Side by Side Comparison of: Lodge

I have both the rectangular version and the round version of this press and have no issues with either. Yes, it does require assembly which takes 5 minutes with a screw driver and crescent wrench. I was initially concerned about the handle after reading some of the reviews, but I did not find it to be hot to the touch. Of course, I was using it in a cast iron skillet and not on a grill. I use a hot pad most of the time regardless because I am usually using a cast iron skillet. This was a quick rinse to clean up. I haven't had any issues with the handle loosening.If you are using this or any other press on a grill, i would recommend a hot pad no matter what the product is.

This big-ol' thing will flatten a lot more bacon (or whatever) than the smaller rectangular model Lodge makes, and it covers most of the bottom of a 10 1/2" frying pan--the size we all have one or ten of. Slap it together and cook some bacon. It's as simple as that.

This IS the real deal right here.If you ever thought you had true cooked bacon on an iron skillet, you haven't experienced a thing until you try it with this.The weight and heat retention on a cast iron skillet (well-seasoned, of course) make for the finest cooked bacon known to man.Do bear in mind, however, that the cooktop temperature should be reduced even lower with this, and there is a bit of a learning curve. But you will make some phenomenal bacon with this and I can't wait to try it with other meats.

5 star rating as with all Lodge products so far, mine has a black painted spring hand grip instead of the chrome plated or stainless one illustrated on Amazon but that's ok by me. this press fits my Lodge 9" skillet perfectly, one review stated that the skillet had to be 10", perhaps not a lodge. i would prefer it to be one piece cast iron though and not have screws holding the handle on so grease could not accumulate in the screw recesses, cool to the touch is a nice idea but when i cook with cast iron i always have a potholder

This simple kitchen tool makes easy & phenomenal 0 sodium, 0 fat tortillas. Knead golf ball sized dough balls from water and white, whole wheat or corn flour. Play Dough texture. Refrigerate. Place in the middle of a seasoned cast iron griddle or 10" diameter cast iron fry pan. (WARNING: DO NOT DO THIS NEXT STEP ON YOUR STOVETOP. YOU MAY BREAK IT!) Place the press on the ball and push hard. Flatten the ball. I use a twisting motion as well sometimes. Lift the press. The dough might lightly stick to the press. It peels off easily with a metal spatula. Put the griddle or fry pan with flattened dough ball on a burner and heat it up. When one side is done, flip it and finish the other side.No more transferring dough from a tortilla press to the fry pan. No more tearing and breaking. No more extra oil and flour to keep the dough from sticking. (My biggest problem)My doctor has me on a low sodium, low fat diet. Your homemade tortillas will have no salt, no lard, no baking soda or baking powder. They will be about 80 calories (depending on the flour and size). They are soft, pliable and chewy. Wonderful! I will never eat bread again.

We bought this to make paninis the low tech way at home and it works wonderfully! The handle actually stayed cool enough so that we didn't even need any pot holders to handle it. It didn't require us to hold it down constantly because it's got a nice weight to it. Unlike some of the other reviewers I loved this small size as I don't have much storage options so it's nice that it doesn't take up too much space and it works nicely with my small pans. As for the maintenance of the cast iron, it's not rocket science. You oil it after you wash it and wrap it up with some paper towels to protect it from dust and there should be no rust problems.

Although I read reviews stating people had trouble connecting the handle, I am 76 years old and had no problem at all. In fact, just hand tightening made it tight enough that there was no movement in the handle. I did however, tighten it with the screw driver and pliers as suggested in the instructions (which are found on the package when the item is removed). No problem with rust (seasoned it as suggested). The handle is black and not chrome as pictured. The press works perfectly and is just the right size. I love it

I like using this on my griddle to press bacon and sausage to the heat. It works great. I wish it were larger, but it is excellent for its size.

I use it for burgers and grilled cheese sandwiches and portobello mushrooms and it is heavy as it should be and easy to clean, same as cast iron skillet

Love it. Have to keep it mad greased to avoid rust though.

great for cooking bacon, burgers, even presses sandwiches.

A staple in our kitchen. Perfect for making sandwiches.Very handy to have it around.

Item arrived on time, fits online description and was not damaged during shipment. Used the griddle in an outdoor gas grill twice so far to grill steaks and to make a seafood scampi dish with cheese sauce. Followed the directions to initially season or smear the grill with a little oil and the griddle worked great with very little sticking. So far have only used the flat side, since it looks easier to clean and seems to work just fine for the things I cooked. For steaks it seems that a more consistent process can be used to get the same results each time using griddle at temperature and cooking time. Used an infrared thermometer, get the griddle up to about 375 or 400 degrees and then place the seasoned steaks (3/4" thick cut and not refrigerator cold) on for about 3 to 5 minutes a side (3 for rare 5 for medium well done). The griddle avoids flame flare ups that can occur sometimes and if not careful burn the outside of the cooked food; also may be healthier to minimize exposure of food to flare up vapors.

