Best Cast Iron Skillet: Lodge, Field, FINEX, Le Creuset

Lodge has poured cast iron in South Pittsburg, Tennessee, for well over a century, and its 12 inch skillet is the standard American pan. It arrives seasoned with vegetable oil baked on at the foundry, has a pour spout on each side, a helper handle opposite the main one, and weighs about 8 pounds.

The cooking surface is the one thing to know. Lodge leaves the cast texture as it comes out of the sand, which is slightly pebbly. It sears a steak and bakes cornbread as well as anything on this list, but eggs stick until the pan has a season or two of cooking in it. Owners who want it smoother sometimes sand it down, but most simply cook in it until it evens out.

Skip it if lifting 8 pounds of iron with one hand is a problem. The 10.25 inch Lodge is lighter, or look at the Field Company below.

The catch. Heavy, and the rough surface needs use before it releases eggs cleanly.

FINEX is a Portland, Oregon, cookware company, owned by Lodge since 2019. Its skillet is octagonal, which gives eight pouring corners and eight flat sides for a spatula to push against. The cooking surface is machined smooth and seasoned with flaxseed oil to a bronze color that darkens with use. The handle is wrapped in a stainless steel spring, which FINEX calls its Speed Cool handle, meant to shed heat faster than solid iron.

It is heavy, about 8.5 pounds for the 12 inch pan, and thick. That mass makes it a superb searing pan and a poor one for tossing vegetables. FINEX describes its cookware as Guaranteed Good Forever and says it will repair or replace a pan that fails.

Skip it if you want the lightest pan here, or if a coiled handle strikes you as a gimmick. Field Company does the smooth surface for less weight.

The catch. As heavy as the Lodge, at more than seven times the price.

Le Creuset's Signature skillet is cast iron coated in enamel, with a black satin enamel interior rather than bare seasoned iron. It needs no seasoning, does not rust, and takes acidic food like tomato sauce or a wine pan sauce without the metallic taste bare iron can give. Le Creuset says it develops a patina with use that helps browning.

It is oven safe to 500 degrees Fahrenheit, works on every cooktop including induction, and the listing calls it dishwasher safe. Le Creuset bills it as the lightest cast iron by quart on the market.

Skip it if you want real nonstick behavior. Eggs stick to enamel more than to a well-seasoned bare pan, and the enamel can chip if it is dropped or banged against a sink.

The catch. The price of a very good stainless pan for a skillet that sears slightly less well than bare iron.

Staub's enameled cast iron is made in France, and where Le Creuset's interior is satin, Staub's is a textured black matte enamel. The rougher surface gives food more to grip, which Staub says gives exceptional browning.

The skillet has raised sides to keep splatter in and a pouring spout on each side for draining fat. Like the Le Creuset, it needs no seasoning, is oven safe to 500 degrees Fahrenheit, and handles acidic sauces.

Skip it if you only want one skillet and that skillet has to fry eggs. Take the Lodge or the Field Company instead, and keep enamel for braising and sauces.

The catch. Heavy for its size, and the matte interior takes a little more scrubbing than satin enamel.