Can you use a cast iron skillet on a grill? (Explained)

Your cast iron skillet is one of the most reliable and durable pans out there. If you care for it right, it’ll last a lifetime. You might be wondering: can you use a cast iron skillet on a grill?

Yes, you can use your cast iron skillet on a grill. Just make sure to preheat the skillet for about five to 10 minutes first. Otherwise, your food will not cook evenly. Grilling with cast iron allows you to sauté smaller vegetables that would normally fall through the grill grates. With a cast iron pan, you can not only sauté but also simmer, boil, deglaze, fry, and much more.

10 Tips for Cooking With a Cast Iron Skillet on a Grill

Cook with high heat! It’s at your fingertips

When cooking with cast iron over the stove, it can take quite a while to preheat your pan for frying. Depending on the power of your range, you might not be able to reach the temperature you want. Not to mention that on electric ranges, the temperature is particularly difficult to control. But with a cast iron skillet over the grill, you can enjoy high heat cooking all the time.

Sear meats with ease

On a cast iron skillet, you can sear steaks in just minutes. Just make sure that your grill is hot enough to produce a nice sear. You won’t get authentic grill marks on your steak, but that won’t impact its taste.

Cook smaller vegetables, starch, and other food

You can cook a wide variety of food in your cast iron skillet on a grill. You’re not limited to just steaks and poultry. Stir fry is a popular choice. You can cook it alongside your meat as well.

Put your skillet on the coals to smoke delicious meats

In gas grills, the wood chips go inside a smoker box. But in charcoal grills, you can also put the wood chips directly on coals. If you do put them on the coals, it’s best to soak the wood chips for a few hours. Otherwise, the wood will burn quickly and won’t transfer any smoky flavor to your meats.

That being said, if you are an experienced griller, you probably don’t need to soak the wood chips. You can control the temperature of the grill well enough to prevent the wood from burning.

In fact, it’s best to avoid soaking wood chips. It increases the time it takes to smoke your meats, depending on the type of wood and how long you soaked it. You also risk ruining them if you soak them for too long. Third, soaking may weaken the smoky flavor.

Instead, you could put dry wood chips in some foil on the coals. This will prevent them from burning quickly. Avoid soaking wood pellets as they’re made of sawdust. They will fall apart easily.

Bake in your cast iron skillet on the grill

Breads, cake, and pizza are all great foods to bake on your grill. A well-preheated skillet retains heat incredibly well, which makes it ideal for baking.

Manage multiple dishes at once right from your grill

A cast iron skillet makes cooking easier. Rather than going to and from your grill to your kitchen, you can cook multiple dishes at once on the grill. This makes it easier to ensure all your food is done on time and doesn’t get burned.

Position your skillet near the middle of the grill for the most intense heat.

When searing or cooking meats, place your cast iron in the middle of the grill. The sides won’t be nearly as intense. In fact, the heat is exponentially weaker on the edges. But you can offset that a little if you preheat your pan properly. Every grill is different, but pay particular attention to where the burners are under your grill grates.

Let your cast iron pan cool before rinsing it.

When you’re wrapping up in the kitchen, it’s important to deal with hot pans properly. Let’s say you want to transfer your stir fry to a separate bowl for serving. Once you’ve emptied the pan, let it cool completely on the grill. Don’t bring it into the kitchen to rinse it. This may cause the pan to warp or crack.

Cast iron is exceptionally durable, but it’s not immune to damage. Be sure to use a hot pad when gripping the pan.

Be careful to not exceed the smoke point of your seasoning.

When you first receive your cast iron pan, one of the first things you should do is season it. You have a lot of options when it comes to the oil or fat you can use. Anything from lard to grapeseed oil to avocado oil works quite well.

The smoke point varies depending on the type of fat or oil. Look for oil with a smoke point of at least 400º if you like to do high heat cooking or frying.

If your cast iron pan gets hotter than the smoke point of your seasoning, it will start to burn off and taste bitter.

Check the temperature of your cast iron pan with a handheld thermometer.

A handheld laser thermometer is best to gauge the temperature of your cast iron pan which can reach temperatures of 400º to 450º. Here’s one from Amazon that works great.

To check the internal temperature of your steaks, you can use something like this from Amazon.

How much should you spend on a cast iron pan?

People often wonder about the quality of cast iron pans compared to the price. You can find cast iron pans online for anywhere from $20 to $300 or more.

The question is, is the more expensive pan worth it? Typically, expensive cast iron pans will be more durable. But it depends mainly on the brand you choose.

The video below looked at a $25 Lodge cast iron pan vs. a $240 cast iron pan from Finex. The cook found that the meats cooked quite similarly. The more expensive pan was quite a bit heavier than the Lodge pan but much easier to clean. He liked the presentation of the more expensive pan. You could serve your steak right from it and it looks quite appetizing.

Hopefully we answered your question ‘Can you use a cast iron skillet on a grill?’ A cast iron skillet is a reliable pan and works great on indoor and outdoor grills.

For more info on cast iron and grilling, check out our articles below.

How to Clean a Gas Grill With Minimal Effort

How do I connect a natural gas grill to my house?

What size cast iron skillet should I buy?