This griddle was an excellent addition to my cooking collection. I use it to make: pancakes, sweet potato fries, bacon, eggs, burgers, seafood. Basically, anything you can grill or that a short-order cook might make. I've put it on my outdoor grill, indoor gas stove, and inside my oven. All work brilliantly. I HIGHLY recommend this product! What an amazing price too!

Exactly what I was looking for! Beautiful, even heat for pancakes on a well seasoned griddle. I did do a swipe with oil in between batches for guaranteed easy release. I also kept a close eye on the pancakes directly over the burners in the beginning, but the overall heat transfer to the center was excellent. I have a pretty high powered pro range, so simmer was just the ticket. Let the griddle heat up slowly while you're prepping, that will help with hot spots.I will try it with some higher temp dishes and update...

This cast-iron griddle was my first foray into the world of cast-iron and now I'm hooked! Before the griddle arrived, I watched videos and read up on how to take care of cast-iron - but it wasn't that necessary! It's very easy and Lodge provides all of the directions you need in the box with the product. So far, I've only used the flat side. I've cooked pancakes, eggs, bacon, and asparagus on it and it was great! It was easy to use, great for cooking multiple things, and easy to clean. Next, I plan on trying some cast-iron pans.

Here's the deal....for those complaining about how it rusts, they need to take a moment to learn how to care for cast iron. There is no such thing as defective cast iron causing it to rust, only improper methods of cleaning and seasoning. ALL cast iron will rust if not properly handled so disregard those reviews. Also, those complaining about it not heating evenly there are two things to consider. First, two burners are going to be a little less efficient in getting it to temp than a central, dedicated griddle burner. We just got a new stove and compared to the old el'cheapo model, the difference in output is astonishing. The old stove would have taken way longer to get to temp considering the low output. Second, cast iron takes a while to come to temperature in areas not directly over flame. You have to give it time to distribute heat to those areas. I laughed when I saw a IR image of heat distribution and the belly aching about it. This person was using 2 burners and it was beyond obvious not enough time was given for proper heat dispersion...So they called it a bad product, I call it bad science. Warm it up slowly at first as to not crack it (if its super cold), gradually increasing the temperature over 10-20 minutes, yes that long. Both edges of mine are a good 6 inches away from the central burner and those areas were blazing hot. Enough to hash-mark the pork loin I cooked last night. Cooking was very even and consistent, you just have to give it time to stabilize. You could light one back burner on medium and I guarantee you that in a half hour, if you try to pick it up form the end furthest away form the heat source that you'll be severely burned. That's how cast iron works. Heat creeps through it over time and heat is retained for a very long time. If your cooking is uneven, you're not giving it enough time to stabilize.-So....don't use soap when cleaning *unless* you plan to re-season it properly immediately afterwards. Use something that wont scratch and scrape it clean under warm running water while the griddle is still warm...Then place it back on the stove and reheat to remove all water. You could rub a thin film of oil on it too. We're conditioned to scrub-scrub-scrub with dish soap, don't do it. It's a sterile cooking surface when brought to temp, don't worry about "stuff" being left on. Get the bigger chunks off and that's it. A little left over grease from what you were cooking makes it more resilient and how its supposed to be. When you bring it to temp, simply wipe with a dish rag to remove any accumulated grease from the last cook and go from there.

