Uno Casa cast iron skillet set

How easy is the Uno Casa cast iron skillet set to use?

These pans are black and roughcast, even though they come pre-seasoned. The walls are nice and tall, and slope gently – ideal for stirring dishes like risotto.

They're weighty – we felt some straining in our wrists when lifting them, even for a couple of seconds. The handles are also very short, which didn’t help with the straining. Luckily, the lug handle is there to offer support.

The set comes with a pair of silicone handle covers and two firm plastic scrapers to remove any residue that sticks to the pan. The handle covers were able to protect our hands when cooking at a lower temperature for a short period of time, but didn't help when we got the pan very hot. The scrapers were a welcome addition and did a fantastic job of removing stuck-on bits you’d rather not see go down the plughole.

After washing and drying we noticed that the lug handle on the larger pan had already begun to rust.

Results

We cooked a fried egg in the 12-inch pan and a ribeye steak in the 10-inch. After pouring a good glug of oil into the pan for the egg, we noticed that the centre is slightly domed, meaning the hot oil pooled around the perimeter. We let the pan heat up gently, then lowered our egg in. Because of the curved centre, our egg ran towards the edge. We left it to cook for a couple of seconds, but found it was completely stuck to the pan when we came to remove it. We couldn’t get it out without ripping it. To give the pan a second chance we cleaned it out, let it cool completely then tried it again. Unfortunately, the results were the same.

For the ribeye steak, we let the pan heat up to a high temperature before adding the steak. Immediately, it formed a deep sear. After letting the steak cook for a couple of minutes, we flipped it. The steak had a deep, rich crust, save for one small grey patch in the centre. The second side wasn’t as intensely seared, but was a good brown colour. No part of the steak stuck to the pan.

Conclusion

If you’re after a classic-looking skillet pan for searing meat, this skillet set is a good choice. You’ll get two in the pack as they aren’t available to buy separately, so we’d suggest keeping one for indoor cooking and one for outdoors/camping as they can be used on a campfire too.

You won’t have much luck if you’re looking to delicately cook foods, but for smoky, intense and quick cooking, these do the job.

Specifications

Sizes available (cm): 25 and 30
Preseasoned: yes
Materials: cast iron
Induction compatible: yes
Oven safe: yes

Cast iron skillet recipes

One-pot recipes
Frying pan sausage hotpot
Perfect sautéed potatoes
Frying pan pizza pie
How to cook the perfect steak
Giant skillet pan cookie
How to make the best fried eggs

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