Rimless crepe pan for stovetop use?

[stevenkan]

I'm looking for a stovetop crepe pan, but haven't been able to find what I'm looking for, either at the typical Sur La Table, Williams Sonoma, etc., or by googling. I don't want something with a thin rim or a sloping rim; I want one with _no_ rim at all, so I can get underneath the crepe with a long flat spatula. Ideally, it would also be very slightly convex.

I guess what I'm looking for is like the top part of a commercial crepe maker, but without the heating element underneath, so I can put it on my stove. I don't have the room or budget for a crepe maker

I found one reference to a thing called a "bilig"

chefcrepe.com/history-about-crepes.htm?sm=1

[sorry; new member, not allowed to post URLs ] and googling for images of a "bilig":

images.google.com/images?client=safari&rls=en-us&q=biligs&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&um=1&sa=N&tab=wi

seems to return the right thing, but I can't seem to find out how/where to buy one (at least not in the U.S.).

Help? Thanks!

 

[Robo410]

Nordic Ware makes what you are looking for. Sold by Kitchen Emporium.com

Stovetop Crepe Maker 03450

 

[stevenkan]

Nordic Ware makes what you are looking for. Sold by Kitchen Emporium.com

Thanks! This looks interesting. Have you used one of these? Do they work well?

Not to get picky, , but ideally I was looking for something bigger. I'm currently using a 12" round pan (with a rim, unfortunately), which is just about the right size for my appetite .

But it's good to know that something like this exists. I must just have been searching with the wrong words.

 

[stevenkan]

Oooh. I was just browsing other threads, and I saw this:

cooking.com/products/shprodde.asp?SKU=190609

It's a heat diffuser for preventing hotspots, but it's got a non-stick coating, and it's 11" in diameter. Amusingly, the first review for it says, "The best griddle ever. I rarely use this for its intended purpose. I use it for pancakes, tortillas, crepes and grilled sandwiches. It is a wonderful, very compact and perfectly flat griddle."

It's roughly the same price as the crepe maker linked above, and there's no dipping tray, or even a handle, but it is 2" larger. Decisions, decisions . . . .

 

[Robo410]

well, I'd go with the "griddle" then...more what you're looking for. TO answer your question, no, I use a cast iron spider for my crepe pan. It has very low sides, but I am making 9" crepes in an 11" pan so it works for me.

 

[stevenkan]

Hmm. Someone else suggested amazon, and sure enough, they have a rimless crepe pan!

amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000UI28XY

$90, though

I guess if it does the job, it's cheaper than buying 3 things that don't work and then throwing them in the back of the cupboard, never to be seen or used again. Free shipping, no tax--perhaps this is what I should do. Still, $90 is a lot to spend. There are plenty of rimmed pans for a lot less.

 

[SusieQ2]

I bought one by Cuisinox at the website best-cookware-set.com I really like it, I use it to fry my eggs & make french toast too.

 

[Jeekinz]

Here's a cast iron version. I always found crepes easy to flip just using my fingers or tongs. Are you having trouble getting them out of the pan?

 

[stevenkan]

Jeelinkz,

Thanks!

I have to confess that some of this is just my "fantasy kitchen" mindset. Some people play fantasy baseball; I like to imagine that I can cook. When I go to creperies, I see the big, flat crepe griddles and the long, flat spatulas. I see the way the guys can get a huge crepe sorta rolled up on the spatula to get them turned over. I just want to do it the same way

That picture you posted is _almost_ what I'm looking for, but even that tiny rim could get in the way of getting underneath an edge-to-edge crepe. At least for someone as clumsy as I am. I also see that it's £49.99 .

Interesting; I searched Le Creuset's website multiple times before posting here, but I never saw that one on the U.S. website. Is it available only in Europe? I don't even see the Black Satin line here in the U.S.

Here's a picture of the one I found at Amazon:

For $90 I'm thinking of just pulling the trigger and wishing myself a Merry Christmas a bit early.

 

[Andy M.]

Jeelinkz,

Thanks!

I have to confess that some of this is just my "fantasy kitchen" mindset. Some people play fantasy baseball; I like to imagine that I can cook. When I go to creperies, I see the big, flat crepe griddles and the long, flat spatulas. I see the way the guys can get a huge crepe sorta rolled up on the spatula to get them turned over. I just want to do it the same way

That picture you posted is _almost_ what I'm looking for, but even that tiny rim could get in the way of getting underneath an edge-to-edge crepe. At least for someone as clumsy as I am. I also see that it's £49.99 .

Interesting; I searched Le Creuset's website multiple times before posting here, but I never saw that one on the U.S. website. Is it available only in Europe? I don't even see the Black Satin line here in the U.S.

Here's a picture of the one I found at Amazon:


For $90 I'm thinking of just pulling the trigger and wishing myself a Merry Christmas a bit early.

If you want to do it using the method you describe, i agree you have get the pan pictured. Go for it. Who deserves a gift more than you?

 

[Jeekinz]

Make sure your stove is perfectly level or the butter/batter will run off the side.

 

[Rob Babcock]

Make sure your stove is perfectly level or the butter/batter will run off the side.

You'll also have to take care to use precisely the correct amount of batter and keep it at the precisely correct consistency. A tall order, at least for me! I make crepes a lot; my weapon of choice is a 12" Calphalon sautee pan. Granted, it would make a long spatula difficult to use, but I just flip 'em over like an omelet. If one sticks a bit I use a silicon spatula to get under the edge, then grab it with my fingers and lift it out.

I have seen pans with a very small lip, but few with one at all. My GF has one like that, but she got it for $2 at a yard sale- I don't even see a manufacturer stamp on it.

 

[stevenkan]

Update! So I decided to stimulate the economy and buy the $95 crepe pan. I also searched hither and yon for a spreader and a long, thin, flat spatula. After lots of blind alleys I _finally_ found this 15 3/4" spatula:

greatchefsequipment.com/store/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=1336

It was hard to find because it doesn't have "crepe" in the title! But it is listed in the "crepe accessories" section.

I also found this crepe spreader:

culinarydirect.com/store/index.cfm/c24575/i46647

Note the picture in that link. I wanted the "-15" part, not the "-24" part. I have one of those other ones with the sharp bottom, and IMHO it's useless, except for scraping the batter off the pan. I wanted to find the round, dowel type, and that's the "-15" part. The price was right, too, at $5/apiece (though they're listing it at a higher price now), so I bought two, in case my kid breaks one.

So, imagine my surprise when my crepe pan shows up, and there's a spreader and a spatula in the box! The spreader is fine, but the spatula is about 8" long, which is silly considering the pan is 12 1/2" in diameter. So I'm glad I bought the longer spatula.

The pan works great! The first crepe stuck a little bit, but once it's broken in the crepes release pretty well. I feel just like a real creperie guy! Well, at least I can fantasize thus!

Heh. Imagine my further surprise when my order of "2" crepe spreaders shows up. The "X5" in the description actually means "package of 5", so the box contained 10 crepe spreaders! So now I have 11.

Anyway, if anyone else ends up buying a crepe pan and needs a spreader, you can have one for the price of postage

 

[stevenkan]

Grrr. The "20 posts before you can link" rule is tremendously annoying. </rant>

 

[gadzooks]

Grrr. The "20 posts before you can link" rule is tremendously annoying. </rant>

Do that two more times and you're a made man....

 

[stevenkan]

Yeah! Just two more! errrr . . . . one?

 

[Jeekinz]

After lots of blind alleys I _finally_ found this 15 3/4" spatula:

greatchefsequipment.com/store/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=1336

Good thing my Mom didn't know about those spatulas when I was a kid.