15''???? That's huge! Even my grandmother didn't use one that big to fry up the Sunday chicken dinner for the family. Can't maintain enough heat in something that big.

That's outside on the propane burner type of cooking.

I do, on a gas Jenn-Air cooktop. My 15" skillet is a Lodge, and I don't have any issues with heat distribution. I think the key is to make sure your skillet is preheated before adding whatever your cooking, as it does take a minute for the heat to even out. I use the largest cent burner on this cooktop:

The few people I know that used that size, used it on a gas range, on two burners.

Whatever cast iron skillet you use, you need to give it time to heat evenly. Think about how long it takes to cool off, it takes time to heat up too. 15" is pretty big. I have a 13". I cook on gas. No issues with hot spots if I let it heat up properly.

This post was edited by AnnaC54 on Tue, Dec 9, 14 at 12:42

Another trick I've learned with those big skillets is to preheat it in a screaming hot oven. We use gas and for the big ones, I stick it over the large oval burner in the middle of our range.

I have a wolf all gas with 6 burners, and it doesn't fit on them, and it stinks...if I put it on the back burners, it touches my stainless steel backsplash, and I actually dented it! If it is on the front, when I deglaze, steam escapes the hood. So, knowing I would have large pans, I should have considered a good center burner design.

Try preheating in the oven. I think that's how Cooks Illustrated recommends searing a steak.

In the alternative, walk into a fire holding your pan and three dragon eggs. You'll either get three live dragons or you'll be all set for an omelette.

I have the same problem as heidia. But I still use my 15" cast iron skillet because it has almost exactly 50% more surface area than a 12", so I can multiply a recipe by 1.5, which is handy with the number of people I generally cook for. It requires a lot of moving stuff in and out of the hot spots, and it's never just right.

I've tried duck and goose eggs and don't much like them, so expect I wouldn't care for a dragon egg omelet, marcolo. ;)

We LOVE duck eggs. So...would a 3 dragon omelet feed a family of 9.5? If so, bring it on! LOL

I haven't been able to use this skillet at all on my radiant electric stove. It's been gathering rust for the last 6 years.

Now we're talking about upgrading our stove to something beefier (possibly a Bluestar), but part of the deal is that we'd really like to be able to use giant skillets on it. Our children are getting bigger and could eat the amts. of food that would fit in this size skillet.

Preheating in the oven would probably work, it just doesn't sound all that efficient. I tend to go the other order if I'm making something like cornbread: preheat skillet on stove top, pour the batter into the hot skillet, then bake. Yum.

It's good, but unfortunate, to learn that the 15"s aren't fitting very well on the Wolfs. (Or is it "Wolves" when it comes to ranges??)

You might consider a cooktop with a French top. It does come on a 36", but to make it useful, you would need at least a 48" range top. Put the French ring in the middle with burners on each side. Both Bluestar and Wolf make them.

I have a Wolf open burner (now discontinued) and use a 14 1/2" skillet (the base measures 12"). It's stainless steel with a thick clad bottom. Very even heat distribution. It does infringe on the back burner but not so much that the burner can't be used--a moderately sized saucepan still fits. The rangetop is spaced 5" from the wall and has an island style riser on it. (30" deep counters) So, it's possible to use larger pans on the back burner without bumping into a riser.

I can't comment on cast iron because I rarely, rarely use cast iron.

Before the Wolf, I had a Kenmore gas stove with sealed burners. That thing was awful...the only large skillet that was useable (heated evenly) was a 12" Calphalon anodized aluminum. And the back burner was just about totally non-useable.

My mom used to ... it was a matter of getting it pre-heated and letting the temperature equalize across the diameter of the skillet.

They are fabulous if you have a big propane burner

I'd rater be able to use 2 12'' skillets than a single 15'' one that won't let me use much of the rest of the top at the same time. I use a big propane burner and a wok made from a tractor disc for stir frying in large quantities. Ouside, of course. That would work really well for a large cast iron skillet too.

I have one, don'e use it that much, probably more in the oven than on the range. I have many cast iron and carbon steel pots and pans, I use the 10 and 12 inch far more than the 15". I have a Blue Star w/a hi back guard and shelf, and have also dented the back guard w/the larger pans. When I do use the 15 I use it up front on a 22k burner (larger flame area) and it infringes somewhat on the adjacent burner spaces so that I have to use a smaller pan on the kitty-corner burner. It's a 36" w/a griddle so only have 4 burners. If I didn't have the griddle it wouldn't be a problem. I definitely like gas w/iron.