A good cast iron pan is a must have addition to any cooking arsenal. The Lodge LPGI3 Reversible Griddle fits the bill perfectly. It's currently nestled on top of my two gas burners on my stove (see photo). My burners measure 17.5 inches across and the 20 inch griddle fits nicely on them. It has become my go to piece of cookware. It is large enough to sear several steaks at a time, giving them a beautiful flavorful crust. Eggs, pancakes, french toast, grilled cheese, bacon, stir fry, salmon, literally everything I have thrown at it has been cooked faster and with more flavor than a normal pan. I can heat the griddle as hot as I like, unlike teflon cookware which can damage the nonstick properties. The result is that food cooks much quicker than normal. Meats will develop that caramelized crust you often see in restaurants. In short, this griddle/pan can cook anything and everything with ease.As with any cast iron piece of cookware, seasoning is a must. Lodge claims that the griddle is already pre-seasoned, but the first time I tried cooking some sunny side up eggs I ended up with a burnt crusty omelet that stuck to the pan. Not good. Thus, I began my Google search for the best method to season a cast iron pan. After a few failed attempts, and a bit of sorting through conflicting methodologies, I found the best way. Season your pan as follows:Step 1Go buy a good organic flax seed oil at your local health foods store (Sprouts, Whole Foods etc.) Make sure it is pure flax seed oil. It should be in a refrigerated section, flax oil goes rancid quickly. The reason flax oil is used is because it is the only drying oil that is edible. This basically means that the fat content in the flax oil breaks down readily at high heat and forms a tough film that gives cast-iron its non-stick properties. You can Google "seasoning cast-iron with flax seed oil" for a more chemically detailed breakdown.Step 2Moderately squirt some oil on one side of the pan. Then take a paper towel and rub every nook and cranny on the pan. Try to spread the oil so that it forms a thin even layer. Also take care to not leave any puddles of oil on the pan. You want to soak up any excess oil so that if you were to turn it face down, no oil would drip down. It is extremely important that you DO NOT drown the pan in oil. Doing so will result in an uneven seasoning layer that will flake off or turn sticky. Repeat this procedure on the other side as well. Again, taking care not to use too much oil.Step 3Heat your oven to 400 degrees and no more. Stick your cast iron pan in and leave it for 1 hour. Again you want to make sure you do not go over 400 degrees because then the oil begins to smoke too quickly and the process of forming the hard coat is rushed. You may also want to open your windows and turn on the fan, the oil is essentially burning into smoke which may irritate your eyes and lungs. After an hour, turn off your stove and let the pan come to room temperature or cool enough to handle.Repeat steps 2-3 four or more times or until the desired coat is achieved. Each time you will notice the pan getting shinier and smoother. After I seasoned the pan several times I was able to cook pretty much anything with zero sticking. Eggs and hash browns were a breeze. The more you use your pan the better the coat becomes as well.Cleaning:Cleaning is very difficult if your pan is not seasoned as food will stick. I recommend you season your pan using the above method for easy cleaning. Most of the time, a little coarse salt, water, and a paper towel is all that is needed. I also purchased some plastic cast iron scrubbers from Lodge that work like a charm. For those who feel they need a more thorough cleaning, feel free to use a sponge with some soap. Scrub the food off and rinse thoroughly with water. Contrary to popular belief, a well-seasoned cast iron pan will NOT lose its coat with soap. Again most of the time I just scrub and rinse with water, I always preheat my pan before I cook which kills any bacteria on the pan anyway. Also, be sure to dry your pan as cast iron rusts readily.Overall, this pan is a large, heavy, wonderful cooking beast. Those looking for a light small pan look elsewhere. For those looking for a versatile, heavy duty cast iron pan that will last for decades, look no further.

Great for burgers and small steaks. Helps prevent burgers from shrinking.

Best I have ever used. Nice size and weight.

seasoned surface is too light but good product

Well seasoned press. Have used it for a coupl months. Great for burgers, grilled sandwiches and of course...BACON! Fits most pans except my small 8 inch round pan. The handle does get warm but so far hasn't burned my hand. I do usually use a hot pad but just because... Hubby doesn't and never been a problem. I would imagine is you use it for an extended time it would get hot. As always wish it were larger. It was as described would definitely recommend.

I use this product almost every day to make bacon. It is of high quality and the handle remains cool when cooking, so you don't need a mitt to remove it. The only thing I'd change is if the screws holding the handle on didn't go all the way through to the other side. But, that hasn't caused any issues thus far.

When you grow up with flat bacon, nothing else is good enough. So I made the plunge and bought this press for the sole purpose of cooking flat bacon in my cast-iron cookware. That makes this an expensive uni-tasker for me (which, along with the screws, is why I only gave it 4 stars), but I still think it was a good purchase.The construction of the press seems high-quality. It is indeed heavy, but I have no concerns about the handle coming off or anything like that. You do need to assemble it, requiring a flathead screwdriver and an adjustable wrench or pliers, but it isn't difficult. The screwheads sit in an indentation on the bottom of the press and are exposed to the food/cooking surface. The hygiene implications of that might be a problem for some, but those people would probably not like cast-iron anyway. However, the screw indentations are deep enough so that the screws aren't capable of scratching the cooking surface. Cleanup means wiping with some warm water and using a stiff bristle brush if necessary. Dry off and coat with a thin layer of oil.Use is quite simple. I can't imagine using the press on steaks or burgers since that would press all the juice (not necessarily fat) out of them and make them dry, but it's perfect for bacon. With extened use the wire handle will get warm, but never necessitated the use of mitts or gloves. One thing I noticed while using the press is that you will want to use a pan at least somewhat larger than the press. When I used the press with my cast-iron pan with a 7" bottom, the fat from the bacon had nowhere to go and would end up rising up and over the sides of the press, pooling on top of it.Overall, it's a well constructed press with the only real downside being the exposed screws on the bottom. The handle stays cool and my bacon stays flat. A bit of a luxury, but worth it for me. Also, if you are going to use this for bacon, do yourself a favor and save the bacon grease to cook with or to season other cast iron vessels with later.

