Does anybody use an electric skillet anymore?

[Jenise]

When I was a kid, my mother would put this giant electric skillet out on the back porch and make the fried chicken there. No grease splatter or greasy smells in the kitchen that way. I can't recall her using it for anything else. And one day I watched an ancient episode of Julia Child's 60's French cooking show in which she used a pair of them to make Coq au Vin. I kind of assumed she wouldn't have done that except to have it all take place in front of the camera, but I could be wrong.

And that's it. I have never used nor even seen anyone use an electric skillet, but somebody must want/use them because Cuisinart makes one, and it's on sale at Williams Sonoma this week.

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/cuisinart-electric-skillet/?bnrid=3101561&cm_ven=E3&cm_cat=EDM&cm_pla=0225_KrupsDTC&cm_ite=bnr_skillet

See that, it made me wonder who still uses them and why.

I've never owned one or used one. It strikes me as the sort of thing that a school or church (etc.) would buy because you may need to do some cooking in spaces that don't have a kitchen (and this is all-in-one compared to a hot plate + pot).

That's all my mother ever used to make Sunday roast. And her mexican hamburgers (see sloppy joe discussion).

I have one, Jenise, and it is really large and very deep. I rarely use it but do when I am making something that happens to result in a large quantity, i.e.: tomato sauce for freezing. It has a very accurate tempertature control, too. Its an old Westinghouse one with a lid that has an adjustable vent for steam control.
It is made out of aluminum, which sometime bothers me.

I have a large electric griddle. The only time I get it out is if I'm making pancakes for more than 3 people, which hasn't happened in years, but used to be at least once a month.

I have always had one because my mother had one and my dad bought one for me. I do occasionally use it, though rarely. However, as Jeff says, I used it much more frequently when we were renting a house that had only 2 working burners. As mine is nice looking stainless Farberware it can also sub for a chafing dish in a casual buffet. It is not my most impractical appliance; that honor goes to a sandwich maker (pre sandwich grills) that was aslo a gift.

[Jenise]

I have always had one because my mother had one and my dad bought one for me. I do occasionally use it, though rarely. However, as Jeff says, I used it much more frequently when we were renting a house that had only 2 working burners. As mine is nice looking stainless Farberware it can also sub for a chafing dish in a casual buffet. It is not my most impractical appliance; that honor goes to a sandwich maker (pre sandwich grills) that was aslo a gift.

The impractical element really goes toward storage, doesn't it? I mean, these things we don't use very much, they have to go SOMEwhere. But if it was a gift from someone precious, sure is hard to let it go. I have a huge skillet, either Farberware or Revereware, not sure which, that was my mom's. I don't need it, and I have other skillets that size I like better, but it's still here.

We just bought one of those Cuisinarts at Williams-Sonoma a couple of months ago as it seemed like a good idea at the time!
I've used it once and it works great, and like having it as a backup although we have plenty of everything so that it might not ever get used again and someday will wind up at the Smithsonian, or be discovered a couple thousan years from now when like Herculaneum, it will be excavated from the ruins of L.A.

I've never owned nor used one.

I own one and used it all the time, when raising our three kids and their friends. I really loved it, for the temperature control. One of my faves was chicken cacciatore. Swiss steak was a great one too. Over the years, as my cooking evolved, appliances came and went, but the electric skillet is still with us. I think Gene has it stored in his workshop. I also recall owing a Remington Food Warmer. A round, fake wood appliance with a two compartment interior. Gene worked long hours and I kept his dinner warm in that gadget. Microwaves appeard and the Remington got booted.

I do and I just used it last night!

I always use it to make chicken cutlets or fried zucchini, Chicken piccata and that kind of thing. It only gets used 5 or 6 times a yr, but I usually make really large batches of whatever when I use it, to either freeze or for entertaining purposes. I love it for temp control and no grease spatter on my stovetop.

My mom had a large, deep electric pan with cover (suitable for fried chicken) and used to cook all sorts of things in it.

The nearest thing I have is an electric wok, which I occasionally use for deep-frying (temperature control is easier). I use a conventional wok on a gas burner for stir-frying. For sautees and braises and whatnot, I use heavy gauge copper cookware on electric elements (someday I'll get a gas range).

-Paul W.

I have one, but don't use it all that often. It's great for doing battered fish or shrimp where you don't want to deep fry, but need to use more oil than just a saute.