I use my 15" on our gas range (GE Profile Convection) and don't have trouble with heat distribution. (Love the idea to preheat in the oven BTW.) One recipe for chicken starts it out on the range to brown, then is placed in a hot oven (450 degrees) to finish. Two smaller skillets don't fit in my oven, so the single 15" works better for a family of four-sized meal. Lodge brand; 15" from Home Goods for roughly $35.

Wow 15" is huge! Must be heavy too? I don't think I would ever need that big of a pan, although I am a cast iron lover. Definitely the go to's for me on my Bluestar, nothing comes close to cooking with cast iron on gas!
As others have said, give them time to heat up and equalize :)

Here are just a few of my favorites, most close to 100 years old, and some older ...

cytcdm, those are so cool!

I love my 15" Lodge cast iron skillet. For years I used it on a 40" wide 4 burner coil electric range and never had any problem with heat distribution. Now I have a 6 burner Blue Star range and it works great. I normally cook on the front burners so I hadn't thought about it not being able to be centered on the back burner, but that makes sense. Some of my favorite comfort foods are made in that skillet!

Ctycdm, your skillets have such a beautiful well-seasoned patina-I wish mine looked like that!

We use the 15" on a gas stove all the time and love it. Just needs to heat for a couple minutes before adding anything to cook. It provides so much surface for browning onions, meat, veggies, etc.

Our pan even has a name - "Mondo".

I am so encouraged to see this many 15" skillet users. : )

Have you used a French Top, Homechef? I've watched some videos of those and they look pretty interesting. I wasn't sure if they'd have issues with cooler edges by virtue of design or not. I'd love to try using one and see if it would work well for us or not.

I didn't realize the island guard pushed the range so far forward Ci Lantro. That's great that it lets you use larger pans on the back burners of the Wolf. We won't have the freedom to do that in our kitchen, but that might help others to know that info. : ) I hear you about the Kenmore with sealed burners. That's what we had when we had a gas stove before we moved and switched to electric 6 years ago. Meh, I was glad to leave that one behind.

That's neat your mom used to use a big skillet, Lazy Gardens. I'm assuming she was cooking on gas, since the electric underneath ours is a no-go.

We do have and use 2 12" cast iron skillets, too LWO. But there are times when it would be nice to throw a massive amount of food into the big skillet and let 'er rip. ; )

I'd love to see a pic of your tractor disc-wok setup. Sounds awesome!

Mistman- oh, oh, a real live Blue Star owner! I'm going to have more questions for you. I'll start another thread so other BS owners can join the fun.

Gyr Falcon, it's great to hear it works on the GE Profile. I picked my skillet up (also a Lodge brand) in the camping section of Wal Mart 7 or 8 years ago. I was so excited to find it, but it's my most underutilized pan right now.

CTDM, excuse my gawking at your cast iron collection. Those are gorgeous! Love how they shine. I hope it doesn't take 100 years to get a patina like that on ours. My one 12" lodge is getting a nice sheen to it, but the other one that we've been using for about a year still has a rough surface in the bottom even after seasoning it in the oven and using it a few times a week. Both are Lodges.

Yes, the 15" skillet is honkin' heavy. Please stay tuned for questions about the Blue Star. I'll be starting another thread soon.

Glad to hear from another long-time user, Loyalandtrue. Comfort foods, those are the best, aren't they.

That's exactly what I want to do, Cindy103d: Brown lots of meat, onions, or mushrooms all at the same time. Or potatoes, or a huge stir fry, or...now I'm getting hungry, LOL. I love the name of your pan. I might have to christen ours something similar if it comes back into service.

Yes, I've used a French top. But, only in an industrial setting. They take a while to come up to full heat. Your cast iron will take a while too. Once hot, it's really steady heat. I liked it. But, I would only do one in a home kitchen if I cooked for large numbers. They are great if you do a lot of stews and stocks. You can remove one of the rings and drop a wok into them, too. It does require heavy duty pots and pans, cast iron qualifies.

I don't have a 15", but have several 13's and they work well on my GE Cafe, though I've come to realize I could use a larger cooktop between these and my 14" All Clad's.
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I purchased a single burner induction unit for my temporary kitchen during my remodel and it works great with my large cast iron. There is definitely room for a 15" pan. {{gwi:2141448}}

Love cooking in cast iron and especially my Dutch oven.