Debug

[0 - 2] - Be sure to like this video and subscribe.

[2 - 6] So you never miss an episode. (hosts laughing)

[6 - 7] - [Producer] Yes!

[7 - 8] - Were you cracking up?

[8 - 9] I didn't wanna look.

[9 - 12] (upbeat music begins)

[12 - 14] Hey everybody, and welcome to

[14 - 15] another episode of Gearheads.

[15 - 17] Hannah is out on maternity leave.

[17 - 19] So today I'm very excited to be joined

[19 - 22] by ATK Reviews Deputy Editor Kate Shannon.

[22 - 24] - Thanks for having me, Lisa.

[24 - 25] - Today we're gonna talk about pieces

[25 - 29] of cookware that we feel are a little underrated.

[29 - 30] - Should you buy specialized gear

[30 - 33] like saucier and saute pans or are you better off

[33 - 36] with kitchen essentials like sauce pans and skillets?

[36 - 38] - We'll break down all the options

[38 - 40] so you can make the right call for yourselves.

[40 - 42] - But first we have a book coming out.

[42 - 43] It's called Kitchen Gear,

[43 - 45] the Ultimate Owner's Manual.

[45 - 46] - The two of us have 30 years

[46 - 49] of combined experience testing kitchen gear

[49 - 51] and we've packed all of our favorite tips and tricks

[51 - 52] into this book.

[52 - 54] - We give you our unbiased take

[54 - 56] on what's worth buying and what's not.

[56 - 59] Plus you'll find over a hundred ATK recipes

[59 - 60] that bring out the best in your gear.

[60 - 62] - Get your copy of Kitchen Gear

[62 - 64] the Ultimate Owner's Manual today.

[64 - 66] Here's Kate with a look at Saucier's.

[66 - 69] (upbeat music begins)

[69 - 71] - Mention the word saucier in the test kitchen

[71 - 73] and you're in for an earful.

[73 - 74] People love these things.

[74 - 76] They're basically rounded sauce pans

[76 - 79] with wider mouths and flared walls.

[79 - 80] They can do everything a sauce pan can do

[80 - 83] but their unique design traits mean that

[83 - 85] cooking some things like pastry cream,

[85 - 87] caramel even your morning oatmeal,

[87 - 89] is gonna be a little bit easier.

[89 - 91] Remember that all the gear we're talking about today

[91 - 93] is linked down below right by that like button.

[93 - 94] And this is not an ad.

[94 - 97] We've tested and reviewed everything we're talking about.

[97 - 100] Saucier is also the name given to French cooks

[100 - 102] who make sauces, stocks, and soups.

[102 - 104] These vessels are great for that.

[104 - 106] They have rounded sides, which means

[106 - 108] that it's really easy to stir

[108 - 110] and things don't scorch as easily

[110 - 112] because they can't get caught in those corners.

[112 - 113] The most similar piece of cookware

[113 - 116] to a saucier is a sauce pan.

[116 - 118] This is our favorite sauce pan from All-Clad

[118 - 121] and this is our favorite saucier from Le Creuset.

[121 - 123] These are both great pans.

[123 - 124] They're used for a lot of the same things

[124 - 126] and they do have a lot of things in common.

[126 - 129] Both have really nice big broad cooking surfaces.

[129 - 132] There's lots of room to get around

[132 - 133] make sure everything cooks really evenly.

[133 - 136] They also have really nice comfortable handles

[136 - 138] whether you're standing at the cooktop

[138 - 139] or if you're carrying it to the sink

[139 - 141] you're carrying it around your kitchen.

[141 - 142] You can really trust

[142 - 144] that you're gonna have a good grip and feel comfortable.

[144 - 147] But as you can tell, they both have some key differences.

[147 - 150] The sauce pan has really tall L-shaped walls

[150 - 153] and that means that it has these sort of corners down here.

[153 - 155] And that's not a bad thing.

[155 - 157] You can definitely make really great food in here.

[157 - 159] But it means that food

[159 - 160] can kind of get trapped in this corner.

[160 - 163] So with this you have to pay a little attention.

[163 - 167] In a saucier, the great thing about it is

[167 - 170] that it has these really sloped rounded walls

[170 - 172] and there really aren't any corners in here.

[172 - 174] That means that the odds

[174 - 177] of something getting stuck here is basically zero.

[177 - 178] And when it comes to cleaning

[178 - 180] there are some differences here too.

[180 - 182] The same thing with the walls and and the corner

[182 - 184] means that you might really have to scrub.

[184 - 187] With a sassier, those rounded edges mean

[187 - 188] that cleanup is really easy.

[188 - 191] The composition of these pans is pretty similar.

[191 - 193] Both are fully clad stainless steel

[193 - 195] and that means that they're gonna be quick to heat up

[195 - 197] they're gonna be reactive to temperature changes

[197 - 198] but the stainless steel

[198 - 200] that you're cooking on is not reactive.

[200 - 202] So they're both really user-friendly.

[202 - 204] So what makes a good saucier?

[204 - 206] This has a pretty broad cooking surface.

[206 - 208] Some of the models we tested were smaller

[208 - 211] and when you're stirring, you feel kind of cramped.

[211 - 213] And if the cooking surface is too big

[213 - 216] that means all your food is spread out into a thin layer.

[216 - 218] It's a little harder to control, more likely to burn.

[218 - 221] Number two is a nice sturdy handle.

[221 - 222] This one's really comfortable

[222 - 224] which means when you're cooking, you feel secure.

[224 - 227] Some of the saucier we tested had really weird handles.

[227 - 229] They came up at super awkward angles

[229 - 231] or they were really sharp on the sides

[231 - 233] and kind of dug into our hands

[233 - 236] and pretty much everyone agreed that this was a good handle.