Smaller than I expected, but still a nice item. I didn’t have any issues tightly attaching the handle like other reviewers mentioned.

Nice size and weight. The handle gets warm but I'm used to using oven mitts with cast iron.

This works really well for panini's, but it arrived with 1 bolt and no nuts to attach the handle. I was able to raid my spare nut and bolt bin and we were up and running. I have a small cast iron grill pan and when I preheat it and the press, I can make a wonderful grilled sandwich with no butter or extra fat. If all the hardware had been packed with it, I would give it 5 stars.

My wife wanted it and I got it. Great for the bacon. I am sure we will find other uses for it. Putting it together should have been simple, but I had to replace the screws and nuts because during the installation I could not tighten the regular head screw. I replaced them with Phillip head screws that was much easier to grip and tighten the nuts. The slotted screwdriver kept slipping and I could not get any leverage to tighten the lock nuts that came with it.

The only issue is that I had to add a washers in order to get a snug fit with the handle.

This is my first grill press and so far, I've used it once for panini. Worked great, although it's not that heavy (weighed it on my kitchen scale and it's 2 lbs 13 oz) I found that if I pressed down on the panini for a moment, then it achieved the intent of keeping the bread in contact with the grill for even browning. Also, the pre-seasoning helps to make clean-up easy w/less worry about rusting. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because, as another reviewer noted, attaching the handle is not only tricky, but requires good tools or superior hand strength. The supplied bolt covers (that you can see in the photo are holding the handle on)did not screw onto the bolts easily. If you're used to working with tools it should be no problem for you, but as I struggled with it, I found myself wondering if I would have to send it back because I couldn't get it put together. I didn't have to send it back; and it's fine but assembly wasn't easy for me.

Induction compatible IF you place it correctly. I have a Jenn-Air / KitchenAid 30" induction cook top. It has two medium size coil locations that will bridge together to make one heat control for both. The griddle side works but needs to be centered on the coil circles so it heats evenly end to end.The grill side fails detection by the cook top control. If you slide it to put the grease trap over the edge of the coils it will detect the grill. Power OFF then back ON selecting BRIDGE again. Once it detects move it back to center. If you mark the center of the coil circles off to the side it is easier to center it. You can also put a paper towel (single thickness) under it so it doesn't try to scratch the surface. The towels also catch most of the splatter and cleans up faster. For those not familiar with induction you need to get a demo. You only need the basic functions. Extra features are not beneficial in my opinion. Buy the KetchenAid, not the Jenn-Air. The guts are the same part in both models.

I was looking for a new griddle and wanted cast iron mainly because of the health concerns of traditional nonstick surfaces. Have used it several days and cooked the usual things (eggs, grilled cheese, salmon etc...) Did a great job and the preseasoning is awesome for a quick cleanup. Still getting used to getting it to heat evenly and would give it 5 stars if it were not so HEAVY (if you drop the griddle it will destroy anything its path including your toes or floor, so be careful). Great addition to our kitchen!!

This is a useful tool to have in the amateur cooks inventory. With proper care, this reversible grill will last years, and works as intended, with one minor caveat. The only issue I have with this product, is the the designed "grease tray" does not collect grease as it should. In order for it to work effectively, the pan would need to be tilted at a slight angle to allow grease to flow off the pan. As the product is, it is totally flat, making the grease tray mostly useless for cooking things like bacon.

UPDATE; after replacement by Amazon and arrival intact, does everything I expected.Unsure if it's product failure or packing failure.It arrived like this. Will try again.Strike 2. They posted some random picture of a phone...?

Dang this is heavy. It fits perfectly over my gas burners. I have to put it on there and THEN turn on the burners so I can't seem to get the heat distribution right. The food does not stick but this is hard to clean. I feel I am taking a finish off when I clean it. It will rust too if I don't dry it thoroughly. I have made pancakes on the smooth side and turkey burgers on the grill side. This works for me but it IS very heavy. I have a larger smooth grill that I was hoping to replace with this but my other grill is actually lighter and easier to clean. I think I might have to season this once a year. You know, the usual cast iron stuff. Over all I am happy with Lodge products.

