The 5 Best (and Useful) Grill Pans For Your Kitchen
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The 5 Best Grill Pans For Your Kitchen
At a glance:
Did you want to get a perfect steakhouse chargrill on your sumptuous steak, fresh fish or green veggies? Have you ever wanted to BBQ outside but it was raining? Did you want to create a sauce so full of flavor that your guests will wonder where you bought it from?
If so, you’ll want to keep reading this guide!
>> In a hurry? Click here for the Best Grill Pan of 2020 <<
What Is A Grill Pan?
A grill pan is sometimes referred to as a griddle pan. Both are the same and sometimes you will also see the name “broiler pan” come up throughout the US and Canada. With respect to all 3 in this article they refer to the same grill pan.
Basically, a grill pan is a pan that has raised edges with grill lines spaced around 1 to 2 centimeters apart. The grill lines are raised usually 0.5 centimeters high which allow for the juices from the food you’re cooking to drip down.
Most of the common grill pans these days come with a non-stick surface.
However, there are some grill pans that are made of other materials as well. We will detail these in the sections further below.
Benefits Of Using A Grill Pan
If you don’t already own a grill pan you might ask yourself — why should I consider buying one?
In all honesty there are many reasons to own one, but we have listed out a few main reasons you should consider:
Overall, there are a lot of benefits to be had by using a grill pan over a regular pan. However, it’s important to know what type of pan you should be using for which type food.
How To Use A Grill Pan
Grill pans are extremely easy to use. Just like ordinary stone frying pans, they are made with durable metals and can sustain medium-high heat.
However, depending on whether your grill pan has a non-stick coating, you may want to max out your heat at medium heat. This will prevent any coatings from burning and ruin your grill pan.
To use a grill pan, follow these simple steps:
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1
Prep the food – To ensure the cooking is even, make sure you pound or cut the pieces of food you’re grilling into half inch thickness so they lie flat. This is to ensure that the thicker cuts are not overcooked and that the center has a desired level of doneness.
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2
Heating – Turn the stove onto medium-high heat and place the grill pan on the stove. Place your hand above the grill pan directly to feel the heat and determine how hot it is. The heating process could take as little as 5 minutes or as long as 20 minutes depending on the type of stove you have. More details about stovetops below.
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3
Oiling – Do not coat the grill pan with oil as that will cause the pan to smoke at high temperatures. Instead you can just spray the oil onto vegetables. For fish, meats, chicken or pork, you won’t need to oil them as their natural oils will come out during cooking.
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4
Grill the food – To get amazing grill lines, you can place the food directly on the grill at a 45 degree angle. You will want to turn the food at a 90 degree angle at half the time to get the nice square grill marks. Flip over the food and repeat.
And there you have it — the quick and easy way to cook with your grill pan!
The Different Types Of Stove And Cooktops For Grill Pans
There are lot of grill pans available on the market but which one is right for your stove? We have gathered all the information for you to make your buying decision easier than ever. The three types of stove and cooktops we look at are:
1. Induction cooktops – There are a growing number of induction cooktops in the market because of their increased speed to heat pots and pans. We have listed out the best induction cookware sets on the market today. We highly recommend cast iron grill pans for induction cooktops. However, normal cast iron scratches the surface of the induction cooktop. In order to prevent this from happening, we recommend buying an enamel induction grill pan. Enameled cast iron is a layer that coats the cast iron to prevent it from scratching.
2. Electric stoves – On an electric stove we recommend that you stay away from cast iron pans. The reason is because cast iron is a very solid and heavy that it will take a long time for it to heat up. Generally electric stoves heat less quickly.
3. Glass top stoves – Since glass top stoves are prone to scratches, it’s best to avoid grill pans made from glass, ceramic or cast iron which can scratch the surface. Even aluminum foil can mar the glass top.
It’s best to find out which stove and cooktop your kitchen has before deciding on a grill pan. Keep in mind that it’s cheaper to buy a new pan than replace your cooktop!
What Types Of Food Do Grill Pans Love?
While the possibilities are endless for grill pan foods, we felt we should highlight a few foods that are a perfect marriage with the grill pan.
Even if you don’t cook these foods regularly, it’s a good enough reason to start cooking them more frequently because how beautiful the finished look is and how easy it is. Below are some foods that you might not of thought of that work well with a grill pan.
We thought that they would add flavor and variety into your everyday meals. Take a look at these recipes for inspiration and fun with your grill pan.
Below are additional great foods and cooking ideas that can be made with a grill pan. We hope you love cooking with the grill pan as much as we do.
Grill Pan Ideas – Do You Like Pan Grilled Chicken?
Chicken and grill pans definitely go hand in hand. Grilled chicken ideas include:
We absolutely love grilled chicken. Check out this step by step guide on how to grill chicken.
Grill Pan Ideas – How About Some Pan Grilled Salmon?
A grill pan definitely adds a rustic look to fish. They make wonderful lines and bring out the fresh flavor of fish. Grilling fish is great on a grill pan and there are lots of recipes for fish grilling. Delicious recipes include:
Grill Pan Ideas – Do You Like Pan Grilled Steak?
