I know I should know this, and probably I have wasted several years not using something that I could have been using... but I really haven't HAD to figure it out. Usually if we are grilling anything, my husband throws it on the grill outside. Well, he is at work until 8:30 tonight, and I want to grill a steak to slice up for steak tacos. Not a big deal, but certainly not worth scrubbing the grill outside, lighting the charcoal, waiting for it to get ready and hoping the rain doesn't start again. I have a ceramic/glass topped stove, that came with some accessories. One of them is one of those cast iron, pre-seasoned, grill/griddle pans. Can I use that on TOP of my stove? like on double burners? Any special rules about it (besides don't drop it, lol)? Do any of you have and use yours on your ceramic or glass top stove? Love it? Hate it? Not worth it?
THanks!
ETA: you'd think they would have included instructions about which way to use it, but they didn't. :( I mean... it has a griddle side.... how would you use THAT in the oven? And that's what is so confusing... the opposite side (the raised side for grilling) would be on the bottom to use the griddle side... and that is what I have always understood to be the 'no no' with these types of stoves.. you have to have a flat bottom on the pot/pan.
OH... Okay. Sorry. I totally misrepresented my pan. Didn't know it... guess I should have looked more closely before I posted. I DON'T have a double sided griddle. It is a grill insert for my broiler AND a separate griddle. The griddle has legs on it, and the bottom doesn't touch the burner at all. The bottom appears to be coated in aluminum, but is otherwise cast iron. Anyone else have one like this? The manual says absolutely NOTHING about this griddle. It DOES mention the grill pan insert, but not the griddle. :/
Well, I found a website sponsored by the manufacturer, and a question forum on there said that I CAN use the griddle. Either over a bridge area or just over a single burner. YAY! So happy! I think I'll try it out Saturday morning to make pancakes for my daughter's sleepover guest. :)
I would think that if it came with your stove that it would be OK to use it on the glass top, but I've never cooked on a glass top stove so I could be wrong. I use mine with electric burners, but it really works best over gas burners. You could always broil the steak in the oven. A few minutes on each side should do it, more or less depending on how you like your steak cooked.
NO!
I've heard that you can NOT use cast iron on a glass top stove - that it could crack it!!
Use a broil pan and broil is like 4-5 min each side depending on thickness.
*I should stress that this is something that I've only heard, so just research if well if you do decide to use it. It's the main reason why I didn't want a glass stove top because I use mainly only cast iron pans.
I use my cast iron pan on my ceramic top all the time. At least once a week, if not, more often. You have to be very careful that you don't scratch the top and sometimes burners can change color, but I have yet to experience that. I do not ever put my cast iron griddle on there. Mine is the long kind that would cover two burners. I was told that when a ceramic stove heats up the ridges on the skillet make it where the burners can't sense how hot the bottom of the pan is getting. So the burner gets hotter and hotter and then that can break the glass, especially in spots with no burners. NOt worth the risk to me. I use my griddle on the gas grill.
Do NOT use cast iron on a glass top stove the glass will shatter, it happened to me. They do sell these metal stars that sit on the burner so you can use cast iron on them. My daughters bf's grandma has them & she has never had any problems. I would think they would be at a kistchen store but I havent looked even though I want them lol.
