12" Frying Pans with Cover?

wintermute

wintermute

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Oct 18, 2007
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We're looking for 12" frying pans - both stainless and non-stick, with somewhat high, vertical sides (good for sauteing), with covers. Any suggestions out there? We cook ALOT, so we're looking for quality, but nothing too insane.
 
I think you might be better served with a stainless Sautee pan, with a cover. Many brands make them.

Or are you looking for the "double pan" meaning the "Top Cover" is actually just a shallower frying pan than the bottom pan, which is usually twice as deep (higher sides), but could be used as such and fits on to the lower pan at the handle junction by way of a groove or clasp?

But, to the best of my knowledge, a Sautee pan with a cover has the vertical sides your looking for, and frying pans have more of a "lip" to flip things like eggs, pancakes, saucing pastas, etc. While a true sautee pan, has vertical sides and a top.

I suggest stainless, they brown better, but do get worn over time. Dont spend a ton.

Of course what I really suggest is CAST IRON, Lodge, the sides are perfectly high, and you can use an existing stainless frypan as a cover. I have had my lodge 12" for over ten years, bought it at walmart for $12. It has been on the barbecue, oven, stovetop, can do EVERYTHING in a pinch. It is truly the best meat/chicken cooking item on the planet.

Good luck, pots/pans is a big world....

JC
 
wintermute, try this place
Bowery Kitchen Supply Equipment Inc
460 West 16th Street, New York, NY 10011 (212) 219-1457 ‎

There is an other one I read about on a different board but the name escapes me.

One you find "real" kitchen supply shops like this one local to me http://www.wasserstrom.com/ you'll never go back.
 
Look I've got vollrath stainless 12in. And I've tried all non-stick Teflon, Swiss diamond, the green pan (makes a great boat anchor) and scanpan. Spend the money and get the scanpan. Worth the money. After using it for a while (with steel utensils) I woke up one sleepy morning and wanted an omelet to take to work. Beat the eggs and put them in the pan and forgot to put evoo in it. Wasn't exactly an omelet but not ruined either, pretty damn impressed. You want cheap go to sam's and buy the 12 in Teflon commercial pan it will last about 3 to 7 years depending how well you use (abuse) it.
 
Jameson said:
Or are you looking for the "double pan" meaning the "Top Cover" is actually just a shallower frying pan than the bottom pan, which is usually twice as deep (higher sides), but could be used as such and fits on to the lower pan at the handle junction by way of a groove or clasp?

Of course what I really suggest is CAST IRON, Lodge, the sides are perfectly high, and you can use an existing stainless frypan as a cover. I have had my lodge 12" for over ten years, bought it at walmart for $12. It has been on the barbecue, oven, stovetop, can do EVERYTHING in a pinch. It is truly the best meat/chicken cooking item on the planet.
Click to expand...

Nope, not looking for a double pan. I already have 10" and 12" Lodge cast iron pans as well as an indoor and an outdoor dutch oven :D.

It's for my wife, she's pretty particular. The sides of saute pans are too high, as far as she's concerned, and she's looking to replace a Calaphon frying pan (sold as such) that she wore out. The sides are maybe 1.5"-2" high.
 
You might look at the 12" Swiss Diamond with vertical sides. I got one with the glass cover about a year ago and we both love it.
 
oldschool45 said:
One you find "real" kitchen supply shops like this one local to me http://www.wasserstrom.com/ you'll never go back.
Click to expand...

God I love Wasserstrom - have wasted so much money there over the years. Restaurant supply places are definitely the way to go. None of the big home kitchen name brands and their associated high prices, just really reliable, good equipment for a small fraction of the cost.
 
When you find what your looking for buy two of them, sounds like I could use one too!

JC
 
To be honest, the sides on this are less than 3" high, I think it is a great starting point at $30 dollars or so...


http://www.wasserstrom.com/restaurant-supplies-equipment/Product_177404


Le Creuset is also an option, but a bear to be tossing around your kitchen with the weight of the pans.

