Is It Safe To Put An Oven-Safe Skillet Under The Broiler?

Tucked away at the top of your oven is a kitchen appliance that really brings the heat: Your broiler. From crisping chicken skin to melting the cheese atop your lasagna, it is an intense, direct heat source that can easily up your cooking game, but requires the proper tools. To make sure we're grabbing the correct skillet when planning to use a broiler, we talked to Tara Bench, cookbook author and blogger behind Tara Teaspoon, to give us the rundown on whether oven-safe skillets are also broiler-safe.

"Here's the thing: not all oven-safe skillets are broiler-safe!" Bench reveals. "A broiler's direct [heat] from above is completely different from regular oven heat, and some skillets just aren't built for it. You need to check before you pop that skillet under there." While many oven-safe or oven-proof skillets are rated for high temperatures, the actual temperature limits vary across brands and materials.

A broiler uses high, sustained heat in very close proximity to your food (and skillet), whereas an oven set to the same high temperature disperses the heat throughout the interior of the appliance. The average temperature of a broiler on high ranges from 500 to 550 degrees Fahrenheit, so that's the bare minimum you'll need your skillet to be able to endure before you put it under your broiler. High oven temperatures are less intense on your cookware than a broiler. That means that, just as Bench warned, not all oven-safe cookware is also broiler-safe. 

"Cast iron is basically indestructible under the broiler, and most all-stainless steel skillets are fine too, but nonstick pans can be risky, and the coatings aren't usually broiler-safe," Tara Bench explains. For example, Made In's stainless clad cookware — which one of our chef-slash-writers loves — is oven-safe up to 800 degrees Fahrenheit, while the brand's ProCoat Non Stick line is only oven-safe up to 500 degrees Fahrenheit. And nonstick pans aren't recommended for use under a broiler, even if they are said to be oven-safe at high enough temperatures. Sustained high heat can cause the nonstick coating to break down, damaging the pan as well as releasing chemicals from the nonstick coating into the air and your food. "Look up your skillet and see if the manufacturer has labeled it 'broiler-safe' with a temperature limit listed," Bench advises.

No matter what kind of cookware you're using, always check the handle before putting a new pan in the oven. Bench says, "If it's all metal with rivets, you're good; if there's any plastic or glued-on silicone, skip the broiler. Cast iron and stainless steel are your best bets."

Bench also shared some general tips to keep in mind when using your broiler: "When you do use a skillet under the broiler, use thick oven mitts because it gets super-hot, and watch it closely because the broiler works fast. Let anything that comes from the broiler cool on a trivet or heat-safe surface a little, and avoid pouring cold or warm liquid into the skillet right away (that may cause a steam explosion, warping, or other disaster). If you're ever unsure, just don't do it!"