Skillet & Stove

Best Cast Iron Grill Presses

A press is a weight with a handle, and weight is the only spec that decides it. Two of the six here publish no weight at all and one publishes two different ones — so this page ranks on what the makers put in writing, and on the thing you can see in the product photo: whether the underside is flat.

By Stephen V.Last updated How we pick

Buy the Lodge 8.25-inch square press. It is the heaviest single press here at a published 3.95 lb, its underside is flat, it is all iron so it can follow a pan under the broiler, and it costs the same as Lodge’s own small rectangle — which has a third less iron in it. Lodge publishes the weight, the dimensions, the country and a lifetime warranty, which in this category is three more facts than most sellers offer.

If what you press is smash burgers in a round skillet, the shape matters more than the ounces and the Lodge 8-inch round griddle pressis the one to buy — it drops inside a 10 or 12-inch pan and stays flat on the floor instead of riding up the walls. If you cook on a flat top or a grill rather than in a pan, the Cuisinart XL is the only 10-inch plate here sold by Amazon itself. If you want bacon held flatand nothing else, Lodge’s original 6.75 x 4.5-inch rectangle is the shape that matches a rasher. The Amazon Basics two-pack is the cheapest way to own two shapes at once, and the Lodge 6.25-inch burger press is the cheapest way to own one.

One thing to settle before you spend anything, because it decides whether you should buy a press at all: a press is for thin, flat, fatty food. It holds bacon down so the strips do not curl away from the heat, it flattens a ball of ground beef into the iron for about ten seconds, and it keeps the top slice of a sandwich in contact with the pan. It is not for thick steaks — pressing a steak squeezes out the juice you paid for — and it is not a substitute for a hot pan. Every press below is a sub-$30 single-job tool, and if that job is not one you do, the honest answer is to keep the money.

How this is funded: we earn a commission if you buy through our links, at no extra cost to you. It never changes which pan we recommend, and we’ll happily tell you to keep the skillet you already own. Full disclosure.

Quick picks

Ranked on published specs, build and buyer fit. Select a row to jump to the full write-up. We haven’t cooked in all of these — here is exactly what we do instead.

#ProductBest forPrice
1
Lodge Cast Iron Square Grill Press, 8.25 in (LFIP3)

Lodge Cast Iron Square Grill Press, 8.25 in (LFIP3)

The most iron and the most flat area of any press here, from the maker with the only published warranty in the category, for the same money as the small rectangle. A flat 8.31-inch square is the shape that covers a sandwich, a row of bacon or two smash burgers at once, and 3.95 lb of it does the pressing so your forearm does not.

Best overall
$22.90 · View on Amazon

Price as of November 13, 2026. #ad How we’re funded

2
Lodge Cast Iron Round Griddle Press, 8 in (L8RFIP)

Lodge Cast Iron Round Griddle Press, 8 in (L8RFIP)

The press shaped like the thing you are pressing. A round plate sits inside a round skillet without riding up the walls, which is the one job the square and rectangular presses do badly — and Lodge is explicit that this is the smash-burger model. The catch is that nobody, Lodge included, publishes what it weighs.

Best for smash burgers
$19.90 · View on Amazon

Price as of November 13, 2026. #ad How we’re funded

3
Lodge Cast Iron Grill Press, 6.75 x 4.5 in (LGP3)

Lodge Cast Iron Grill Press, 6.75 x 4.5 in (LGP3)

Two and a half pounds of seasoned iron with a spiral handle, and the only accessory here that changes what the pan can cook rather than how you clean it. It is what holds bacon flat, presses a smash burger into the iron and keeps a sandwich in contact with the heat — jobs a skillet on its own does noticeably worse.

Best for bacon
$22.90 · View on Amazon

$24.998% off

Price as of November 13, 2026. #ad How we’re funded

4
Cuisinart XL Cast Iron Grill Press, 10 x 10 in (CGPR-223)

Cuisinart XL Cast Iron Grill Press, 10 x 10 in (CGPR-223)

The only press here big enough to be worth owning if you cook on a griddle rather than in a pan: ten inches square, a wooden handle that stays cool, and Cuisinart's own claim of six burgers, four sandwiches or two steaks at once. It is also the only one whose listing publishes two different weights and no country of manufacture.

