Anolon X SearTech Aluminum Nonstick Frying Pan 10-Inch, Super Dark Gray

Expensive pan, supposed to b e non stick. Used it 4 times so far = everything sticks to it! UGH!

First time right out of the box, followed all directions for use explicitly… Wound up with eggs embedded within the textured pattern on the bottom of the pan as well as around the edges of this “nonstick” pan.

SearTech: Kinda works, kinda gimmicky- Sounded like a riff on the idea behind HexClad’s surface, with a stainless steel grid inlayed until it’s just a few microns above the nonstick layer, protecting it from most metal utensils. This however feels relatively smooth, whereas HexClad’s surface is much more textured.- Does help hold oil in place (pic) via surface tension, as opposed to pooling up to the side/edge.- Released a tuile (when making hanetsuki gyoza) easily, but left a grid pattern both in geometry and in browning (close up pic). If you look closely at the egg video around 2:15 when he flips the fried egg, you can see a browned grid too.- Similar to most (all?) nonstick pans, the instructions still suggest not going above medium heat. As such, I’d rather just use my cast iron or carbon steel pan if I wanted a nice proper crust from a hot AF sear. If you only have this one pan though, it’s a decent compromise, provided you move your food around or don’t mind the novel grid pattern.- Egg stuck a bit to the bare metal in a few spots on my first use. With a bit more butter/oil than I usually use with nonstick, I had no sticking issues with subsequent eggs. Also, pre-heating definitely helps. If you watch the egg vid closely, you’ll notice he uses quite a bit of butter.Design: Overall nice, though handle a bit short- Handle is oddly about an inch shorter than most of my other pots/pans. If you’re cooking for a while and don’t hold it at the very end, it can get quite warm-hot to the touch. I.e. more than one hand’s width from the end, there’s not much buffer before it becomes the hot zone.- While not as pronounced as “normal” rivets, there’s still a very slight crease around each flat rivet head. Solid-ish stuff like eggs are fine, but residue from thinner stuff like sauces may eventually accumulate there if you’re not careful. I’ve had other rivetless pans in the past where there were just creaseless dimples instead.- The base is fairly thick and heavy, which helps hold and evenly distribute heat.- Oven safe to 500°F without a lid. With a lid, it’s rated to 350°F (pic).Quality: 95% fine- My pan has a very subtle dimple in the center, noticeable by touch and at certain lighting angles (pics). Haven’t noticed any practical effects though.- Particularly near the edges, there are numerous tiny gaps between the steel mesh and the nonstick surface (pic). It’s actually slightly rough to the touch there, so may be a quality issue with my particular pan. Food seems to hold there just a smidge longer than the rest of the pan, which feels relatively smooth.

We really like this skillet for the ease of sautéeing without meats or vegetables glomming onto the surface, and the fact that that also makes it really easy to clean. That said, we use another, smaller skillet for eggs.Thank you for reading my review. I hope you found it helpful.

Grilling fish, chicken and steaks. Delicious