Best Breville Electric Skillets and Woks

Good electric fry pan but could be better – Replacement for Kambrook non-stick pan that was about 20 years old (and not non-stick anymore) Because of its size (39cm L x 31cm W x 7.8cn D) the… Read more

Breville pan presented as a good choice. Very sturdy construction (Aluminium bonded to Stainless steel) and a heating element that basically covers the whole base of the pan, this looked like a significant upgrade over our previous pan (which has served us well) Heating power is 2400 watts (220 – 240 V AC) and the controller has 5 distinct settings (Sear, Simmer, Sauté, Pan fry and keep warm.

We mostly use the electric pan to cook small roast dinners and the like instead of the large oven. Perhaps an electric fry pan is not always seen as the ideal way to cook a roast, but after many years doing it, the results are very good.

Nearly went for the stainless-steel model but experience with food sticking to the bottom put us off – this pan has premium PFOA free non-stick cooking surface, have only used it once (early review on first impressions) but can attest to the non-stick surface, which is very good, and despite a lot of meat fat that browned up the pan (for nice gravy!) nothing stuck to the pan. It was a pleasure to use.

So, we started with the leg of lamb on Sear for a bit, turning it over to brown it up, then backed the thermostat down to pan fry for a while and when vegetables added set it to just around Sauté where the cooking ended up good and a lovely roast emerged!

The thermostat is interesting, not sure I have mastered it yet, it seems to have set positions for the 5 different heat settings – I have experimented with about 50mm of water in the pan and changing the settings to see the response – water actually boils around the Sauté and pan fry settings – the pan heats up quickly and it seems to respond when you move the thermostat between the pre-set settings or set it midway between any 2 positions, so it seems to give infinitely variable adjustment between the on position and the end (past sear) – using the water test showed the visibility of the butterfly element underneath and you could clearly see that the heat distribution across most of the pans surface was very good which accounts for the even heating – you could clearly see the heat distribution in the pan as the water got close to boiling (from the white colour it went and the bubbles producing)

Under the thermostat connection is a chrome tilt lever that can be engaged to tilt the pan to one end for moving gravy, fat etc. to one end of the pan, and on one corner it has as handy little indent that acts as a pourer to remove fat and gravy etc.

Was nearly prepared to give this pan five stars, but found a negative that drops off my rating. The lid is quite flat and even though domed in the middle, it is nearly 25mm lower in height than the Kambrook pan we replaced – we put a relatively small leg of lamb in the pan and when it swelled during cooking it pressed up against the lid in the middle and actually lifted it a little from the pan – none of this caused the lid to slide off or anything dangerous, but it does detract from an otherwise very good pan that the lid is quite flat. Had I been more observant before purchase and actually measured the height of the lid, may not have ended up buying it - not sure that other brands have a higher lid, but if you want to cook roast meats suggest you check out the specs on the lid heights before you purchase to make sure it meets your needs.

I would actually implore Breville to review the height of the lid on this pan and actually make the dome about 25mm higher in the middle – this would take a good pan and turn it into excellent – maybe the pan is not aimed at people cooking roasts, but from our experience an electric fry pan generally cooks a very good roast and it’s not just for casseroles and the like.

I wouldn’t put it in the dishwasher but Breville claim that it is dishwasher safe which is a plus if you chose to wash it this way.

Pros: • Sturdy construction, well-made, stainless-steel handles • Heating element that “Butterflys” around most of the pan (very good, even heat distribution) • Good temperature control with the thermostat • Large size • Sits very well on the legs, doesn’t look like moving anywhere • PFOA Free non-stick coating on the pan (nothing sticks to it) • Pan tilt lever built in • Pan and Lid are both dishwasher safe Cons: • Lid is “shallow” – the dome needs to be about 25mm higher in the middle to accommodate roast meats