I spent some time looking through the Lodge catalog the other day and was surprised at how many grill pans they offer. You would think that a phrase like “Lodge cast iron grill pan” would be pretty specific but apparently it is not. I have added all of these pans to an Amazon product wheel below so you can see them side by side. It is a pretty slick tool that lets you “wheel around” and see the different items.
Lodge offers three 10 inch grill pans; round, square and enameled. The enameled pans are available in blue, red, green and brown. These are the enameled versions of the square pan. The 10 inch pans are okay but I feel they are a little small. You could grill two pork chops at a time without over crowding the pan. I am also not a fan of the enameled pan. The enameled pans are easier to care for and come in different colors but they lose the non-stick properties of cast iron. I don’t like that trade-off.
Lodge offers two 12 inch grill pans and both of them are extremely nice. I have already written that my favorite is the 12 inch square pan. The size is just right and the low sloping sides make for the perfect balance between easy flipping and easy cleaning. Lodge also offers a 12 inch round grill pan from their Signature Series. The Signature Series differs from the Pro-Logic series in that Signature items have stainless steel handles. Personally I think the combination of cast iron with stainless looks sharp. This guy is pretty and I would not mind having it in my kitchen at all! In addition to looking good the handle is designed to stay cool while the grill pan gets hot. This is an extremely nice feature that you can only really appreciate if you have ever grabbed the handle of a hot cast iron pan. Like cast iron, the stainless handle is also oven proof. If you have the extra money the Signature pan would be something to seriously think about.
Lodge also offers two versions of the double burner reversible grill/griddle pan. If you are in the market for a double burner pan make sure you measure your stove first and avoid my mistake. One of these grills is 16.75 inches long while the other is 20 inches long. Both grills have a nice edge on them which provides a little bit of depth (should help with cleaning). I was surprised when I looked at the shipping weight for the double burner grills, they are much lighter than I expected. My cast iron double burner grill (from Cajun Cookware) weighs at least 25 lbs and is a bear to handle. The Lodge 20 inch grill only weighs 16 pounds while the 16 inch grill only weighs 10 lbs. The 16 inch double burner grill pretty much weighs the same as my 12 inch single burner pan. Weight is a major consideration for these grills. I am surprised they were able to cast something this size and keep the weight down in the manageable range.