The deciding specification is what each maker publishes about washing, because only two of these five state that a dishwasher is allowed and both of those are stainless steel rather than cast iron.
By the Lush Editorial Team·Researched & Compared
I read the care line in every listing on this shortlist and sorted them into three groups, dishwasher stated, hand wash stated and nothing stated, then checked each maker's material, weight, handle and published dimensions against the figures in its own sentences.
A 304 stainless press published at 8 inches and 3.25 pounds, stated to rinse clean in seconds and to be dishwasher safe, with a 3/16 inch plate for heat and a 6.3 inch silicone handle that locks against rotation.
A brushed 304 stainless press given as 163 mm and 1.95 kg by the maker, 4.3 pounds in the weight field, with a flame retardant silicone handle that detaches for drawer storage and a whole unit stated as dishwasher safe.
Cast iron with no coating, published at 2.76 pounds against a title claiming 3 lbs, with a heat resistant silicone grip, a stated pressing surface of 9.4 by 2.4 inches, and care given as hand wash, dry thoroughly and oil lightly.
A cast iron kit published at 3.53 pounds holding a 6.69 inch round press, a 7.68 by 4.1 inch rectangle smasher, a patty maker and one hundred 5.9 by 5.9 inch parchment squares, with washing, drying, oiling and storage all spelled out.
The classic rectangular cast iron press, published at 6.75 by 4.5 inches and 2.88 pounds with a spiral handle, seasoned with 100 percent natural vegetable oil and carrying no washing instruction anywhere in the listing.
| Model | Brand | Size (Capacity) | Weight | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manucode Smash Burger Press | Manucode | Φ8" | 3.25 lb | Best for never seasoning anything again |
| QAP Flame-Retardant Grill Press | QAP | 163mm | 4.3 lb | Best for a handle that comes off before washing |
| Gourmet Easy 3 lbs Cast Iron BBQ Grill Press with He... | Gourmet Easy | 9.4*4.7*2.6in | 2.76 lb | Best for bare cast iron with a cool grip |
| Grilliance Smash Burger Press Kit | Grilliance | Pack of 2 | 3.53 lb | Best for a written cleaning routine in four steps |
| Lodge Pre-Seasoned Cast Iron Grill Press | Lodge | 4.5 inch X 6.75 inch | 2.88 lb | Best for a press that has outlived its instructions |
A 304 stainless press published at 8 inches and 3.25 pounds, stated to rinse clean in seconds and to be dishwasher safe, with a 3/16 inch plate for heat and a 6.3 inch silicone handle that locks against rotation.
A brushed 304 stainless press given as 163 mm and 1.95 kg by the maker, 4.3 pounds in the weight field, with a flame retardant silicone handle that detaches for drawer storage and a whole unit stated as dishwasher safe.
Cast iron with no coating, published at 2.76 pounds against a title claiming 3 lbs, with a heat resistant silicone grip, a stated pressing surface of 9.4 by 2.4 inches, and care given as hand wash, dry thoroughly and oil lightly.
A cast iron kit published at 3.53 pounds holding a 6.69 inch round press, a 7.68 by 4.1 inch rectangle smasher, a patty maker and one hundred 5.9 by 5.9 inch parchment squares, with washing, drying, oiling and storage all spelled out.
The classic rectangular cast iron press, published at 6.75 by 4.5 inches and 2.88 pounds with a spiral handle, seasoned with 100 percent natural vegetable oil and carrying no washing instruction anywhere in the listing.
Manucode states its 304 stainless press is dishwasher safe and that seasoning can be skipped, at 3.25 pounds. QAP states the entire 304 stainless unit is dishwasher safe and the silicone handle detaches, at 4.3 pounds. Gourmet Easy, Grilliance and Lodge are cast iron: the first two publish a hand wash routine with oil afterwards, and Lodge publishes no washing instruction at all beyond calling itself easy to clean.
“Two say dishwasher, two say hand wash, one says neither.”
Lush Food & Drink
Not one of the three cast iron presses here says so. Gourmet Easy states hand wash and dry thoroughly, then season lightly with oil. Grilliance numbers the same routine in four steps and ends it with oil to reduce the risk of rust. Lodge publishes no washing method at all, only that the range is as easy to clean as it is to cook with. Elsewhere in this pool the instruction is blunter still: Cuisinel states do not put in dishwasher and do not air dry.
Manucode and QAP, and both are 304 stainless steel rather than cast iron. Manucode states the smooth stainless surface resists rust, sticks less and rinses clean in seconds, in a bullet that also tells you to skip seasoning forever. QAP states that the handle detaches for storage and that the entire 304 stainless steel unit is dishwasher safe. No cast iron listing on this shortlist makes either claim.
