This is a review of the West Bend skillet. If you want to get the West Bend 72215 electric extra-deep Oblong 12-by-15-inch nonstick skillet, Click Here.
Apparently, the manufacturers of the 72212 model wanted to solve an issue that is very common among many other electrical skillets: sides that are not high enough and therefore make the unit much less useful and effective when cooking various types of foods.
If you only focus on the sides of this particular product, then most people and readers would probably be happy to hear that this appliance is Oblong and has very deep sides that should be able to contain the majority of foods, ingredients and/or dishes that you decide to cook.
Another feature that is not very common in many skillets(but is present in this product) is a steam vent that should release the pressure that is created when you activate such a contained electrical appliance (like the Presto 16 electric skillet that includes a glass lid but simply has no steam vent that is so needed).
So, this product has these two interesting, handy and useful features that other electronic skillets are missing, and in theory, the 72212 model should have had a serious advantage over its rivals. However, in order for such a cooking tool to achieve success and popularity, it must be able to cook the food properly and provide decent cooking results.
The West Bend Electric Skillet’s Performance
One more useful aspect that is included with the unit is the its legs that can tilt the cooking surface so that the recipes end up being cooked with less fat, grease and other unhealthy cooking oils.
Obviously, similar to various other skillets that you could probably find in the marketplace, the West Bend 72212 design comes with a nonstick coating that is added to the cooking surface in order to stop the food from sticking to it and thus make it easier to clean.
However, it just seems that both the high sides and the surface are too thin, resulting in heat being distributed pretty unevenly. If that’s not enough, then the nonstick surface is probably not thick enough in order to maintain the heat properly, so this electrical appliance often shut down when you are trying to heat it up for extended periods of time.
On the other hand, it includes useful temperature controls that enable the user to set various temperature settings, and if that’s not enough then the skillet is also dishwasher safe after you dispatch the probe (moreover, it’s usually not recommended to place your non stick cookware in the dishwasher because of the fact that it will probably damage the non-stick coating in the long run).
That’s too bad, since the West Bend electric skillet have a lot of potential with its relatively cheap price compared to other electrical fry pans, its much needed steam vent and extra deep sides (that should be thickened).