Why Your Cast-Iron Skillet is a Must-Have Grilling Tool

Cast-iron skillets are great for all-year-long cooking on the stovetop, but their ability to take serious heat means they're also great on a grill. We have a few favorites when it comes to choosing a cast iron, but the tried-and-true Lodge 12-inch is a great choice (FYI: here are our tips for caring for your cast iron). From smoky grilled beans to sweet graham cracker-studded cake, here are five reasons a cast-iron skillet will be your go-to for summer grilling.

Chef Sarah Schafer makes this starter over the fire-pit grill at her beach cabin and serves them right out of the skillet. Any other meaty, flat bean can be substituted for the romanos.

Get the recipe: Cast-Iron-Grilled Romano Beans with Garlic Aioli

To cook this seafood-and-chorizo paella, chef Pete Evans uses his grill as both a stovetop and an oven, simultaneously using direct and indirect heat.

Get the recipe: Easy Grilled Paella

Use a cast-iron skillet on the grill to make butcher Tom Mylan's incredible steak, onion, pepper and cheese hoagies.

Get the recipe: Grilled Philly Cheesesteaks

A grill pan or cast-iron skillet is a quick way to cook lamb chops. Chef Renee Erickson serves them with a sweet-savory Moroccan-inspired relish that includes pine nuts, golden raisins and lemon. She recommends eating the chops with your hands. "The bones should be picked clean," she says.

Get the recipe: Grilled Lamb Chops with Cucumber Relish

Yes, desserts deserve grill time too, and Stephanie Izard’s crumbly skillet cake is the perfect one.

© John Kernick © John Kernick

Star chef Stephanie Izard's cake, which bakes on the grill, gets amazing flavor from graham crackers mixed into the batter.

Get the recipe: Skillet Graham Cake with Peaches and Blueberries