Electric skillets are making a comeback from their heyday in the 60s. An article published in 1955 by Good Housekeeping said,
Today, the popularity of these skillets has picked up enough that manufacturers like Faberware are releasing vintage-style models.
When it comes to cooking for a crowd or within the confines of a limited space, or if you’re just looking to obtain the perfect pancakes, the right electric skillet can be a great addition to your kitchen.
For a short time, my mother cooked on an electric skillet until there was enough in the budget for a new gas stove. While everyone was happy to get a stove back into the mix, the versatility of the electric skillet allowed her to choose from any dish in her arsenal of delicious dishes; we’re talking enchiladas, lasagna, baking cornbread, fried whole chicken breasts, amazing pan sauces, and desserts. There’s also something amazing about sitting down at the dinner table and finishing off the first course while the main dish remains on the table piping hot (or still cooking in the case of fajita night).
Now that you’re convinced that an electric skillet deserves a spot in your kitchen, we’ll break down all the aspects of what makes a good skillet and provide the results as we put their cooking abilities to the test.
Copper Chef Electric Skillet lets you turn any countertop into a kitchen stovetop. Get extra cooking space in seconds. Use it as a buffet server for family gatherings or other events. Copper Chef’s exclusive Cerami-Tech pan nonstick coating means nothing sticks to the surface.
Elite Platinum EG-6203
Price: $$
SPECS:
Size: Advertised at: 16”×13”
Wattage: 1500
Material: Die Cast Aluminum
Weight: 9.9lbs
TEST RATINGS:
Heat -: ★★★★☆
Ergonomics -: ★★★★☆
Sauté -: ★★★★★
Fry –: ★★★★☆
Sear –: ★★★★☆
Pancakes –: ★★★☆☆
Poached Fish –: ★★★★☆
Cleaning –: ★★☆☆☆
RECOMMENDED
Elite was ranked in the top three spots on Amazon by both user reviews and top sellers. That high ranking pushed it to be one of the top editorial reviewed products in the category.
The Elite finished in our top tier and would have finished as #1 if not for the fact that it ran hot almost all the time.
The nominal range of the thermostat is 200°F to 400°F in 50°F increments. It heats up among the quickest of all the skillets. Unfortunately, when set to anything above 300°F, it starts to run over by 50 to 130 degrees. Running consistently hot isn’t too big a problem since you can plan for it. Another issue is that the thermostat side runs 10-25% hotter than the far side.
The Elite is a traditional rectangular electric skillet, nominally 13”×16”, that boasts a honeycomb pebbled surface. The actual cooking surface is a bit smaller, about 12”×15”, which is above average for this group.
The honeycomb surface proved to be both good and bad. It was nice when trying to flip and stir things like the veggies in the sauté test. The surface had a bit of tooth that helped get a spatula under the food. It seemed to be a bit of a drawback, though, when it came to searing and cleanup. It features a notched-out corner that the manufacturer says is a pour spout, but it’s a terrible spout for pouring; you’re better off using one of the other 3 corners.
The handles felt sturdy and comfortable to grip. Unfortunately, the handle on the thermostat side got noticeably hot when the skillet was running at high temperatures.
The cord is 27½” long, which is a bit short. The thermostat features a trigger release mechanism, which was not that useful. We didn’t have any trouble removing the thermostats from any of the other skillets.
This is where the honeycomb surface – unique to the Elite – really shined.
The pebbled surface allowed us to easily stir and flip the veggies to get even browning. The very high heat of the Elite also helped here – it was the fastest to heat up, and the fastest to brown the vegetables. The Elite was in the top tear of the sauté test.
The Elite did a solid job in the fry test. Its high heat brought the oil up to temperature quickly, and, more importantly, bounced back quickly after adding the ice-cold potatoes. The Elite’s tendency to run caused us some trouble in the second fry. It ran too hot, so the fries browned too fast, and we had to pull them before they got the perfect texture on the exterior.
This was also where we discovered the “pour spout” did not work; luckily there were no casualties.
One of the keys to a great sear is high heat over a short period of time. Too long, and you end up with overcooked steak, or worse, the heat is too low and you end up with an overcooked steak without a delicious crust. Since the Elite runs hot, it completed its sear fastest of all the skillets. However, the sear was only about 3rd best.
The honeycomb surface proved to be less than ideal for searing, since less of the steak was in direct contact with the skillet.
The heat strikes again! While pancakes finished quickly, they were overcooked – a bit leathery on the outside while the inside was underdone. Again, we expect this issue can be rectified by fidgeting with the thermostat to anticipate the overshoot.
