Need a few nice pans

[Toothpick]

Sick and tired of this crap happening to our pans. So I’m looking for some non-stick pans that won’t fall apart in a years time. I don’t need a whole set of pots and pans. Just a few nice pans.

One small one that can fry an egg
One bigger one that can fry 3 or 4 eggs
One larger one that is a bit deeper than can fry bacon or steaks

IDK what sizes those are. 6” - 10” - 14” maybe?

Willing to spend $0-$100. More so around the $50 mark per pan but if they are SUPER AWESOME AMAZING pans I don’t mind spending more. Just sick of the pans coating chipping off and peeling and looking like crap and not being non-stick anymore.

I would say 95% of the time we use plastic or silicone utensils. But I guess 5% of the time SOME JERK WAD in the house is using metal. Once I get the new pans I will identify this jerk wad and evict them.

Thanks for the suggestions!!

 

[Toothpick]

Oh and somehow that cooper looking pan warped. I don’t get it. But it don’t sit flat on the stovetop anymore. So don’t want that to happen again with new pans.

 

[Intrigued]

Take a look at these. I have an All-Clad nonstick that we've had for years, that's held up well.

All-Clad NS Pro Nonstick 3-Piece Fry Pan Set

There are some videos in that link that talk about using nonstick cookware and getting it to last longer.

For steak I prefer cast iron. It will give you a much better sear on your steak than nonstick can give you.
I have this Staub in the 10" size and it does a beautiful job of searing. Its' enameled coating makes it low maintenance, though it is pricey.

Staub Enameled Cast Iron Fry Pan


For a less expensive alternative you also might like this Lodge Blacklock for your steak and bacon. The pros on this one is that it actually weighs less than the Staub, it cost a lot less, and if you got the 10 1/4" one, I have a spare lid I could PIF you (seriously when I ordered mine from Lodge they accidentally sent me 2 lids). The con is that you have to take care to season it and maintain it.

Lodge Blacklock Triple Seasoned Cast Iron Skillet

 

[Tirvine]

I ditched nonstick long ago. It breaks down quickly. It too often contains things that are bad for you. The manufacturing process exposes workers and the environment to bad things. Carbon steel can be made nonstick with just the slightest bit of oil and unless scrubbed too hard with detergent, will become more nonstick over time. For one or two eggs I pour a teaspoon or less in the center, heat the pan a bit and spread the oil over the floor, and pour out any excess. The very low lip of a crepe pan makes turning eggs very easy. I use an 8" for larger things and a 12" for doing a couple of steaks or frying a bunch of eggs. Carbon steel is incredibly sturdy. Since all carbon steel is pretty much the same, you can buy DeBuyer or no name and get much the same thing. I just made folded eggs for breakfast in this one.

 

[House Boy]

I have a few Blue Diamond pots and pans that I've had for a few years now and are still holding up well. My favorite pan that got used a lot was a 10 inch all clad non stick but I got frustrated after going though the 3rd one because of peeling and warping, I decided to try an all stainless 10 inch sauté pan from Made In and will not go back to non stick sautes for making steaks, etc. For eggs I still enjoy the small blue diamond fry pan and 10 inch fry pan.

 

[c__port]

For a less expensive alternative you also might like this Lodge

For steak I prefer cast iron. It will give you a much better sear on your steak than nonstick can give you.
I have this Staub in the 10" size and it does a beautiful job of searing. Its enameled coating makes it low maintenance, though it is pricey.

We've used a variety of nonstick pans including All-Clad. Good, but they wear out at the same speed as cheaper pans.

We've also tried SS copper core All-Clad. Good but not good enough to keep from going back to the 10" Lodge.

We currently have some HexClad pans, and nonstick doesn't really describe what they do very accurately. I don't particularly like a sear on my eggs, so I never use them for that.

60% or better of our cooking is done on a 10" Lodge, a 12" Lodge, and two Staub dutch oven style pans. Eggs cook just fine on the 10" because it has a great cure. Pan-poached eggs cook perfectly, though it does require a bit of oil.

A 10" cast iron pan might just be what you are seeking for both 1 egg and 3-4 eggs.

Both Lodge (inexpensive) and Staub are worth the cost.

Neither All-Clad nor HexClad live up to the hype, IMO.

 

[ralph029]

I have been very happy with my Misen nonstick skillet. I only have one and only use it for certain situations. If you go to their website, they are having a 50% off sale on their original nonstick skillets and that would fit your price range. You'll have to buy your lids separate.
BTW, I was so impressed with the one nonstick pan that I bought a full set of their stainless steel pans. I'm very pleased with them.
Make sure the jerk wad knows about metal and nonstick! Also let him/her know that nonstick still needs a touch of oil

 

[Frito Ray]

I hear good things about the “Made In” brand but haven’t tried them myself.

We went back to all cast iron for pans and skillets years ago. Just needs a bit of getting used to.