If you have an induction cooktop don't expect this product to work with your cooktop. The manufacturer has gone so far as to no longer include the induction cooktop symbol on their packaging. I've tried various diffusers, but none of them work well and they all eventually overheat and the cooktop will turnoff and send out an error code for a dry/empty pan before you can get the griddle hot enough to brown a pancake.I would say about 70% of the time the cooktop will recognize and work on one burner, 29% of the time the cooktop will not work or recognize any burner and on a rare occassion about 1 in 100 times it will recognize both burners and the product works great for making pancakes. The pan has never worked with the other side up. .All other cast iron works fine on induction, but because this pan is two side and thus does not sit flush on the cooktop it does not work well with induction.As with all non-induction electric cooktops this product does not work well for making pancakes, but that is just how the non-induction electric cooktops work - they control the heat by how often they come on and off - so you get a blast of ultra hot heat and then nothing.

I like it, but I suggest wrapping it in aluminum foil with each use. the screw holes can be difficult to clean well, and it rusts rather quickly if you done wipe it with a little oil after washing

I got this to help cook our bacon while camping better. What I found out is the bacon sticks to this thing like crazy and doesn't come off easily. I am going to stop using it for that and maybe I will try it on some homemade burgers to keep them flat. If that doesn't work I have an expensive paper weight. I don't understand why it is sticking to things none of my other cast iron stuff sticks. Only thing I can think of is the finish on the underside of this is very rough when compared to any of my cast pans.

Screws securing the handle attempt to rust. Otherwise the product is of good quality.

We had to add some hardware to get the screws secure enough that the handle didn't wobble. However, since then, it has been working well to make paninis in my cast iron pan. It heats faster and more effectively on its own burner, rather than in the pan. I would recommend this to others (just make sure you have a couple extra washers).

This is well made and the only negative aspect is its size. It is only 7 inches. I've been looking for at least a 9 inch bacon press and thought the ad said this was 9 inches, but I was mistaken.The pros of this item is it has a flat bottom making it easy to clean. Also, you can remove the handle if you wish to ad to clean up the screw holes easier. I wonder if anyone will ever make one of these with a "flat" bottom that is larger than 7 inches.

I really like this product. Because it's round, it fits into any skillet or griddle, and like all Lodge products, it's made well. When I put the handle on, however, I apparently didn't screw it tight enough, it fell off, and I lost one of the screws. I thought about buying it again, having my husband tighten it, but then I wondered if tightening the screws would be an ongoing problem. I have many Lodge products, and I think they are great.

We bought these to use in a restaurant as sausage presses. When left on the grill the handles get hot. The black on the bottom is already starting to come off and we haven't even had them that long. If looking for personal use when camping or a but around the house they will work fine, but I do not recommend for something that is used often throughout the day everyday.

As noted by others the screws and nuts do not match up together. Went to the hardware store for the correct size cap nut and handle attaches fine. Press itself is good. It would be great if company read the reviews and corrected this very common, easily fixable, problem.

The press itself is fine. The trouble is that I purchased this item as a gift. When my husband opened it, we discovered that the two screws that holds the handle to the press were missing from the package. I was a bit embarrassed that my gift is useless until we find replacement parts. Now we have to make a run to the hardware store to find screws and nuts that would fit the press. Again, I know it isn't a big hassle, but its the principal. You order something and you just expect it to be ready to go once you get it.

The grill press is okay, I use it but wish it was a bit longer to catch the bacon at both ends. I have to move it around all the time and find that sometimes it makes the bacon stick good and solid to the cast iron grill if I leave it in one place too long.I have also used on hamburger patties to squish them down and that works well and I think helps them to cook faster.Am using it because I already bought it, but wouldn't bother buying another one again.

I bought this for camping trips, cooking bacon in the woods is hard to beat...keeping it flat would be extra cool. Well, on a the Camp Chef griddle I can lay out nearly a pound of thick-sliced bacon. One of these covers about 20% of the griddle...I need 5 or 6 of them to do the whole thing. I'm not sure if I'll buy more of them or put this one in the closet...I should have thought it through...

I bought this bacon press because I love Lodge's pre-seasoned cast iron cookware and the fact it's made in the USA is a bonus. This press, however, was a beast to assemble. I'm 6'1", 280lbs (too much bacon perhaps) and I had a devil of a time getting the lock nuts screwed down tight enough to keep the handle from rattling around. Yes it does do the job, but it's under-sized and after dealing with putting it together, I would suggest the larger one piece Camp Chef 9 1/4" X 5 3/4" I bought locally (Amazon also sells it). It has grill marks and a good weight to it for sandwiches, bacon or larger cuts of meat. I'm still a Lodge fan, but I would not suggest buying this press.

