I don't understand how a griddle or grill works on induction, anyway. They are made with the grill or griddle surface recessed slightly from the edge. How can the pan have direct contact with the burner? A question I really want answered because I am getting an induction cooktop and want to use the cast iron one I have now.

I'd really prefer one with low sides (

Demeyere also makes a version called a Maxgrill. It's round and the edges are not so high. (It's kind of pricey though.)

We are using the Mario Batali pizza pan as a griddle on our induction cooktop. It's got a 14-inch diameter but might not be good for you because it is cast iron and yes, the handles heat up. (I don't even try to move it until it cools down.)On the other hand, it's really very flat and even if I don't make pizza on it, I think it'll be great for flatbreads.

jayne

I bought a $7 tortilla pan to use as a griddle. Its a 13" diamter pan with a 1" sloping lip. Its magnetic and works great.

I've attached a picture. I got mine at a local grocery store.

Here is a link that might be useful: comal/tortilla pan

Chef King makes a steel griddle that says it's induction ready. I haven't tried it, because honestly, I find everything sticks on the stainless steel for me. So I just got used to making one GIANT pancake in my T-Fal non-stick coated stainless steel pan. (Yes, non-stick induction ready!) I cut the big pancake in half and stack the halves on top of each other and my kids are perfectly happy. Yes, I was bummed to lose my double griddle when I switched from gas to induction, but I LOVE my cooktop (Wolf) so much, it's worth the sacrifice when cooking pancakes. Besides, with induction, the heat REALLY drops off at the edge of the burner, so the pancake hanging over the edge of the burner wouldn't cook right unless you have the bridge element.

Point No. 1:

>>>"They are made with the grill or griddle surface recessed slightly from the edge. How can the pan have direct contact with the burner?"A pan does not not need and should not ever --- and I mean, never, ever, no way, no how, absolutely never --- have direct contact with a magnetic induction burner. The burner sits beneath a ceramic glass sheet. Unlike with a radiant smoothtop burner, a pan does not have to be in contact with the glass to get heat transfer. The glass creates a gap between the burner and the pan. The pan just has to be within the hob's magnetic field which passes through the glass. The the glass does not shape or control or direct the field in any meaningful way. It is the field that produces the heat in the pan. The glass is --- how shall I put this? --- magnetically transparent and magnetically inert. Think about the folks who place silicon baking mats over induction hobs when cooking. (The idea of the mats or paper being to avoid scratching the cooktop when using rough surfaced pans like plain cast-iron fry pans and also to catch spatters.)

I'm not clear if what you don't understand is how magnetic induction differs from radiant heating or if you did not just did not understand that the significance/insignificane of the "gap." If you still do not understand how induction burners do not produce heat themselves but "induce" it in the pan, have a look at "The Induction Site." If you've already seen that, then never mind.

Adding a lip or some silicon matting only slightly increases the space that the glass top creates between the burner and the pan and is not enough to perceptibly affect the strength of the magnetic field. Now, to be sure, if you raise the pan a bit more, the field strength falls off so rapidly that it won't be strong enough to heat the pan (and likely will be so weak that a pan will not even be detected which, in turn, will shut the burner off.) Lips on griddle-grill pans (such as the Lodge 10 x 20 cast-iron one), are simply not tall enough to be a problem. The topic has been addressed many, many times before. I believe it is herring_maven who has explained many times (based on his direct experience with induction for over a decade) that the lips do not produce a big enough gap to cause any problem with induction cooktops and ranges.

Point Number 2:

Chef King griddles do not have lips on the bottom and are made of carbon steel, not stainless steel. Carbon steel is a close cousin of cast iron. CS is less brittle, which means that CS pans can be thinner than CI and therefore lighter. CS seasons like CI (some say easier) and so becomes nearly non-stick with use. CS pans are an excellent choice for induction ranges. (FYI, Lodge makes a line of CS skillets which competes with other manufacturers higher-end lines such as DeBuyer's "Mineral B" pans. If you are interested, there are several long threads at the chowhound site discussing, comparing and contrasting various lines and types of CS pans.)

CS gets confused with stainless steel sometimes because new CS pans tend to be bright and shiny before seasoning darkens with use.

I have a Lodge 10x20 CI griddle (which I have used without problem on induction) but I prefer the Chef King because of the more generous surface area and the upright handles which make it much easier to move around, clean, etc.