[236 - 238] This also has a helper handle.

[238 - 240] It's not essential, but it is kind of nice when

[240 - 241] you're carrying it around your kitchen.

[241 - 245] Number three, and this is really what sets as saucier

[245 - 247] apart is the shape of the walls.

[247 - 249] They're low, they're flared

[249 - 251] and they are no sharp corners down here.

[251 - 254] Another really important factor is weight.

[254 - 255] This is really the sweet spot.

[255 - 257] It's two pounds, 12 ounces.

[257 - 260] Can a saucier replace a sauce pan? Probably not.

[260 - 263] There are some things it does really well.

[263 - 266] Anytime you're whisking or stirring a lot, these are great

[266 - 268] but they're pricey pans

[268 - 270] and everything you can do in a saucier

[270 - 273] you can do in a sauce pan, sauce pans are just more common

[273 - 276] but I have one of these at home and I use it all the time.

[276 - 278] Once you have one and you start using it

[278 - 280] you really appreciate all these little differences

[280 - 281] and see how much they add up.

[281 - 284] Now here's Lisa with her favorite piece

[284 - 286] of underrated cookware, the saute pan.

[286 - 289] (upbeat music begins)

[289 - 291] - So what is a saute pan?

[291 - 295] A saute pan is a cross between a skillet and a sauce pan.

[295 - 296] They usually come with lids.

[296 - 300] They are nice and wide and have high L-shaped sides

[300 - 302] and they're great for browning and searing

[302 - 305] for shallow frying, for braising, and yeah

[305 - 306] even for sauteing.

[306 - 310] So here at ATK saute pans are a little bit overlooked

[310 - 313] because we will often push the recipes

[313 - 315] you'd wanna do in this into either a skillet

[315 - 317] or a dutch oven.

[317 - 318] We try not to tell you you need to

[318 - 320] buy every single pan there is.

[320 - 321] That being said, there's a lot of times

[321 - 324] when this is really the best pan for the job.

[324 - 327] A saute pan's closest relative is a skillet.

[327 - 331] This is our winning skillet by All Clad

[331 - 333] and this is our winning saute pan by Made In.

[333 - 335] These have a lot of things in common

[335 - 337] and a few key differences.

[337 - 340] They're both made of stainless steel and they're fully clad.

[340 - 341] So they have stainless steel,

[341 - 344] aluminum and stainless steel sheets that are bonded together

[344 - 346] before the pan is made.

[346 - 348] So you get nice even cooking with no hotspots.

[348 - 351] But then you have to really look at these shapes

[351 - 353] and that's how they perform differently on the stove.

[353 - 356] They both have a wide cooking surface,

[356 - 359] but then that skillet has those low flaring sides

[359 - 361] that bow out like this.

[361 - 363] This is great for browning nicely

[363 - 366] and encouraging evaporation with those low sides.

[366 - 369] The saute pan L-shaped sides, taller and straighter.

[369 - 372] You've got a higher side, you've got a big domed lid.

[372 - 373] You can hold a lot of food in there

[373 - 375] without anything spilling.

[375 - 378] This is gonna be great for brazing where you wanna simmer

[378 - 380] and it's going to hold in lots of food.

[380 - 383] Both pans can be used on the stove

[383 - 385] or in the oven because they're fully metal

[385 - 387] and the handles are both just plain stainless steel.

[387 - 389] The saute pan, because it often has

[389 - 392] heavier food and liquid has a helper handle here.

[392 - 394] So what made a great saute pan?

[394 - 396] When we tested a full lineup of these

[396 - 398] we did choose all ones that were fully clad.

[398 - 401] This one really did stand out from the pack

[401 - 403] because it had a few things that we loved.

[403 - 406] One is that the cooking surface is nice and broad.

[406 - 408] This is really important because if it's too narrow

[408 - 411] meat is crowded when you're browning it.

[411 - 414] So this broad cooking surface really did matter.

[414 - 415] Greens cooked quicker because

[415 - 417] they could be spread into a thinner layer.

[417 - 420] The other thing that mattered was the height of the sides.

[420 - 422] These are about two and a half inches.

[422 - 425] The pans in our lineup range from two to three inches

[425 - 428] and actually the higher sides were not that helpful.

[428 - 430] It was harder to reach in with tongs

[430 - 432] to get at those meatballs or to stir anything

[432 - 435] basically halfway to a sauce pan.

[435 - 438] The third thing we really loved was this low handle.

[438 - 441] It was a nice level handle and it was comfortable to grip.

[441 - 443] Has this little bit of a dent in it

[443 - 444] that really helps you grab it

[444 - 446] when you're pouring out sauces and things.

[446 - 448] It actually stays rooted in your hand.

[448 - 451] Can this saute pan replace a skillet?

[451 - 453] I would've to say not really.

[453 - 456] There's some things that a skillet is really terrific at.

[456 - 458] Specifically the browning, a saute pan.

[458 - 461] It's really designed to hold a lot more food.

[461 - 463] If I had to go to a deserted island

[463 - 465] with either this or my skillet,

[465 - 467] I'm still kind of a skillet person.

[467 - 469] So if you've already got a great skillet

[469 - 471] and a great sauce pan

[471 - 473] but you're looking to expand a little bit

[473 - 475] to a little bit more specialty cookware,

[475 - 479] definitely check out the saute pan and the saucier

[479 - 480] that Kate talked about.

[480 - 483] For more information on all the gear we talked about today

[483 - 484] check out the links below

[484 - 486] or go to americastestkitchen.com.

[486 - 489] - Do you think a saucier or saute pan is worth it?

[489 - 490] Let us know in the comments below.

[490 - 491] Be sure to like this video

[491 - 494] and subscribe so you never miss an episode.

[494 - 497] (upbeat music begins)