Take note how heavy it is before you buy...I was well aware by reading the specs and of course being real cast iron, heaviness is to be expected, but it's pretty cumbersome. Think I'm going to still season it myself also, certain foods leaves residue and stain as is. The grease channel takes away from cooking surface room (but helpful if cooking a lot of bacon).

The griddle is "ok" as is but I went ahead and sanded the not so smooth, smooth side a fair bit and re-seasoned it. It fits across both burners on my stove. I do wish the sides were a little taller to retain grease better but other than that, it's what you'd expect from a cast iron griddle.

I have used a cast iron skillet for many years and love it. I recently got a new stove that has a center burner meant for these types of griddles. I was very excited as I have always wanted a cast iron griddle. However, this just doesn't live up to expectations. When I use the either the long center burner or the dual-burners, it takes a long time to heat up (at least 10-15min) and even when it does, the edges never really get hot. So, if I am making pancakes or anything that runs to the edges, those parts don't really cook. I'm not sure why this would be as cast iron is supposed to transfer and maintain even heat well. (Perhaps there is user error here but I can't see where that would be. I mean, put it on the stove and turn on the burners... it is not very complicated.) I still use it for the occasional steak or bacon but it really isn't as useful as I hoped.

A few thoughts about this pan:Pros:- It's Lodge cast iron, so it's bullet proof. With the right care (seasoning, mostly), it'll last a lifetime and beyond- I bought this to use on a glass cook top that has a middle griddle burner between two circular burners, and I was incredibly worried about the pan scratching the glass, but so far that hasn't happened and I don't expect it to be an issue.- This pan works great on a grill, especially for keeping grease from dropping through the grates and causing flare ups.Cons:- Cleaning is awful! Burnt on foods (let's face it, this thing ain't non-stick) on the ridged side are almost impossible to clean. I've tried several scrapers and none can really get in the grooves. Also, the channel around the edges that collects grease really does just that, so much so that if you let it dry in the channel, it's very hard to get out. The best I can do is after using this pan is through it on the grill at high temps to burn everything off, but there's still a lot of black char on it afterwards, and it's not the good kind that imparts flavor, it's the gross burnt kind that turns your food dark grey.Notes:- It's heavy (by design)- On my glass cooktop, there is very little friction, so the pan slides around when I'm scraping or flipping items. Very annoying.- Not the fault of the pan here, but if you're planning on using it across two or three burners on the griddle section of a stove like I am, be prepared that it's very hard to get all the burners at the same temperature, so you end up with hot and cold spots that make cooking difficult. I tried cooking sausage and pancakes on this, and both times the food would be well done in the middle or at one burner, and under done at the opposite end of the pan.Overall I think the best place to use this pan is on the grill to prevent grease flare ups, and not in the kitchen. Outside I can make much more of a mess, then burn off any accumulate food stuff right on the grill.

I bought this to replace a single-burner square griddle pan. The good news is that it is very well made and the ridged grill side works great.Unfortunately, there are 2 problems. First, it doesn't sit right on my stovetop. The total griddle dimensions are larger than my stopvetop (I measured before I bought it), but the grease channel takes off an inch or so from the underside dimension. It works, but it's obvious that this isn't how it was intended to be used.The 2nd problem is that it doesn't heat up evenly. It will be super hot right over the burners but barely hot in the middle. As a result, you can't really cook over the whole surface at once, which kind of defeats the purpose of having a 2-burner griddle.

We bought this because we were tired of the cheap electric griddles and their uneven heat. The last electric we bought was so bad there were literally stripes on our pancakes where the element was. We read good reviews for this and bought it. We use it on a gas range over two burners. We typically use it for pancakes, bacon and such. The bacon cooked up well but we still had some hot spots where the actual burners are but the bacon cooked up good. Pancakes have not been good at all. We have tried low settings, pre-heating for 15-20 minutes and nothing really worked. We had pancakes burning in spots and hardly cooked in others (same pancake)! We have finally gone to only cooking one pancake at each burner location and that seems to work but of course we waste all the space that could be used. Maybe we just haven't learned the trick of cooking with cast iron but for now I can only give it three stars.

The handle loop holes were not lined up with the screw holes and one area where the screw goes through the loop, the loop was too small and I had to get tools and almost never got it to fit. So frustrating that they don't have quality control. The handle is made of very strong wire and I had to use vice grips and every muscle in my body to make it work (and I'm A6 foot tall strong guy). I can't imagine a female ever getting this to work unless she's a bodybuilder. Once I got it on the handle is tilted somewhat sideways but I can live with that. It's almost too strong to straighten out so whatever...Other than it coming in"what I would call damaged" the weight is very good and I think overall it will be a good product now that I put my Blood Sweat and Tears into fixing it

Rectangular ones are half the price and good for the grill or grittle.Round ones are for pans. This acts like a recessed lid and never touches the food, on all but the largest of pans. They should make them much smaller to fit inside the bottom of smaller pans.

