Hamilton Beach Durathon Ceramic Electric Skillet with Removable 12×15” Pan, Adjustable Temperature, Reversible Design, Tempered Glass Lid (38529K)

The skillet came well padded with styrofoam. It was only in its box, not an additional brown Amazon box. I did not have to assemble or screw together anything. One of the rubber feet had fallen off so I found it in the plastic bag and pushed it back on. The glass lid does seem a little thin and fragile. I noticed there were abrasions in one of the handles and took a photo of that. I also noticed there were a few rough spots on the ceramic cooking surface. I will live with those and report later if it was the start of delamination of the Durathon coating. I will also register my product in the Hamilton Beach site. I wiped the cooking surface with a wet paper towel and then added 12 ounces of purified water and set the unit at 250 degrees to test it out. The water boiled quickly. The claim the power cord can be on either side of the unit is not a function of the cord – it is because the cord plugs into the ceramic coated cooking skillet, not the base, and you can put the skillet on the base facing either direction, hence the cord pointing a different direction. First off things I like: 1. the size, big enough to do a roast with veggies 2. cooking skillet removes from base 3. Clear glass lid. This unit does not weigh much, which explains why there is no “hook” to hold the lid when you don’t need it on the skillet because the base is not weighted enough to support the lid. After I cook my roast today I will post more information if there is something to talk about. I am going to set my roast at a low heat, probably 250 degrees, since most reviewers of any electric skillets mention the units run hot. I have a remote meat temperature probe I will put in the pork roast to monitor its internal temperature. This unit arriving with a scratched handle and with defects in the ceramic cooking surface makes me think the supply chain problems have meant manufacturers are now shipping out ‘seconds’ of their products, where before covid they would not have done that.

UPDATE: the second photo shows the first meal I cooked and it turned out great. I cut the pork roast up into thick slices so it would cook faster. After browning slightly in olive oil, I added 1 cup of chicken broth and the sweet potato chunks and onion pieces. I cooked it between 200 and 250 degrees till the pork was 165 degrees. Fabulous!

LAST UPDATE

After the second use I noticed a problem. The copper colored coating was degrading already and was wearing through in a few places. I only used the soft silicone utensils so I did not damage it. I cleaned it up and returned it. I’m very disappointed the cooking surface is poor quality and I didn’t get to keep this.

This frying pan arrived quickly and was intact, all parts there with no damage even though the box was damaged. I have used it once so far and it worked great! Very easy to clean and I like how it has a base to sit in that you can take off to clean the pan. Everything is dishwasher safe but I haven’t put it in my dishwasher yet. I’m satisfied with this purchase even though it seemed a bit pricey. My last frying pan lasted a little over a year before it would only cook on the highest setting only no matter what temp I tried to use, burning everything and the non stick coating didn’t work anymore so I went with a better brand that is more reliable.

This skillet replaced one that I had for 30+ years. I love the rather elegant shape, which is really nice. Because of its three piece design, the temperature control can be used from either side by simply reversing the cooking pan. The skillet is large, and heats evenly. I have only had it for a couple of months, but because we are remodeling our kitchen and I am currently without a cooktop or oven, it has been used almost daily, for everything from spaghetti to hamburgers to eggs and bacon. I can cook eggs in one end of this skillet and bacon at the other end. It works wonderfully for preparing chicken Alfredo, too. I laugh and tell everyone I feel like a new bride, learning to cook in a single skillet. Nothing sticks, and clean up is so easy; we just wipe it out with a sponge and a drop of Dawn. It would go in the dishwasher easily, too, but mine isn’t installed. Probably won’t use it for my skillet anyhow. Takes more time than hand washing does. We use only silicone utensils to avoid scratches. The glass lid has a vent, too, but I really love the way the heating unit separates from the base, almost like a chafing dish. It has legs that really add to the looks of this terrific dish if you want to take it to the table. Can you tell I love this item? Great design, excellent to cook with!

Update: It’s hard to simmer in this skillet because it basically turns on and then shuts off but when it turns on it boils the liquid too hard it’s not like a slow steady simmer like you would have in a pot on the stovetop where the water is continuously bubbling but it’s more calmed down not a hard boil which is what this skillet does when it turns on so I think for doing any simmering I’m just going to stick with my dutch oven on the stovetop.

I decided to purchase this skillet used – very good and the description stated there was a small cosmetic imperfection on the bottom or back of the unit, well with this type of ceramic coating as long as the interior was in good shape I took a chance with the used one. When I received this skillet there were a couple dings/light scratches on the interior which I wasn’t happy about that, there were 2 rubber things on the bottom of the legs that were missing, and part of the metal frame that goes around the glass lid was bent so I would just highly suggest not buying used unless you can find used – like new but I think you’re really taking a chance with anything else. Even with the used – like new what one person thinks is like new could be totally different from someone else’s. When I get a kick out of is Hamilton Beach making a point of stating that it has a reversible design which I think is really silly because basically any electric skillet you can turn it so that the electrical cord can be on the left side or the right side. With this skillet where you insert the electrical cord is only on the one side of the base so you have to turn the base so that it’s facing left or right. I will say that I’m very nervous about having this large of a glass lid with just a relatively small plastic knob, I would much rather have an electric skillet with the design of the Gotham Steel cookware where the handles are metal and they’re riveted to the glass lids. Gotham Steel has an electric skillet but it’s not available in Canada which is depressing because the Gotham Steel coating I absolutely love. I actually like it much better than the coating on this Hamilton Beach skillet. I find the Durathon coating on this skillet not entirely smooth it’s not really slippery like the Gotham Steel Ti-Cerama coating. But with the few extra things wrong with this skillet that weren’t mentioned in the product description I was able to get a 50% discount from Amazon so I decided to keep it. I do like the size of this skillet especially for doing something like pancakes if you have company over. I don’t live in a big place so I don’t have a lot of room to have a lot of extra appliances (ex: griddle). I also like that the skillet can be taken off the base and put right on the table for serving and I do like that the coating is ceramic. I will update my review once I get cooking with this skillet.

I love the fact I can cook a lot of bacon in my skillet and it turns out perfect. Also pork chops, hamburgers and chicken. So easy to clean. I wondered why I didn’t buy one a lot sooner.