How expensive is a cast iron pan?

Straight to the Point

Our longtime favorite 10-inch cast iron skillet from Lodge remained a winner: it heated fast and seared deeply, and it only costs around $20. We also liked the lightweight Lancaster No. 8 skillet, which was easy on the wrists and cooked foods beautifully.

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Cast iron skillets are a polarizing piece of kitchen gear: Chefs and foodies geek out over them, while some home cooks fear them. (&#;The maintenance!&#;) As a former restaurant cook and longtime home cook, I think both positions are a little extreme. 

Cast iron skillets are some of the simplest pieces of kitchen equipment. They&#;re pans cast out of an alloy of iron, carbon, and silicon that are sanded and sometimes pre-seasoned. Sure, like most gear, the design and price tag vary depending on the manufacturer but, at their core, cast iron skillets are just a big honkin&#; piece of metal. No cladding, no nonstick coating&#;just a solid pan that retains heat really well. They&#;re also super versatile, equally excellent at searing (whether it&#;s a T-bone steak or a slab of cauliflower), baking up a mean cornbread with crunchy, caramelized edges, or shallow frying a batch of buttermilk-brined chicken. Because they&#;re tough as nails, you can even throw them on the grill or over a fire pit. I've used cast iron for years and have yet to find a crack or sign of wear&#;they're that solid.

Options abound: pricey and cheap, smooth-surfaced or pebbled, big and small. But much of what makes a great cast iron skillet boils down to a cook&#;s preferences. To find the best ones for cookware geeks and the cast iron-trepidatious alike, I tested 11 cast iron skillets for two weeks, and have been cooking with the winners ever since.

The Winners, at a Glance

You just can&#;t beat this cast iron skillet that&#;s been a longtime Serious Eats favorite. It sears superbly and has hovered around $25 to $30 for time immemorial. If you&#;re new to cast iron, this no-frills, durable skillet is a solid choice to start with. It's the one I recommend to anyone who asks.

The 10-inch Lancaster weighs a little over four pounds, so it was easy my wrists and heated up fast. It seared steak superbly, turned out evenly golden cornbread, and produced perfect pan-fried eggs that slid right off the surface. This is a gorgeous piece of metal that&#;ll impress seasoned (heh) cast iron skillet users and new-to-the-pan cooks alike. 

An ode to simplicity, this dark gray skillet is elegant and lightweight but still sturdy. It doesn&#;t have pour spouts, but the flared sides helped funnel out liquids neatly.

Calling this budget doesn&#;t seem super fair, since it&#;s only a few bucks less than the Lodge, but hey, it is a steal. The curved handle made it easy to move and the surface heated up steadily and quickly.

If you want the benefits of cast iron without the maintenance, an enameled cast iron skillet is a good option. The enamel makes the skillet more nonstick than uncoated cast iron (and it doesn&#;t need to be seasoned), but it still has good heat retention. In our test of enameled cast iron skillets, this spacious offering from Le Creuset emerged as a winner for its excellent searing and maneuverability.

The Tests

I tested cast iron skillets by searing and baking in them, noting if anything stuck egregiously to the surface.

Serious Eats / Grace Kelly

Throughout testing, I used our winning enameled cast iron skillet from Le Creuset as a control. 

• Heat Conduction Test: I set the skillets over medium heat and immediately took the temperature of the cooking surface (left, center, right) with an infrared thermometer. Then, I set a timer in 30-second increments and took the temperature in the same manner, repeating this for four minutes in total. This showed me how quickly the pan heated up. 
• Fried Egg Test: I cooked two over-easy fried eggs on each skillet, using a metal spatula to flip them and noting if they stuck to the surface.
• Steak Test: I seared filet mignon steaks on each skillet and examined if they got a nice, golden crust. 
• Cornbread Test (Winners Only): I used the winners to bake cornbread, noting how evenly it cooked and if it released easily from the skillet after cooling slightly. I also melted butter in the skillets and poured it into the other ingredients, testing the skillets&#; pour spouts (if they had them) and maneuverability. 

What We Learned

Which Size Cast Iron Skillet Was Best?

We recommend a 10.5 inch cast iron skillet for most people.