Poorly designed, can not assemble as screws are too long. Nuts should have been open on both sides (a regular hex nut). Not acorn types as sent, screw can only go in so far with an acorn, because only one side is open. Not deep enough to tighten completely.

Is not heavy enough. I had to buy a larger, heavier press. The handle gets hot, so I used a towel or my grilling gloves.

Its too small. The idea is to use as a bacon press it really only covers 2 or 3 pieces of bacon, I have a large pan that i cook the bacon in. It works fine it just needs to be bigger closer to 10 inches would be better, I cant find a bigger one...

I received the item. The item itself was what I ordered but unusable as shipped.The screws included were to long and the caps/nuts that bare visable on the user side bottom out on the "to"long screws and leave the handle loose.The required fix was to purchase screws at the local hardware store that then had to be cut and modified to work.I would not recommend this item for someone without technical abilities.If your willing to pay full price for an item and then spend additiona time and money to make it work-then it's a great product.

The handle is extremely difficult to install. I may have to go and buy new hardware to accomplish this. The nuts and bolts are not fitting together. Seriously, Lodge??? I thought they would do better than this.I love the idea; I'm hoping to love the product - but I may never know.

I was unable to tighten the handle to the the press securely. Try as I might (and several other people I enlisted to help) we were unable to get a solid attachment of the handle. I don't believe it's supposed to be loose but ours was. I'm guessing the tolerances on some of these have been bad. I'll order a different type without a detachable handle.

It is weighty and serves to sear food well. However it looses points for poor construction. It came unassembled and the screws DO NOT FIT snugly into the iron. This makes the handle very wobbly during use. Furthermore this metal rusts -- not really a big surprise but I had forgotten this about cast iron. It must be stored and dried appropriately to avoid rust stains in your kitchen cabinetry.

Overall, this would be a really great grill press. The size and weight are perfect. However, I only gave it two stars because of the hardware for the handle. The screws are too long for depth of the cap nuts. It's almost like the cap nuts didn't get drilled out enough. It can be fixed by using extra washers, but it is annoying to have to "repair" a new item. I wondered about all the positive reviews, then noticed they were all fairly old. Most of the more current reviews refer to the handle issue. It's surprising given the usual high quality of Lodge products. I would have returned the press, but had already recycled the shipping box. Now that I have addressed the handle issue, it's a great press.

I just go this press today and put it together per instructions/pictures. The screws (2 of em) are too long and so the handle is too loose. Either I got the wrong screws or this is how the handles are supposed to be? I'm reluctant to use it cuz it wobbles a lot. The weight of the press seems decent otherwise.

Press is ok, but mine even though it was new, and sealed as new from factory, it came without the bolts? It had the 2 washers, and nuts but no bolts. I called Lodge and the lady was nice, and agreed to send out the bolts. Also the handle is just painted black. Not as pictured. I asked about this and was told it only comes painted black, not as the picture shows ( stainless or chrome ). I decided rather than wait for the two bolts, to just get my own locally, rather disappointing

It may be me, but I can't keep stuff from sticking. It is supposed to be pre-seasoned, but it sure isn't Teflon. Maybe I am not using enough oil. If that is case, more detailed instructions might be helpful, specifically for people used to non-stick surfaces. After the first attempt at pancakes, I had to scrub so hard to get off the burnt batter, I know I destroyed the seasoning, so I re-seasoned. Still had trouble. Two possibilities: Need still more oil, or just not getting the temperature right. I am disappointed, but can't necessarily blame the griddle, but it takes some getting used to. If I were to recommend it, it would be with a warning to be prepared to experiment, until you got it right. Also, although it covers two burners of the same size, the temperature is still very uneven, even after 20 minutes.

Like the idea of this but it didn't cover 2 burners on my GE Monogram stove. It just wasn't long enough so i couldn't cook on both sides of the griddle. I tried turning it horizontally instead of vertically but it was still too short to cover 2 burners. Otherwise i like the product but it's pretty useless if i can't use it on both burners. If you are going to get this item measure your burners first, I wish i had....

I knew the pan would be heavy, but this con was not outweighed by perfomance. I have a gas stove and we have consistently burned a whole batch of bacon with every use. The middle gets very hot and the sides do not. I am guessing this is due to the wide reservoir on the side for collecting bacon fat. A whole strip of bacon will not fit sideways due to the space taken by the reservoir and I cannot justify the use of such a large pan to cook bacon lengthwise. Pancakes and frenchtoast stick terrible. I have several cast iron pans - two of which are more than 50 years old! I understand the seasoning process and how to use cast iron. This one gets the thumbs down. I thought I had found the answer to replacing a nonstick griddle every three years. Nope.

