I've got a shiny new Le Creuset grill pan for steak..

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Soldato
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.. but the 'instructions' supplied with it suggest:

- Use only med/high heat under it (to allow the pan to heat gradually and evenly)
- If overheated, it may cause damage to handles and enamel
- The surface should not be smoking hot, if so remove and allow to cool slightly

:confused: :confused: :confused:

Now I have to say, the girlfriends parents bought it for us so she's being quite precious about it. We don't want to ruin a brand new £60 pan. I cooked a steak on it for the first time on Saturday and half followed those guidelines, but the pan just wasn't hot enough. Grey steak. Mmm.

Does anyone have a cast iron pan? Are those notes supplied with it just talking rubbish? Surely a pan like this is designed to take a massive amount of heat? I can understand heating it up slowly, but I really want it on full wack and smoking for a steak. That was the whole point!! :confused:
 
Cast iron should hold its shape, I have a crappy grill pan which is now bent out of shape from it getting too hot :/
 
I've got that pan and I always crank the heat up high as soon as it hits the cooker. Mine is probably 3-4 years old and is a bit 'used' looking but imo that adds to its rustic character.
 
We've got one and high heat has not damaged it apart from a burn mark or two on the handle. They do heat up very quickly and retain heat so you don’t need to have them on very high.
 
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Induction heaters work best with Le Cruset pans too.

I have several and they are the best pans for cooking by a mile for my money.

Just make sure the pan is searing hot before you put the steak on it next time as they do take longer to heat up than normal pans, as there is more iron.
 
jonno.co.uk said:
with cast iron you dont need to use high heat, the point is you heat the cast iron up slowly and it retains the heat. did you heat it for long enough?
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We heated it for about 15mins on a medium heat but took it off a couple of times because it started smoking. I'm wondering if maybe it was just some oil left over in the pan as we had just seasoned it.

Understood about it not needing an ultra-high heat, but what about it smoking? Does that mean it's too hot? I normally judge that as meaning it's ready for the steak to go in! I never put oil in the pan btw, always on the steak.
 
I used to work for them and the instructions are fine, as long as you heat it up properly you should never need to use the highest heat. Great pans.

The amount of people that come back with damaged pans, only to say that they were using it on a really high heat, was astonishing.

:edit: With the smoking, you shouldn't "season" it at all. Just cook normally with it and the surface will build up over time if you dont use a detergent and scrub like hell.
 
Ah ok, so you really can damage them by overheating? How long would you recommend to heat it up for to get it to it's highest heat? I'm thinking about 20-30mins now!
 
See my edit re: the smoking/seasoning.

What are you cooking on, gas, electric, induction? It shouldn't take that long on gas really! 10 minutes max, at medium/high, I would say. On electric maybe a little more... but it seems a little excessive.

And yeah they really can be damaged by overheating, however that's one of the hardiest pans they make, and you have to be really overdoing it/heating it for a very long time when empty to damage it.
 
Cooking with gas, as they say :)

We seasoned it because the instructions said so!

I suppose my question would be is how do I know if I'm damaging it?
 
I've heated my creuset pans pretty hot without issue. The Griddle pan is really a joy, as is the wok. They can all go in the oven without issue. Mine are red, mmm...

(I'm so middle aged)
 
The smoking is mainly a result of the oil/fat you used to cook the steak with, if any.

If it has a low smoke point then it'll obviously start smoking at a lower temperature.
 
I only use cast iron pans, and I use the max heat on them for a minute or two to heat them up, then turn it down a bit to say 3/4 and go from there. Cast iron is the best way to cook in my opinion. Frying chicken on medium/low heat with the lid on for 30 minutes = win. :D
 
alx said:
The smoking is mainly a result of the oil/fat you used to cook the steak with, if any.

If it has a low smoke point then it'll obviously start smoking at a lower temperature.
Click to expand...

Such as olive oil, when I use sunflower oil in my pans, it doesn't smoke on the highest heat.
 
At high heat you risk the cermaic disbonding from the cast iron which buggers you're pan good and proper. I haven't used a cast iron frying pan for a long time I tend to go stainless or non stick steel with gas.
 
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