Hexclad Pan Review, Real World Real Time - Lots of Pictures!

[chopsaw]

if you haven’t pulled the trigger there is a bundle with a 3qt pan and the 12 inch both with lids for 219…….just don’t me enabling but for the week!

Already ordered . You have a link for that ? Might be able to cancel .

 

[civilsmoker]

https://hexclad.com/products/the-essentials

Here you go, if you search the sets there are a number of essentials bundles of various combos

 

[Rafter H BBQ]

I have gotten a number of questions about our Hexclad pans that have been showing up in many of my posts. @TulsaJeff reached out to me about them as well since he is currently doing a review of a set they sent him. I was going to come up with a couple of test to show how they work, however, as I was looking over my photo library, I noticed that I already have a ton of pictures and I can speak to their performance. In transparency, I don't represent them nor have I been ask by them to give a review.

We first saw them on Gordon Rasmey's next level chef show and my son did a little internet look and "encouraged" me and the wife to look at them..... reluctantly I bit the hook (we have many pan sets and have tried many "new things" over the years, we were pretty much new pan fatigued). Looking over their web page and seeing how much Gordon was "all in" we decided to get a single pan to test so if they were a gimmick or not.......We got a 10" fry pan with lid just before Thanksgiving of 2022 (about 8 months ago).

I took these pic last night........we haven't been "rough" on them but as you can see there is NO visible signs of scratches or marks. The close ups show that none of the anodization is failing at the little stainless buttons.
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After 2 months us using the above pan, we were convinced that these pans were not a gimmick so we purchased a 13 piece set before Christmas, so we have had the full set for a solid 6.5 months.

Now to point out a few of the hidden design features of the pans and lids:

First off each lid has a vent hole to prevent excess moisture from building up when using the fry pans (ie mess up your sear) as well as not making a mess when boiling pasta and such in a pot.
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Next the geometry of the of the edge is near perfect for pouring without a mess.....Here it is pour bacon grease....you can start of slow and it doesn't wrap around the edge....
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This is the 12 inch pan with cut up bacon pieces we use for bacon bits......cooks very uniformly across the whole pan
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This pic shows how the "young" bacon doesn't stick when in its initial cook...
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And this shows that the "residual" bacon pours clean from the pan.
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This next picture shows boiling 1/2 inch of water in the 12 inch pan...it should be noted that both the 10 and 12 inch pans came with a little hump in the center that moves oil and liquid to the outside (it is very slight though and helps with keeping the center section in sear mode)
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This pic is after my wife made a caramel sauce....ie it does very well at "non" stick for sugar stuff....
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This picture is an example of making "burn ends" in a pan, ie sugary rub and heat with animal fat.
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Caramelized red onions (balsamic vinegar and brown sugar).
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The next three are examples of a nearly dry searing......baby bellas, day old russets, and bellas and roots.....
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The last two show "raw" shredded russets and shrimp sautee.
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I will take a picture of the next time I do eggs in them but it should be noted that they do have a "bit" of a stick to them, IE the stainless potions of them but if you giggle the pan and break that then things slide right out. It should also be noted that these do need to be seasoned the first time, ie a little oil and 30 seconds of heat or so. Its also best to use a "dab" of oil when cooking to make the truley non stick. If I use a 1/2 tsp of butter in the small 8 inch fry my sunny side up eggs slide right out. If you do "dry" scrambled there will be a little stick but a Teflon non stick will also have some stick at that point.

In the next week or two I will also take a pic of them searing a chicken breast just to show how well they do. I personally believe they give a better sear and CI because they are more responsive to the heat.

I will be happy to answer any questions as this goes along and I will add to it as we continue to use the. I also wouldn't hesitate to recomend them if you want a high end pan or pan set in the kitchen as they currently do the majority of the cooking in our kitchen now.

Till next time happy cooking

Man civil, sorry to be so late to the party here. But this is one outstanding review. Thanks for your time in posting this. All of your cooks look absolutely amazing and delicious. I am going to wait for a sale and likely pull the trigger on a couple of these. And hoping to slowly add over time. Much better than the pans we have bought in the past that only last a couple years at best. Again, thanks for this awesome review.

 

[chopsaw]

.just donning my enabling bit for the week!

That's just looking out for me .
12" skillet only from Amazon was $215 total
The bundle , skillet , pot , and both lids $235 total .
The 215 shows in my banking , but I don't think it's been taken out yet . I'll just have to watch .
Amazon canceled , and ordered the bundle .

 

[civilsmoker]

Well good deal! That set will be a sweet present!….. he is going to love that pan!

