This is the era of cookers that present different styles and purposes. Sometimes you may find it difficult that what’s the point differs. You can find one special cooker just for one extra purpose which goes better with this. The same recipe comes out with different textures with different cookware. The great two modern but traditional featured cookers are skillet and griddle. Most of us can get confused about the real difference- skillet vs griddle.
For the surface and shallowness variety, you can make different foods in perfect texture and taste in skillet vs griddle. Considering several factors, we can help you to make a proper decision of buying.
Skillet
Skillet is the thing that most of you have in the kitchen collection. It is nothing but a simple fry pan that has a slope side makes it easier to steer food with less amount of oil. For the slanted side, the heat goes thoroughly to the food and cooks those.
You can use a skillet for all kinds of frying and sauteing textures. You can use it for all types of cooking here. For semi-liquid food like sauce, liquid dessert is possible too for the high walls of the sides and available pouring spouts.
Where Can You Use a Skillet?
A skillet can be of cast iron, stainless steel, and aluminum. So, depending on the material of the skillet you can use it on proper grounds. Aluminum and stainless skillets can be put on a gas stove or any campfire. Only cast iron is the material that is opting for all types of stoves. You can slide the cast iron skillet inside the oven too.
What I Like:
- The most amazing thing about a skillet is- the uses it is versatile. You can use this for all types of cooking styles like frying, sauteing, seasoning, etc.
- You can get a skillet made of all types of materials like copper, cast iron, stainless steel, aluminum, ceramic, and non-stick materials.
- The seasoning goes extra good with a skillet. Imagine all the flavors that mix with the food after steering in the pan.
- The slanted wall of the skillet helps the user to steer comfortably. So, you can cook any liquid without splitting.
- You can use it as preparation for the beef or pork or deer meat grill as it takes time to cook these. Just broil the meat on the skillet, then the grilled meat would be perfectly textured.
- Another good thing that I like most you can sauté onion, ginger, garlic, pepper, mushroom to add to the original flavor.
- You can use this as baking cookware too, by pushing it into the oven easily.
- It is best for pan-fried things like fried chicken, fish, or pork anything. You can make some chop out of meat too with both deep-frying and light frying process.
- Want to make some dessert? No need to worry about the extra pan, this skillet with slightly deep and high wall sides can help you make liquid dessert. You can make the sauce too.
What I don’t Like:
- Skillets get heat quickly so if you put the food in medium to high heat level, the food would burn without proper cooking in a minute.
- You can’t get the smokey flavor.
- Unlike griddle, it doesn’t cook a variety of items at a time separately and doesn’t take in a larger amount of food.
- It is good for pan-fried but not for grilling. As early said, you can just broil the hard meat here before cooking grill.
- Some skillets leave sear marks on the prepared food but not all.
You may read: What is the difference between a French skillet vs frying pan?
Griddle
Not every kitchen has a griddle in the collection. The griddle has a flat surface with all equal sides shaped like mostly rectangular or square; sometimes you may find around one too. It is something more like a baking tray. The space and size of it allow lots of items to cook at a time.
The angled slopes inside the griddle make it amazing for grill meat, fish, or vegetable. You can use this for eggs, bread, pancake, low oil frying, all the items that need a stable area for cooking.
Where Can You Use a griddle?
As a skillet, you can use a griddle in any stove like a gas stove, electric stove according to its material. A cast iron griddle can be put in an induction oven too. It is perfect for outside cooking too like campfire cooking. You can put it in the oven too.
What I Like:
- The good beneficial thing of the griddle is that for the angled surface, it reduces the fat of meat or bacon. The food can turn into a low-fat item in a griddle.
- Awesome for breakfast items, where you can cook a different item on the surface.
- Perfect for steak and burgers and toast.
- The flavor that griddle adds to the food is amazing.
- You can shimmer the meat, veggies on it to get a great texture.
- It can be a better option for low-fried foods.
What I don’t Like:
- For the larger size, it can’t sit well in the small stove to get the maximum heat.
- You have to need larger space for storing the griddles.
- It makes a good grill, but it doesn’t create any traditional sear marks in it.
- A griddle is good for food grills, but you can’t get the perfect texture as the temperature is not as high as the grill machine.
A Quick Comparison of Griddle vs Skillet
Cooking Methods
Skillets and griddles include different cooking methods. One includes the mixing of the taste and flavors of the food; another doesn’t include the texture and flavors. As you can cook different food separately in the griddle, so it maintains the respective flavor. But in the skillet, you mix all the things, but for a larger skillet, there is a chance for stable cooking.
Materials
Most of the griddles are made from cast iron and stainless steel. There are some ceramic and non-stick griddles in the market too. Whatever the materials, those work the same with food cooking. Just the heating process and stability of heat differ. Skillets can be found with any material like copper, steel, cast iron, aluminum, etc.
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Handle
All the skillets have long-handled on one side; some have short loop handle on another side too to hold comfortably. On the contrary, most of the griddles have loop handles on both sides, these help to put on and out of the stove and oven.
Portability
Skillets are not very large to move, so you can easily carry to outside and inside whenever you need them. Relative to skillets, griddles are not much portable as it doesn’t suit on a smaller stove inside the kitchen. However, sometimes it happens that the stoves are smaller enough to produce heat evenly for the griddles.
Taste
The taste in cooking at both griddles and skillets is completely different. You may use griddles at the simple replacement of grill that makes the smoky and roasting texture of bar-b-q. But skillets don’t provide this outlandish and aristocratic taste. In the skillets, you can just fry and steer up the foods that turn into traditional cooking. In Griddles, you can allow the high temperature for grilling food, but in skillets, cooking with high temperature burn the foods.
Skillet vs Griddle – Which One Should I buy?
Now the big question is
Skillets or Griddles? We just help you to choose between these with the following points.
Like grill? Like to do a party with family and friends within less mess and less cost? Choose the griddle then, larger space and the smoky flavor hit the party.
Want to fry or simple sauté in less oil? Go for a proper skillet according to your family members. You can cook breakfast or do any frying and stable cooking procedure.
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FAQ
Is griddle cooking healthy?
Griddle cooking is healthy as you can cook in less fat and oil. Moreover, it has benefits over the grill that in grill, the fat of meat can form some harmful chemicals as it is cooked in an open flame. But this is not the case for griddles. So, you can make bar-b-q on stoves or oven through griddles.
Can you use a frying pan instead of a griddle?
Yes, you can use a frying pan and even a skillet instead of a griddle. But the taste appeared by the food would differ. So, you can’t have proper roasted or smoky items through frying pan cooking.
Do you need oil in a griddle pan?
Yes, you have to apply more oil on a griddle pan than on a skillet if you want the perfect grill or steak. Even in the burger and sandwich making process, apply oil as the need, otherwise, these would burn or stick on the griddle.
Can you use a skillet on a grill?
Yes, you can use a skillet on a grill, and it would be better for a juicy burger and sandwich that prevents the juice from falling through the grill rack. When your food includes fat of meat or delicate protein, then probability happens that those stick on the grill rack. But if you put a skillet with the same food on the grill, then no part of the food sticks. Moreover, you can use the skillets when your grill is running, and at the same time, you need some items cooked in the skillet. So, just put those on the grill, no need to use stoves or an oven.
Kelly is a passionate chef & kitchen expert. She completed her Masters in Culinary Arts and Kitchen Management.