Serious Eats / Grace Kelly

A 10- to 10.25-inch skillet will serve most people well&#;it&#;s the perfect size for frying up some eggs, flipping a few pancakes, or searing steaks. It&#;s what we reviewed in the past and what I stuck to in this update. That said, if you&#;re looking for a slightly larger skillet, all of our winners are available in bigger versions. A 12-inch skillet, for example, is large enough for a family of four or for more substantial servings. For example, I like using my dual-handled Lodge cast iron skillet for cooking pancakes or shallow-frying; its spacious cooking surface lets me cook more in one go.

What Can You Cook in a Cast Iron Skillet?

Yes, you can make a pan sauce in a cast iron skillet!.

Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

I often reach for my cast iron skillet when I'm shallow frying meatballs or chicken piccata, searing steak, or cooking up pancakes. Cast iron excels at these tasks partially because it has a high thermal mass&#;basically, it retains heat really, really well. This means you can add pancake batter, remove the cooked pancakes, and the pan will still be quite hot&#;immediately ready for the next batch. It also means that frying oil stays at a more consistent temperature, so it'll take less time to reheat again when you want to fry that next set of breaded chicken cutlets.

What you don't want to cook in an uncoated cast iron skillet is slow-cooked acidic dishes, like Sunday gravy. The acidity from the tomato sauce can actually eat away at your pan's beloved seasoning&#;not good! But, as Kenji explained in his myth-busting article, a wine pan sauce or quick-deglaze with vinegar won't harm your beloved skillet.

Smooth vs. Pebbled Pan Surfaces

Both polished and pebbled surfaces alike released foods, like fried eggs, easily.

Serious Eats / Grace Kelly

One difference between old-school and new-school cast iron skillets is the color and texture of the pans. Newcomers like Lancaster and Smithey make brassy pans with smooth, shiny surfaces, while Lodge and Victoria sell black skillets with a grainy texture. 

The pan&#;s color reflects its seasoning: The darker it is, the more seasoned it is. (Seasoning is a buildup of polymerized fat, which creates a nonstick surface.) The brass-colored pans I tested (from Lancaster, Stargazer, and Smithey) were pre-seasoned, just perhaps not quite as much as the pitch-black Lodge and Victoria. That said, the Lancaster and Stargazer were still quite nonstick&#;even fried eggs released easily. 

&#;All new Lancaster Cast Iron pans come with two coats of seasoning and are ready to use right out of the box,&#; says Mark Longenecker, co-founder of Lancaster. &#;The seasoning on the pan is what gives the cast iron skillet the beautiful copper or bronze hue. Once you begin cooking on your skillet, you&#;ll notice the color begin to change as your seasoning builds. In time, the color will darken until you have a beautiful black patina.&#; As I've continued to use the Lancaster, I've noticed this exact phenomenon happening, with a dark patina forming in the center of the pan.

As you can see, cast iron skillets come in a myriad of sheens and colors, with some sporting a dark patina and others more of a coppery tone.

Pan texture is a matter of manufacturer preference. Lodge&#;s pans, for example, tend to be pebbly while newcomers like Lancaster and Field Company sell polished skillets inspired by cast iron pans of yore. 

&#;When we think of modern-day cast iron, we often think of heavy or rough pans that are challenging to clean and are relatively slow to heat up and cool down. This has not always been the case,&#; says Longenecker. &#;High-quality antique cast iron was once made to be lightweight and smooth. Smooth and lightweight cast iron is not only easier to handle, especially when filled with food, but it is also easier to clean, responds more quickly to heat, and will still have all the amazing benefits of cast iron, such as durability and heat retention. To achieve a smoother and lightweight feel we have incorporated several extra steps including our tumbling process.&#; 

Tumbling sounds just like its name: Skillets are placed in a rotating drum filled with pieces of metal and as the drum turns it smooths out lumps and bumps, resulting in a polished pan. 

So, today, you have brands like Lancaster that sell slightly less seasoned, smooth skillets and others, like Lodge, that sell heavily seasoned, rougher skillets; both styles released foods well in my tests, so it&#;s more a matter of personal preference (and price, since smoother skillets tend to be more expensive). 

