Skillet, with ridged bottom : what do you use them for?

[jword2001]

I have been given a large well made skillet,I guess you would call it, but it is about 4" deep, and the bottom is not smooth, it has ridges, or a bunch of small rings if you will , what is the intended use for a pan like this?

[Etcetera]

I owned one of these pans for a while. It was essentially worthless as a cooking tool, but did a fine job as a meat pounder <jk>.

AFAIK, the ridges are set to minimize contact between food and pan further reducing "stick". The ridges were not deep enough to keep meat out of its own juices which kept it from being a good grill pan. I recalled seeing someone cook eggs in this type of pan, so I gave that a try. This was followed by an hour elbows deep in warm soapy water with a toothpick to clean the ridges.

My advice is to ditch it!

Etc.

[RGC1982]

Are the rings on the interior of the pan, or exterior?

[jword2001]

interior, they are the cooking surface.

[Gio]

Sounds to me like an ordinary indoor grill pan. Can be used for any food that you would ordinarily cook on an outdoor grill..... various meats, sausages, vegetables...fruit. Experiment.

[fourunder]

From the descriptions you have provided, it sound to me like this is a non-stick type of frypan. The rings, ridges or circles of the pan means there are actually two surfaces, one higher than the other, correct? If this is so, the reason for the two different surfaces level is the premise less surface area for contact means less surface for food to stick to. There are other versions, such as pans with dimples(like on golf balls) to achieve the same desired results.

If I am wrong about any of this, I apologize in advance.

[Mothership]

Are they large ridges like those in a grill pan or are they very small (and not very deep)rings like those in Circulon (non-stick) cookware?

[jword2001]

ridgesare very small, surface appears to be non stick, it is definetly not cast iron, i dont have a digital camera or i would post a pic, sorry, but thanks for all the info.

[mpalmer6c]

It's a Circulon or close facsimile. Use it as yoiu would any non-stick. The ridges are supposed to give some sort of advantage that I can't remeber.

[Quine]

It is hard to say without seeing a picture or knowing what material the pan is. But a cast irom skillet like that is great for Indoors grilling. Get that hot sear, cause the cast iron can get that hot and the ridges, have the valleys that keep grease away. If it ain't cast iron, the high heat ability is lost and so value of use is greatly decreased. IMO

[Isabella]

Sounds like it is for grilling meat, say a steak for instance, and the grease drops down into the ridges. I'd like to see a picture of this tho, as I am not sure I am hitting on exactly what it looks like. Brand name would be very helpful as well as material it is made of as already suggested.

[mpalmer6c]

Hard to say without more info. What's the interior finish? Cast iron, enameled cazst iron, non-stick? What's the brand?