The problem I have with this item is that as with all cast iron, the more you use it the further it becomes seasoned. This does come per-seasoned but can still be improved with use.. I have a lodge pan that I can flip in sunny side up egg in and not break the yolk and would expect to build up the same seasoning here.Any time I flip this over, the other side gets direct heat, which means when I am doing steaks on the grill size, the flattop is directly on my gas burners and I destroy the seasoning in the area over the flame. Unfortunately this has led to food sticking. Overall I will stick with a single grill pan or one of their square griddles. Lodge is an excellent company and whoa gear I love, but this one just didn't work for me. They tried for versatility and in doing so, took away some of the advantage of having cast iron in the first place.As a plus, this is large enough dimensionally to fit over my burners very well and is pretty stable.

I'm pretty disappointed with this purchase. We have an electric stove and had been using a similar long griddle that sits on two burners. It was not cast iron though. It wouldn't heat in the middle, only above the burners. So I decided that I'd get a cast iron one, because they have such a nice even heat throughout the entire pan. We have used this about 5 times now and it also will not cook anything that sits in the middle. I am sad about this as I really wanted to love this griddle/grill.

I was very excited to receive this griddle after reading all of the positive reviews.Upon arrival, the first thing I noticed was that a big black bubble on the cooking surface. I touched it with my finger and it tore off, exposing the bare iron beneath.I tried to cook with it anyways, knowing that I was going to send it back for a replacement.I made pancakes in the morning and burgers at night. The results were a mixed bag.The surface may be slightly non-stick, but it's certainly not on par with a high quality non-stick surface. My pancakes stuck even though I slightly greased the surface. It performed poorly for pancakes.Dinner was a different story. Cooking burgers on this thing is a dream. No complaints there.My second griddle just arrived today. There are multiple big cooking surface bubbles on this one. Maybe Amazon got a bad batch, maybe Lodge Logic's quality has fallen off. Either way, I recommend avoiding this griddle.

The screws are on the side that touches your food and they rusted immediately! Certainly not something I'm going to use on my food. Very disappointing quality.

Not easy to use - you have to fasten the handle and it keeps coming unfastened as I use it. Wouldn't recommend.

This item was described as 1 unit containing 6 presses. The price reflected saving $156.00, yet only one press was delivered. Seems like false advertising to me.

This was neither pre seasoned nor even shipped in oil. The iron was rusted out of the box. Now are brown with rust and oxidation. I oiled and fired it every day, only washing with hot water first. I'm a chemist and cook, so I know how to treat iron. These cast iron products must have set in a damp warehouse for months. Do not buy them.

First the method of attaching the handle is shoddy and not hygenic at all. they screw a bolt through the rings on the handle and into a nut/washer on the cooking side of the press. This mean you have a flat screw head on the cooking side that is slightly recessed and holding the handle on. This means junk collects in and around the screw. The handle is not held securely by the screw either. Bad design. wish I had bought the press with the one piece press and handle.

Whatever you may think about this product, DO NOT CRITIZE IT. The crazy come out. Don't buy it. It is not worth the money.

Rusted immediately. It definitively requires to be seasoned.

Used it one and is rusted.

I bought this and used it once maybe twice. Washed and stored... it started RUSTING REALLY BAD!!! I am so disapointed and wasted my money on this product. Since I hadn't used it right away. I couldn't do a return. But I'm wondering why this happens????

Impossible to get nuts attached to screws securely.

Do not wash. Use aluminum foil when using it. Or buy another product

The weight of this product is fabulous. The screws won't go on tightly. It is like they are too long. I can't use it if it isn't tight. So I can't recommend this.

Do not like this griddle. Very disappointing. It's too heavy and kind of small. Stuff also likes to stick to it and it is hard to clean.

Very disappointed that mine cracked only after using a couple of times. I had the heat on low to medium low on my glass cooktop. Mostly used it to heat up tortillas. Not really sure why it cracked. I plan on contacting the manufacturer.

This was pretty expensive for it to not fit over the elements of my electric stove. It sits cockeyed and will be useless for making pancakes. :(

Does NOT work on induction ranges as it claims. Otherwise looks great

This thing is kind of smaller than you think and the way the handles are designed provides a great way for flames to touch your bacon grease. Poof. Look for another one.

The grill could have been great except the good size nick in one of the grill irons. (Not the flat side.). I am awaiting an exchange.