VonShef Cast Iron Skillet Pan

How easy is the VonShef Cast Iron Skillet Pan to use?

Our first impressions straight out of the box were that this is a pretty classic-looking cast iron pan. It’s made up of thick, gently sloping sides and a large flat base. We love the pouring lips either side of the pan, meaning both left- and right-handed users will be able to use this pan with ease.

As expected, this pan is quite heavy, so you won’t be able to toss ingredients as you would in your best frying pan. But we did feel let down by the length of the handle, which is very short. Coupled with the fact that there’s no additional lug handle for stability, moving this pan around (especially when full) is a bit of a strain on the wrists.

A big plus though is that it’s suitable for all hob types as well as oven-safe up to 250C. At just 25cm in diameter, we think this pan is ideal for couples or three people at a push, but for families you’ll need something bigger.

Results

To put this skillet pan to the test we cooked fried eggs and a ribeye steak.

After letting the oil heat up, we poured our egg into the pan and it immediately started to bubble. We turned the temperature down but this pan really does hold on to heat, so the temperature of the pan kept rising and we ended up cooking our egg at a higher temperature than we’d have liked. Despite this, our egg had a fully set white with a crisp underside and edge. It was easy to pry the white away from the pan, but a small portion of the yolk had stuck, so we ended up tearing it: not what we wanted.

When cooking the ribeye steak, we allowed the pan to get very hot and kept the flame on medium. After cooking the steak on one side and flipping it, we found that it had seared it a little unevenly as only the perimeter was brown while the majority looked a little grey. We found this happened on both sides. It was easy to baste the steak but were concerned about how small the handle is and having to hold a tea towel so close to the flame.

Conclusion

This cheap and cheerful skillet pan is definitely worth considering if you’re on a budget or simply don’t want to shell out over £100 for a pan. It cooked relatively well, though a small part of our egg did stick and the steak wasn’t as well seared as we’d have liked.

As with all cast iron pans, this one is pretty heavy, but it’s sturdy and robust as well as being oven-safe to a high temperature. It’s not quite large enough for big families, but for two or three, it’s a good size.

Specifications

Sizes available (cm): 25
Preseasoned: yes
Materials: cast iron
Induction compatible: yes
Oven safe: yes, 250C

Cast iron skillet recipes

One-pot recipes
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How to cook the perfect steak
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How to make the best fried eggs

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This review was last updated in July 2021. If you have any questions, suggestions for future reviews or spot anything that has changed in price or availability, please get in touch at goodfoodwebsite@immediate.co.uk.