Surprise! The rocket-hot Elite was able to maintain a low enough heat to keep our fish on hold at 140 degrees for upwards of 20 minutes. The only reason we didn’t award the Elite a 5 on this test was because the first thermostat reading is 200, so we had to play around with the “warm” reading to get our liquid down to 140 degrees.
Cleaning was a bit of a drag because of the honeycomb surface. Instead of coming clean with hot water, or hot water and a simple wipe down, it required the use of a scrubber and constant scrubs in circular motions to get it cleaned.
Overall, the Elite is a very good skillet. It heats up fast and hot with low-temperature versatility too. The downside is that it runs too hot, and needs a careful eye and maybe a thermometer to get to the right temperature. The honeycomb surface texture is a mixed blessing: good for the sauté and pancakes, but not good for searing or cleaning. The Elite Platinum EG-6203 is RECOMMENDED, but keep an eye on that thermostat.
- Quality design
- Big cooking area
- Heats up fast
- Sautés well
- Dishwasher safe
- Runs excessively hot
- Tough to clean the honeycomb surface
- Takes longer to reach set temperature
What You Should Know About Electric Skillets
The top-selling electric skillets range from $25 to $110. We found that the sweet spot for an electric skillet is around $50.
Skillets and griddles are not exactly the same.
- Griddles have no sides, or very low, 1/2″ at most.
- Skillets are a traditional pan, with sides from 2.5″ to 4″, and also have a lid.
- Griddles are for pancakes, eggs, bacon and the like.
Skillets are for grilling sausages, or making spaghetti sauce, lasagna, desserts like cakes, etc.
As we mentioned earlier, electric skillets are practical, so here’s a quick look at their most common uses.
Short on kitchen space: Small spaces like apartments, dorms, tiny houses, or RVs are a great place to have one of these on hand. If you’re limited on kitchen space, the additional cooking surface can let you prepare dinner. If nothing else, it allows for you to have two people doing the cooking without being crammed in the kitchen.
The Entertainer: Honestly, for me, this is the practical use. We like to have people over. When we’re hosting large get-togethers, it’s so nice to have one or two skillets on hand. The party can move outside at any given moment, since it sucks to be stuck in the kitchen when you can be sitting on the patio. Being able to do the cooking outside at a moments notice is a big plus. Sometimes we don’t even use it for the initial food prep. It’s just to help keep the stove/oven freed up for guests who bring food. This way instead of having all the food piled up in and on the stove, we can easily have everything spread out. Even if you’re not the hosting type, Thanksgiving and Christmas are two events a year that will give you a good reason to break out the skillet.
Efficiency: So we live in Arizona. Yup. Hot. So when it comes to summertime I (and I think I can speak for the entire State) tend to cook less indoors. An electric skillet is simpler and more versatile than the grill, and can do some oven jobs too.
Making home away from home: I always associate “home sweet home” with the smells and flavors of a home-cooked meal. Being able to make up a dish in a motel room, at the office, or any location that doesn’t have a stove is a game changer.
One downside to electric skillets is they take a good amount of power, 1400 watts on average. Don’t try to run more than one per circuit unless you feel like yelling at the breaker box (or starting a fire). If you plan on laying out more than one, you’re gonna need to run some beefy extension cords to ensure you’re running them on separate circuits.
Copper Chef Nonstick Electric Skillet with Lid on QVC
FAQ
Is an electric skillet better than a regular skillet?
Can copper chef skillet go in the oven?
Are copper chef pans induction ready?
How good is a Copper Skillet?
The 9.5-inch pan is the only one in our copper skillet tests to earn an excellent rating for cooking evenness. Sautéing performance was on a par with the four other copper pans in our tests; all earned a good rating. The handle is sturdy and stays cool to the touch when the pan is in use.
What can you do with a chefman electric skillet?
With the Chefman Electric Skillet, you can make breakfast, lunch and dinner all in one pan. Multi-functional pan offers a variety of cooking styles; stir-fry, braise, griddle, brown, bake, simmer, saut, scramble, sear and more.
How does a Copper Skillet work?
The even heat of this copper skillet made a steady ring of brown around each little pancake, no matter which part of the pancakes was closer to the pan’s edge and which closer to the center. Copper inverts these rules. It heats quickly and evenly, but it loses that heat just as fast.
Does Copper chef work on electric stove tops?
Copper Chef works on Electric, Gas, Ceramic, and Induction Stove Tops. Copper Chef is heat resistant up to 850°.Copper Chef goes from Stove Top to Oven to Table. Nothing will stick to the pan, cook without butter, oils and chemicals. Copper Chef is PTFE and PFOA. Works on All Stove Tops. Riveted Handles are high temp and oven safe.