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See why.Splatter Screens
Splatter screens promise to help contain grease during stovetop cooking. We put seven models to the test.
By Published Aug. 1, 2015
Recently, a new kind of splatter screen emerged on the market. The Frywall Stovetop Splatter Guard looks like the protective cone a dog wears around its neck after surgery. We put the Frywall to the test and were pleasantly surprised. It perched securely on each skillet we tried, and very little splatter escaped. Reaching over the walls wasn't as hard as we'd anticipated, and the walls made cooking down large amounts of greens a cinch (the 12-inch model held an impressive 32 cups of kale). Though the Frywall isn't for everyone—it's a big, floppy thing that you have to clean and store—we think it's a real innovation, and we're naming it our new winning splatter screen.
Top Picks
See Everything We Tested
What You Need To Know
Splatter screens promise to help contain grease during stovetop cooking. Our previous winner, from Amco Houseworks, blocks larger, potentially painful (and messy) flying drops of oil but still lets through a fine mist. Could we find a better option?
To find out, we assembled seven models, priced from about $7.00 to just over $20.00. We used them while searing chicken thighs and browning bacon, ranking each on how easy it was to use, how well it contained splatter, how it affected the food, and how it cleaned up. We tried the screens on small, medium, and large skillets and saucepans, as well as Dutch ovens, to check compatibility.
Models made from silicone and perforated metal blocked our view of the food, so bacon went quickly from brown to black. The silicone models were too dense, too; they blocked oil but trapped steam, so when we lifted them, condensation dripped back into the oil and the two exploded with a dangerous vigor. And because the steam couldn’t escape, the food also browned more slowly.
The trapped steam problem exposed the catch-22 of splatter screens: Steam and oil rise off the pan together, so no splatter screen can contain all the oil but still release the steam. Therefore, nothing kept our stovetop completely clean, but fine mesh worked best; it allowed steam to escape and let us see the food.
With the three fine-mesh screens, it came down to how evenly they sat on the pans. Two sat crookedly and allowed extra grease to escape; the best model was our old favorite. It released steam, tidied up easily, and while it won’t keep your stovetop and counters completely clean, it will minimize splatter and block larger drops of flying oil.
Update, January 2019: Recently, a new kind of splatter screen emerged on the market. The Frywall Stovetop Splatter Guard looks like the protective cone a dog wears around its neck after surgery. We put the Frywall to the test and were pleasantly surprised. It perched securely on each skillet we tried, and very little splatter escaped. Reaching over the walls wasn't as hard as we'd anticipated, and the walls made cooking down large amounts of greens a cinch (the 12-inch model held an impressive 32 cups of kale). Though the Frywall isn't for everyone—it's a big, floppy thing that you have to clean and store—we think it's a real innovation, and we're naming it our new winning splatter screen.
Everything We Tested
Recommended
- Cleanup: 3 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Cooking Results: 3 stars out of 3.
- Splatter Containment: 3 stars out of 3.
This large silicone ring does a great job of blocking splatter. The Frywall comes in 8-, 10-, and 12-inch sizes, and each size fit nicely on our corresponding winning pan. It's a somewhat big, floppy thing to deal with, so it may not be for everyone, but it rolls up compactly for storage and can go in the dishwasher. It's a good choice for those who want to keep their cooking area splatter-free and don't mind cleaning and storing another piece of equipment. In sum: a major innovation over a classic splatter screen.
- Cleanup: 3 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 3 stars out of 3.
- Cooking Results: 3 stars out of 3.
- Splatter Containment: 2.5 stars out of 3.
This lightweight mesh screen contained the most splatter. It didn’t require any adjusting, and while it still let out a fine mist, it caught larger, more dangerous blobs of oil while allowing the steam to safely escape. Its 7-inch handle was shorter, which kept it flush atop pots and pans of all sizes.
- Cleanup: 3 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Cooking Results: 3 stars out of 3.
- Splatter Containment: 2.5 stars out of 3.
This screen did a fairly nice job of containing splatter. It fit well on pots and pans of all sizes. The only downside: Its slightly longer handle, at just under 8 inches, naturally weighed down one side, which caused the opposite lip to raise up a wee bit, so more oil escaped if we didn’t fiddle with it to get it to lie completely flush.
Recommended with reservations
- Cleanup: 3 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Cooking Results: 3 stars out of 3.
- Splatter Containment: 2 stars out of 3.
This fine-mesh screen blocked larger oil splatters but still let through a fine mist. It has feet to keep it up off the counter when you take it off the pan, but oil dripped off and made a mess anyway. Its metal feet and handle added weight to one side, so we had to fiddle to get it to lay flush on top of pans, and when it didn’t, more oil escaped. But we liked that we could see through the fine mesh to monitor the food, and it let steam escape so it didn’t alter cooking times.
- Cleanup: 3 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Cooking Results: 3 stars out of 3.
- Splatter Containment: 2 stars out of 3.
This slightly different version of our winner has an extra lip to steady it on top of pans. While the lip has an opening for a handle, it wasn’t wide enough for our favorite Dutch oven’s handles, so it sat askew on top. It didn’t block all splatter, but it did minimize the mess and it stopped larger, dangerous blobs. We could see through its fine-mesh face to monitor browning, and it allowed steam to escape and didn’t change cooking times.
Not Recommended
- Cleanup: 3 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 2 stars out of 3.
- Cooking Results: 1 stars out of 3.
- Splatter Containment: 1.5 stars out of 3.
This model did a so-so job of blocking splatter: Its perforated metal screen kept larger oil explosions in, but a fine mist still escaped. And if it wasn’t expertly balanced, its handle weighed down one side, raising the opposite lip and letting out a barrage of splatters. More problematic: Its metal screen wasn’t see-through, so we missed visual cues, and food went quickly from done to overdone.
- Cleanup: 3 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 1.5 stars out of 3.
- Cooking Results: 1 stars out of 3.
- Splatter Containment: 1 stars out of 3.
This guard’s thick, perforated silicone face trapped moisture inside the pan. This made food cook more slowly. When we uncovered the pan, condensation underneath the splatter guard ran off into the pan, and together the water and oil exploded in a dangerous splatter. It also blocked our view of the food, making it hard to gauge doneness.
- Cleanup: 3 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 1.5 stars out of 3.
- Cooking Results: 1 stars out of 3.
- Splatter Containment: 1 stars out of 3.
This silicone guard was an inch too small for most pans; it fell down inside and was hard to grab because its short handles got really hot. It blocked the food so we couldn’t monitor progress, and it had only a small number of tiny vents. This meant food under it cooked slower, and though it contained splatters while it was on the pan, when we lifted it to flip chicken, the trapped water hit the oil and the two exploded furiously.
- Cleanup: 2 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 1 stars out of 3.
- Cooking Results: 3 stars out of 3.
- Splatter Containment: 0.5 stars out of 3.
Reviews you can trust
The mission of America’s Test Kitchen Reviews is to find the best equipment and ingredients for the home cook through rigorous, hands-on testing.
Hannah Crowley
Hannah is an executive editor for ATK Reviews and cohost of Gear Heads on YouTube.
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