Just a heavy piece of metal you place on top of a piece of meat. It's particularly useful with burgers cus it keeps them flat and thin but I've found it makes most meat cook faster especially if you preheat it with the pan.
In addition to all of the other advice here about achieving a better sear, you might also consider using a grill press (I use this one). It helps ensure good contact between the pan and the meat, allowing for more efficient heat transfer.
Overall, great job! That thyme baste sounds delicious.
Zero. Have a cast iron grill press that I heat along with my pan. Cooks from both sides and fights the bulge.
Great for pretty much anything flat that you want to cook, like burgers, chops, sausages, hot dogs, etc...
The problem with using it as a press is that the weight is not centered. Grill presses usually have the handle on the top, which helps it stay cooler while this has the handle on one end, so it won't sit as flat on something not perfectly flat.
No not usually. It’s hardly the same pan twice. I have a cast iron weight that sometimes is at hand. All I own are cast iron or stainless steel pans. They all have some heft to them. My general rule is to find one that just fits over the outside diameter of the bread used and isn’t super light. My suggestion is a single sandwich press. There are other sizes and price points of course. Just something fairly heavy.
Nice! My progression with this recipe:
https://www.amazon.com/Lodge-Rectangular-Press-Cool-Grip-Handle/dp/B00063RXNI
That's the one I have.
Congrats, these are nice. I bought the 36" one a few years ago and absolutely love it. I can explain how to make a big batch of sliders if you are interested.
One tip for your smash burgers... next time, just cut a small piece of parchment paper into a square, place it over the ball of beef before smashing, and then smash. These work really well for a smashing tool. And these double as a burger scraper and a griddle scraper.
I made these last night in my Lodge! I also recently bought the Lodge Cast Iron Grill Press for this specifically and it worked great.
https://www.amazon.com/Lodge-Rectangular-Press-Cool-Grip-Handle/dp/B00063RXNI
Item | Current | Lowest | Reviews |
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Lodge Pre-Seasoned Cast Iron Grill Press with Coo… | - | - | 4.6/5.0 |
^Item Info | Bot Info | Trigger
I use the Grill Press from Lodge. Works well for lots of stuff inside and out.
Seems pricey to me... probably because of shipping costs.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00063RXNI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_aGk.Fb018H0QV
Check eBay, antique malls for a used one.
Brick and Mortar Walmartd, or Ace Hardware may have them.
ohh yeah... now get yourself one of these bad boys and you’ll never eat a cold sandwich again https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00063RXNI/
If you don't want to bake it, as most of the replies suggest, you can also use a grill press to keep the bacon flat while frying.
bacon FTW
Also, move it around and maybe even cut it half to be sure everything is evenly cooked.