Best for griddles and grills
$29.99 · View on Amazon

Price as of November 13, 2026. #ad How we’re funded

5
Amazon Basics Smash Burger Press, 2-pack (6.8 in round + 8.1 in rectangle)

Amazon Basics Smash Burger Press, 2-pack (6.8 in round + 8.1 in rectangle)

Two presses — one round, one rectangular — for less than the price of either Lodge, which is a real answer if you genuinely want both shapes. The compromise is printed on the listing: the undersides are grooved to make grill marks, so they touch less of the food than a flat plate does, and that is the opposite of what a smash burger wants.

Best value, with a catch
$14.93 · View on Amazon

$17.5915% off

Price as of November 13, 2026. #ad How we’re funded

6
Lodge Cast Iron Burger Press, 6.25 in (L6BP)

Lodge Cast Iron Burger Press, 6.25 in (L6BP)

The cheapest way into the category and the smallest round plate Lodge makes, which is exactly the diameter a smashed quarter-pound patty wants. It is the press to buy if you cook one or two burgers at a time in an 8 or 10-inch pan — and the one to skip if you press bacon or sandwiches.

Cheapest way in
$16.90 · View on Amazon

$19.9015% off

Price as of November 13, 2026. #ad How we’re funded

The picks in full

#1Best overall

Lodge Cast Iron Square Grill Press, 8.25 in (LFIP3)

The most iron and the most flat area of any press here, from the maker with the only published warranty in the category, for the same money as the small rectangle. A flat 8.31-inch square is the shape that covers a sandwich, a row of bacon or two smash burgers at once, and 3.95 lb of it does the pressing so your forearm does not.

Strengths

  • Lodge publishes 3.95 lb — the heaviest single press on this page, and 50% more iron than its own rectangle
  • Flat underside, so the whole 8.31-inch square is in contact with the food
  • Made in the USA, seasoned with 100% natural vegetable oil, and covered by Lodge's Made Right warranty
  • All iron with no wood or silicone, so it can go under a broiler or into an oven at any temperature

Trade-offs

  • The looped handle is iron all the way through and gets hot — this is a tool you pick up with a towel or a mitt
  • 8.31 inches is wider than a 10.25-inch skillet's flat floor, so inside a pan it sits on the curve of the walls
  • Lodge publishes no cooking-surface figure, so what the plate actually touches is unstated
  • One more seasoned surface to dry and oil after every use
What it is3.95 lb flat square press, the most iron here
MaterialBare cast iron
Size8.31 x 8.31 in
Weight3.95 lb
Heat ratingAny oven temp
Made inUSA
WarrantyLifetime (Made Right)

Spec note. Lodge sells this press on its OWN site as the 8.25-inch size of its Grill Presses listing, SKU LFIP3, and publishes 8.31 x 8.31 x 1.37 in, 3.95 LB, “Made in the USA”, “Nontoxic cookware made without PFAS”, a care line of “Hand wash, dry, oil” and the Made Right warranty — all read live on 2026-10-30, along with the four things Lodge says this press is for: “Cook a perfect grilled cheese”, “Keep your bacon flat”, “Sear a steak”, “Hold the heat”. The Amazon listing used here (B0039UU9TU, In Stock from Amazon.com at $22.90 on the same date) carries the part number LPP3 and the name “Square Panini Press, 8.32 Inch”, and publishes the same 3.95 lb and 8.31 x 8.31 footprint with a 1.5 in height against the maker's 1.37 in. Same press, two part numbers and two names; the maker's dimensions are the ones recorded. The listing adds a “Comfortable Looped Handle” and the seasoning claim, and publishes no cooking-surface diameter.

Specs read from the manufacturer and product listing, on October 30, 2026. “Not published” means the maker doesn’t state that figure.