Man, I remember a lot of nights when my mom would come home from work and make hamburger-and-rice casserole in the electric skillet. I had one of her old ones for a while back when I was in my early 20's. Used it a little bit but it disappeared a long time ago and I haven't owned one since. I don't think my mom's owned one in the last twenty years as well.

I had to chuckle at the topic of this thread because surprisingly I've been looking for an electric skillet! I've only been able to find one model in the local stores, but it wasn't exactly the kind I was looking for. I've been using my mom's skillet and love it! We typically use it when we're making several curries when we're having friends/family over for dinner. It works out great because typically our stove is being occupied by other dishes being cooked, so the electric skillet works well for long simmering curries. My husband is Indian, and having anyone over at any given time pretty much means preparing so much food it's almost like preparing for Thanksgiving (even if it's only two people ). Needless to say, having people over is a big deal in our house...which is weird since I'm used to serving beer and pizza and people are fine with that! LOL One of the many interesting differences between my husband and I, but we're both learning as we go along!

The Feb/March 2010 Fine Cooking magazine came yesterday (there's a huge time warp between here and there), and lo and behold there's a 'test drive' article on electric skillets. They say 'it's time to bring back this handy countertop appliance'. My first reaction was 'you've got to be kidding' -- it takes up space in the cupboard, has limited use, and can so easily be replaced by the trusty old Dutch oven or so. But then I see the comments here about being able to control temperature, can cook outside with it (thus keeping fat splattering clean-up to a minimum -- this is a very good thing indeed) -- all of which makes a lot of sense. Anyway, apparently, this seems to be a trendy appliance. Fine Cooking top picks turned out to be the Zojirushi Gourmet d'Expert skillet (150 dollars) -- and I've not forgotten how Jenise was quite enthusiastic about her Zoji rice cooker, Presto 12-inch electric stainless steel skillet (70 dollars), and the Cuisinart electric skillet CSK-150 ( 120 dollars). That Zojirushi is quite an attractive, multi-faceted little bugger, but would I be tempted...nah.... cheers, Bonnie

Going to make beef stroganoff for the weekend, and so inspired by this thread...have decided to do it in my new Cuisinart electric skillet! Will let you know if it's a disaster.

I used to have one, and used it for pepper steak and similar dishes, and once a whole venison backstrap which turned out great.

[Jenise]

Going to make beef stroganoff for the weekend, and so inspired by this thread...have decided to do it in my new Cuisinart electric skillet! Will let you know if it's a disaster.

Good luck! This has been a very informative thread. I've concluded that since I have a very large kitchen and a stove that simmers expertly I don't need one, but that it would be a real godsend for others and is not the outdated appliance I thought!

What y'all gonna do when the price of a kilowatt hour of electricity reaches a couple of bucks an hour? (From a US average of about 12 cents right now).

I've got one of those great big round Farberware electric skillets that I inherited from my grandmother. I've rarely used it, but my mother used hers quite often in the winter for steaming Dampfnudeln (German steamed buns eaten with a hearty soup). I haven't made those for years, but I do remember that the Farberware skillet was perfect for the steaming because it has a tightly fitting lid and the temperature can be closely controlled. Every once in a while I think I should drag it out and use it again, but as I said, it's been a long time since I actually did that. I think the idea of making the fried chicken outdoors with the electric skillet is a very good one. I dislike that smell of frying oil that seems to linger in the house when I've fried anything.

After my mother bought an electric frying pan back in the early 1960s just about everything was cooked in it. It turned out great roast meats. Mum was an enthusiastic over-cooker, and the frying pan was used to turn out lots of very "well done" steaks, chops, and what-have-you. I had one for a while when I first left home but haven't had one for more than 20 years. They are still sold, but are largely out of fashion here.

Going to make beef stroganoff for the weekend, and so inspired by this thread...have decided to do it in my new Cuisinart electric skillet! Will let you know if it's a disaster.

Good luck! This has been a very informative thread. I've concluded that since I have a very large kitchen and a stove that simmers expertly I don't need one, but that it would be a real godsend for others and is not the outdated appliance I thought!

It worked out great, it's a well-made piece of equipment and easy to use. I like the fact that it's a large skillet with and excellent heavy tight-fitting lid, and also liked that I could set it up on any part of our working area and not be tied to the range. I will definitely use it more than I initially thought I would.

Going to make beef stroganoff for the weekend, and so inspired by this thread...have decided to do it in my new Cuisinart electric skillet! Will let you know if it's a disaster.

That is THE very dish I used to make in college in an electric skillet.