This One Frying Pan Detail Can Elevate Your Cooking Game, According To Gordon Ramsay

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With the amount of time Gordon Ramsay has spent in front of a camera over the past couple of decades, there is no shortage of culinary gems worth listening to as an up-and-coming cook, but among Gordon Ramsay's best tips for home chefs is one about cookware. One of Ramsay's most-suggested cooking tools is a versatile classic, the nonstick frying pan — but only if it's oven-ready. In a video on his YouTube channel, Ramsay suggests, "Look for an oven-proof frying pan with a metal handle if you want to cook like pros." Here, he points out that the oven-ready design not only allows you to cook on the stovetop but also to finish seared dishes in the oven.

This technique, where a dish is started on the stove and then transferred to the oven to finish cooking, is called pan-roasting, which benefits many types of meats. Salmon fillets, lamb chops, and steaks like ribeye and filet mignon are all perfect candidates for pan-roasting, as they all benefit from two different types of heat being applied during the cooking process. This consists of a hot sear to start and a lower bake to finish.

This method is perfectly encapsulated by finishing chicken thighs in the oven. Skin-on chicken thighs have a lot of fat that needs to be dealt with in order to get the beautiful, crisp final product that is so universally adored. Starting the chicken with direct heat in the skillet allows you to render all that fat. Then, once the fat is gone, the best way to cook the chicken through is in the oven. With a good oven-safe frying pan, all you have to do is toss it right in and let that indirect heat slowly bring those chicken thighs to juicy perfection.

There isn't really a major negative to using oven-safe cookware, except that sometimes the handles can get a little bit hot. Fortunately, that is pretty easy to remedy. The first step is just getting used to checking the handle before you grab it. Most of the time, it won't heat up too much, but if you've been cooking something for a long time (and it's too hot to touch), you can just grab it with a kitchen towel or pot holder. Alternatively, silicone handle covers, like this All-Clad Silicone Grip Set, can be put on and taken off as needed, giving you the best of both worlds. Those also come in handy when you're pulling the pan out of the oven, a time when many people forget just how hot that handle will be.

Before tossing your frying pan in the oven, you need to consider whether or not it is up to the task. Ramsay suggests a heavy-bottomed nonstick frying pan with a metal handle for this purpose, and that is a solid choice. The heavy bottom means that heat is distributed evenly and it will have enough stored energy for a good sear on a piece of meat, the nonstick means it'll be good for finicky things like eggs, and the metal handle means it can go in the oven — probably. Whether you can bake in nonstick pans can be a bit complicated, with factors like the type of nonstick coating and the temperature of the oven determining if a pan is appropriate. Be sure to check the specs on a pan before you stick it in the oven.

There are a handful of options out there for you, in terms of oven-safe frying pans, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. If you want to follow Ramsay's advice to the letter, then something like this oven-safe, nonstick Calphalon Hard-Anodized Frying Pan will do the trick. The aluminum construction gives a quick, even heat; the nonstick coating makes it easy to use; and it is safe in the oven up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

Another option is to go with a stainless steel pan, like this Cuisinart Chef's Classic. Stainless steel pans are the backbone of commercial cooking due to their durability and versatility, though they can be quite sticky when it comes to things like scrambling eggs — it takes a few tips and tricks to cook well with stainless steel. But if you're looking for a skillet that will let you pan-roast chicken thighs for decades to come, stainless is a perfect choice.

These days, many folks have at least one piece of cast iron cookware in their kitchen. Whether it's your run-of-the-mill seasoned frying pan, like this Lodge 12-inch Cast Iron Skillet, or something a little more chic, like this Bruntmor 12-Inch Enameled Cast Iron Skillet, both are versatile and great in the oven. Cast iron is great over high heat, and the enameled pieces offer a nonstick cooking surface that you don't need to worry about seasoning like other cast iron pans. Whichever pan you land on in the end, having something that you can take straight from the stovetop to the oven will certainly improve the versatility of your kitchen.