A note: The more heavily seasoned pans from Lodge and Victoria were a whole lot smokier when I first used them; they released a potent smell (akin to a hot airport tarmac), but it dissipated after a few uses.

Cast Iron Was (and Is) Durable 

Yes, it is safe to use metal utensils on cast iron!.

Serious Eats / Grace Kelly

Cast iron skillets are sometimes misunderstood. I&#;ve known people who refuse to buy one because they think they&#;re too high-maintenance and yet others who have balked when they see me using a metal spatula to squish and scrape smashed burgers on my favorite dual-handled Lodge skillet. 

To all of them, I say: It&#;s going to be okay. 

Cast iron is an incredibly forgiving material; unlike PTFE-coated nonstick pans, you can safely use a hardy metal turner without ruining the surface. And while it&#;s true you need to thoroughly dry a cast iron pan after washing (yes, you can wash it with plain old dish soap and a sponge) and give it a swipe of oil, it&#;ll maybe add 30 seconds to your dish-cleaning routine. And if it does get a bit of rust, it&#;s not a big deal: Just grab some steel wool or a chainmail scrubber and give the rusted areas a hardy scouring with soap and warm water. Rinse, dry, and oil, and your skillet is good to go. This is exactly why I love cast iron, and why I push people to move beyond their (often unfounded) fears.

Heat Conduction Varied, But Didn&#;t Matter Much

While interesting, measuring heat conduction didn't really tell us much other than that the skillets all heated up quickly.

Serious Eats / Grace Kelly

While it&#;s true that cast iron isn&#;t a great conductor, I still wanted to get a feel for how quickly the skillets heated up. The answer: fast. Five saw an average temperature increase of 34% after one minute, while the Lodge Cast Iron Skillet -10.25 inch went up by a whopping 53.4%. The Smithey No.10 Skillet and the Smithey No.10 Chef Skillet were the slowest, increasing by 18% and 13.6%, respectively, in the first minute. That said, all of the pans did a good job searing steak and baking cornbread, so while interesting to observe, heat conduction wasn&#;t an indicator of performance.

Known for their premium heat retention and nonstick properties, the best cast-iron skillets can sear steaks, fry eggs, bake cornbread and more to perfection&#;and on virtually any cooktop. After several weeks of methodical cooking with 10 popular picks from the most trusted brands, I concluded that Field Company&#;s No. 8 Cast-Iron Skillet is the best cast-iron pan overall. Its polished, lightweight build made it easily maneuverable&#;while still holding onto heat well enough to perfectly brown a strip steak. For first-time users or those on a budget, I recommend the crowd-favorite Lodge Cast-Iron Skillet, which excelled in every test I put it through.

The best cast-iron skillets I tested yielded crispy fried eggs, golden-brown cornbread and perfectly ... [+] seared proteins.

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Here are the winners from my testing process:

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What truly set these top cast-iron skillets apart was their ability to absorb high heat, retain that heat, and take on oil to develop into a nonstick coating (a.k.a seasoning) that yields the perfect fried eggs and cornbread. Plus, whereas most kitchen tools degrade or lose functionality over time, these frying pans will only get better with use, age, and the proper care and maintenance. Ahead, the four best cast-iron skillets you can buy, based on my testing, experience and research.

Best Cast-Iron Skillet Overall

A Lighter, Smoother, Heirloom-Quality Piece

Field Company

Field Company No. 8 Cast-Iron Skillet

Size: 10.3 inches | Weight: 4.5 pounds | Pre-seasoned: Yes | Features: Helper handle, recycled iron construction

Best for:

• Home cooks ready to invest in a premium all-purpose skillet
• Those who want a lightweight pick that still conducts and retains heat well
• People with wrist mobility or strength issues

Skip if:

• You&#;re on a budget
• You want pour spouts

A Vintage-Inspired Pan Worth Every Penny

If you want an heirloom-quality skillet that&#;s reminiscent of vintage cast iron, characterized by polished surfaces and a lighter weight, you&#;ll do no better than Field Company&#;s No. 8 Cast-Iron Skillet. Made out of recycled American iron, this elegant 10.3-inch skillet is easy to maneuver for everyday cooking while still being heavy enough to conduct and retain heat for searing.

The Field Company cast-iron skillet, post-seasoning.

