Lodge Logic LJSCP3 Jumbo Chef's Platter, 12-inch by 15-inch

Let me start off by saying that I'm an unabashed fan of cooking with cast iron cookware and Lodge cast iron in particular.

Having used the Lodge Pro Logic pizza pan from over a year to make roast potatoes (thin skin red, fingerling, little gourmet potatoes, cut to roughly same size, liberally tossed in olive oil, Rosemary, Oregano, a dash of red wine vinegar, 450 degrees, 20 minutes then flip with spatula or tongs, roast another 20 minuts or until soft).

The possibility of roasting all kinds of veggies arises. I bought this pan to serve as a spill over pan when I had too many veggies on the pizza pan (a little space around the roasted veggies helps).

Alas, it perfectly fits 1/2 of my gas grill, I'm now thinking about roasted veggies in the summer without running a high temperature oven in the summer. I'll also use this for family style fajitas.

Like all Lodge the quality is great. The 12" X 15" dimensions are outer dimensions, with the inner dimensions being about 12"-10", 10-14" at the wide point.

When you buy this remember it is a heavy pan that will get heavier when full of food. Be in the habit of picking up a pot holder when you move towards a pan. This pan will hold the heat from the oven. Be prepared to still have your food warm on the coolest winter days when you go back for seconds, or even when it comes time to clean up.

Lodge makes a smaller version of this pan, I"m not sure if it's on Amazon yet. The smaller version has a wood liner available, but there is no liner available for the jumbo platter.

The Lodge Chef's Platter can certainly be used as a serving platter. Warm it slightly in an oven to keep hot hors d'oeuvres warm. Chill it in a refrigerator for an hour before serving a relish tray or meat and cheese tray so those items stay colder longer.

The versatility comes from its ability to be used in the oven, on the stove top, or on the grill. Preheat it for 15-20 minutes in the oven and put on french fries, sweet potato fries, pizza, veggies, chicken strips, or anything else. The food comes out crispy with a perfectly thin "crust". No more soggy baked french fries!

For the bakers, this also works well for Italian bread. Pre-heat it and you'll get a nice crispy crust that works very well with Italian bread.

What originally drew me to the platter was its flat bottom (save for the small Lodge logo cast into it). The flat bottom means it can work effectively on a glass or ceramic smooth-top electric stove. You must give the platter adequate time to pre-heat when using it on a stovetop. Due to its size and slow-heating nature, it will take a good 10-20 minutes for the edges to heat up on a smooth-top stove (longer than my 12" Lodge skillet). If you don't, you'll have a big hot spot in the middle. Depending on the size of your stove and the configuration of your burners, you may be able to get the platter to fit across two burners.

Once your platter is pre-heated on the stove top, it works very well as a smooth griddle for pancakes, eggs, fried rice, grilled cheese, paninis, and everyone's favorite food: bacon.

Take the platter outside and put it on your gas or charcoal grill. It will prevent smaller items from falling between the grates. It also won't let flames to directly contact the food which can be good if whatever your cooking is somewhat delicate or has a tendency to catch fire.

The platter does come preseasoned from the factory. However, in my experience, it is a bit weak and needs a bit of help. My process for building up the seasoning on a new pan, or giving a boost to used ones is to warm the piece on the stovetop and lightly coat it with vegetable (soybean) oil or vegetable shortening. I then place the piece in a 500-degree oven (upside-down so excess oil won't pool) for one hour. After the hour is up, I turn the oven off and leave the piece in there until it is cool. This process will create smoke, so be sure to turn your range hood on and/or open a window.

The only negative to this pan is its size. The cooking surface is less than 12x15 probably closer to 10x13. Lodge needs to make a 15x20 version to fully occupy two burners on a typical stove.

The standard warnings about cast iron apply to this platter: it's heavy, it takes time to heat up and cool down, it's not dishwasher safe, it will rust if you scour it and soak it, and you shouldn't use soap or detergent on it.

Buy Lodge Logic LJSCP3 Jumbo Chef's Platter, 12-inch by 15-inch Now

The name "Platter" can really be misleading for this pan. We have found that it substitutes great for a cookie sheet and most anything else that you would use a cookie sheet for. Matt shows you this cookie sheet in our video and he goes over its finer qualities!

Read Best Reviews of Lodge Logic LJSCP3 Jumbo Chef's Platter, 12-inch by 15-inch Here

I use cast iron pretty much exclusively at this point, so I purchased two of these platters to replace cookie sheets. They're great! I don't normally love Lodge's pre seasoning, but these pans really were non-stick upon arrival (not that that stopped me from applying my own coat of seasoning anyway...).

Size-wise they're great as well. I've used them to bake cookies (each platter holds 9 good-sized cookies), make fries for two people (two large potatoes worth), bake two personal-size thin crust pizzas (I choose these over my pizza stone for ease of use), and warm cheesy, gooey nachos. In all those applications, nothing ever stuck to the platters, they wiped clean with just paper towel, and I was able to store them easily. I definitely recommend you get one or two of these!

Want Lodge Logic LJSCP3 Jumbo Chef's Platter, 12-inch by 15-inch Discount?

We use this pan for all kinds of things in the oven and the grill. Roasting vegetables, grill cheese, piazza, brick chicken on the grill, corn on the cob in the grill is also good. This pan has never let me down.

Save 44% Off