The listings imply a trade rather than stating one. Gourmet Easy describes raw cast iron with no coatings that builds seasoning over time and says that seasoning is what enhances browning. Manucode instead publishes a 3/16 inch stainless plate and describes preheating it to sear, crisp and caramelize. Both are heat claims, but only the cast iron listings tie the cooking surface to a layer you have to maintain.
Nothing in the listing explains it, and it is the figure that makes the data inconsistent: 3.25 pounds inside 8 by 8 by 0.1 inches would be denser than lead. The same listing states a 3/16 inch plate and a 6.3 inch silicone handle, so the height field describes neither the plate nor the assembled press. It was set aside here and the maker's own thickness figure used instead.
163 mm in the size field and 1.95 kg in a bullet, alongside 4.3 pounds in the weight field. Its width and depth fields both read 64.17 inches, which cannot describe a press you hold in one hand, so they were set aside. That leaves no inch figure at all for the pressing face, which matters if you were hoping to check it against a griddle or a drawer.
On published text alone, QAP asks least of you: the handle comes off and the rest is stated to be dishwasher safe. Manucode is the same idea in one piece. Among the cast iron presses, Grilliance is the most explicit about what to do, and the one hundred parchment squares in its kit are stated to speed cleanup by keeping food off the press in the first place.
Specifications come from the manufacturers' own published listings. Lush Food & Drink may earn a commission if you buy through a link on this page, at no extra cost to you. How we research.
This shortlist splits cleanly in two. Two presses are 304 stainless steel and both state that a dishwasher is allowed. Three are cast iron, and none of the three mentions a dishwasher in any direction: two publish a hand wash routine that ends with oil, and the third publishes no washing instruction at all. That split, not the weight, is what this page is about.
The published weights sit close together, from 2.76 pounds to 4.3 pounds, so the care line does more to separate these than the figures do. Three of the five publish at least one dimension I would not put in front of a reader: 64.17 inches in two fields, a height of 0.1 inch, and a carton for a kit of three items. Each is named below.
| Specification | Manucode | QAP | Gourmet Easy | Grilliance | Lodge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dishwasher stated | dishwasher safe | entire unit dishwasher safe | not published | not published | not published |
| Washing method stated | rinses clean in seconds | not published | hand wash, dry thoroughly | hand wash, running water, mild soap | not published |
| Oil or seasoning stated | skip seasoning | not published | season lightly with oil | season with oil after drying | arrives seasoned in vegetable oil |
| Material stated | 304 stainless steel | brushed 304 stainless steel | cast iron, no coatings | cast iron | cast iron |
| Published weight, lb | 3.25 | 4.3 | 2.76 | 3.53 | 2.88 |
| Weight in the maker’s words | 3.25 lb | 1.95 kg | 3 lbs in the title | not published | not published |
| Published width and depth, in | 8 x 8 | 64.17 x 64.17 | 4.72 x 9.45 | not published | 4.5 x 6.75 |
| Size in the maker’s words | 8 in | 163 mm | 9.4 x 2.4 in pressing surface | 6.69 in round, 7.68 x 4.1 in rectangle | 6.75 x 4.5 in |
| Plate thickness stated | 3/16 in | not published | not published | not published | not published |
| Handle stated | 6.3 in silicone, locks | silicone, detachable | heat resistant silicone | wooden | cast iron spiral |
| Items in the box | One press | Press and detachable handle | One press | Round press, rectangle smasher, patty maker, one hundred parchment squares | One press |
What the table cannot tell you is whether a silicone or wooden handle survives a wash cycle repeatedly, because no listing here says. QAP sidesteps the question by detaching its handle. Manucode states its silicone handle locks in place, which is a safety claim rather than a cleaning one. Nothing on this page publishes a temperature or a cycle limit for any part of any press.
Manucode is the plainest. Its listing states that the smooth stainless steel surface resists rust, sticks less and rinses clean in seconds, then adds that it is dishwasher safe and that you can skip seasoning or scrubbing a cast iron press forever. That is a care claim and a positioning claim in one sentence, and it is the reason a stainless press turns up on a cast iron shortlist at all.
QAP goes further on the detail that matters most. Its listing states that the handle is easily detachable for compact storage in drawers and that the entire 304 stainless steel unit is dishwasher safe. Detaching the handle means the flame retardant silicone need not go through the cycle with the steel, and it is the only press here where any part comes off for any reason.