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While it wasn&#;t completely nonstick right out of the box, the pan developed an even, glossy black patina after two rounds of seasoning in my oven. When I seared a New York strip steak, the meat came out with a perfectly brown crust; when I fried an egg, the delicate whites released from the pan without a bit of sticking. Though the No. 8 skillet heated up a bit faster than some of the thicker, heavier skillets I tested, it proved hefty enough to retain the high heat necessary for searing. Better yet, I was able to move the skillet from the stovetop to the oven and back with just one hand.

No Pour Spout, But Makes Up For It

One thing worth noting, which may be a downside to some home cooks: This skillet doesn&#;t have pour spouts. The pan has a thin and slightly curved lip, though, so it&#;s easy to pour liquids over the side without making a mess. In other words, you likely won&#;t miss the spout when you consider everything else this skillet brings to the table. For more experienced home cooks who are eager to invest in a premium pan, the No. 8 skillet will reward you for a lifetime. (If you want to know more about the pan&#;s strengths, check out my full review of the Field Company No. 8 Skillet.)

Long-Term Testing Notes

After seven months of regular use, during which I&#;ve used the skillet to make everything from fried eggs to pan-seared chicken breast to deep-fried tofu, it keeps on getting better. The seasoning is slicker than ever, releasing even the stickiest foods with ease, and its heat retention continues to impress. Out of all the pans in my cookware collection (and there are quite a few), this is the one I&#;ve found myself reaching for the most.

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Best Value Cast-Iron Skillet

A Durable Workhorse With Outsanding Heat Retention

Amazon

Lodge 10.25-Inch Cast-Iron Skillet

Size: 10.25 inches | Weight: 5.4 pounds | Pre-seasoned: Yes | Features: Helper handle, pour spouts

Best for:

• Home cooks seeking an all-purpose skillet on a budget
• First-time cast iron owners
• Those who want a no-frills piece of lifetime cookware

Skip if:

• You want a polished, smooth cooking surface
• You want a lightweight pan you can easily move with one hand

A Consistently Solid Performance

Lodge, the country&#;s oldest cast-iron cookware company, is practically synonymous with cast iron; it&#;s beloved by home cooks and professional chefs alike for its indestructible all-purpose skillets with highly affordable price tags. In my testing, the brand&#;s classic Cast-Iron Skillet aced nearly every test I put it through, producing tender steak with a flavorful crust and perfect fried eggs. For $20, you&#;d be hard-pressed to find a more reliable option.

Fresh out of the box, the pre-seasoned skillet&#;which has a rough surface texture&#;proved it was up for the challenge. Unlike most of the skillets I tested, the Lodge cleanly released a fried egg without any rounds of seasoning. I made an evenly browned cornbread that came out nicely crusted and with very little sticking. After seasoning the pan twice in the oven, its rough surface was noticeably smoother, which proved to be the optimal texture in my remaining culinary challenges. The steak it produced was beautifully seared and evenly cooked, and the final fried egg slid around the skillet without a hint of sticking.

The final fried egg test in the Lodge cast-iron skillet.

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A Durable Build That Makes It Tricky To Maneuver

My main gripe with this skillet is its weight. Clocking in at 5.4 pounds, it&#;s definitely on the heavier side, meaning it&#;s hard to maneuver with one hand. At the same time, the skillet&#;s thicker bottom and walls lend it superior heat retention and searing power, while also adding to its overall durability. Though I wasn&#;t able to dribble hot oil out of the pour spout by holding onto the main flat handle using just one hand, the easy-to-grip helper handle came in to assist. (Note: Lodge also makes handy silicone holders for the handle and helper handle that also make handling the hot pan a little easier.)

Ages Beautifully&#;With One Caveat

My one other concern is based on my years of experience cooking with Lodge cast-iron skillets (outside of this round of testing). In some instances, I&#;ve had issues with the seasoning flaking off the cooking surface of the skillet in patches, which is relatively common with rougher skillets. While this can be a bother, it&#;s easily fixable with a quick round of seasoning. Otherwise, Lodge&#;s cast iron ages beautifully. (For more details, you can read my full review of the Lodge Cast-Iron Skillet.)

