Calphalon Contemporary Nonstick 11-Inch Square Grill Pan
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List Price: Our Price: $39.95 You Save: $50.05 (56%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $38.07 (click here) Category: Kitchen See more product details |
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Calphalon Contemporary Nonstick 11-Inch Square Grill Pan
Customer Review: Great pan so far
Summary: 5 Stars
Pros - Very nonstick, browns meat well even if it's nonstick, easy to clean up, easy to carry, stay cool metal handles, useful shape and size.
Cons - Like all nonstick, can't use high heat.
I've only had this pan a week, so I'm not sure how well it will hold up, but it's performed excellently so far. I used it to sear a whole beef tenderloin (before transferring to a roasting pan for the oven). The instructions said to avoid high heat, so I seared it over the equivalent of medium high heat on my 22K burner. The roast browned beautifully and I got good grill marks in the center (not as much towards the corners, but maybe because I didn't brown long enough).
Clean up was a breeze, with a couple drops of dishwashing liquid, hot water, and a soft bristle brush to scrub lightly.
I've also fried bacon, and the square shape makes it easy to pour out the rendered fat.
It's been easier & faster to preheat this pan than to preheat (& later clean) my range's grill burner, so I think I'll be using this more often than my grill burner.
I like it's lightweight feel, it's much easier to carry when laden with food than my previous Calphalon nonstick 12" saute pan (which always felt heavy & "tippy"), but it can fit just as much due to its square shape.
The handle truly stayed cool even when used to sear the tenderloin, and the round shape makes it easy to grasp (unlike the more flat handles of other pans).
Customer Review: Terrible... Learn From My Lesson
Summary: 1 Stars
my initial impression was that this item would be similar in quality to a Calphalon round grill pan I spotted at Williams-Sonoma for less money..... Wrong. after after putting to a kitchen test, my preference was to rate it a 1/2 star, but because the item met it core requirement and heated the food I suppose one star is fair. in short,, good on concept, but faired poorly on execution. the pan does not heat evenly, and the raised ribs do a poor job of creating the grill marks this item was purchased for. back to heat distribution for a moment... because its does a poor job of that, its performance under high flame temperature is equally as bad. any decent kitchen hobbyist knows high temperature with even heat distribution equals shorter efficient cooking times and and ideal food preparation.
bottom line...this item is cheap in price and quality. in fact this grill pan falls in what I call Calphalons 'thrifty' product group. into their "Contemporary" line of cookware. a step above the anodized aluminum IKEA cook ware but well down the ladder of high grade home cookware. Comparing this grill pan to Calphalons Unison Sear Non Stick 12" was no contest. the Unison Sear Non Stick was a dream to work with. Learn From My Lesson.
If you want impressive, high quality, professional grade results with home cookware, spring the 10-15% premium for Calphalon Unsion Line Cookware. You will be never look back or be sorry.
MANGIA!! MANGIA!!
Customer Review: Like this more than I thought I would.....
Summary: 5 Stars
I had been toying with the idea of a non-stick "grill pan" for some time, and could never justify the expense... After all, I had a large George Foreman, and used it very rarely.
But I was running out of cookware to shop for <grin>, and began tracking several with the plan of buying the first one that came on at a great price.... I tracked both All Clads, and this one. I almost bought the large All Clad, but discovered they didn't qualify for the Amazon promotion, so that blew that!
Then this one came up at $29.99 and I jumped all over it!
I have done beef steaks, pork steaks and salmon on it with excellent results. Cleanup, though not a breeze, is quick enough. Cooking residue tends to stick tighter on either side of the rounded ribs, but I have yet to need anything more than a little dish soap and hot water on a terry dish cloth.
One caveat - I seriously doubt those with solid top Electric Ranges will be satisfied with this pan. The bottom is not smooth, but rather follows the ridged cooking surface - in reverse. I am not familiar with these ranges, but understand a perfectly flat surface is essential to successful cooking.
Now I'm thinking about the 11" square griddle....
;0))
PK
Customer Review: this was not the grill pan of my dreams - calphalon did not live up to name here
Summary: 1 Stars
I agree with the reviewer who said you cannot heat this high enough to sear a steak. If you do, the teflon stuff kind of melts and burns, food sticks to it, and you can never really scrub the pan clean.
I don't see what the point is if you have to use such a low flame. I found myself turning to a regular fry pan over this one.
Also, the ridges are too low - your food is still going to sit in the grease.
Paradoxically, the ridges are high enough, however, to make complete cleaning of the valleys impossible, as you don't want to scrub away the teflon.
This pan, I am throwing out today after three years of unhappy use. I thought it was going to be life changing - healthy grilled meats tofu and veggies, an indoor grill, all the fat just drips away.
I am so happy to see empty space instead of a dirty, scratched up pan.
The metal is heavy and substantial. The coating is a disaster. I thought calphalon as a brand meant something, but now I know some of their products are not sufficiently designed or tested.
Customer Review: This IS NOT a GRILL PAN
Summary: 1 Stars
I was given this pan for christmas as I requested a grill pan. First off the ridges in the pan are so shallow that they are mere bumps and the meat lays on the bottom of the pan. You might as well be cooking your meat in a flat bottomed pan, seriously this IS the case. Secondly you cannot get this pan hot enough to cook/sear meat. Remember non stick pans are not supposed to be heated to high heat. It does clean up well that is all I can say for it but if you have a flat bottomed non stick pan you have the same thing. Go to the store and look at these pans before you buy this one. In order to get grill marks on a piece of meat you need that meat to be held up by the ridges and a grill pan should let the grease drain to the bottom, this pan absolutely does neither. The one plus is you can actually saute onions in the pan after you cook the steak which you can't do in a REAL griddle pan, I know because I gave this pan away and purchased a proper cast iron grill pan and steaks taste like they are supposed to, GRILLED! Not FRIED or BOILED in their on FAT!!