this because you need very little oil. Then, I wiped down the whole thing with a paper towel, spreading the oil all over it. Then, I left it on the burner at medium-high heat (translates to about 450 degrees) for about 30 minutes.My first use was an American diner-style omelet, and it turned out perfect. For its second use, I flipped it over and made a couple of chicken breasts that I topped with a creamy pesto sauce, and they turned out amazing. I used the other half of the grill for some asparagus, and it was very cool to be able to use two different temperatures. Everything turned out awesome, and I don't even like asparagus.It's third use was the big test. I was flipping it back over, and my uncertainty came from how well the direct heat from the burners would affect the seasoning. I needn't have been concerned. This is an example of why I might still need more than one pan, though, as I made my pineapple pancakes with a side of Canadian bacon. The pineapple pancakes are renowned for sticking, and they turned out amazing. But I needed the second pan to sear the Canadian bacon.Now I will say that cleaning the grooved grill half of this is not easy, but I expected it. I have experience cleaning grooved grills. To clean the flat grill side, all I've had to use so far is a sponge with soap and water. The grooved grill side, though, had a lot of salt residue from the asparagus as well as some burnt on fond from the chicken. I use a chain mail cloth to scrape away those bits, but I can foresee with messier dishes like hamburgers (a huge part of the reason why I bought this), a tool will likely be needed to get into all of the crevices. I still find it easier to clean than a charcoal or gas grill, though.For storage, I make sure that it is completely dry. I like to wipe it down with a paper towel first, and then use the ol' Pam spray to give it a couple of quick spurts. Use a second paper towel to spread the oil evenly, put it on the burner on medium heat for about five minutes, and let it cool down before storing.My only complaint on this, which is something I feared going in, is that the heat distribution is not quite as great as I would hope, but it's a lot better than it could be. Since I typically let my cast iron heat up for a good 15-20 minutes before using it, this is mostly mitigated. However, special care should be taken for the items in the middle of the burners to make sure that they are getting appropriate attention.Also, I would not use this on a gas stove. I would fear that the direct flame might have a tendency to burn off the seasoning.