#2Best for smash burgers

Lodge Cast Iron Round Griddle Press, 8 in (L8RFIP)

The press shaped like the thing you are pressing. A round plate sits inside a round skillet without riding up the walls, which is the one job the square and rectangular presses do badly — and Lodge is explicit that this is the smash-burger model. The catch is that nobody, Lodge included, publishes what it weighs.

Strengths

  • Round 8-inch plate drops inside a 10 or 12-inch skillet and stays flat on the floor
  • Lodge names the use on its own listing: “perfect for smash burgers or for grilling steaks or chicken”
  • Made in the USA, foundry-seasoned with 100% natural vegetable oil, PFOA and PTFE free
  • The cheapest full-size press here from a maker that publishes a warranty programme

Trade-offs

  • No weight is published anywhere — not on the listing, and not on Lodge's own page, which is the single spec that decides a press
  • A round plate wastes area on a rectangle of bacon or a square sandwich
  • Iron handle, so it heats with the press
  • The 1.94 in height is the handle, not the plate — plate thickness is unpublished
What it is8-inch round plate for round pans
MaterialBare cast iron
Size8 in round
WeightNot published
Heat ratingAny oven temp
Made inUSA
WarrantyNot published

Spec note. Part number L8RFIP. The 8 x 8 x 1.94 in dimensions and the feature list were read from the listing's own live getItems response on 2026-10-30 (In Stock, $19.90, sold by Amazon.com). That listing publishes NO item weight, and lodgecastiron.com returned HTTP 429 to automated requests after the grill-press page was read the same day, so the weight row reads “Not published” rather than borrowing the figure from a different press. Lodge's own published copy on the listing: “The Lodge Cast Iron Grill Press is the perfect kitchen tool for beginners, home cooks and chefs. The sturdy piece is perfect for smash burgers or for grilling steaks or chicken”; “Lodge pre-seasons all cast iron cookware with 100% natural vegetable oil: no synthetic coatings or chemicals”; “Lodge products are made in the USA with non-toxic, PFOA & PTFE free material”; and the family-ownership note that “The Lodge family founded the company in 1896, and they still own it today.” No warranty terms appear on this listing, so that row is empty even though Lodge's own site publishes a Made Right warranty.

Specs read from the manufacturer and product listing, on October 30, 2026. “Not published” means the maker doesn’t state that figure.

#3Best for bacon

Lodge Cast Iron Grill Press, 6.75 x 4.5 in (LGP3)

Two and a half pounds of seasoned iron with a spiral handle, and the only accessory here that changes what the pan can cook rather than how you clean it. It is what holds bacon flat, presses a smash burger into the iron and keeps a sandwich in contact with the heat — jobs a skillet on its own does noticeably worse.

Strengths

  • Lodge publishes 2.64 lb — enough mass to flatten food without you leaning on it
  • Made in the USA, foundry-seasoned, and covered by Lodge's Made Right warranty
  • Bare iron, so it can go under a broiler or into an oven with no limit

Trade-offs

  • A single-job tool — if you do not press food, it will sit in a drawer
  • The rectangle is smaller than a 10.25-inch pan, so a big burger needs two moves
  • One more seasoned surface to dry and oil
  • The spiral handle gets hot; it is iron all the way through
What it is2.64 lb seasoned iron press with a spiral handle
MaterialBare cast iron
Size6.75 x 4.5 in
Weight2.64 lb
Heat ratingAny oven temp
Made inUSA
WarrantyLifetime (Made Right)

Spec note. SKU LGP3. The dimensions (6.75 x 4.5 x 3.5 in), the 2.64 lb weight, USA manufacture, the 100% natural vegetable oil seasoning and the Made Right warranty were all read from Lodge's own product page on 2026-09-04. Bare iron has no upper oven-temperature limit. Re-read on 2026-10-30 for the grill press roundup, when Lodge's page published two further feature lines this entry had never recorded — “Coil handle and hammered base” and “Use with any heat source” — and the Amazon listing, which published no item weight in September, now publishes 2.88 lb against the maker's 2.64 lb. The maker's figure stays, with the listing's stated here; the hammered base is why the roundup ranks this press behind Lodge's own flat square one for smash burgers. Verified In Stock at $22.90 from Amazon.com itself the same day.