Best Cast-Iron Skillet For Searing

An Heirloom Piece That Yields Beautifully Browned Crusts

Crate & Barrel

Smithey No. 10 Skillet

Size: 10 inches | Weight: 6.7 pounds | Pre-seasoned: Yes | Features: Helper handle with holes for hanging, pour spouts, engravable

Best for:

• Home cooks who want a smooth, polished surface
• Those looking for a pan that can also go on the grill or over a campfire
• Gifting a quality piece of cookware to home cooks

Skip if:

• You have hand or wrist mobility or strength issues
• You&#;re on a budget

A Hefty, Polished Pick That Excels Over The Grill

Weighing in at 6.7 pounds, the Smithey No. 10 Skillet is one hefty piece of cookware. All that weight isn&#;t for nothing, though: It holds and conducts heat remarkably well, lending the polished skillet incredible searing power. If you&#;re looking for a pre-seasoned pan to make steaks and other substantial cuts of meat with thick crusts and juicy interiors&#;on the stove or the grill, or over the campfire&#;this silky-smooth piece was up to the task in my tests.

Its Weight Has Its Pros And Cons

Of course, that weight does carry downsides. While the skillet has a helper handle (it&#;s unique, too, with three holes for hanging), I found it somewhat difficult to maneuver in and out of my oven. Therefore, this pan might not be the best for those with hand or wrist mobility issues. If you&#;re OK with the extra weight, though, this pan is worthy of a spot in any cookware collection. Though it did take a little longer to build seasoning, it fried an egg with zero sticking straight out of the box. And when it comes time to wash the pan, the slippery interior released any stuck-on food with little effort. The only hard part was hauling it in and out of the sink.

Best Enameled Cast-Iron Skillet

An Eye-Catcher That's Easy To Clean

Williams Sonoma

Le Creuset Signature Skillet

Size: 10.3 inches | Weight: 6.1 pounds | Pre-seasoned: N/A | Features: Helper handle, pour spouts, limited lifetime warranty

Best for:

• Home cooks with flat electric or induction cooktops
• Those who don&#;t want to care for traditional cast-iron skillets
• Those who want a pop of color in the kitchen

Skip if:

• You&#;re on a budget
• You want to be able to put your skillet over a campfire or in a pizza oven

A Cast-Iron Performance With No Seasoning Required

Enameled cast iron is simply cast iron that&#;s been coated with nonporous, nonreactive enamel. While it offers similar heat retention, searing power and stove-to-oven capabilities (with limits), enameled cookware is lower maintenance; it doesn&#;t require seasoning or react with acidic foods. Better yet, it comes in a wide array of gorgeous colors that Le Creuset&#;s cookware is known for. If those qualities appeal to you, the Le Creuset Signature Skillet&#;which comes in over 20 of the brand&#;s signature colors, like Cerise and Shallot&#;is the best there is.

An Intuitive, Effective Design

To start, its design is smart: It has sloped sides that are conducive to everyday sautéing and stir-frying; a large, easy-to-hold helper handle that makes lifting and maneuvering a breeze; and wide pour spouts that can effectively channel liquids into even the smallest of glasses with zero splashing or spilling. And during testing, it fried an egg without sticking and seared a steak evenly and beautifully.

A Note About Enameled Cast Iron

If you&#;re thinking of adding one of these pans to your cookware collection, keep this in mind: While enameled cast iron releases foods easily, it&#;s not completely nonstick. Also, while that coating is very durable and strong, after years of regular use, it will start to dull and lose its nonstick properties. To increase the lifespan of the coating, you should avoid using metal utensils, putting it in the dishwasher and heating the skillet above 500 degrees. Le Creuset also makes a cleaner specifically for its enameled cast-iron cookware that comes well-reviewed by scores of users.

Other Cast-Iron Skillets I Tested

I tested 10 popular cast-iron skillets from top brands including Lodge, Smithey and Field Company.