Here is a Walmart black angus $12 filet I did two nights ago…… just money all day long!!!! Oh and if haven’t tried it before when you herb butter finish, instead of using whole herbs use chopped with chopped shallots and minced garlic…..it will impart more flavor and then crisp up and is just pure money as a finish, like below…..

This was seared in a 10 inch with wagyu tallow, the finished with a tbsp of butter and chopped herbs, then finished in the over at 325 till a perfect INT 135. The broccolini was shallow boiled in a hex 12” ie a 1/4 cup of chicken stock on high and covered with a hard boil for 90 seconds then remove the lid and then boiled out to concentrate the flavor….about another 120 seconds……pure money!

 

[chopsaw]

Looks like Costco has a sale on the older / lower temp pan . $68.00 with lid for the 12"
Pretty good price .
Happy with the deal I got . Hopefully he gets a lifetime of use out of it .

 

[civilsmoker]

Mine are the older ones, ie still have the new one in the inbox, but sandyut has the new versions and loves them so I would keep with your plan!

 

[sandyut]

Mine are the older ones, ie still have the new one in the inbox, but sandyut has the new versions and loves them so I would keep with your plan!

Yup they are the best pots and pans I have ever used!

 

[rexster314]

Every time we cook something we marvel at the cookware before, during and cleanup. We love ours

 

[chopsaw]

That set will be a sweet present

best pots and pans I have ever used!

Finally showed up today . I was starting to wonder , because it should no activity on the website .

Anyway , question for you guys .
The 12" skillet has a bag , the pot and the lid for the pot each have a bag , but the 12" lid ,, no bag .
Just wondering if you sets all have storage bags for lids and the pots / skillets ?
I'm gonna contact them , but he's home from work didn't want him to see me on the HexClad page .

BTW , that 3 qt. sauce pot is heavy . He'll get good use out of that . He makes some really good sauces .

 

[civilsmoker]

Finally showed up today . I was starting to wonder , because it should no activity on the website .

Anyway , question for you guys .
The 12" skillet has a bag , the pot and the lid for the pot each have a bag , but the 12" lid ,, no bag .
Just wondering if you sets all have storage bags for lids and the pots / skillets ?
I'm gonna contact them , but he's home from work didn't want him to see me on the HexClad page .

BTW , that 3 qt. sauce pot is heavy . He'll get good use out of that . He makes some really good sauces .

Chop you can store them in the bag or just have the bag as a buffer if you are stacking them.....However, we tossed the bags and we stack them in a drawer (nested) (ie they get hammered this way). This is honestly the biggest proof they are durable because we haven't seen any wear on them doing it.

 

[Brokenhandle]

I still don't need any, I still don't need any!

Ryan

 

[chopsaw]

we tossed the bags

Yeah , but if I deserved a bag , I want one . So did every piece come with a bag , or not ?
I would probably toss the bags too , but he'll have now and then use , and most likely want the bag .

 

[sandyut]

Yeah , but if I deserved a bag , I want one . So did every piece come with a bag , or not ?
I would probably toss the bags too , but he'll have now and then use , and most likely want the bag .

I tossed the bags too. we had room not to stack but amazon has some stacking pads on the cheap to protect them stacked inside each other

 

[chopsaw]

I'm just try to find out if it should have came with a bag ?
So did each piece come with a bag , or not ?

 

[JIMSMOKES]

I'm just try to find out if it should have came with a bag ?
So did each piece come with a bag , or not ?

Each of the two I've bought came with/in a bag.

 

[civilsmoker]

I'm just try to find out if it should have came with a bag ?
So did each piece come with a bag , or not ?

Chop, ours only came with one bag per pan and not one per pan and one per lid, so I actually think you got a bonus bag!

 

[civilsmoker]

I still don't need any, I still don't need any!

Ryan

Are you sure about that.......... this is a MUST HAVE NEED..... no wanting just needing!!!!

 

[chopsaw]

not one per pan and one per lid,

OK , thanks . Just wondering for the most part . I bet the skillet was a set , and the sauce pot wasn't and they added the lid .

It is nice stuff . He'll be set up pretty good with the 10" wok , 12" skillet w/ lid and the 3 qt sauce pot w/lid .
He has a set of enameled cast iron . Some Lodge , some Amazon brand . Gonna have to box something up .

 

[hondabbq]

I think Im going to pull the trigger soon. I have been watching and waiting for a possible better sale price than the current one. Looking at the "pan-tastic" set. I have a set of pots that are great already that I have had for a while, heavy bottomed, so no need for the pots. FYI its listed for $889 CAD.

EDIT: Just went back to the CAD site and noticed the pans are only rated for the 500F mark and not the new 900F. Not sure I will go ahead just yet until we get the new and improved ones listed. I sent an email asking why the difference. We will see what they come back with.