I have found a renewed love for straight stainless pans, and to be honest that link I provided might be my next purchase just to see whats up. You can do lots worse for Triple that price +tax from any local kitchen store (not commercial supplier)

What about restaurant depot?


I did see a smallish
 
artificialj, absolutely love that place I have a pair (had 3) aluminum 1/2 sheet pans that I use for everything prep work, meat resting and occasionally baking cookies. They go on vacation with me along with my knife roll. Paid about $12 each for them and they will smoke $20 airbake pans when used for cookies. I can't walk into a Sur La Table or Williams & Sonoma without developing a chronic cringe after Wasserstrom's

Jameson, I have a Wear-ever aluminum 3qt pot that I use for everything. My conclusion is that aside from 1 or 2 dedicated non-stick "egg pans". I'd rather soak & scrub than deal with scratched or peeling non-stick:mad:

Anybody know how anodized aluminum compares to stainless when it comes to reactive foods like tomatoes or citrus? I like aluminum because it spreads heat and is less prone to having hot spots but stainless might sear better.
 
I've used damned near everything on the market over the years and keep coming back to All-Clad. I know it's pricey as hell, but the performance and durability are there to justify the price and how many pots and pans do you want to own???


Calphalon/Circulon/Kitchen Aide/et.al. are also good but it has to have a SS interior and FULL clad construction, that's the key to performance and long lasting durability. The devil is in the "detail" of that cladding. Don't get me started on handles, but that is very important too! A 12" skillet's primary role is that of browning/sauteing and that's where the heat distribution comes in and really matters. All-Clad rules here. An easy test for heat distribution is to caramelize onions and compare results.


Teflon, no matter the flavor(!) is useless but for one thing, omelets/eggs/crepes and I admit to having a couple dedicated pans for that purpose. I suppose a lot of this boils down to how serious of a cook you are as to whether or not you will notice the difference in all of this so I'll add the ubiquitous YMMV. :p
 
I do have to admit that cooking alot of pasta dishes, and SAUCING them in a LARGE teflon frying pan on low heat really simplifies cleanup and your not sacrificing anything.

What I mean is, I take my just cooked pasta and add it to a large non-stick frying pan which already has the sauce in it (or beginnings of such) and then i flip to coat under low heat and then plate each serving out of the pan individually. I do not overload the pan.

When your making something like carbonara with egg, or similar cheesy sauces, your gonna have lotsa explaining (cleanup) to do if any other way. Italian restaurants I have worked in almost all pasta dishes were cooked/served in this manner, except they used stainless pans as they have dishwashers (pot scrubbers) that went nuts on the things every 20 minutes or so. When the chef was finished saucing pasta, he discarded the frying pans, one by one as he cooked into a buspersons bucket, and those would periodically be taken and refreshed with an empty bucket and the pans from before. The pans were not overly expensive, they had about 40 of them, and they wore OK over time, more having to be discarded due to getting dented from being thrown into the bus-bucket than anything else really....

The stainless is really the go-to for me now with anything chicken/beef/pork, but I still prefer nonstick for things like fish. You can get a GREAT sear with nonstick on fish if you know what you are doing (or know how to properly use butter/oil/european butter) and youll never ruin a piece unless your inattentive. At slightly colder than room temp, depending on thickness, most fish will cook in less than 2-3 minutes per side. Again, thickness and temperature of the meat when you BEGIN cooking is the real deciding factor... TO get that quick sear you gotta know what your doing IMO, and it isn't that hard to learn if your not a Do-Do Bird.

JC
 
Just like knives. Use the right tool for the job. Some tools/pans/knives can do everything but non of them particularly well.
Ditch_Digger I'll have to look at All-Clad for my next skillet purchase:thumbup:
 
For non-non-stick I agree about All-Clad. We have a number of pieces (helps that my
wife working in a gourmet kitchen store and earns them as incentives :)).

For non-stick, I wasn't satisfied with the 12" All-Clad wearing out. That's why we're
trying the Swiss Diamond. So far, so good, but it's only been a year.
 
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