Non-stick grill pan, 28 cm

The steam has to leave

Put the steak down on the hot ribs and listen. A sizzle means you are on the right track. A hiss, with steam gathering over the pan, means the meat is steaming rather than browning. This 28 cm grill pan has no lid to hold that steam in: it rises, it goes, and what stays on the underside of the slice is the dark stripe you did all of this for.

What ribs do that a flat surface cannot

The ribs lift the slice off the floor of the pan. Rendered fat runs down into the grooves, the meat does not sit in its own juices, and wherever the metal touches it a dark stripe forms. After two minutes you can see the difference and you can taste it: the stripes carry a flavour the lighter bands between them do not.

The pan measures 28 cm across the top (the ribbed cooking surface is smaller), the wall stands 4 cm high, and the pan holds 2.1 litres. On a grill pan that last figure is not about volume: the height of the wall decides whether your tongs can get under a slice when you turn it, or run into the wall every time.

Count the handle too

Body and handle together, the pan takes up close to half a metre on the hob, and about as much room in a drawer or a cupboard. The shape is square, so its corners hang over a round zone. On a large burner or induction zone that is fine; on a small rear zone the corners stay cooler and will not stripe the food.

A handle you dare to hold

On a grill pan the handle sits over the heat longest, which is why it matters that this one stays cool, sits ergonomically in the hand and is soft to the touch. Its end runs into a metal frame with the fashion wordmark recessed into it, and that matters on the evenings the pan goes to the middle of the table as the serving dish. A full 28 cm grill pan is still worth lifting with a glove or a cloth.

The coating is decided on top of the ribs

titanPro non-stick coating

The brand's hard-wearing non-stick coating. On a grill pan the tops of the ribs are the measure: that is where the meat and the tongs touch, where any coating wears first, and where it is decided how long the pan stays non-stick.

The non-stick surface shows itself when you turn the food. Chicken breast lets go when the crust is ready and not before. You are not prising it off the ribs with tongs, so the surface of the meat stays whole instead of leaving a layer behind in the pan.

What it is free of, and what it was tested for

The body is forged aluminium.

From gas to induction

The base is a turbo induction build, and the pan works on every type of hob. Five hob types: induction, gas, electric, vitroceramic and halogen. If you move flats, or switch from gas to induction during a kitchen refit, the pan stays.

One dinner, from the first sizzle to the plate

The pan gets two minutes empty over a medium flame. The chicken breast goes on when you can feel the heat above the ribs: put it down and leave it alone. In the first minute you only listen; in the second you see the edge of the meat turn white; in the third it releases under the tongs by itself. Turn it, and the other side gets the same.

While the second side colours, courgette slices and half a pepper go on the free half. By then the fat has run into the grooves, so the vegetables do not sit in it and take on stripes instead. Lift the pan off the heat at the end, leave the meat in it to rest for two minutes, and it reaches the plate with its crust already set. One pan, one wash.

One wipe, if you start in time

Fat comes off a warm pan with a sponge. A residue left to bake on until the next day does not, and no coating changes that.

• The ribs hold their heat a long time: wait until the pan is only warm before it goes under the tap.
• Work with wooden or silicone tongs and spatulas so the crests of the ribs stay unscratched.
• Wipe fat out of the grooves with a soft sponge, along the direction of the ribs.
• Keep metal scourers and scouring powder away from it; they damage the non-stick surface.
• Lay a soft cloth inside the pan if another pan is stacked on top of it in storage.

Whom the shape suits

It is not the pan for a saucy stew, a risotto or anything that cooks under a lid: with a ribbed floor, sauce only pools in the grooves. If your kitchen has room for exactly one pan, buy a flat one first and let this be the second.

Frequently asked questions

Specification