HexClad Review: Dutch Oven, Chicken Fryer, & Griddle Pan Tested!

Everyone has a favorite pot and pan in their kitchen. We come to love those particular items because of their adaptability and reliability. However, there’s a whole range of cookware products that are no harder to use and much more effective in cooking our favorite recipes.

Griddles or dutch ovens may seem out of place for the modern, residential kitchen, but Hexclad decided to challenge that notion.

Today, our team tested some of Hexclad’s products that aren’t in the typical bundles of pots and pans. We tested the 12” Griddle, 5 Qt Dutch Oven, Deep Frying Pan with Lid (Chicken Fryer), and the HexMill Grinders.

At first glance, none of these items may strike you as essential to your kitchen. Our testing experience showed us how versatile and effective these “niche” items can be.

We previously tested the more traditional pots and pans as well as knives from Hexclad. Click those links to read a more in-depth review of the basic Hexclad design or if you’re interested in any of those products.

Pros

• Lower maintenance relative to high-end cookware
• Excellent non-stick performance
• Oven-safe
• Induction-ready
• Able to use metal utensils 
• Handles are well insulated and heat resistant
• Easy to clean and dishwasher safe
• PFOA-free
• Lifetime warranty against manufacturer’s defects

Cons

• Relatively high price
• Some learning curve for how hot these pans can get (and how quickly)

Scoring

This test was conducted by Nathan L., a member of our extended testing team. He personally tested all 4 products in his home kitchen.

The Hexclad 12″ Griddle

Our tests of the Hexclad 12” griddle consisted of making a full American breakfast. This includes: eggs, pancakes, french toast, and bacon. I make these things frequently and am familiar with their cook times and typical evenness when using normal pans.

My first impression is how weighty it seems for a seemingly skinny pan. It’s not too much by any means, but it’s certainly a solid, well-balanced weight.
I’m much more used to cooking with saute pans. This griddle fits perfectly around my large burner, and its flat surface utilizes nearly all of the 12” diameter.

Compared to normal pans, I feel like the Hexclad griddle heats up quicker on my electric stovetop pictured here. I also tested on an induction stovetop, which brought the pans to a medium heat within one minute.

When cooking the pancakes and eggs, I made sure to test out every part of the pan. The results were incredibly consistent from the center to the edges. My normal pans have a noticeable increase in heat towards the center.

I was extremely satisfied with cooking all of these items on the Hexclad griddle. Aside from speed and evenness, the handle never got hot and the surface had fantastic non-stick performance with only one application of seasoning oil.

I cooked 3-item breakfasts multiple times, and each time endeared me to this pan more and more. It heats up quicker, distributes heat better, and has more cooking space than your standard pan.

If you’re someone who likes smaller pancakes, you can cook 5-6 of them by pouring all the way to the edge and they’re all going to cook evenly. I highly recommend this one to anyone who cooks breakfast regularly.

Hexclad Deep Saute Pan (Chicken Fryer)

My next test involved the chicken fryer. My friends and I have recently been interested in hosting wing nights with spicy hot sauce challenges. We’ve tried grilling, baking, and air frying already. So when this Hexclad chicken fryer showed up, it was perfect to help us decide on the definitively best way to cook wings.

This is a big pot. Right off the bat, I knew I wasn’t going to be pulling it out of the cabinet for just me and the girlfriend. We fed 5 adults with the number of wings it made in one batch.

It took nearly 60 oz of oil to adequately fill the fryer. It got up to temperature fairly quickly. However, it dropped down substantially when the chicken was added. I would highly recommend using an induction stove for this product, or at least one that can quickly adjust heat.

The shape of the pot was well-designed for accommodating lots of chicken. My standard pots for pasta or soup don’t offer as much space without risking overcrowding.

After confirming the internal temp of the chicken was 165 degrees F, I removed the wings and let rest on paper towels. I tossed them in multiple different sauces so we could try out a myriad of flavors.

This method of frying in the Hexclad chicken fryer was unanimously everyone’s favorite method of cooking wings. They turned out crispier and the cook was surprisingly even given my inexperience and electric stovetop.

If you have a full family or group to feed, this is a great pot for frying wings, and its shape can accommodate a full chicken. The standard Hexclad design works well as it was fast-heating, non-stick, and easy to clean when we were done.

Hexclad 5 Qt Dutch Oven

The Dutch oven is another tool that I have little exposure to. Back when I was a boy scout we cooked stews and deserts in a Dutch oven by engulfing it in our campfire. To see it as a kitchen pot is novel to me.

For this product, I cooked a beef stew in the oven and a Japanese curry on the stovetop. The design resembles a fairly standard pot but with thicker walls and a lid that is also oven safe.

With the beef stew, I wanted to ensure I was testing the intended use and capabilities of the Dutch oven. This involved searing the beef chunks on the stovetop in the initial steps.

As we saw in our original Hexclad pan review, the sear was fantastic. I added no oil and I even overcrowded the pot a little. Even so, the resulting brown I got was fantastic. The entire browning process was quick and satisfying because of the non-stick performance.

After cooking the vegetables, the pot was on the stovetop for a while. The temperature of the handles was warm at the most. My experience with other pots at this stage of the cooking was that I would suffer a little bit by touching the handles. With Hexclad’s design, heat doesn’t transfer from the stovetop to the handles.

After a long duration in the oven, I pulled the pot out of the oven (the handles were definitely hot at this point, as to be expected). This stew was incredible. The beef was so tender and the flavors were more intense than I’ve usually pulled off at home.

I usually cook my stews in a pressure cooker, and I think I’m persuaded that the slow-cooking, dutch oven method is simply better. However, it does take more time.

The Japanese curry was entirely done on the stovetop. I wanted to confirm that this pot could replace one of similar size for normal recipes. Again, the sear on the meat was great and the vegetables seemed to cook quicker and more evenly.

The Hexclad Dutch Oven pot is not just a great novelty item, it can be your go-to pot for all kinds of recipes.

HexMill Grinders

Throughout the cooking process of all these recipes, I used HexMill Salt and Pepper Grinders. As you can see from the images (and the price tag), they’re not your standard salt and pepper shakers. They are weighty, tall, and impressive looking.

They weigh roughly 1.75 lbs each when filled. Hexclad claims the solid-milling process is built to better preserve contents. Filling with salt and pepper was easy and the seal does appear to be tightly milled.

They have 10 levels of coarseness. I’ve used plastic shakers in the past that, maybe, had 3 levels built in. Ten is probably more than most people need but certainly appropriate for grinders of this tier.

Below you can see 3 different levels of coarseness from the most course (left) to the most fine (right) with 5 out of 10 in the middle.
As you can see these levels have a pretty big range in the size of the ground salt or pepper flake.

The experience of grinding with them is extremely satisfying. The typical store-bought grinder is best described as inconsistent. You’ll rotate the grinder feeling little resistance, then huge resistance, then you’ll explode through the salt crystal or peppercorn to feel little resistance again.

These HexMill grinders are incredibly consistent with each grind. This is not only satisfying from a tactile sense, but it also lets you better judge the yield of the salt and pepper.

Whether high-end grinders are worth it to you is mostly dependent on your budget. I can confidently say that they are several degrees better than any other grinder I’ve used. If you do buy these grinders from Hexclad, they should feel like a substantial upgrade.

Maintenance

From your first use, you should wash and season the pans before cooking. Even with their proprietary design and coating, they recommend about 1 teaspoon of oil to season before each use to maximize its effectiveness.

Hexclad claims that all of these products are dishwasher safe. During my experience, I both washed them in the dishwasher and by hand. Some eggs managed to stay on the griddle after washing, but that’s dried egg for you.

As experienced in our tests, heat is distributed faster. You may consider starting with a slightly lower heat when switching to Hexclad pots and pans for the first time. I certainly saw this when cooking breakfast items and the Japanese curry.

The stainless steel materials allow for a rougher treatment than pans that have a thick coating. Like me, you may be wary about using metal utensils and more abrasive cleaning sponges (even steel wool) on these products.

My experience with both metal spatulas and hard-bristled cleaning brushes hasn’t left any marks so far.

Should You Buy?

I would recommend the Hexclad griddle for people who like to cook breakfast. It is an excellent pan that will elevate your pancake, eggs, and bacon cooking experience. Understand that the low walls make it less suitable for recipes that call for sauteing.

Aside from that, it is an excellent pan for chopped cheese sandwiches, steaks, burgers, and all kinds of diner foods. My experience with the griddle was positively night and day compared to my normal breakfast pan.

I would recommend the Chicken fryer to anyone who likes making big meals. Aside from being an excellent deep fryer, it’s also a large, versatile cookpot. It’s oven safe for large roasts and big enough to cook large cuts of meat that won’t fit in a normal pan. 

I would recommend the Dutch Oven for those looking to upgrade their stew game. It really shines when used for traditional recipes that benefit from slow cooking. But it’s also an extremely useful 5-quart pot for everyday stovetop meals. If you grew up with old-fashioned campfire recipes like me, the Hexclad Dutch oven is absolutely worth the try.

Finally, I would recommend the salt and pepper grinders to anyone who cooks regularly and can afford them. They are firmly planted in the luxury product category, but they deserve it. The right granule of salt or pepper probably won’t make or break a dish.

However, the control between 10 different levels of coarseness and knowing when to use them can definitely elevate your cooking. They’re also just extremely easy to use and consistent with every grind.