Does anyone still own, or use, an electric skillet?
By Marie Coyle
@MarieCoyle (37441)
November 19, 2024 10:21pm CST
I suppose they are ''out of style'' but hey...they made, and still make, great food!
I grew up with the electric skillet being one of the ultimate kitchen things to have. If someone didn't have one, they wanted one. They were used almost daily, to cook eggs and bacon, French toast, grilled cheese sandwiches, all sorts of dinners/suppers...and they did the job so well. The temps were adjustable from warm and simmer to high, so that things could be fried. My own kids loved round steak all browned with onions and mushrooms, simmered until it was fork-tender, and then of course served with mashed potatoes and gravy. Those skillets made delicious meats.
Over the years, I wore out the first one I had. By that time my family was sizable, and I then had a huge, long one--about the size of a 13X9 pan, but did the same thing as the smaller ones did. I still have that, and the kids think that if Mom is going to make any pancakes, they should be made in that skillet. It's so easy to control the heat in these skillets, and a person can always put them on ''warm'' for a bit if for some reason you are not quite ready to eat.
Mine is getting some age on it, but it still works perfectly. I did write the company once and they sent me a new cord for it, as I felt the cord could wear out before anything else, and the cord also has the controls set in the part that plugs in the skillet. And yes, these skillets are immersible, so they can be washed in the sink (just not the dishwasher.)
I recall one made by Saladmaster that I owned at first, and it lasted for years. The last one gifted to me is a Hamilton Beach...and it's been great. I no longer have to cook for the masses every day, but I do still cook, and I do think the kids are right--it's the best pan ever for French toast and pancakes.
This Amazon picture is very similar to mine, with the exception that mine is of course not new. But it's clean and well-loved.
Well, I am using a different browser that appears to not like my pictures today. Cut me some slack and please use your imagination....
14 people like this
14 responses
@kaylachan (69646)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
20 Nov
I grew up with one of those. I think my mom would call it a woke. She used it mainly for stir fry. I litterlyy have no room for one. and live mainly out of the microwave. But, listening to you talk, brings back the good old days.
4 people like this
@MarieCoyle (37441)
•
20 Nov
I really don't have much room, my kitchen is full, for sure. But I think I keep it for the memories in a way, plus the kids love making French toast and pancakes in it, too. I still remember how thrilled one of my grandmothers was to get one a few years before she passed away. She just loved it, and used it so much. I used hers for years after she passed away.
3 people like this
@kaylachan (69646)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
20 Nov
@MarieCoyle Well, I'm glad that it all worked out. I really need to do a deep clean of my house, but I can't seem to bring myself to do it. Not that I don't have the downtime. George isn't that difficult to take care of, really.
2 people like this
@MarieCoyle (37441)
•
20 Nov
@kaylachan
I have been deep cleaning in sections...a closet here, a corner there, and when i get one room done, I go to the next. It's slow, but hey...you know what it's like. Even if George isn't difficult, you still have to be aware and be there when he needs you to be, so I do understand that.
2 people like this
@LindaOHio (178476)
• United States
17h
I still have mine; but I can't cook anymore. Have a good day.
3 people like this
@LindaOHio (178476)
• United States
15h
@porwest My husband's big belly would attest to that. Now he's so skinny and frail. Sad.
1 person likes this
@porwest (90645)
• United States
15h
@LindaOHio Times change. I am still on the up side of things. I am sure one day that may go the other way.
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (67977)
• United States
13h
I don’t have a stove, believe it or not (my personal choice). One of the things I use for cooking is…an electric skillet.
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (67977)
• United States
11h
@MarieCoyle — me too. Microwave, crockpot, and skillet, and I eat like a queen.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (37441)
•
10h
@FourWalls
We all cook differently and like different foods. What works for one doesn't always work for another. My youngest went without a stove for about 6 months when they were remodeling their house. She used her appliances like the electric skillet, crockpot, toaster oven, and microwave. She made it work, it was either that or eat out, and she is like her mama--not a fan of fast food.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (37441)
•
11h
I would be so lost without a stove. But I understand, I have a neighbor who never uses hers, she microwaves everything. She does have a crock pot.
