Let's start with the GOOD STUFF:1)This pan is absolutely beautiful as all Staub products are.If you own a piece of Staub, you know that by "beautiful" I mean both in form and function, and that extra weight that their pans have, with the obvious high quality.And then there is the instant infatuation with the piece that you get with Staub (and others get with Le Creuset).For me personally, it is Staub.When I cooked with it tonight, the infatuation continued!There is certainly nothing more beautiful as cooking in quality cast-iron, even just as you glance down on the stove.
2)Cast-iron maintains heat well and is therefore excellent for meat and cornbread (all agree) and possibly everything (per it's biggest fans).
3)Enameled cast iron such as Staub and Le Creuset is not non-stick; though it does become somewhat more non-stick over time, it will never become as non-stick as Teflon, or a well-seasoned non-enameled cast iron pan.This is good for creating a fond or nice sauce where you want a little sticking.On the other hand, this pan is non-stick enough to reasonably cook food in it.I made a couscous dish, and only about 20% of the pan had stuck-on couscous in a very thin layer, but it was only a very very tiny amount of wasted food, not anything you would even think about for a half-second.You can soak the pan and scrub it with ease.
4)Enameled cast iron is non-reactive and you can therefore cook anything in this pan, including acidic sauces.You can also clean it with soap.[Non-enameled cast iron can also reportedly cook acidic sauces if it has built up enough carbon in the pan and/or it's not cooked for too long, and some folks say you can use soap, but those are way too complicated for this post.]
And now for the BAD STUFF:There are some significant draw-backs to this pan, and whether they matter to you is entirely a personal matter of what and how you like to cook.But I will delineate them here so that you can make a more educated decision.
1)Note that this pan does not come with a lid.I (stupidly) did not realize the significance of this (being a new cook) until it arrived and I wanted to make something with it for dinner that night that needed a lid.Staub clarified that any lid should be fine (i.e.,not scratch it), so I just used an 11" lid I had from another (non Staub pan).But you may want to consider a saute pan with lid as another option not that you should get that instead of this, but just consider which you want in particular.Staub does not manufacture separate lids.Because if you use this pan a lot, you need a lid!!
2)The red handles do get rather hot when the pan is being used on the stove top (I had it between low-med and med for about 15 minutes by the time they were hot).However, they are perfect for at least being able to momentarily hold or move the pan, as they are certainly not as hot as the handles underneath!I did find myself occasionally grabbing pot holders still, because I didn't always want to be conscientious and "test" the heat every time.You can touch them, and you can move the pan around, but you won't want to be holding them for say, more than 10 seconds.*This again as opposed to touching the bare pan, which might burn you instantly.
3)You cannot cook eggs in this pan.This being a frying pan, you might occasionally hanker to cook eggs it in, but DO NOT COOK EGGS IN THIS PAN.They will stick horribly, and you can soak it for 30 years, and you'll still have to use your nails to individually peel the egg crust out of each and every single bubble in the bottom of this pan that's about 75 indentations you'll be individually scraping out.It hurts and takes about 20 minutes sitting with the pan.
If you want to cook eggs in cast-iron, you have two other options:
a)Use a Le Creuset or another enameled cast iron pan, which has a flat bottom (no dimpled surface).You can try to minimize sticking by using more oil to cook the eggs, and if they still stick, you can soak the pan and scrub it out with a sponge.[That doesn't work with this pan because of the dimples...at all...just trust me on that one.]
b)Purchase an old-fashioned non-enameled cast iron skillet from Lodge Logic, follow all directions on seasoning the pan (even if it's pre-seasoned), cook a bunch of bacon in the pan a few times, keep it well-seasoned, and you should be able to create a non-stick surface, for some this takes longer than others to develop.
4)I'm concerned to cook anything delicate (like pancakes) in this pan because of the dimpled bottom.And having a frying pan that can't cook eggs and pancakes in it, for me, is just backwards.
Personally, if I could have done this over again, I would not have purchased this pan as much as I love my Staub dutch oven.I would have bought a Lodge Logic cast-iron pan, seasoned the heck out of it, and used it for everything but acidic dishes, which I would have cooked in my dutch oven.I like having a pan you can do more things in, and this one just can't.
However, everyone is different, which is why I hopefully provided enough details so that you can make the best decision for you!
Buy Staub 11-Inch Hexagon Frying Pan with Two Handles and Removable Silicone Handle Holders Now
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