Chef Tools Of The Trade – The Cast Iron Griddle Pan

I get asked a lot of question here about the tools I use within the recipes. What knife am I using? Where did I buy the blender? Where do I get the crab meat in the recipes. I’ve been answering them on an ad hoc basis but I thought I’d lash together a post a week and share one tool that is absolutely essential in becoming a better cook. We all use our kitchens a couple of times a day but most of us don’t have a fucking clue what half the stuff in there is for or even where it came from. Recipes and knowledge are one thing but you’ll become an even better home cook if you have the right tools. The first one is probably my favourite item in the whole kitchen and even though it is pricey enough you’ll get endless use out of it and they are made to last a lifetime. It’s a cast iron griddle pan which you see me using a lot and here is why you should have one…

Buy the exact one I have

Griddle Pan Recipes

You’ll have seen me using the griddle pan a lot in recipes. It’s a brilliant way of cooking stuff like meats and veggies in a really clean and with healthy fashion with little oil. The best thing though is that it gives you those lovely lines like you normally only see in professional restaurants and you can seriously impress your friends with your chef skills.

Turkey Burger

Date night crab bruchetta

Chicken Caesar 

What Is It Used For?

Most chefs in professional kitchens will have a built in version of this but in the home kitchen this is the next best solution. Because the item you are cooking is lifted up above the ridges and doesn’t sit in all the fat you get a much cleaner and healthier cook. Meat cooks especially well in these and those amazing pictures of meat and fish that you see below are all done on griddle pans.

Buy One Now

You can get a cheap enough one for another 30-40 Quid but given the fact that this is going to be something that you have for decades I’d suggest going for one of the really heavy bottomed Le Creuset ones. The colour really doesn’t fucking matter in the slightest unless you want it to fit in to your kitchen design but they do have a huge range.

Great Griddle Pan Recipes From Others

As always here on the blog I like to share the love around and find some other great recipes from blogs around the world to show what can be done with one of these simple pans. Here are some awesome recipes from some of the worlds best bloggers.
Grill pan waffles
Grilled carrots with lemon and dill
Greek Pork Chops
Grilled Halloumi with caramelized Fennel
Chargrilled burgers
Chargrilled sweet and sour pork belly.