Best Enameled Cast Iron Skillets for Searing and Serving

How the Five Compare on the Numbers

Weight is the clearest published difference across these five. Made In states 5.0 pounds, Crock-Pot 8.5 pounds, Tramontina 12.57 pounds and Lodge 14.61 pounds, while Hisencn states no weight for its set or for any pan in it. The spread between the lightest and heaviest published figures, 5.0 pounds and 14.61 pounds, is 9.61 pounds, which decides whether a pan moves easily from stovetop to oven.

The oven figures separate them next. Hisencn states oven safety to 550 degrees Fahrenheit, Crock-Pot to 500 degrees and Tramontina to 450 degrees Fahrenheit, or 232 degrees Celsius. Made In and Lodge publish no oven figure at all, which is a real gap on two pans whose whole appeal is going from a burner into the oven. Only Made In publishes a cooking surface figure.

What the table cannot do is tell you how any of these pans cooks, because nobody at Lush has used them. It also cannot repair three dimension fields that contradict the listings they sit in: a 16.5 inch height on a 12 inch round skillet, and a 27.0 by 46.0 inch footprint on a set of three pans the maker lists at 8, 9.5 and 11.5 inches.

What These Five Actually Are

Two Plain Skillets, One Covered, One Braiser

Two of the five are plain uncovered round skillets. Made In publishes an 11.5 inch total diameter and a 17.5 inch total length with the handle. Crock-Pot publishes a 12 inch round skillet. Tramontina publishes a 12 inch skillet that ships with a cast iron lid. Hisencn publishes a set of three. Lodge publishes a braiser, not a skillet at all.

The Lodge is here because the pool holds it and because a 3.6 quart enameled braiser is the pan many shoppers actually mean when they search for an enameled skillet. It is worth saying plainly that it is a different object: dual assist handles instead of one long handle, and a moisture locking lid the maker lists for broiling, braising, baking and roasting rather than for searing.

The Three Piece Set

Hisencn is the only pick that is more than one pan. The set covers 8 inch, 9.5 inch and 11.5 inch skillets, which the maker assigns to eggs and omelets, to everyday frying and sauteing, and to family size meals. Each pan carries dual pour spouts, integrated handles and a hanging hole, and the maker states that none of them needs seasoning.

What the set does not publish is a weight, for the box or for any pan in it, so there is no way to put it beside the 5.0 pound Made In or the 14.61 pound Lodge. Its enamel is described as multi layer and free of PFOA, PTFE, PFAS, lead and cadmium, and its cleaning instruction is warm water and a soft sponge.

Heat, Lids and the Oven Figures

What the Oven Figures Say

Three of the five publish an oven ceiling and they do not agree. Hisencn states oven safety to 550 degrees Fahrenheit, the highest figure on this page. Crock-Pot states 500 degrees and adds that the pan goes from stove top to oven, with a warning to wear pot holders. Tramontina states 450 degrees Fahrenheit, which it also gives as 232 degrees Celsius.

Made In and Lodge publish no oven figure at all. Both are clearly meant for the oven: Made In describes high heat frying, grilling and searing, and Lodge lists broiling, braising, baking and roasting on the lid bullet itself. Neither puts a number on it, so a cook who needs a broiler safe pan has three documented choices here and two unknowns.

Lids, Basting and Cleaning

Two picks ship a lid and both describe it carefully. Tramontina fits a cast iron lid with self basting condensation ridges that it says collect vapors and direct them back onto food, finished with a stainless steel knob. Lodge fits a moisture locking lid on the 3.6 quart braiser. Made In, Crock-Pot and Hisencn list no lid in their published features.

Cleaning is where the listings diverge most. Lodge asks for quick, easy hand washing. Hisencn asks for warm water and a soft sponge. Tramontina calls its matte black porcelain enamel interior easy to clean. Made In calls its non stick enamel easy to clean and maintain. Crock-Pot says nothing about cleaning at all, and not one of the five uses the word dishwasher.

Weight, Footprint and Two Fields We Set Aside

The Published Weights

Four of the five publish a weight and they cover a wide band. Made In publishes 5.0 pounds, the lightest published figure here, for a pan with no lid. Crock-Pot publishes 8.5 pounds. Tramontina publishes 12.57 pounds, which includes its cast iron lid. Lodge publishes 14.61 pounds, the heaviest published figure here, for a braiser with a lid as well.

Two of those four carry a lid in the figure and two do not, so the weights are not a clean comparison. The pair that can be read against each other is Made In at 5.0 pounds and Crock-Pot at 8.5 pounds, both uncovered pans of roughly the same diameter, 11.5 inches and 12 inches. That is a 3.5 pound difference between two pans that look alike on a shelf.

Two Dimension Fields That Cannot Be Right

Crock-Pot publishes a height field of 16.5 inches for a 12 inch round skillet. A skillet that stands 16.5 inches off the counter does not exist, and the same listing publishes a width of 13.0 inches and a depth of 20.0 inches, which reads as the pan plus its handle. The page treats the 16.5 inch field as a listing error and does not rank on it.

Hisencn publishes a width of 27.0 inches and a depth of 46.0 inches for a set whose three pans the maker lists at 8, 9.5 and 11.5 inches. Those two numbers are printed in the table because the maker published them, with a note beside them, and they are not used anywhere else on this page. Read as centimeters they would be plausible, but the listing does not say so.

Which One Fits Your Kitchen

The cook who lifts the pan often. Made In publishes 5.0 pounds, the lightest published weight here, an 11.5 inch total diameter, an 8.75 inch cooking surface and a 2.63 inch height with the handle. No lid, and no oven figure.

The cook who wants a covered skillet. Tramontina publishes a 12 inch skillet with a cast iron self basting lid, oven safety to 450 degrees Fahrenheit and 12.57 pounds. It is the only pick that is a skillet and ships a lid.

The cook who braises more than sears. Lodge publishes a 3.6 quart braiser with a moisture locking lid, dual assist handles and a PFAS free enamel finish. At 14.61 pounds it is the heaviest published weight here, so it suits a pan that stays put.

The cook who moves a pan into the oven. Crock-Pot publishes a 12 inch round skillet, oven safety to 500 degrees, 8.5 pounds and gas, electric, ceramic and induction compatibility. Its 16.5 inch height field is not credible and this page does not use it.

The cook outfitting a kitchen from scratch. Hisencn publishes three skillets at 8, 9.5 and 11.5 inches, dual pour spouts, hanging holes, no seasoning required and oven safety to 550 degrees Fahrenheit. It publishes no weight for the set or for any pan in it.

What We Could Not Verify

Several figures a buyer would want are simply not stated by these makers, and none of them were filled in.

• An oven safe temperature for the Made In skillet, which describes high heat frying but states no figure.
• An oven safe temperature for the Lodge Essential Braiser, which lists broiling and baking but states no figure.
• A weight for the Hisencn set, for the carton or for any of its three pans.
• A cooking surface figure for the Lodge, Tramontina, Crock-Pot and Hisencn pans.
• Induction compatibility for the Lodge Essential Braiser, which its bullets never mention.
• A dishwasher statement or a warranty period from any of the five listings.