1 person likes this
@porwest (90645)
• United States
15h
@MarieCoyle My stove has a built in skillet in the middle. I never use it. lol
2 people like this
@MarieCoyle (37441)
•
20 Nov
If you did, it would no doubt get a work out with your eggs and bacon breakfasts! 
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (37441)
•
11h
@porwest
I have seen those. Never used one, though. Maybe you should try it!
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (339889)
• Rockingham, Australia
19h
@MarieCoyle Some of these older appliances are very useful.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (37441)
•
11h
@JudyEv
Yes, they are. The older things were not as fast, but they helped make good foods.
@MarieCoyle (37441)
•
22h
My youngest daughter bought one from Amazon during the pandemic. She said we made so many meals in them that were so good, she wanted one of her own. She works and has two tiny sons and a husband, her husband wanted one, too--he does cook some of the meals. She was surprised how much they use the new one.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (37441)
•
11h
Sometimes, we need those big things to feed a big bunch of people.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (37441)
•
52m
@Kamuigan
I know that the Ninja is a good one, I have friends who have one. Glad you enjoy it.
@Kamuigan (106)
•
1h
@MarieCoyle I love it. I've always had one for the past 20 years, gotta have that and my crockpot too. But as for small kitchen appliances, my new favorite is my Ninja pressure cooker (it does much more than that). I use it so often.
1 person likes this
@much2say (55601)
• Los Angeles, California
13h
We had a couple of those - I loved them! I think I got rid of them because we had the non-stick ones, which they say are not healthy to use. I envision particular meals my mom made with them (like sukiyaki) - we served ourselves at the table. She also had this neat ceramic type one . . . I want to say it was like Corningware - not sure if those types exist anymore.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (37441)
•
11h
I haven’t seen those ceramic ones in years. Maybe they don’t make them, I may look that up!
@wolfgirl569 (106192)
• Marion, Ohio
16h
My mom had one and used it every Sunday at least.
1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (79833)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
9h
I never had or tried an electric skillet, I heat and cook things on a hot plate but never can get things fried on there, Otherwise, everything else is made in my toaster oven, Do you think I could fry food well in the electric skillet if I had one? I miss having regular fried potatoes,
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (37441)
•
5h
Most definitely you could make fried potatoes, I have done that many, many times in my electric skillet.
@MarieCoyle (37441)
•
20 Nov
I had one of the crock pots the first year they were made, and used it for years...the kind that the liner didn't even come out. But hey...it worked and I used it often. Now I have two of them, a smaller one I use for just me and the son here, and a big whopper one that I use when the troops descend on me. I don't have an instapot or an air fryer, but I do think it would be fun to have an air fryer--there is just no room for any more stuff!
@thelme55 (77061)
• Germany
11h
@MarieCoyle I love mine too. I mostly make stir fry in my electric wok.
@MarieCoyle (37441)
•
11h
I’ve not had an electric wok, but my sister did. She loved hers.
1 person likes this
@thislittlepennyearns (62476)
• Defuniak Springs, Florida
23h
We had one and I need another one.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (37441)
•
23h
I think they are great. Might be a bit ''old fashioned'' to the youngest members here, but they surely do make good food!
@porwest (90645)
• United States
16h
I don't. I tend to be one who is simple. If it does something I can already do, why have something extra to do the same thing? I can see where they can be useful. But the only extra gadgets I have is a Nessco (which I hardly ever use) and a crock pot. Other than that, my stove, toaster, oven and microwave do pretty much all the other tasks I need to do.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (37441)
•
11h
Jim, I used to use mine a lot in the summers to fix meats. It kept me from turning on the oven. And meats simmered in an electric skillet are really tender and delicious.
