Babish Cast Iron Everyday Pan, 13-Inch

This review is for the Babish Cast Iron Everyday Pan, 13-Inch. I saw it on Prime Day and said to myself "For the price what can go wrong?" I'm so glad I did. This pan fills the gaps in my cooking arsenal for a very good price. I like cooking with cast iron because of the heat distro, but you have to maintain cast iron cookware or it will rust. Seems like a lot of people do not understand how to do that. I do, but this has some coating on it that seems to prevent the rusting that so many people seem to experience when they do not season their pans correctly or maintain that seasoning by washing the pans in soapy water, or soaking them in soapy water, which is even worse for a cast iron pan. I have only had this pan for about 45 days but so far it is trouble-free and I have used it several times. So far, no sticking, no rust, no other issues. Clean up is a breeze with this pan. I have to say that for the price it is a very good pan.

First let me answer the question I had. The inside bottom flat is 11-1/4”. Including the radiuses corners, it’s 12” across the bottom from interior side to side. 13” is the top exterior measurement. Top interior for fitting a lid is 12-1/2”.With that out-of-the-way let me tell you what I think about the pan. It’s cast-iron and the interior is rough like most modern cast-iron cookware. That said, I resurface the interior using a strip disk I got for eight dollars at Home Depot. 20 minutes with my cordless drill in the interior was much, much smoother. I’ve been re-seasoned it with Flaxseed oil three times. See the photos for before, sanded, and seasoned. I used it tonight for the first time and I love this pan! It’s big enough for a family of four. The side wall is steeper than a skillet so you can work a spatula against it without pushing food out. The wall thickness is good. Not too thick, not too thin. Stovetop to oven use was seamless. I would buy a second one, though I don’t need it, actually I still might!Update 3/19/24. I found the cheap wok lid fits this.Wok Lid for Pots and Pans,... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09TFZ31VJ?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Great pan. Easy keep. Nice and large and double handles makes it manageable. 11.5” lids fit (nests inside rim) pan.

I do have to admit that despite its name I don't use this pan everyday. I certainly wish I could. It is comfortably oversized for sautéing, frying, braising, stir frying, risotto stirring, smash burger making and presenting the biggest frittatas for a crowd. Is the finish a little rough? Perhaps. But with proper care nothing sticks in this. With only 3 of us at my home, we use this pan multiple times a week and will continue to do so until I can't lift it anymore. Which won't be anytime soon because this thing keeps me in shape.

I love this pan. I love that it's not too heavy being cast iron the most tho! So far everything's tasted fantastic, the size is perfect for our family, and it's pretty durable.Things I do suggest for future packaging or for the random person reading this review: there are no seasoning instructions on the pan. And I get it. It's preseasoned. But eventually, or at least you should, you'll have to clean it and reapply the seasoning. I'm sure a lot of first time cast ironing owners will buy this product because Babish is great! And I don't blame them! But I recommend those to research a little on care instructions. (Everyone's different so I'm not gonna knock you if you like the 30 years of crust on it) Having some idea will help you keep it from creating rust and you'll learn some different ways to season it! We've used bacon grease and Crisco.Our cleaning preference is: Rinse out the crust without submerging, wipe completely dry with a paper towel, add your seasoning to the inside of the pan, place on a high burner until it begins to smoke a lil, turn off.

Good Quality, does a good job.

I have both the 10" and 12" sizes. The long handles make the pans much easier to manuever than Lodge. Especially when you want to tilt the pan to dish out contents.The bottom is a little thicker than Lodge. The sides are substantially thinner. I have not noticed a significant difference in cooking performance. Both brands are great to cook in.The factory seasoning is *very* rough. This will smooth out as you build up seasoning! To hasten the process, I used a steel mesh scrubber to knock down the sharpest peaks, then immediately baked on 2 coats of seasoning. Big improvement!In my experience, ground-smooth pans result in seasoning chipping off more easily. I prefer rough bottomed cast iron.Giving my Lodge 10" and 12" pans to a friend.

Someone else claimed it was rough inside. It is, just little bumps casted in it. It didn’t take long, it filled in and it’s pretty smooth. Not as smooth as sanded cast iron but close. If desired, sanding would be quick.The center is slightly higher, but not too bad like other pans I have.EZ clean as most cast iron. “Heat, pour hot water on it, brush scrub, rinse, heat dry, season if needed.