All-Clad Stainless-Steel 12-Inch Fry Pan with Lid

I'm a 50 year old male who is just starting to experiment with cooking and have decided to make my new hobby more enjoyable I need to start upgrading to some good quality equipment to use in my kitchen while I'm learning to cook. In the past for what tiny bit of cooking I did I'd always used non-stick pans since I'd heard horror stories about how hard it was to cook on stainless steel (SS) pans due to everything wanting to stick and burn and be almost impossible to clean after food got burnt on.While I was waiting on my new pan to arrive I did a lot of research online at the Cooks Illustrated website and also at YouTube to see if I could find helpful information to make my learning curve with SS pans not be so trying. In addition I also read every review for this pan here on Amazon and while most people love their All Clad SS pans there were enough complaining about not being able to cook eggs and other things without them sticking and messing up their pans that it worried me. So what follows is what I learned and how it's affected the outcome of my first day using the All Clad 12" SS fry pan.One tip I kept seeing was to make sure your pan is heated BEFORE you put any oil in it. Oh, and also it's very important to start out at a lower heat than what I'd normally use with my non-stick pans. Then there was also advice I found that stated that if you leave your eggs and meat out to get to room temperature before putting them in the fry pan that will also cut back on the amount of sticking. To speed up the warming of the eggs I used a tip from online about soaking them in warm water warm them faster and it worked great. So when I decided to just go for broke and make my first try ever at cooking on SS pans and having 3 fried eggs being my big test. I was more than a little worried, but figured the only way to find out if I could cook with SS pans was to try what I anticipated being the dish most likely to stick and cause me problems.For my eggs, I started out preheating my pan without any oil in it for about 2 1/2 minutes on a medium/low heat and could tell by touching the top edge of the pan that it was nice and hot. Also, in all the videos I'd never seen anybody using one of those Pam type cooking sprays and that's what I prefer so I said what the heck and tried that too. I gave the pan a liberal spray of the Pam cooking spray and added my 3 eggs. I was instantly greeted by the satisfying sound of sizzling that I'd learned from my online research that I should hear if I'd heated my pan enough. In what seemed like no time my eggs were cooked and ready to flip. Oh yeah!!!! It actually was slicker than my non-stick pans and those pans are pretty new so it's not like I'm used to using old worn out non-stick pans. When it came time to remove the eggs they slid right out of the pan like how it looks when you see professional chefs do it on TV! Not one single bit of egg burnt onto my new pan so yes, it is very possible to fry eggs in these SS pans without them sticking and creating a mess.Feeling so excited about how good my little egg experiment went I next decided to make some apple cider glazed pork chops in my new pan. I'd washed and dried my pan after the eggs and just repeated the same procedure except for the fact that I had the heat turned up to medium this time since I was wanting to get a good sear on the chops. My chops were just a little cooler than room temperature when I added them, but much warmer than if they'd gone directly from fridge to hot fry pan. My chops seared good and the pan also did a great job of reducing my glaze for the chops. How exciting! A complete novice to using SS pans and I was 2 for 2 on the cooking with SS pans front. There really is something to be said for paying a little extra for quality tools.For my final act of the day with my new All Clad SS pan I made myself a big old T-bone steak for supper (of course the pan was washed and dried again before reuse). Again I heated the pan on medium heat for about 2 1/2 minutes, then I sprayed it with Pam, tossed in my steak and 8 minutes later I had a nicely seared and cooked steak ready to rest and then be devoured!So the moral of my very long story is even if you are a novice cook like myself don't let the nay sayers scare you away from trying this great pan. Before today I had literally NEVER cooked anything in a SS pan and on my first day I fried 3 eggs without any sticking whatsoever, made apple cider glazed pork chops and cooked a nice big steak and they all came out tasty with no major sticking. If you're like me and new to using SS pans go to YouTube and search for All Clad and you will find lots of helpful videos to help make your learning curve a very gentle one. I'm sure there are other good sites out there too where you can get good tips on cooking with SS pans but the Cooks Illustrated website and YouTube were the 2 that I relied on.This is a great pan and I'm so happy I splurged and bought it. Having the right tools in the kitchen sure makes it easier to be a better cook. I would not hesitate to recommend this pan to anybody whether they are a professional cook or a novice like me. With a little online research anybody can learn to use this pan to it's utmost capabilities. I'm not a huge fan of the handle design, but it's not anything I'm going to complain about since I'm so thrilled with my new pan. OK, stop reading now and just buy it, you won't regret it!!!!