Specs read from the manufacturer and product listing, on September 4, 2026. “Not published” means the maker doesn’t state that figure.

#4Best for griddles and grills

Cuisinart XL Cast Iron Grill Press, 10 x 10 in (CGPR-223)

The only press here big enough to be worth owning if you cook on a griddle rather than in a pan: ten inches square, a wooden handle that stays cool, and Cuisinart's own claim of six burgers, four sandwiches or two steaks at once. It is also the only one whose listing publishes two different weights and no country of manufacture.

Strengths

  • 10 x 10 in is the largest plate in the category — Cuisinart publishes “perfect for pressing 6 burgers, 4 sandwiches, or 2 steaks at once”
  • Wooden handle Cuisinart describes as “stylish, stay-cool”, which is the one press here you can grab bare-handed
  • Sold by Amazon.com with a live price, unlike most of the unbranded presses in this size
  • The cheapest way to get this much plate area

Trade-offs

  • Its own listing publishes 4.73 lb as the item weight and “5.1-pound” in a feature bullet — we publish neither
  • The wooden handle rules out a broiler or a hot oven, which the all-iron Lodge presses handle
  • No country of manufacture, no warranty terms and no seasoning statement are published
  • The title calls it “Nonstick” while no coating is published anywhere on the page
  • Ten inches is too wide to sit inside most skillets — this is a griddle and grill tool
What it isLargest plate here, with a wooden handle
MaterialMixed materials
Size10 x 10 in
WeightNot published
Heat ratingNot published
Made inNot published
WarrantyNot published

Spec note. Model CGPR-223. The 10 x 10 x 3.5 in dimensions and the four feature bullets were read from the listing's own live getItems response on 2026-10-30 (In Stock, $29.99, sold by Amazon.com). The weight row is null because the SAME listing publishes two figures — an item weight of 4.73 lb and a feature bullet reading “Heavy-duty 5.1-pound cast iron for superior, even heat distribution and durability” — and there is no maker spec page to settle it: cuisinart.com returned 404 for this model on the same date. Material reads “Mixed materials” because the press is a cast iron plate with a wooden handle and the listing's own title also calls it “Nonstick” without publishing any coating; nothing here states whether the iron is seasoned, bare or finished. Published use: “Preheat and press to create mouthwatering grill marks on anything you grill.” No country of manufacture and no warranty terms are published.

Specs read from the manufacturer and product listing, on October 30, 2026. “Not published” means the maker doesn’t state that figure.

#5Best value, with a catch

Amazon Basics Smash Burger Press, 2-pack (6.8 in round + 8.1 in rectangle)

Two presses — one round, one rectangular — for less than the price of either Lodge, which is a real answer if you genuinely want both shapes. The compromise is printed on the listing: the undersides are grooved to make grill marks, so they touch less of the food than a flat plate does, and that is the opposite of what a smash burger wants.

Strengths

  • Two shapes in one box: a 6.8-inch round and an 8.1-inch rectangle
  • Cheapest cost per press in the category, sold by Amazon.com
  • Wooden handles on both, so neither needs a mitt on the stovetop
  • Published as cast iron with a 4.24 lb combined weight — real mass for the money

Trade-offs

  • “Grooved bottom creates delicious grill marks” is the listing's own description — grooves mean less contact, so less browning across the patty
  • No per-press weight is published, only 4.24 lb for the pair
  • No country of manufacture, no warranty terms and no seasoning statement
  • Wooden handles keep both out of a hot oven or under a broiler
  • Amazon Basics publishes no care guide beyond “hand wash and dry right away”
What it isTwo presses, round and rectangular, grooved undersides
MaterialMixed materials
Size6.8 in round + 8.1 in rectangle
Weight4.24 lb
Heat ratingNot published
Made inNot published
WarrantyNot published