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I tested six other cast-iron skillets that didn&#;t quite make the cut. (One, Butter Pat&#;s lightweight option, was formerly a top pick, but it is no longer in production.) None of these pans performed terribly in my home kitchen; in fact, I struggled to eliminate some. The following honorable mentions ultimately didn&#;t earn marks quite as high as my winners:

Victoria Cast-Iron Skillet 10-Inch: Victoria is a Colombia-based cookware brand known for its affordable cast iron. Though its 10-inch skillet performed fine in my first few tests, I eliminated it due to its overly rough texture, which felt like sandpaper against my spatula. However, those looking for an affordable choice with a long, ergonomic handle, solid seasoning out of the box and a lighter weight than the Lodge 10-Inch (our current value pick), might be happy with this one.

Lodge Blacklock 96 Triple-Seasoned Cast-Iron Skillet: Ringing up at under 4 pounds, the Blacklock is Lodge&#;s take on a lighter, smoother skillet. It&#;s slightly more expensive than the brand&#;s classic skillet, but I didn&#;t find that it performed any better. I also found its handle uncomfortable to grip due to its elongated hourglass shape and thin, pointy edges. Still, the pan boasts the same even heating and retention as Lodge&#;s classic skillet, and some reviewers say it works even better on electric cooktops.

Lodge Chef Collection 10-Inch Cast-Iron Skillet: This popular model from Lodge is similar to my top pick but has more rounded sides. Those sloped sides made it easier to flip eggs and steak using a spatula, but the flat cooking surface area is an inch smaller than in the classic model. This one is also lighter than the classic Lodge, at 4.6 pounds.

Lancaster No. 8 Cast-Iron Skillet: Weighing in at 4 pounds, this Pennsylvania-made skillet is ultra-lightweight, simple yet elegant, and features a polished interior (all of which, in our opinion, makes it a solid gift). That said, it&#;s not as smooth as most of its other high-end contenders and more expensive than most. It also doesn&#;t have a helper handle, which makes the skillet difficult to lift and maneuver when it&#;s full of food.

Staub Enameled Cast-Iron Fry Pan: This was a close contender for best enameled cast-iron skillet: It&#;s beautiful, can be cleaned with soap and water, and doesn&#;t react to acidic dishes. But I ultimately couldn&#;t get over a few of its weaknesses. First, the helper handle is small and therefore difficult to grab, and the pour spouts, though very pointy, weren&#;t conducive to clean, easy pouring. Lastly, the pan didn&#;t sear a steak quite as evenly as the Le Creuset skillet.

How I Tested The Best Cast-Iron Skillets

To test the pans' searing capabilities, I cooked a New York strip steak in each.

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While cast-iron skillets come in a wide range of sizes, I exclusively tested those measuring around 10 inches in diameter, which is the ideal size for most home cooks seeking an all-purpose vessel. (If your household is larger than four, you might consider a 12-inch skillet or larger.) My testing process involved the following:

Construction: I first analyzed the overall construction of the skillets, from the surface texture to the additional features.

Egg test number 1: To test its nonstick properties right out of the box, I placed each cast-iron skillet over medium heat, added a tablespoon of butter and cracked an egg into the center. Once the egg white was set, I flipped it, noting whether any part of the egg stuck to the skillet&#;s surface.

Ease of use: I took a closer look at each pan&#;s functionality, particularly of its handles and pour spouts. After heating 2 cups of canola oil in each skillet, I lifted the hot pan from the stove, pouring the oil from the skillet into a glass measuring cup. In pans without pour spouts, I simply tipped the skillet to dump the oil out over the edge.

Cornbread test: With this challenge, I observed how evenly each skillet conducted and retained heat, and whether the surface was nonstick enough to cleanly release the cornbread. Eight batches of sticky cornbread later&#;yes, almost all of them stuck a little in the center&#;I decided to amend my original methodology by adding in two rounds of oven seasoning to the skillets.

Searing test: After spending a few days seasoning the skillets, I wanted to see how well each cast iron skillet retained heat. A great way to test this is by searing proteins and observing how well they produce crusts and juicy interiors.

• After placing each pan over high heat, I timed how long it took for the skillet to get smoking hot, at which point I swirled in a bit of oil and added in a New York strip steak.
• Once the bottom had a nice charred crust on it, I flipped the steak, timing how long it took to reach 120 degrees Fahrenheit (the ideal temperature at which to pull your steaks off for a medium-rare cook).
• Once the steaks were finished, I evaluated the seared crust on each piece of meat.

