One Pan That Does Most of Dinner
If you cook most nights and own too many pans, these three do the work of the drawer: the skillet, the pot, and the sheet.
Ægir hosted the feasts of the gods in one hall with one cauldron. Most kitchens have a drawer of pans and use three of them. These are the three.
The skillet
A 12-inch Lodge cast iron does more than any other single pan: it sears a steak, bakes cornbread, roasts a chicken thigh skin-down, and goes under the broiler without complaint. It is heavy and it holds heat, which is exactly why it is wrong for eggs; keep one small nonstick for that and nothing else.
The pot
The Instant Pot earned its reputation on one thing: dry beans to done in an hour without soaking, and a tough cut of meat to tender on a Tuesday. It is not a magic box; it is a pressure cooker with a timer, and that is enough. The only accessory worth buying is a second sealing ring.
The sheet
A half sheet pan from Nordic Ware is the cheapest thing on this page and the one used most: vegetables, a spatchcocked chicken, cookies, reheating pizza. It will not warp at high heat and it will discolor in the dishwasher; wash it by hand and stop worrying about how it looks.
What we would not buy
A “set” of anything. Sets are sized for the box, not for dinner, and the piece you need is never the one the set is missing.
The picks
Lodge 12-inch cast iron skillet
Sears, bakes, goes under the broiler, and lasts a lifetime for the price of two takeout dinners; the pan every other pan is measured against.
- Best for
- Steak, cornbread, smash burgers, anything you want a crust on.
- Watch out
- Heavy, and it holds heat, so it is the wrong pan for a quick scramble; keep a small nonstick for eggs.
Instant Pot Duo 6-quart
Beans from dry in an hour, stock from bones, a pork shoulder on a weeknight; the pressure cooker that made pressure cooking normal.
- Best for
- Batch cooking and the nights you forgot to plan.
- Watch out
- The sealing ring holds smells; buy a second ring and keep one for savory, one for sweet.
Nordic Ware natural aluminum half sheet pan
Flat, does not warp at 450°F, and fits a household oven; roasted vegetables, a whole chicken, cookies, all on the same pan.
- Best for
- Sheet-pan dinners and anything roasted.
- Watch out
- Not dishwasher safe (it discolors, harmlessly); it will look used in a month and that is fine.
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