Gourmet Easy states simple care: hand wash and dry thoroughly after use, then season lightly with oil to maintain performance. Grilliance numbers the same routine, and numbering it is unusual enough to be worth quoting: hand wash with running water and mild soap, dry with cloth or tissue, season with oil to reduce the risk of rust, store in a dry place. Neither mentions a dishwasher.
Lodge publishes nothing at all. Its five bullets cover the cast iron construction, the pressing action, the spiral handle and the seasoning it arrives with, and the closest any of them comes to care is a line about the range being as easy to clean as it is to cook with. On a bare cast iron press that is a slogan, not an instruction, and silence is not permission.
Both cast iron listings that describe care put oil at the end of the routine, and they say why. Grilliance states that oiling reduces the risk of rust, maintains the surface and extends the life of the press. Gourmet Easy states that its raw cast iron carries no coatings and no chemicals and builds its seasoning over time, which is the same claim from the other direction: the surface is made by use.
Elsewhere in this pool the warning is sharper. Cuisinel states that cast iron should be hand washed, dried thoroughly on the stove at medium heat and seasoned with oil, then adds do not put in dishwasher and do not air dry. Our Place states the same idea in fewer words: hand wash with warm soapy water, dry immediately, and a dishwasher is not recommended. Neither is picked here, but both describe what the three cast iron picks assume.
Neither stainless listing mentions rust as something you prevent. Manucode states the surface resists rust as a property of the steel, and QAP states that its brushed finish hides fingerprints and resists scratches through repeated searing. Neither publishes a drying instruction, and QAP publishes no washing method at all beyond the dishwasher line, which is its own kind of gap.
The cost is on the cooking side, and the listings are honest enough about it. Gourmet Easy ties browning to the seasoned surface. Manucode answers with mass and thickness instead: a 3/16 inch plate it says retains heat, preheated and pressed to sear steaks or crisp a sandwich. At 3.25 pounds against Gourmet Easy’s 2.76 pounds it has weight on its side too.
Every one of the five publishes a handle material, and three of them are not metal. QAP uses flame retardant silicone that is stated to self-extinguish once away from a direct flame, and it comes off. Manucode publishes 6.3 inches of oversized silicone that is stated to lock against accidental rotation. Gourmet Easy uses a heat resistant silicone grip stated to stay cool over high heat.
Grilliance uses wooden handles, stated to stay cool to the touch, on a kit whose care routine is hand washing and oiling. Lodge is one piece of cast iron with a spiral handle, so there is nothing to detach and nothing to protect separately. No listing here states what repeated washing does to silicone or to wood, and that is the omission the dishwasher question really turns on.
QAP publishes 64.17 inches in both its width and depth fields, which cannot describe a press held in one hand, so the maker’s own 163 mm and 1.95 kg were used instead. Manucode publishes a height of 0.1 inch, and that field is what makes 3.25 pounds inside 8 by 8 inches read as denser than lead. Its stated 3/16 inch plate is the figure worth keeping.
Grilliance is a kit, so its published dimensions describe the carton at 7.68 by 8.07 by 2.95 inches rather than either press. The maker’s own bullet gives the two presses as a 6.69 inch round and a 7.68 by 4.1 inch rectangle, which is more useful and happens to explain the carton. Gourmet Easy’s 9.4 by 2.4 inch figure is the pressing surface, not the press: its fields publish 4.72 inches across.
The cook who will not maintain a seasoning. Manucode publishes 304 stainless at 8 inches and 3.25 pounds, states it is dishwasher safe and tells you to skip seasoning. Ignore its 0.1 inch height field, and treat the 3/16 inch plate as the heat claim to judge it on.
A press that comes apart before washing. QAP detaches its silicone handle and states the whole 304 stainless unit is dishwasher safe, at 4.3 pounds, the heaviest of these five. It publishes 163 mm and no inch figure, so you cannot check the face against a pan before it arrives.
Bare cast iron with a grip you can hold. Gourmet Easy publishes 2.76 pounds, the lightest of these five, with no coatings and a silicone grip stated to stay cool. Care is hand wash, dry thoroughly and oil lightly, and the 9.4 by 2.4 inch figure is the pressing face.
Someone learning the routine from scratch. Grilliance numbers its four cleaning steps, ships a 6.69 inch round press and a 7.68 by 4.1 inch rectangle, and supplies one hundred parchment squares that keep food off the iron. Its 3.53 pounds covers the whole kit.
The buyer who already knows how to treat iron. Lodge publishes 6.75 by 4.5 inches and 2.88 pounds, arrives seasoned in vegetable oil and says nothing about washing. If you already dry and oil cast iron by habit, the silence costs you nothing; if you do not, start elsewhere.
These are the questions the five listings leave open, and nothing above has answered them by inference.