Spec note. Part number LCBP001. The 4.24 lb weight, the 9.53 x 7.8 x 4.33 in pack dimensions and the five feature bullets were read from the listing's own live getItems response on 2026-10-30 (In Stock, $17.59, sold by Amazon.com). The 4.24 lb figure is the listing's item weight for the TWO-PIECE pack; no per-press weight is published, which is why this entry's size row carries both plate sizes rather than one. Published description, in full on the point that matters: “Grooved bottom creates delicious grill marks on burgers, bacon, steaks, and sandwiches for enhanced presentation”, “Made of durable cast iron with wooden handle for comfortable grip during use on grills, griddles, and skillets”, and care of “Simply hand wash and dry right away to keep press in optimal condition”. No country of manufacture, no warranty terms and no seasoning statement are published, so three rows read “Not published”.

Specs read from the manufacturer and product listing, on October 30, 2026. “Not published” means the maker doesn’t state that figure.

#6Cheapest way in

Lodge Cast Iron Burger Press, 6.25 in (L6BP)

The cheapest way into the category and the smallest round plate Lodge makes, which is exactly the diameter a smashed quarter-pound patty wants. It is the press to buy if you cook one or two burgers at a time in an 8 or 10-inch pan — and the one to skip if you press bacon or sandwiches.

Strengths

  • Smallest footprint here, so it fits inside an 8-inch skillet with room to work a spatula around it
  • Looped handle Lodge describes as “designed for a comfortable grip and easier lifting while cooking on grills and griddles”
  • Made in the USA, foundry-seasoned, and bare iron with no wood to keep out of the oven
  • Lowest price in the category

Trade-offs

  • The listing's 1 lb weight cannot be right for the object, and nobody publishes a figure we believe — so mass, the whole point of a press, is unknown
  • 6.25 inches is too small for a sandwich, a rasher of bacon or a steak
  • A light press has to be leaned on, which is how patties come out uneven
  • Iron handle, so it gets hot like the rest of it
What it isSmallest round press Lodge publishes
MaterialBare cast iron
Size6.25 in round
WeightNot published
Heat ratingAny oven temp
Made inUSA
WarrantyNot published

Spec note. Part number L6BP. The 6.3 x 6.3 in footprint, the 7.25 in height (which is the handle, not the plate) and the feature list were read from the listing's own live getItems response on 2026-10-30 (In Stock, $16.90, sold by Amazon.com). That listing states an item weight of 1 lb, which would make a 6.25-inch cast iron press lighter than a third of the 2.64 lb Lodge publishes for its smaller 6.75 x 4.5-inch rectangle — so the weight row is null and the listing's figure is recorded here instead, on the 2026-10-23 Victoria-HD precedent. Lodge's published copy: “features heavyweight cast iron construction designed to help create evenly pressed burgers and sandwiches”, “applies consistent weight across cooking surfaces to help support browning, crisp edges, and evenly cooked favorites”, seasoned with “100% natural vegetable oil”, and “Made in the USA”. The listing's warranty field reads only the word “Warranty”, with no terms, so that row is empty.

Specs read from the manufacturer and product listing, on October 30, 2026. “Not published” means the maker doesn’t state that figure.

How we ranked these

A press has no moving parts, no coating to fail and no capacity to argue about. That leaves four things worth comparing, and one of them is missing from almost every listing in the category.

1. Published weight, because the weight is the mechanism

A press works by standing on the food so you do not have to. Mass is what does that, and in principle it is the easiest spec in the world to publish. In practice, two of the six presses here publish no weight at all and a third publishes two.

What is published runs like this. Lodge’s own page gives 3.95 lb for the 8.25-inch square and 2.64 lbfor the 6.75 x 4.5-inch rectangle — so the square press carries roughly 50% more iron for the same money, which is most of the reason it wins this page. Amazon Basics publishes 4.24 lb, but for the pairof presses in its box rather than for either one. Lodge’s round griddle press publishes nothing, on the listing or on Lodge’s own site. Lodge’s 6.25-inch burger press publishes 1 lb, which cannot be right for a cast iron disc wider than the 2.64 lb rectangle, so we print “Not published” and say why on the card. And the Cuisinart XL publishes 4.73 lb as its item weight and “5.1-pound” in its own feature bullet, on the same page, with no maker spec sheet to settle it — cuisinart.com returned a 404 for that model when we looked.

We would rather show you a gap than a number we do not believe. The practical consequence is simple: if the deciding factor for you is mass, the only two presses in this category whose mass is a published fact are the two Lodge sells on its own website.

2. Flat or grooved, which is the same question as crust

Browning happens where metal touches food. A flat press puts its whole underside on the patty; a grooved one touches it in stripes and leaves the rest hovering over air. Grooves are not a defect — they are a different product, sold for the look — but they are the opposite of what a smash burger wants, and the listings say so themselves. Amazon Basics publishes that its “Grooved bottom creates delicious grill marks on burgers, bacon, steaks, and sandwiches for enhanced presentation”, and Cuisinart publishes “Preheat and press to create mouthwatering grill marks on anything you grill.” Both sentences are about presentation.

There is one subtler case on this page. Lodge describes the 6.75 x 4.5-inch rectangle as having a “Coil handle and hammered base” — the maker’s own words — while the 8.25-inch square is described with no surface texture at all. If your reason for buying is maximum contact on a smashed patty, that is a point for the square and the round, and it is the kind of difference no product photo settles reliably.

3. Shape against the thing you are pressing

This is where most people buy the wrong one, because the shapes are not interchangeable.

  • Round— the only shape that fits inside a round skillet without climbing the walls. If your smash burgers happen in a 10.25 or 12-inch pan rather than on a flat top, an 8-inch round plate is the right geometry and an 8.31-inch square is not.
  • Rectangular— the shape of bacon. Lodge sells a 6.75 x 4.5-inch press, which covers two or three strips laid side by side and nothing else, and that narrow footprint is why it is still the best bacon tool here despite being the lightest Lodge press with a published weight.
  • Square— the shape of a sandwich. Lodge lists “Cook a perfect grilled cheese” first among the things its 8.25-inch square press is for, which is both honest marketing and a decent clue about the design intent.
  • Extra-large square— the shape of a griddle. Ten inches is too wide to sit inside most skillets, so the Cuisinart only makes sense on a flat top, a two-burner griddle or a grill, where Cuisinart publishes that it covers “6 burgers, 4 sandwiches, or 2 steaks at once”.

4. Handle material, which is really an oven question

Three of these presses are iron all the way through and three have wooden handles, and that single difference splits the category.

Wood stays cool enough to grab bare-handed, which is genuinely nicer for twenty minutes of bacon on a Sunday. Iron does not: a Lodge press heats with the pan, and you pick it up with a towel or a mitt. But iron goes anywhere the pan goes — into a 500°F oven, under a broiler, onto a grill, into a campfire — and a wooden handle does not. Lodge publishes “Use with any heat source” for its rectangle; neither Cuisinart nor Amazon Basics publishes an oven rating for its press at all, which is why both of those spec tables read “Not published” on the heat row rather than carrying a number we invented.

What nobody publishes

Not one maker in this category publishes the diameter of the flat contact area as distinct from the overall size of the press. That is the same gap we found in cast iron tortilla presses, and it matters for the same reason: the press is always bigger than the plate, and the plate is always bigger than the food. We say so rather than measuring by eye off a photograph. Two of the three non-Lodge presses also publish no country of manufacture, no warranty terms and no statement about whether the iron is seasoned, bare or finished — three blanks in a row on a $20 object.

How to actually use one

Preheat the press, not just the pan

A cold press dropped on a hot patty is a heat sink. The iron takes heat out of the top of the burger while the pan puts it into the bottom, which is the difference between a crust and a grey steamed surface. Lodge lists “Hold the heat” as one of four things its square press is for, and the way you get that benefit is to leave the press in or beside the pan while the pan comes up to temperature. Our preheating guide has Lodge’s own published timings for the pan itself.

