9 Inches Cast Iron Grill Press, Steak Weight Bacon Press with Wood Handle Pre-Seasoned Rectangular Barbecue BBQ Hamburger Sausage Panini Meat Griddle Press

Some aspects of this weight made the decision for me. The size (8.75" x 4.5") allows it to fit perfectly in the bottom of a 12" sauté pan. It also is a perfect fit for a range-top griddle pan. And it was one of the heavier ones I looked at (2.5 lbs, or 1,142 grams). So it works well for my uses, like cooking bacon, or gently pressing excess water from slices of buffalo mozzarella.It comes pre-seasoned, but I suggest coating it with some low smoke-point oil, like olive oil and placing it directly over a very low flame on the stove until it starts to smoke. Turn off the burner and just allow it cool slowly. Nicely seasoned, naturally non-stick, and the metallic smell/taste will be gone.The handle is cheap hardwood, but works, and can easily be replaced later on with a suitably sized piece of dowel.And a nice feature of the ribbed bottom surface is that trapped water doesn't explode and pop like with the smooth-surfaced weights I used when I was a restaurant cook.This is cast iron. You need to understand how to care for cast iron cookware. Specifically, wash it gently to preserve the seasoned surface, detergent only, no harsh scrubbing, dry it immediately and rub the thinnest coat of cooking oil over it before putting it away in a dry place. Those reviewers complaining about rust probably overlooked this aspect of cast iron cookware care.

I read some of the negative reviews, and decided to not take them into too much consideration. When I got the press, I immediately washed it in warm water with soap, then set it in my iron skillet and turned up the heat on the stove. Dry in less than 5 minutes. I oiled it well, and turned it with the press part into the skillet. I didn't use it for a week, and didn't check it. When I pulled out the pan for weekend breakfast, I checked the press. Perfect! No rust, no nothing. I used it, did the same thing, and stored it. I am very happy with this press and glad that I decided to purchase it after all the years of curled bacon.

The weight of the press is decent. However could use some more mass to it. The handle is chunky and that is a good thing, but the finish on the wood was rough to the touch. Nothing a rub down with steel wool didn't fix. The iron came coated, but there was some minor rust. After cleaning and seasoning this should last a lifetime.A star was removed for the way the handle was attached to the base. The screws are inserted to end grain wood, if one was to wash this as many unfortunately do with cast iron, water would eventually expand the unfinished end grain the the screws would fail. This is a low cost item and threaded end caps would increase the cost, and it is understand why they are not present, the endgrain could have been sealed with the same finish that was applied to the rest of the handle and would mitigate this issue.

You have to season this thing yourself, which is kind of a pain. Most the cast iron I've purchased was pre-seasoned, so I didn't really pay attention to that detail. other than that, its kind of hard to screw up a chunk of iron with a handle, so no other complaints.

This is great for things like grilling bagels and sandwiches on our stove top griddle. It gives an even downward pressure to get all the surface in contact. I haven’t had any issues with the handle getting too hot. All in all it’s exactly what I was hoping for when I ordered it.

This grill press is really great! It is nice and thick and heavy. Super easy to clean and no rust if you take care of it as directed. We use it all the time to cook and we are very happy with it.

My steak was awesome before now I will never buy another cooked steak again. This perfected the cooking process. The size allows you to get the whole steak. It's Great.

Perfect! Heavy and easy to handle, this is exactly what I needed to toast my rolls and push down smash burgers. If you are reading this, get it.