How to Choose the Best Grill Pan

Wan Hooks
3 min readFeb 25, 2017

--

Grilling is certainly one of the best activities you can spend with your family and friends. You can choose to spend a wonderful outdoor activity and grill chicken or steak or spend a sumptuous dinner with your loved ones at home. In any case, grilling wouldn’t be delightful if you have a grill pan use with inferior quality or one that doesn’t fit the standards of the best grill pan. So if you are shopping for a grill pan or some great BBQ accessory to use, here’s what you should look for.

For the handle, it would be ideal to choose a grill pan with longer handle. This will allow you to get hold of the handle and manage the food you are grilling without burning your hand. Although longer handle may add weight to the pan, you will still find it more convenient to use than a shorter handle. Also, you can choose a handle with a loop or tab or that which is called as “helper handle” to assist you in lifting the pan.

As for the body of the grill pan, cast iron is the best material for the same. Cast iron does a great job in retaining heat without the food sticking into the pan. Although cast iron is quite heavy, you will find that the same material is great in cooking through the meat and even through vegetables. Grill pans are available in square or round shapes or you can choose a rectangular grill pan that will fit over two burners.

In choosing a grill pan, you should also check into the interior or the cooking surface. Most cast iron pans are pre-seasoned or coated with a substance called enamel that allows your grill pan to last for a longer period of time. While seasoned interior gives more years to your grill pan than enamel coating, the latter gives better release and is thus easier to clean. Choosing stainless grill pan is also a good option although you have to consider the fact that stainless grill pans are very difficult to clean.

Pretty much the same with the pan’s interior, it would also be great for you to choose a grill pan with enamel exterior. This will make your grill pan last longer and will also be more convenient for you to clean the pan. Of course, for its aesthetic value, it would be great to choose a pan with enamel exterior to give your kitchen a great pop. Certainly, this will add life to your kitchen.

So next time you purchase a grill pan, make sure that you take all these things in consideration. Grill pans may look the same in every store, but their components and their materials dictate the quality of your cooking. Essentially, they are not the same after all. Of course, it would also be great if you choose a grill pan from a known and reputable brand to make sure that you get the best grill pan with superb quality.

--

--