 

[borwish]

We tossed our non stick pans years ago and picked up an inexpensive T-fal stainless steel set from Target years ago and have been very happy with them. As mentioned a little olive oil goes a long way. They clean up great with a little Barkeeper's Friend if something does stick.

For eggs we have one of the stoneware Pampered Chef microwave omelet cookers and it's awesome. No need for butter or anything. They come out nice and fluffy and perfect every time. I have to admit though that there's no beating a egg sandwich where the egg was cooked over hard in butter with crispy edges.

 

[Frito Ray]

I hear good things about the “Made In” brand but haven’t tried them myself.

Sorry I suggested the “Made In”, I just checked their site and they are much more expensive than I thought ($200 CAD for a single 8” non-stick pan).

 

[deafficianado]

I second the recommendations made for carbon steel, stainless steel, and cast iron. The tri-ply stainless would be my most used frying pan.

 

[spacemonkey42]

I get inexpensive non-stick for a few things, like eggs, but I consider those disposable. High end or not, they seem to not last long, so I don't want to waste money.

These days I am liking carbon steel more than cast iron. They are very similar in performance, but the carbon steel is lighter. Sometimes cast iron can be a pain, due to the heavy weight. Plus carbon steel has a smooth surface, which might be just a tiny bit less-stick than the textured surface of the cast iron pans I have. Both are worth trying though.

 

[Toothpick]

So sounds like Non-stick is a no go. 100 bucks for a non-stick pan I would expect it to last decades.

We have plenty of cast iron but the problem is I don't do the cooking and we constantly have to re-season them because they get left out with food in them or whatever. So they never develop that good non-stick seasoning.

So perhaps instead I want Stainless Steel or Carbon.

Those Made-In pans look good but something about the commercial has made me feel like they are a gimmick. Probably cause they are like "ohhh every chef in the world uses these!! They are the best! We strive for the best pans ever!" blah blah.

 

[Jay21]

I’ve tried just about every type of so-called non-stick pans and most of the new gimmicks. The only pans that don’t break down and remain mostly stick resistant for me are properly seasoned iron skillets.

 

[Toothpick]

Of course none of this matters if I can't get everyone on board with cleaning up after themselves!

 

[Intrigued]

I like cast iron more than carbon steel mainly for its aesthetics. Well maintained cast iron just flat out looks better than well seasoned carbon steel. A lot of vintage cast iron such as Griswold and Wagner, as well as modern cast iron such as Field, Smithey, & Lodge's Blacklock series weigh about the same as a good carbon steel counterpart such as de Buyer.

Lodge ran a nice sale for the week of Black Friday, so I add to my cast iron collection.

This is an 8" skillet from their Chef Collection with a matching lid so I can make beautifully based eggs.

and this is their 10 1/4'' skillet from their Blacklock Collection so I can make enough bacon & basted eggs to share.

A couple of small vintage Griswolds (6 1/2" & 7").

This is my 9" nonstick All-Clad that I've had for 10+ years. It's still going strong and it's seen a lot of use. But it only gets washed by hand, it never goes in the dishwasher (I believe dishwashers break down the nonstick coatings faster) and it's never used on high temps.

 

[Old Hippie]

Like others we binned the nonstick stuff decades ago. Bad memories of our mothers whacking away at their old Teflon coated aluminum skillets with a spatula to chisel out the eggs. "I wish you wouldn't put pepper on my eggs!" "I didn't." Children of the Depression, they expected a piece of cookware to last at least three generations. While the fumes from nonstick coatings are bad for people, they're worse for cats and dogs (and kids) and deadly for pet birds.

We have a couple of uncoated stainless skillets -- but rarely use them. We prefer the cast iron for most things but also have Visions pots for boiling things. For whatever reason I never took to steel as much. I have a couple of griddles in steel, a couple in iron. I have one steel skillet that gets used on the monster propane burner. I can fit 10 pounds of hashbrowns, 5 pounds of chopped onions, and about three dozen eggs in that thing to get the masses fed (when we have masses to feed; it's been a few years now).

The other steel item I want to pick up is a "disko" or "Mexican wok" made out of a cultivator disk. I understand some companies are making disks as if for agriculture but without the centre mounting hole. I'd like to find one of those! Otherwise I'll hit up the local tractor shop in the spring and then go visit my welder friends to get a "plug" welded in.

O.H.

 

[Bsamps]

I have used many nonstick pans throughout the years and I found that all of them deteriorate over time. For the past 18 years I have been using All-Clad stainless steel. Yes, I have pans that are that old and, they get the job done every time.

 

[VerbaVolant]

de Buyer and Lodge fan here. Best non-stick pans, in my opinion.
Managed to acquire quite a few of them , here are a couple:

No coating nonsense for me, thank you very much.

 

[VerbaVolant]

Looking at current prices for de Buyer pans... Holy...

Back in 2013 and 2014, and those are CAD$ not real$: