# Tilting Skillets



## raibeaux (Dec 21, 2012)

I also posted this in the equipment section.....hope that's alright.

Hello, all.

Mulling around the idea of getting a tilting skillet.  Never used one, or really even seen one used.

I notice they have SS bottoms...are they bad about sticking?

I notice they all have large lids that cover the cooking pot.  How good is the seal from the lids?  Do they fit tight like a lid on a regular pot, or do they let steam escape?

Any ideas on what these things can be used for?  I know the ads say just about everything, but wondering about what most people use them for. 

One of the reasons I'm looking at them is I do a simmered dish that needs more area and capacity than a normal (large) pot.

Any thoughts on brand?  I've seen Groen, Cleveland, Vulcan in catalogs.  Looks like the price is high regardless of the brand.


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## kuan (Jun 11, 2001)

I never liked cleaning them.  They are great if you have a floor drain.  

Ours didn't see much use except for chicken stock and spaghetti sauce.  Even then nobody liked using it.


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## linecook854 (Feb 13, 2013)

How much you utilize your tilt skillet really depends on the type of establishment you are. At one high volume place I worked at we had multiple tilts because we needed them. When doing large batches of braised items, staff meals, lots of caramelized onions and other similar things they were invaluable. It's just not practical taking up 6 rondeaus and valuable burner space for an hour during prep time just for onions. At a smaller place we had one and basically it was used for stocks exclusively. It provides an even gentle heat so I really like them for stocks, they hold a set temp steady so if can't get your chicken stock or veal stock drained right away they can keep going without too much quality change. One (lazy) line cook would always sear salmon and proteins for functions in the tilt skillet just because and it did work nicely I admit but he spent much more time cleaning it out than it would have been to use 4 or 5 pans to sear all the salmon. If your cooks can utilize them correctly I advocate them but if you can't trust some of your cooks to use their common sense (taking 30 minutes to complete a task start to finish compared to 8 minutes start to finish isn't efficient) I'd say forgo it. If you're doing large functions, brunches or banquets I would say tilt skillets are great.

As far as the tight fitting lid I would say it depends on the model. We had a lid on hinges that would close fully but I wouldn't say it was "sealed" like say a perfectly fitting lid would on a russe or sautoir. Didn't notice any steam escaping however but I'm sure it would if the heat were high enough. It also has a port hole sort of thing on the lid which could be opened or close to allow more evaporation if needed. As for sticking the model I had didn't stick, just like a saute pan if the heat isn't high enough it might stick.


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## foodpump (Oct 10, 2005)

I've done just about everything in them, from poaching sausage (in perforated inserts),  to making scrambled eggs, Fr. toast, hash browns, and pancakes (it's basically a flattop with walls)  for buffets, to stocks, Fr. Onion soup (&*^--ing great to caramelize onions in), desserts (apple crumble),   but where they really shine is with stews, heavy soups, and poaching large items.

The seal is usually crappy, so you can't use it like a pressure cooker, but that's what you have a steamer for anyway.

You double the usage of your mixer with two mixing bowls, and you double the usage of your skillet with large perforated inserts--they full size deep kind with built in handles.  Now you can poach and blanch, h.b. eggs, spuds, any kind of veg, flans and creme caramels, and of course, you can hot pack jams or anything like that in glass jars.

Stocks are pretty good in there, remember, you have an enormous amount of surface area, so you can reduce very quickly.


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## chefross (May 5, 2010)

I'm with Foodpump.....In banquets it was invaluable. We blanched vegetables, made soup, sauces, really, anything you can do in a pan you can do in a tilting braiser. 

One bit of advice.

Make sure you have floor drainage under the tilters.

It makes for easy cleaning.

If not your going to be schlepping 5 gallon pickle buckets of dirty water each time you need to clean..


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## kostendorf (Mar 15, 2012)

i have one from rational.   we bought it used for 6000€.  it is in use often in my kitchen.  i have worked with some before and not given them much use,  but the rational with the programing, exact temperature Settings and a lid that completely Closes to give you a pressure cooker.  no i never had to use the pressure cooking program for 100L, but the Option is there.  we had the plumber fit it with a hose and cut it into one of our Drains,  making cleaning easy.  the first year i was at the Company was without it, and now it is hard to think back how i did everything we do  without it.


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## anypills (Nov 1, 2014)

whats a tilting skillet? a brat pan?


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## raibeaux (Dec 21, 2012)

Hi, folks.  Thanks much for the feedback on my question.  I do appreciate it!


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