Source
r/castiron•
TlMBO

Accidentally bought a skillet with a diameter 2.5" larger than my electric stove

Newbie

I've always wanted cast iron skillet, but the store only had a 13.5" one (10" on the bottom). My largest stove is about 7.5". I know the heat dispersion is an issue and I've seen advice to slowly heat it up or to bake it in the oven first. Wondering:

  1. if I can warp the skillet using a stove so much smaller
  2. if putting a heat disperser underneath be effective if I wanted to save time by not using the oven or not waiting for it to heat up evenly.

Any advice is much appeciated!

Posted Apr 22, 2022, 7:37 PM UTC

311
firdaddy•

Stop thinking and start cooking

3
hedderw•

I have an enormous cast iron pan that I use on a burner that is smaller. It's never been a problem.

2
MuchBetterThankYou•

I’d just give it a couple extra minutes to heat up.

2
DookieToe•

I’ve never heard of a cast iron skillet warping for any reason. Think of it like this way, you now have a range that has a hot area and a cool area. Although, I doubt it would take long for the edges to get hot also.

1
dungeonmasterbrad•

Me either, only ever heard of it on this sub.

I use cast iron to cook over all kinds of things that are inconsistent... like a fire.

1
DookieToe•

Yeah, I thought the whole point of cast iron is the whole thing soaks up a lot of heat and spreads it evenly throughout the metal. I don’t think 2 inches of overhang is going to matter. If you think about a gas range, the gas fire seldom reaches the edge of the pan you’re using and there is no appreciable difference in heat.

0
improve_182•

Heat it up slowly on the burner and start off using less heat than you think. The cast iron will retain heat better than your other pans, but will also take longer to heat up properly. Once pre heated properly, you won’t notice hot/cold spots as much as with your other pans. I wouldn’t worry about warping. I’ve warped every pan I’ve ever owned except my cast iron, and I’m harder on the iron than anything else.

1
pipehonker•

The issue with two smaller burner is that folks turn that up higher thinking they're going to get the better heat disbursement. Cast iron holds heat really well but it doesn't conduct heat as well as other metals... At lower heat levels this is okay eventually the heat will be distribute. But when you turn the burner up a lot of heat gets concentrated in a smaller area which can burn off your seasoning and perhaps cause a droop as that metal in the middle expands but the outside part doesn't and it's got to go somewhere... So it droops. It does take a lot to make that happen.. but it does happen so be careful.

If you're really worried about it you can buy a thick aluminum disc the size of your burner. Aluminum is a great conductor of heat... So it will distribute the heat from your small burner evenly across the bottom of your cast iron skillet. It's probably not that big a deal though.

You can preheat your pan in the oven then use medium heat on the stove top. Move it around now and then.

I use my giant skillets that are bigger than my electric burner outdoors on the gas burner attached to my barbecue grill... Or on my three burner camp chef stove.

https://i.imgur.com/iyxA4oc.jpeg

1
Uneedadirtnap•

Buy a new stove with a big burner.

1
KosmicTom•

I'd return it.

0
SharkoTheBastardSon•

Cast iron skillets warp, they warp all the time, they warp because someone put them on a heat source for too long at way too damned high, they warp or crack when you get em hot and then toss em in cold water. And yes, they can warp on electric stove tops in the best of conditions. If your using extra heat to heat the cool edges because your burner isn’t big enough, this could totally damage your pan over time. I’d buy a smaller skillet and save the big one for oven jobs. Have fun!

-1