This is part of a series of posts on tools that have made my life in the kitchen easier and more productive.
One of my favorite thing to use for cooking in my kitchen is my electric skillet. I have a stainless steel model made by Rival that I got a few years ago. I use it for all sorts of things: fried apples, teriyaki chicken (see recipe), chicken fajitas, slow-cooked pork dishes (see recipe), beef stroganoff, breaded cod. I love that I am able to control the temperature with just the turn of a dial. I also like how I can keep the food warm while I serve it, or in the case of my fried apples, I can keep them warm for dessert as I eat the main course.
So what electric skillet should you buy? Well I would recommend mine, but it’s no longer available on the company website (Rival) or at Amazon.com. But here are some tips on shopping for one.
1. Look for one that is NOT non-stick. I have read many complaints about the non-stick coating coming off in the food. So while non-stick is easier to clean, I would still with a stainless steel model. Look for a model that you can submerge in water or even put in the dishwasher.
2. Look for one with a glass lid, so you can see what’s going on inside.
3. Make sure you buy with good temperature controls. Setting likes low, medium, and high are not good setting, but 250, 300, and 350 degrees are good.
Alton Brown in his book, ”Gear for Your Kitchen” recommends using a Rival model (although a different one that I have). If I were buying one today, I would look into a stainless steel model from CucinaPro
4 pings
Eat Like No One Else » Blog Archive » Slow Cooked Cream of Mushroom Pork Chops says:
February 21, 2010 at 4:27 pm (UTC -6)
[...] is a recipe that my mom has been cooking up for years. This recipe was the reason I wanted an electric skillet as it is the perfect thing to cook these pork chops in. Make sure you pick bone-in pork chops, as [...]
Eat Like No One Else » Blog Archive » Fried Apples (in an Electric Skillet) says:
March 4, 2010 at 6:11 am (UTC -6)
[...] you will end up with applesauce, so leave the McIntosh out of this recipe. I love to do this in an electric skillet set to 250 degrees, but a frying pan over medium heat would work [...]
Eat Like No One Else » Blog Archive » Creamy Mushroom Chicken says:
March 11, 2010 at 7:18 am (UTC -6)
[...] posts on recipes using an electric skillet have been among the most popular on my site. So I decided to come up with another recipe to add to [...]
Eat Like No One Else » Blog Archive » Ina Garten’s Fried Cod says:
April 7, 2010 at 9:31 am (UTC -6)
[...] instead of vegetable oil in this recipe and it works well. 3. This is a great dish to cook in an electric skillet. I set my skillet to around 375. And usually cook about 3 minutes per side. 4. Practice caution [...]