Egg test number 2: To close out my testing, I went back to the beginning. In the most promising contenders, I fried an egg again to see how a few rounds of cooking and seasoning had affected each pan&#;s nonstick abilities.

Long-Term Testing

Since March , Forbes Vetted home and kitchen editor Amanda Arnold has been using the Field Company No. 8 Skillet in her kitchen, noting how well the cookware holds up to regular use. Her long-term testing notes are being regularly incorporated throughout this piece.

How To Pick A Cast-Iron Skillet

&#;The best way to choose a cast-iron skillet is to pick it up and see how it feels in your hand,&#; says Mashama Bailey, executive chef and partner at The Grey in Savannah, Georgia. &#;If it feels right, buy it.&#; But regardless of how you&#;re shopping (in person or online), here are the most important factors to keep in mind as you consider your options.

Surface Texture

All cast-iron skillets are made the same way: by pouring molten-hot iron into a sand mold. Once the pan is cooled, it is cracked out of the casting before getting tumbled and sandblasted to smooth the surface. For an even smoother surface, some cast iron goes through an additional polishing step.

Generally speaking, skillets that are sandblasted but not polished (like those made by Lodge) are more affordable, as they&#;re easier to produce. Comparatively, polished cast-iron skillets (like those from Field Company) carry higher price tags, though they provide you a smoother nonstick cooking experience. That said, a rough surface is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, writer and baker Anne Byrn, author of the cookbook Skillet Love, says she prefers cast iron with a little bit of texture for searing steaks and fish because she feels the protein releases more easily. And in the end, after many years of use, a rough surface will eventually grow smoother.

Handles

A versatile, all-purpose pan you can use for both cornbread and fried eggs should also feature a well-constructed main handle. Ideally, it should be medium length (so it fits in the oven easily) and comfortable to hold to give you adequate leverage to maneuver it. Look for a handle that&#;s flat&#;instead of round&#;so you can easily grip it with a potholder or oven mitt without worrying about the skillet slipping. Whatever you do, steer clear of skillets with handles made from other materials, as they render the skillet less durable and oven-safe.

Because cast iron is heavy, many skillets also feature a smaller helper handle opposite the main handle so you can hold onto the skillet with both hands for easier maneuvering. This feature is especially helpful for those with wrist or arm mobility issues.

Pour Spouts

Cast-iron skillets are commonly made with two pour spouts on opposite sides, which make for easy removal of bacon fat and other liquids. While pour spouts are certainly useful&#;especially for those who like to shallow- or deep-fry in their skillet&#;not all home cooks will find this feature entirely necessary. Oftentimes, if a skillet has a thin curved lip, it&#;s just as easy to dribble liquids over the side. And if you plan to bake in your cast-iron skillet frequently, consider those without pour spouts so you can make pies and cakes without the spout interfering with the shape of your baked goods.

Value

You don&#;t need to shell out a ton of money to score quality cast iron&#;you can get an excellent skillet from Lodge for around $20. In general, cookware around this price tends to have rougher surfaces, thicker walls and a heavier weight. If you&#;re willing to spend a little more, though, a premium skillet like the ones from Field Company and Smithey, which range from $100 to $250, typically feature lighter constructions and smoother surfaces (because they&#;re styled after vintage cast-iron cookware).

If this is your first time using a cast-iron skillet, consider buying a more affordable option. If you&#;re a longtime cast-iron user, though, you may appreciate the polished surface and lighter weight of a new, artisanally made cast-iron skillet.

Seasoning

In , Lodge became the first company to start selling seasoned cast-iron cookware. (Before this, cast iron was sold unseasoned, which meant you had to do the work of several rounds of seasoning at home before you could even start to cook.) These days, almost all cast-iron cookware is sold pre-seasoned. This means you can cook in your new cast-iron skillet straight out of the box, though the seasoning will grow stronger and more nonstick with each use. When shopping for skillets, make sure the one you&#;re eyeing is pre-seasoned&#;it&#;ll make your life a lot easier.