Smash once, early, and then leave it alone

The press earns its keep in the first ten or fifteen seconds, while the ball of beef is still loose enough to spread. After that the surface has set and pressing again does nothing except force out rendered fat and juice. That is our reasoning rather than a manufacturer’s instruction — no press maker publishes a technique — but it follows directly from what the tool does. Parchment between the press and the patty stops the beef sticking to the press and is the one accessory worth keeping next to it.

Doneness is a thermometer question, not a color one

Smashed patties are thin, so they cook through almost immediately, and that makes it tempting to judge them by eye. USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service is blunt about why that fails: “Cook all raw ground beef to an internal temperature of 160 degrees F as measured with a food thermometer”, and it publishes that color is not a reliable indicator in either direction — in one study more than 25% of fresh patties turned brown beforereaching 160°F, while some lean ground beef stays pink well above it. A press makes a faster burger, not a safer one.

Care is the same as a pan, with one extra worry

The three Lodge presses are foundry-seasoned bare iron, and Lodge publishes the same care line for them as for its skillets: “Hand wash, dry, oil.” The extra worry is the handle joint, which traps water a flat pan would shed — dry it deliberately. The two wooden-handled presses should not be soaked at all; Amazon Basics publishes only “Simply hand wash and dry right away”, and a wooden handle in standing water is how these tools actually die. Our cleaning guide covers the rest of the routine.

What we did not include

No unbranded presses. A live search on the day this page was written returned half a dozen of them, and the ones we looked at published no country, no warranty, no weight we could verify against a maker, and in several cases no seasoning statement either — which leaves nothing to rank except the photograph. No Victoria panini press: it is a real press from a real maker, but on the day we checked, its listing read “Only 2 left in stock”, and we do not feature a pick you probably cannot buy. And no third-party listing of a press Amazon sells itself — Lodge’s 8.25-inch square appears under a second ASIN at a higher price from a marketplace seller, and we link the cheaper first-party one.

If the reason you want a press is burgers specifically, the press is the second decision and the surface is the first: best cast iron for smash burgers ranks the griddles and pans, and explains why ridges are a liability there. If you are assembling the rest of the drawer, best cast iron accessories covers the chainmail, scrapers, lids and handle holders that keep a seasoned surface — press included — alive.

Frequently asked questions

Does a cast iron grill press actually do anything?

Yes, for three specific jobs: it holds bacon flat so the strips do not curl away from the pan, it flattens a ball of ground beef into the iron for the first few seconds of a smash burger, and it keeps the top of a sandwich in contact with the heat. All three are contact problems, and a weight solves them. What it will not do is make a thick steak better — pressing a steak forces out juice — or substitute for a properly preheated pan.

How heavy should a grill press be?

Heavier is better at the food and worse in the drawer, and the published figures here span 2.64 lb to 3.95 lb for a single press. The useful rule is to match the mass to the shape: a small rectangle only has to hold down bacon, so 2.64 lb is plenty, while a press meant to flatten a ball of beef across a wider plate wants more. Be skeptical of unpublished weights — two presses on this page publish none, and one publishes two different figures on the same listing.

Should I get a round or a square press?

Round if you press inside a skillet, square or rectangular if you press on a flat surface. A round 8-inch plate drops inside a 10.25 or 12-inch pan and sits flat on the floor; a square press of similar size rides up the curved walls and never touches the middle properly. On a griddle or a flat top the geometry stops mattering and area starts to, which is where the 10-inch Cuisinart makes sense.

Are grooved presses worse than flat ones?

For crust, yes — and the makers say why themselves. Amazon Basics publishes that its grooved bottom “creates delicious grill marks… for enhanced presentation”, and grooves mean the iron touches the food in stripes rather than across the whole face. If you want maximum browning, buy flat. If you want the striped look on a pressed sandwich or a piece of chicken, the grooves are the product, not a flaw.

Do you need to season a cast iron grill press?

The Lodge presses arrive foundry-seasoned with what Lodge publishes as 100% natural vegetable oil, so they are ready to use, and they build up the same way a skillet does: cook, wipe, dry, thin coat of oil. The two wooden-handled presses here publish no seasoning statement at all, which is itself a finding — treat them as unknown, dry them immediately, and keep the wood out of water.