Grilling steak is probably one of the most distinct hallmarks it makes on steak. The lines that grill pans make on beef and steaks are astounding. As discussed above, the chargrilled lines will definitely not disappoint you. Give the following recipes a try:
Grill Pan Ideas – Grill Pan Pork Chop Heaven
Pork is one of our favorite dishes to use with a grill pan. The lines look amazing and there are lots of recipes to choose from including Greek-style pork chops and barbecued pork chops.
To get the amazing lines on pork chop, make sure you let the pork chop grill on one side for 2-3 minutes, then turn 90 degrees and let it grill for another 2-3 minutes.
Grill Pan Reviews – The Best 5 Grill Pans For Your Kitchen
Before we rated each grill pan, we wanted you to know how we compared the pans listed below. We thoroughly tested each grill pan against the following criteria:
Overview
The Best Grill Pan For Induction Cooktops
Our Ranking: 5th Place
Made in: China
Warranty: Limited lifetime warranty
Compatability:
Our Review:
For induction cooktops we really liked the Lodge Color ECSGP43 Enameled Cast Iron Square Grill Pan. This pan comes in a very unique red color that is very eye pleasing. Best of all it is enameled cast iron so it won’t scratch your induction cooktop surface.
What we like about it…
What we like dislike about it…
Overall, we liked this pan because of the esthetic red color and also the fact that it felt solid in our hands. We know a lot of our readers love induction cooktops and we would highly recommend this enamel cast iron pan to avoid scratching your cooking surface. This pan is a steal if you can purchase it for under $50 USD.
The Best Electric Stovetop Grill Pan
Our Ranking: 4th Place
Made in: China
Warranty: Lifetime
Compatability:
Our Review:
Cook like a professional on your electric stove with this grill pan by All-Clad. This grill pan sports a stainless steel interior for great heat conduction and a hard-anodized aluminum exterior for extra protection.
What we like about it…
What we like dislike about it…
Overall, we thought this pan was worked amazingly on our electric stove. We know these types of stoves don’t offer the highest amount of heat, but this grill pan performed well.
Highly recommend to purchase this pan as the square shape allows you to cook more food on there in one go. This pan is a great addition to any kitchen but sometimes it isn’t readily available.
Most of the time it sells for $70 but sometimes there is a sale and you can snag is for cheaper.
Grill Pan Review #3 – The Best Glass Stovetop Grill Pan
Our Ranking: 3rd Place
Warranty: Lifetime Warranty
Compatability:
Our Review:
We highly recommend the OXO Good Grips 11 inch Square Grill Pan for your glass top stove. As you are aware, glass top stoves are prone to scratches. The OXO grill pan won’t scratch your glass top and we tested it extensively to ensure that it wouldn’t.
The main reason that this pan won’t scratch is that this pan sports a 3-laywer non-stick coating that covers the entire grill pan. At the bottom, this coating acts slides the pan and avois scratches.
What we like about it…
What we like dislike about it…
Overall, we highly recommend this pan because of the triple non-stick layer coating. We were able to cook with this grill pan extensively without scratching the surface of our glass cooktop.
This is definitely a rare find as most of the cast iron and stainless steel grill pans damaged our glass cooktop. If you’re looking for a great grill pan that will do the job on your glass stovetop, this is the one to buy!
Grill Pan Review #2 – The Best Grill Pan Budget Buy
Our Ranking: 2nd Place
Made in: China
Warranty: Limited Lifetime Warranty
Compatability:
Review:
We purchased this pan thinking that it was a subpar pan because of the price. However, we were surprised that it worked very well on our induction cooktop.
What we like about it…
What we like dislike about it…
In conclusion, we absolutely love this pan and we think it’s an excellent product selling at the right price. If you’re lucky you’ll be able to buy this pan for under $20 USD.
Grill Pan Review #1 – Best Grill Pan Investment And Overall Performance
Our Rainking: 1st Place
Made in: France
Warranty: Limited Lifetime Warranty
Caompabitility:
Review:
We really had to think long and hard before we decided on the best grill pan based on performance and investment. To say the least, there were many grill pans we tried but one truly stuck out at us as the best grill pan. It was definitely a close one.
Our favorite grill pan (if we were only to buy one in our life) is the Le Creuset L2021-264 Enameled Cast-iron Skillet Grill Pan.
This pan not only looks great and comes in different colors but it is also extremely versatile. We love the spouts for pouring out the fats, oven and boiler safe function, and crisp ridges with a liberal moat that holds the juices.
What we like about it…
What we like dislike about it…
Overall, we loved testing this pan and it has a lot of features that other grill pans don’t have such as the color selection, spouts for easy fat disposal, and the grill marks were just great.
Invest in your future and get the best grill pan money can buy today!
The Bottom Line
While there isn’t a pan that is perfectly made (yet!), we have identified the grill pans that we think are of the best value and give you the best looking and tasting meats, fish and veggies.
We hope you liked this extensive guide and our reviews. If you liked it, please share on Facebook or other social sharing sites!