There are numbers of testaments here from folks who have bought the 14x23 burner-spanning Chef King model. I've linked to a recent thread below if you want to follow up with more research.

Point No. 3:

>>>"The cast iron ones are too heavy for my liking and the handles heat up. My current double burner griddle is a lifesaver for me."Well, the Chef Kings have raised handles which are easy to grasp even with a hot pad or oven mit, but they are not lighweights. The 14 x 23 weighs about 16 pounds, and the 12 x 20 weighs about 10 pounds, IIRC. For comparison, the Lodge 10x20 CI units weigh about 15 pounds and a 12" CI fry pan weghs about 7 pounds.

If you've got a lightweight burning spanning griddle, it is probably cast aluminum and probably eighs around 4 or 5 pounds. If that is your frame of reference, you might want to consider a pair of the single burner, non-stick griddle pans that others have mentioned above. They will be significantly lighter and much easier to handle that CI, CS or, really, a burner spanning unit. You can get them in square shapes which work better than round ones for some people.

I think Vollrath makes some square, induction suitable aluminum griddle pans which would be much lighter and have regular pan handles. (They have steel inserts in their bases which makes them induction capable.) Try webstaraunt and Amazon to find them.

Here is a link that might be useful: Which size Chef King griddle should I get?

This post was edited by JWVideo on Thu, Apr 4, 13 at 14:02

I ended up buying an All Clad square griddle and just bought a LeCreuset Grill Pan.
I used to love my old All Clad double - but it was aluminum and didn't work.
I might buy a second one downstream and use 2 different burners.
I learned about baking bacon in the oven and that helped solve one issue.

The Griiddle/Grill pan issue caused me to hiccup on the concept of induction, but it works fine.

Somanyquestions, I feel your pain! I'm having the same trouble with my Cuisnart "everyday pan." I can't find a good replacement. It is like a 12" sauté pan with a domed lid, which bells out to about 14" at the top. The pan is about 2" deep. I fry chicken in it. Not to hijack, but if anybody has a suggestion,I sure would welcome it. Or just a huge, lidded sauté pan? Like a 5 qt at least? I would like to spend less than $200 so the upscale brands are out for me.

Wow, just realized this is an old threat resurrected from waaay back . . .

I think you meant old "thread" but, wow, this is five years old!

I just looked at the date of the last post and launched off from there.

Not sure what to tell you about 14" pans for frying chicken . Maybe have a look at the DeBuyer Mineral B carbon steel pan and see if your "everyday" pan's lid will fit it.

http://www.chefscatalog.com/product/25200-de-buyer-mineral-fry-pan.aspx

Lots of folks on the chowhound site seem to like DeBuyer. Of course, you can't use a CS pan for deglazing with wine or viengar and its dicey to use with tomatoes, but probably a great thing for a chicken fry.

JWVideo: "Not sure what to tell you about 14" pans for frying chicken . Maybe have a look at the DeBuyer Mineral B carbon steel pan and see if your "everyday" pan's lid will fit it."

Matfer Bourgeat makes carbon steel pans in an incredible variety of sizes, for instance, four sizes in the 10" to 13" range: 10-1/4", 11", 11-7/8", 12-5/8". The offerings go on up to 17-3/4" (the last in the Paderno World Cuisine line).

Here is a link that might be useful: What, you're disappointed there's no 12.25 inch pan?

Good options, guys. Thanks much. JWV, sorry about the threat. ;-)

MizLizzie - I got my 12" Tramontina TriPly Clad chef's skillet from Walmart online. I love it. It is heavy. This is the current version, which is about 12" in diameter.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tramontina 5qt deep saute pan

Ginny, that is awesome. I also found one by Cuisinart. Looks just like my old one. See link for anyone shopping. The Tramontina has no coating, right? No sticking when you cook?

Here is a link that might be useful: Cuisinart 5-quart saute

The Tramontina is just like All Clad. Shiny stainless finish. Things can stick unless I do that water mercury ball test for preheating the pan. It was on a video on here a few months ago, where you heat up the pan and drop 1/8 tsp of water. When it forms a ball that rolls around the pan, then you can put in the fat, and after that things don't stick.

For true non-stick pans, like for eggs, I use ceramic coated Italian non-stick skillets or a 12" Oneida "Artisan" non-stick skillet I found at BB&B, but none of them come with lids.