My Expertise

I&#;m a classically trained chef who worked as a food editor for more than 12 years, including in the test kitchen of Epicurious and Bon Appétit. I currently work as a food stylist and recipe deleloper. A cast-iron skillet sits on my stove at all times&#;I&#;ve been cooking with them my whole life, and it&#;s my go-to cooking surface for almost every task. Last year, I published my first cookbook, For the Table, which features tons of recipes that get cooked in cast iron.

I reached out to three food-world experts:

• The New York Times&#;bestselling writer and baker Anne Byrn, author of the cookbook Skillet Love
• Institute of Culinary Education chef-instructor Roger Sitrin
• Chef Mashama Bailey, executive chef and partner at The Grey in Savannah, Georgia, and James Beard Award winner for Outstanding Chef.

How To Clean And Care For A Cast-Iron Skillet

Cast-iron skillets have long had a reputation for being difficult to clean and maintain. Among the myths: that you can&#;t wash them with soap and that seasoning them is a long, difficult process. While cast-iron skillets do require a tad more TLC than your average nonstick pan, by no means are these durable pans difficult to care for. Below, see our expert-backed top tips for taking care of your cast-iron pans. (For more, check out our top tools for maintaining cast-iron cookware.)

1. When it comes time to clean your skillet, wash it with warm water and a nonabrasive sponge or a chain-mail scrubber like The Ringer. Also, contrary to popular belief, it&#;s okay to use a little mild dish soap when necessary.
2. Just like wooden cutting boards, cast iron&#;s biggest enemy is prolonged exposure to water, which can lead to rust. That means under no circumstances should cast iron ever go through the dishwasher or soak in the sink.
3. If food refuses to release from your skillet&#;s surface, keep scrubbing away with specialized tools like The Ringer or a cast-iron brush. Byrn also suggests filling the skillet with a little water and heating it on the stove, scraping away at the stubborn bits with a spatula or a cast-iron scraper until the food detaches.
4. Once your skillet is clean, dry it promptly. While you can wipe the entire skillet down with a paper towel or clean cloth, to ensure no moisture is left behind, it&#;s best to heat the skillet on the stove. This step also helps open the pores of the iron to better receive oil.
5. Once the skillet is dry, rub a little bit of your favorite neutral cooking oil or a special cast-iron seasoning oil all over the skillet using a paper towel.

What Exactly Is Seasoning?

Sseasoning refers to the hard, jet-black protective coating that lends your skillet its nonstick properties. To get a little more technical, this coating forms on the surface of a cast-iron skillet when oil bonds with iron through polymerization, a process that occurs only at high heat. &#;Once the oil is past its smoke point, the chains of fatty acids break into smaller chains, and those small chains become the polymers that bond with the iron,&#; Sitrin explains.

These days, most new cast-iron skillets come factory-seasoned (or &#;pre-seasoned&#;). If you care for your cast iron properly, there&#;s a decent chance you may never need to season your skillet yourself; you can maintain that initial seasoning simply by cooking with oil. If the seasoning starts to flake off or if rust develops, though, you will need to re-season your skillet. To do this, thoroughly wash your skillet, then heat it on the stove until it&#;s completely dry. Next, rub grapeseed or sunflower oil (or a special cast iron seasoning oil) all over the inside and outside of your skillet with a paper towel, wiping off any excess with another clean paper towel. Then place the skillet upside down in the center of your oven and turn the oven up to 450 degrees. Once the oven reaches its temperature, set a timer for 1 hour; once that time has passed, turn off the oven, letting your skillet stay put until it&#;s completely cool. If the damage is so deep that further seasoning is required, repeat this process.

&#;The more you season a skillet, the thicker the coating on the pan is going to get, and the more nonstick it&#;s going to get,&#; says Sitrin.

What Cast Iron Do Chefs Use?

Cast-iron skillets are workhorses in restaurant kitchens, where chefs rely on them for everything from duck breast to brownies. Because restaurant cooks typically prepare one serving at a time, they&#;re most often using smaller skillets&#;those around 8 inches or so. As for specific go-to brands, Lodge remains a favorite. &#;You can&#;t beat the durability and the price point of a Lodge,&#; says Byrn. Sitrin echoes Byrn&#;s sentiments. &#;If you go by brand only, if you select a Lodge pan, you&#;re going to be in good shape,&#; he says.

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