Round Skillets, How big is too big

[Valerie Johnson]

On another thread there was a discussion about a 20" round skillet so this got my mind to thinking, How big of a skillet could I actually use on my 30" gas range, The 30" range(gas/electric/glass cooktop is the standard range used in most common homes, Some people have the luxury of having the larger 36" ranges with 3 burners across the front  but I think for most the 30" range is what we cook on and yes some folks have wood/coal cook stoves but generally I am thinking about the average home owner, So with that in mind I did some measurements on my Amana 30" gas range, I have the 5 burner model which has a 15,500 BTH burner on the right front and the right rear,left front and left rear all have 9000 BTU burners and I have the smaller 5000 BTU simmer burner in the center of the range top, I measured from the center to the edge of each of the side burners and it measures 8" from the center of the burner to the edge of the range, The counter on the outside of the range is apx 1/2" higher than the rangetop, Some drop in cooktops might be flush with counter height but I am guessing that distance from center of burner to edge of cooktop is still about 8", Next I measured the diameter of the 15,500 BTU burner and it was 5" and when lit the diameter of the flame ring was between 8-9: so the effective flame travel was at 10" max, Currently the largest diameter skillet I have is a BSR No. 12 that is apx 14 1/2" wide across the top, This is about the largest diameter skillet that I could use that would cook effectively, If I were going to cook out doors on a camp fire for a large group of people I might consider a larger skillet but for all practical purposes the No. 12 skillet measuring 14.5 inches is the max for me both physically what my range can effectively cook on and what I can personally manage considering size and weight of the skillet, I brought this topic up because when I saw the message about the 20" skillet I immediately thought that might be something I would be interested in but then I decided to actually do some measurements to see if it would actually work and for me and I suspect the majority of people who cook solely on a 30" range that a 20" skillet would not work, I think either a long rectangular griddle of 2 separate skillets would be better suited for my/our use.
That's just my thoughts on the subject and it may be useful to keep in mind when thinking about that big skillet you have your eye on.

It reminds me of the guy who had an attached garage with a 7' high x 8' wide garage door who went out and bought a 4 wheel drive truck and put big tires and roll bar with lights in the bed only to find out it would not fit in his garage. :P

[Cheryl Watson]

And now I am ROFL....

Cause the kiddo next door just did it... Large wheels and tires to raise the truck..... 

You got it.... no fit into garage .... :)

[Valerie Johnson]

Well at least if he did it out side the garage he won't have to take everything off to get it out of the garage.

[Adam Hoagland]

[size=12]I can't really speak from experience, since when I cook with cast iron it's usually Wal-Mart Lodge size 8 or cheap Taiwanese skillets of various sizes, and I'm usually just cooking for two people.  I have an electric glass-top GE, and have very little experience with gas ranges of any kind, though I might add that none of it was pleasant.   I collect Griswold all across the board, but refuse to use it to cook with for fear of warping or cracking mishaps.  I know a lot of people on this board love using antique iron for meals, but I don't go that way myself.

My point is, I would think that, if you're talking about antique, collectable size 12, 13, 14, or 20 skillets, you might want to think it through before you toss an expensive and large chunk of vintage iron across two or more burners of a modern day range top oven.  A lot of the warped big skillets that I've seen out there have a medium-sized discolored circular spot around the warped area, which makes me think that they got that way because somebody was trying to use, for instance, a size 12 skillet on a burner designed for a size 8, and they heated the center too fast for the sides again and again, ad infinatum.  You mentioned something about a glass cook top, and I've heard that those things aren't cheap to replace, either.  Not to mention the fact that the heavier the skillet, the more likely that someone will drop it, especially if it's full of food and burning hot to the touch.

So, you might just be better off using multiple smaller skillets, in the end.  Just my two cents.[/size]

[Susan Salsburg]

How sad. I've been using the same #8 Erie for 50 years. On a wood stove, gas & glass top electric. It was a gift from my great-aunt for my 16th birthday. The pan was her mothers & she now trusted me to care for it. Make an omelet just once in an old, thinly cast antique & you'll never touch Taiwan crap again.

[Cheryl Watson]

Now sooner or later, C. Perry is going to stop by... cause he really likes his Big Boy skillets!!   ;D

[Roger Muse]

Don't necessarily limit the cooking to indoors on the stove.

[C. Perry Rapier]

Now sooner or later, C. Perry is going to stop by... cause he really likes his Big Boy skillets!!   ;D

Hello Cheryl. Yes I like the big skillets, either for cooking or looking.  :)

I see where our friend James Mummert got one of the big number twentys off of ebay. I had the pleasure of seeing James at the big cast iron blowout in Warren, PA this past weekend.

[Duke Gilleland]

A #10 is about my limit around here. A FEW times bigger but that is usually on an open fire pit outside.

[Jim Glatthaar]

I am in the Susan camp: I love cooking in vintage cast iron, I see no reason not to cook with a piece which was created to cook in and I plan to cook with every piece I buy.  Of course, I don't eat waffles often enough to justify using every waffle iron I own, but I am digressing... :o

The largest piece I cook with is a Griswold LBL #14.  I have a no-name #16, but I haven't cooked with it yet.  I have several Erie, BRS & Griswold LBL #12s, 10s, etc. which I also cook with regularly.  I have a commercial-for-the-home gas cooktop, each burner is 12" and 15,000 BTUs so it can handle pretty much anything although I must confess that the #20 might be too much for it, or at least it would require a lot of moving around food to cook properly.

I suspect that Adam is right: too many people use a skillet on the wrong size burner and that may account for the many warped skillets out there.

I also like Roger's idea of using a huge skillet on the grill. It certainly should avoid the warping problem.  Put the cover on the grill and you could preheat the pan quickly and evenly 8-)

[Neal Birkett]

Actually, the 30" stovetop is a great heat source for a 20.  I used to put mine over all four burners, but I have a 36" now, and just put it over 2.  If course, I never go over medium low, but if you need to sear something, you probably shouldn't use a 20 anyway.  I sometimes use the 20 in the 36 oven (think paella).

With heat coming from all four sides on the 30" stovetop, the heat ends up being relatively even over the whole pan, even in the middle.

[C. Perry Rapier]

Hello Jim. Thats all good advice. Also I'm like you, I don't own any piece of cast iron that I would not cook with, if I wanted to, but I don't cause that would be crazy. I tried to explain that one time to 'non cast iron type'. I had to listen to him go on about how he would use every piece and keep them seasoned and on and on and on. We need one of them yellow guys like he's bored, you know, yawning, something along them lines. I'm like Jim. I'm digressing.  ;D Now where was I?

Oh yes warping. IMO most people warp skillets because they are not smart enough to realize that they are not going to get the whole cooking surface the same as it us directly over the burner/burners. So they think if they crank it up they are getting the skillet the same temp all over the cooking surface, WRONG.

If you use anything more than a number ten, unless you big burners like Jim, you are going to have to move food around to get it cooked. You gotta work that skillet, taking your done stuff out of the middle and moving stuff in from the sidelines as you empty out the middle, and also putting in new stuff around the middle. And I like using a big skillet, like a number 14. Its big enough to do a big job and small enough that you can still handle it.

But if you are using a number 20 you gotta have a couple burners under it, otherwise you might as well just be using a number 14.

[Jim Glatthaar]

Thanks, Perry, now that's what I'm talking about ;)

[Dwayne Henson]

As more and more, it is just me and the wife, the larger skillets get used in the oven more as pizza pans than fry pans.