Omelet pan recommendation

Good question curoius myself and never thought of asking a bunch of BBQ freaks

Shohn,
First, I would not buy anything that was sold as an omelet pan. I go to a restaurant supply place and buy a fairly inexpensive 8 inch teflon coated saute pan. Usually around 12-15 $ at most.
Use it for two or three egg omelets. I never let any one else cook or clean it.
For larger omelets, like frittatas, etc, I use a 10 inch pan from restaurant supply store, maybe pay 25 $. I have found the non-stick coating on pans from restaurant supply stores to be far superior to the coating on most highly advertized name brands.

qman said:

Shohn,
First, I would not buy anything that was sold as an omelet pan. I go to a restaurant supply place and buy a fairly inexpensive 8 inch teflon coated saute pan. Usually around 12-15 $ at most.
Use it for two or three egg omelets. I never let any one else cook or clean it.
For larger omelets, like frittatas, etc, I use a 10 inch pan from restaurant supply store, maybe pay 25 $. I have found the non-stick coating on pans from restaurant supply stores to be far superior to the coating on most highly advertized name brands.

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I recall Alton Brown saying the same thing on the episode: Zen & the Art of Omelet Making. Go cheap restaurant supply route.

Plowboy said:

I recall Alton Brown saying the same thing on the episode: Zen & the Art of Omelet Making. Go cheap restaurant supply route.

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Glad to know I am in one-ness with the great leader Alton. Don't get to watch him much.

qman said:

Glad to know I am in one-ness with the great leader Alton. Don't get to watch him much.

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Great minds think alike, Oh Great One. :wink:

i have a GrEAT omelette pan its a linen and things brand no model number on it alll its says is LNT 8" lifetime warranty on it it is the best pan i have ever had and it was cheap i think 10-15 did not see it on their website it has a silver bottom with this weird pattern on it

Sams has a two pack for about $20. I got them two years ago and make omelets all the time. They are non-stick commercial duty. I doubt you can beat the deal. I actually kept one and gave another to my co-worker. He keeps asking me to get him another one because he doesn't have a Sams card. COSTCO doesn't carry them. Take my word on this one, these are no-brainers.

Plowboy said:

I recall Alton Brown saying the same thing on the episode: Zen & the Art of Omelet Making. Go cheap restaurant supply route.

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Yeah I saw that same episode, there is some deal with the type of pan and cleaning it if I remember. Alton knows, right Plowboy?? :-D

I actually use an 8 inch (I think) cast iron skillet.

I also use a pan from the rest. supply store.
You really don't have to spend a lot of money on this type of pan.

qman is on the money - I have plenty of big buck calpholon and all-clad pans that can't hold up to my $10 restaurant depo special. The important thing is not not use it for much else and never use metal tools to cook with or clean with.

Leeper said:

qman is on the money - I have plenty of big buck calpholon and all-clad pans that can't hold up to my $10 restaurant depo special. The important thing is not not use it for much else and never use metal tools to cook with or clean with.

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We have many All-Clad pans and they are great. My wife wanted a new non-stick pan cause our kids eat scrambled eggs every morning and our teflan pans were getting pretty bad. Looked at 8" All-Clad... $125! A saute pan will last a lifetime, but not a non-stick pan. I'd never pay that... and didn't.

I use a cheapo saute pan from walmart for my omlets. or use my cast iron. never have problems with em stickin

I like to go with a small 8" - 10" cast iron pan for omelets, you can allow it to get to a good high heat dry, throw in a nob of butter, followed quickly by the beaten eggs and it cooks to perfection in no time at all. If you want to saute onions or mushrooms or anything else it does an admirable job before you add the eggs.

If you like to keep it exclusive to omelets tha's not a problem, as most folks now a days shy away from cast iron a lot of the time, to clean it don't use soap and water, once it is well seasoned, just water will do, and if there are crusty bits, I shake sea salt into it when I am heating it to start off with, and scour the surface with a putty knife used only for this purpose.

Get it back up to high temperature, a tablespoon of oil and a paper towel to wipe it out again and it is as good as new.

I highly recommend the Le Creuset Omelet pan (20cm). Thats nearly 8" in old speak!!



I've had mine for 6 years, use it very often and it still as good as new.

I agree on the restaurant supply store pans. That being said... a few years ago a found a couple of 8 inch Circluron (sp) omelet pans on closeout. They are awesome!!! Everyone in my house knows not to touch 'em. If they do they get left out of Saturday morning omelets!!!

Edit: Here is a link for them on Amazon... at $19.95 I highly recommend this pan. Buy 2 and get free shipping.

http://www.amazon.com/Circulon-8-In...84622?ie=UTF8&s=kitchen&qid=1175086310&sr=1-9

Hmmmmmmm..... in my experience a good SS 9"-10" pan (I have All Clad LTD and a 5-ply) works fine when properly clean to start with, properly pre-heated, and butter/EVOO added at the right temp. Eggs should not be right out of frig either. Having said that, the 'be sloppy' solution is a 9" Scan Pan which is never used for anything but eggs and omelets. It is never overheated, carefully washed to avoid scratching, and carefully stored for the same reason.
I disagree strongly with the notion that a cheap pan is a better solution! I also agree that a cheap pan .... properly used .... can probably produce good omelets. Cheap knives can cut too .... but I don't have any. :wink:

Tom B

Tom, you point is taken. However, may I point out that there is a difference between a "cheap" pan and one that is not expensive. A lot of the cost of a name brand pan is branding, advertising, etc, etc. etc.
I have purchased many pan's at restaurant supply houses that were the quality equal [or better] to my All-Clad and Calphalon. Just no big mark-ups.

qman said:

Tom, you point is taken. However, may I point out that there is a difference between a "cheap" pan and one that is not expensive. A lot of the cost of a name brand pan is branding, advertising, etc, etc. etc.
I have purchased many pan's at restaurant supply houses that were the quality equal [or better] to my All-Clad and Calphalon. Just no big
mark-ups.

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Your point taken as well. My 5-ply and another 7-ply piece I own are not 'brand' names and perform very well. The difficulty is finding the 'good' ones, especially in more remote areas, like mine, where no good restaurant supply houses exist. Then it becomes an internet exercise ... not always ideal.
We have resisted 'non-stick' pans for many years since we have pet parrots and horror stories abound involving non-stick pans allowed to burn and the fumes killing the parrots in a matter of a few minutes. Of course, the next question is .... what do those fumes do to our lungs? The obvious point is do not overheat a non-stick pan! Now there are many new non-stick materials, some of which are probably quite safe .... I do not know which ones.
The ScanPan choice was definitely one trying to enjoy the benefits of consistent and easy egg preparation and avoid the inconsistencies of standard metal pans. I still tend to favor the SS pans and more careful technique. My wife has favored Calphalon pans, but I help a lot with clean-up, and after a few years, the All-Clad LTD (and 5-py SS) seem to free up cooked-on food much more easily.

I think it's like the cutlery topic .... almost anything works, the cost range is enormous, and it becomes a very individual choice. :mrgreen:

Regards,
Tom B