Usually I'm the one handing out searing advice, so this is humbling. Kitchen refit, gas has gone, induction has arrived. Fine for most things. But my big 12 inch cast iron, the one that's done hundreds of steaks, now only browns in a ring about the size of a saucer right in the middle. Put two strips in and the ends that hang outside the ring stay grey while the middle is black.
Is induction just bad at cast iron, is it my pan being too big for the hob, or is there a trick?
Pan bigger than the zone. Induction only heats the iron directly above the coil, and cast iron is slow to spread heat sideways, so you get exactly that ring. Gas flames lick up the sides and hide it.
I preheat mine for a good eight to ten minutes on medium before turning it up, and it evens out a lot. Not perfect, but a lot.
Same issue, different fix: I just use the pan for one steak at a time on the biggest zone, and use the overhead grill for the others. Two steaks at once on induction was never going to work for me.
Check if your hob has a bridge function to join two zones. Ours does and I didn't find it for six months. Griddle across both and the whole thing browns.
Report back. Longer preheat on medium, then high for the last two minutes, made a real difference. Bridge function exists on mine as well, hiding under a button I'd never pressed. Griddle across both zones now and the whole surface browns. Ten years of advice from me and I'm the one learning to read a manual.
