Picked a $30 lodge cast iron skillet over a fancy $150 all-clad pan for my station

Bought a cheap lodge for my saute station 3 months ago and it holds heat way better on my home stove. Now I use it for everything from searing scallops to baking cornbread, has anyone else downgraded and been happier?

3 comments

3 Comments

park.adam1mo ago

Cracked my fancy pan's nonstick coating trying to sear a steak like a moron, so I grabbed a lodge from target for like 30 bucks and now I'm too scared to even look at the other pans in my drawer. My stainless one sits there judging me while I flip eggs in my beat up cast iron that's got more seasoning than my life choices. Honestly I've dropped it twice on the tile floor, my roommate walked in and just stared at the dented pan like it was me who needed help. Not gonna lie, that thing's taken more abuse than my self-esteem and still cooks better than my $200 le creuset ever did.

anna_hill1mo ago

dude i feel this so hard. i jumped from a high end stainless pan to a $25 lodge a few months back and honestly my food comes out way better. the heat retention is just so much more forgiving on my janky electric coil stove. i burned scallops nonstop with the expensive pan now i get a perfect crust every time.

jason1121mo ago

@anna_hill same thing happened to me with salmon. Was using this expensive All-Clad and kept getting that nasty stuck-on mess, switched to a Lodge I got at a garage sale for like 10 bucks and now my skin gets perfectly crispy every time. The cast iron just holds the temp steady no matter what, even on my stupid ancient electric stove that takes forever to heat up. Plus I don't feel bad if I accidentally leave it soaking or drop it, which happens way more than I'd like to admit.