Can a grill press go in the oven or under the broiler?

The all-iron ones can go anywhere a skillet goes — Lodge publishes “Use with any heat source” for its rectangle, and bare iron has no upper oven-temperature limit. The wooden-handled presses cannot, and neither Cuisinart nor Amazon Basics publishes an oven rating for its press, so the heat row on both of those cards reads “Not published” rather than carrying a figure we guessed.

Can you use a grill press as a bacon press?

That is the same tool under two names, and Lodge sells it under both — its own listing for the square press includes “Keep your bacon flat” among the four things it is for. For bacon specifically, shape beats mass: a narrow rectangle matches a strip of bacon, and a 10-inch square is mostly hanging over the edges of the pan.

Sources

  • Lodge Cast Iron — Grill Presses (LGP3 and LFIP3) — Lodge's own page for the two presses it sells, read live on 2026-10-30, and the only place either one's weight is published by the maker. The 6.75-inch size (SKU LGP3) publishes length 6.75 in, height 3.5 in, width 4.5 in and “Weight: 2.64 LB”, with the feature lines “Made in the USA”, “Seasoned with 100% natural vegetable oil”, “Coil handle and hammered base”, “Use with any heat source”, “Cast to last for generations” and “Nontoxic cookware made without PFAS”. The 8.25-inch size (SKU LFIP3) publishes 8.31 x 8.31 x 1.37 in and “Weight: 3.95 LB”, and Lodge states what that press is for in four lines — “Cook a perfect grilled cheese”, “Keep your bacon flat”, “Sear a steak”, “Hold the heat” — plus “Made in the USA” and “Nontoxic cookware made without PFAS”. Care for both is “Hand wash, dry, oil”, and the page carries Lodge's Made Right Warranty and a California AB 1200 disclosure link. Lodge publishes NO cooking-surface figure, and no weight at all for its round griddle press or its 6.25-inch burger press, neither of which appears on this page (accessed October 30, 2026)
  • USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service — Color of Cooked Ground Beef as It Relates to Doneness — FSIS on why a browned patty is not a safe patty: "Cook all raw ground beef to an internal temperature of 160 degrees F as measured with a food thermometer"; color and texture indicators are not reliable; cooked patties may brown before reaching a safe internal temperature through oxidation of the beef pigment, and in one study more than 25 percent of fresh ground beef patties turned brown prematurely, before reaching 160°F; conversely some lean ground beef stays pink well above 160°F. At 160°F a safely cooked patty "may look brown, pink or some variation of brown or pink," and a food thermometer is the only way to tell that harmful bacteria have been destroyed (accessed October 9, 2026)
  • Lodge Cast Iron — Griddles 101 — Lodge's own griddle primer: a griddle is “a flat cooking surface with slightly raised edges to keep oil, batter, and other ingredients mostly contained”, and “the shallow edges make it easy to maneuver spatulas and other cooking utensils to flip pancakes and french toast, fry eggs and sausage, and toast paninis and grilled cheese sandwiches”; it also states that the main difference between a skillet and a griddle is the height of the sides and that most griddles have a much larger cooking surface than skillets, and instructs cooks to “gradually preheat the griddle to medium heat” (accessed September 15, 2026)
  • Lodge Cast Iron — How to Season Cast Iron — Lodge's foundry seasoning method; seasoning is oil baked onto the pan through polymerization; re-season at 450–500°F (accessed July 20, 2026)
  • Lodge Cast Iron — How to Clean — Lodge's own three-step instruction for cleaning seasoned cast iron, printed as numbered steps on the maker's cleaning page. Step 1, Wash: "Start with warm, soapy water and scrub with a stiff-bristled brush or scrubbing pad." Step 2, Dry: "Dry completely with a paper towel or lint-free cloth." Step 3, Oil: "Add a thin layer of oil, using a paper towel to distribute it over the entire surface." Soapy water is step one of three on the manufacturer's own page (accessed October 17, 2026)

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