I really like this pan. Definitely worth it, a good purchase, no buyer's remorse. I have had it for three weeks now and have used it almost daily. It has a very large cooking surface, heats quickly, cooks evenly and cleans up easily, if you read the instructions. It's lighter than my previous fry pans (a very old Cuisinart copper-clad and store-brand, non-stick anodized aluminum) but still sturdy with good heft. I've used it for simple thngs, like scrambled eggs, and more complex recipes, including a wine-and-meat pasta sauce that required cooking items separately at different temperatures, followed by a long slow simmer. It handled every challenge perfectly and cleaned up quickly. The ONLY reason I don't give it 5 stars is the handle - it's functional and stays cool as promised, but it doesn't quite fit my hand. In summary, for the price - pan and lid for less than the price of the pan alone - I would buy it again in a heartbeat.

Most of my old pots and pans were ready for the recycling bin: scratched, burnt, broken handles. I decided to save my money and buy two creme-de-la-creme cookware pieces each year based on consumer and customer reviews and even giving the cookware a "test drive" at a local cooking supply store. By far and above, All-Clad is hands down the winner. First, the aluminum core clad with two layers of stainless steel makes the cooking surface even throughout the ENTIRE pan, not just where the burners hit the steel. This means less scorching, even food surface cooking (even on the sides of the food!), and more accurate cooking times per recipe. The clad handle is strong and a real advantage for placing the pan in and out of the hot oven. The lid is light with a large handle big enough to grab with a thick pot holder. And above all, this pan does NOT weigh a ton like other brands, which is a real advantage when you already have pounds and pounds of hot foods or liquids in the pan. Who needs more weight! Yes, this brand is expensive, but worth the investment if you cook everyday as I do. I would also recommend the All-Clad Dutch Oven, which has now replaced my 5-year old HEAVY Le Creuset, for best in show, for its versatility, light-weight construction, and superior cooking of everything from stocks and soups to one-pot casseroles. With just three great All-Clad pieces (I added a saucepan), I can give away my junk cookwear to charity and have room in my pantry to boot.

Nothing but compliments for the pan and lid. Some have mentioned doming of the pan floor...watch almost any TV cooking show and see the flow of oil to the periphery indicating doming. Doming is not a pan problem, it's a characteristic. Notice too that most shows use an open flame. The obvious conclusion is that not all pan types are compatible with all heat sources. So, think ahead before buying. Just because Well-paid Chef Blah uses it does not mean you will like it.I find that the pan requires less heat to be effective. No burning problems. It spreads the heat very nicely compared to my beloved cast iron...especially at the handle. (Cast iron handles are real heat suckers by comparison.) Further, my cooking stove is an unconventional flame-thrower with the flame concentrated toward the center. The pan does just fine. It is now my go-to pan for sauté. It allows an easily achieved Maillard reaction when cooking meats. A dash of sake (water works too) deglazes the tasty food chunks stuck to the pan adding much more flavor and easier cleaning later. Keeping the stainless steel shiny and clean is no problem with Barkeepers Friend.Over a griddle, the inverted pan doubles as a wok cover when cooking okonomiyaki and the lid fits other pans. Such a deal.

November 23, 2012In the interest of fairness, I've left my first review below this one. After 2 years using this pan I'm very disappointed. Everything sticks, uneven heating, clean-up is much more difficult than any other pan. I've found my old Revere ware skillet and like it better, even if it is slightly warped. Not at all what I had hoped for. I find myself still looking at the All-Clad in my pans cupboard but going with cast iron or something else. Nothing wrong with the lid, but the the pan isn't worth it. Wish I had my money back.June 2010A Lifetime Skillet? Just maybe! The All-Clad 12-inch Stainless replaced a slightly warped 12-inch, 39 year-old Revere ware skillet. I don't use non-stick, regular aluminum or hard-anodized aluminum. Cast-iron and stainless steel for me.It comes with a well-made lid in stainless steel (which I prefer to glass).This pan has all the qualities to last a lifetime. The handle is an extension of your arm and the pan balances well in the hand. Nice weight to the pan.Cooks beautifully. Eggs slide across the slick interior and fond releases easily.You can use a lower setting on the cook-top as the heat transfer is noticeably effective.For the value, and the long service it should give, it's a bargain at $90.00 bucks.