Customer Reviews

Oster 3001 12-Inch Electric Frying Pan

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

This is our second Oster 12 inch Glass Lid Electric Skillet 3001. The first one still works beautifully and we love it so much that we are ordering another. We use it for practically everything you can imagine cooking in a skillet. We poach salmon, fry bacon, make potroast etc. etc. etc. We love the tip feature it is great for basting eggs, the glass lid so you can keep an eye on things, the even cooking throughout the pan, the max temperature gives you searing capability, you can wipe the pan clean between cooking individual items (for example, cook your bacon, remove, cook your potatotes, remove and wipe the pan with a paper towel then cook your eggs), you can also cook burritoes to a golden brown by (thawing them and cooking them 15 mins on each side on high simmer) and both the simmer and warm are exactly what you get, all of this in one pan and for our family we will have 2 of these fabulous skillets. Thanks Oster-Catherine and family

I'm very satisfied with my purchase. I've owned at least 4 electric skillets over several years and I am very satisfied with my Oster skillet. This is the first skillet I've owned that had a glass lid which allows you to see the food with out lifting the lid. Its non-stick, very easy to clean and the temperature control is accurate.

I bought the Oster 3001 12" electric skillet in July of this year (it is September) and within 3 uses, the letters & numbers had worn off the temperature control (by early August). I have re-written them with permanent marker, but it doesn't last a single clean-up without needing to be re-done, and now I'm unsure exactly where the numbers were. It is dangerous to use this device, which I otherwise like rather well for cooking, without being able to see what the temperature setting is--today the ink smeared while I was cooking. I've had no response to questions to Sunbeam about replacement (would it be any better to have a new controller sent? or would it be "more of the same?"). I don't have a stove I can cook with, just skillet & microwave, so am back to nuking everything and out the expense of the new skillet.

An update: 3 months after this was written, I was sent a replacement skillet. Not just controller, but the whole skillet, at no charge. This was very nice, but after 4 uses, the numbers came off the new controller. However, I had been able to engrave the settings into the plastic well enough that the controller can be set with accuracy.

A year old, this skillet is losing its anti-stick coating, which first discoloured and then began peeling just the way old-fashioned Teflon and Teflon II coating did. This skillet has never been used with settings over 350-degrees, though the settings go much higher. It also has only been used for short periods at a time, so I am at a loss why the coating has deteriorated so quickly.

It still is mostly non-stick. I keep it seasoned as I do my cast-iron stove-top skillets (yes, I have a stove, now), and use spray-on oil or pour olive oil to coat the the bottom when I use this skillet.

Overall, I like it and will continue to use it, though I may have the remaining coating sanded off. Sunbeam says this has a cast iron body under that coating, so we'll hope the utencil survives for another year or more, as it often is more handy than stove-top cooking.

The lid has accumulated grit and some dried oil residue where the metal edging and glass top fit together. I've found no way to get in there to remove this. Otherwise the skillet is fairly easy to clean, though one must work to clean spills between the outside walls and handles. It would be wonderful if they were hinged or removable for more thorough cleaning, or stood out farther from the sides of the skillet. The open-close vent in the lid is very handy and well-placed to agoid scalding.

The tilt-mechanism is handy, but after a year of occasional use, the control is no longer stiff and sometimes takes only the slightest nudge to tilt the skillet, so one becomes wary lest things slide sideways unexpectedly.

I best like the skillet for its ability to simmering or keep-warm foods after they have been cooked: when a meal is ready but serving must be delayed. The very low settings keep the food warm without scorching. This duty turns the skillet into a handsome warming tray, also quite good at keeping biscuits and bread warm through a meal. They don't get goopy if one opens the vent in the glass top.

I love it. It does a great job on roasts. Like the vent in the lid that can be adjusted open or closed.

I like the frypan to cook with, like the glass top, the square design. It's easy to clean, and the tilt feature is nice. The quick release of the controller, while a good idea, is very flimsy and should be made of a stiffer material. We've returned it once because the numbers rubbed off the controller. Our store replaced it with a new one and we very carefully avoided the numbers on the dial until stirfrying some chicken. As soon as oil splattered on the dial numbers, they wiped right off with a paper towel. What good is an electric frypan when you don't know how hot it is? We're going to return it and replace it with something else.

I loved it the minute I got it, but it has one fatal flaw. The numbers on the tempature dial all rubbed off. I called customer service and this is a common problem. In about 4 to 6 weeks I will get a new dial... what a hassle. I say get a different product and save yourself 4 to 6 weeks. Other than that I love it. :)

I bought this because I just love electric skillets and I needed a new one after my skillet of 5 years bit the dust.
It arrived yesterday and I washed it as per the directions and then proceeded to season it and at dinnertime, I cooked chicken breasts in it. It did a very good job, the lift feature is pretty cool, drains the grease away from the food. The quick release latch is a much needed improvement over some of my past skillets. It says it is a tempered glass lid but it got very hot and the plastic handle on top got very hot as well. Maybe it was first time use but it just seemed too hot for normal use.
The small cookbook that came with it has some nice recipe ideas.
Overall, a good product.

I wanted a replacement, because the electric skillet I had was really heating unevenly. I read many reviews and settled on this one because of all the testimony for even heating. I was worried about the problem that everyone complained about with the numbers wearing off of the temperature select dial. I thought of a way to solve the problem. I bought a can of clear engine paint. It withstands high temperatures and is very inexpensive at Pep Boys. I covered the cord and insertion rod with foil so that the only thing that was exposed was the temperature control dial. I sprayed it with the clear engine paint out in the garage. So far, so good! I have cooked with it and the numbers on the dial have not changed.

Once you plug in the dial, it's difficult to turn and your hand is so close to the skillet, it's an accident waiting to happen. The glass top gets searing hot and the top's handle is an inch away from a steam vent. What were they thinking? I've used this item a dozen times and am beginning to hate it. Tomorrow I'm going to go buy a replacement.

I purchased the 12" Oster electric skillet to replace my 2 year old Villaware Electric Skillet.
The Good--The Oster cooks evenly, no non-heating spots, easy to clean. Large side handles keeps control from getting very greasy.
The Bad -- The control unit is very hard to put in place and keep connected, my husband has to do it for me,
and I'm an able bodied woman.