Splatter screen for cooking

 

You'll probably never see a restaurant chef using a splatter screen when they're searing a steak or frying up some bacon. It's not very sexy. Splatter screen for cooking   But at home, especially if cleaning the stovetop is last on the list of chores you want to do, it's a saving grace. Splatter screens catch the droplets of grease that fly out the pan whenever meat (or vegetables!) hit the hot surface. That means less, well, splatter all over your stove. It also means your body will be safer from grease burns. And really, what could be sexier than that? It's the simplest tool: just a mesh screen stretched across a metal circle with a handle. The mesh keeps (most of) the grease in, but lets steam escape. This is crucial. If you were to, say, use a lid as a splatter screen, you'd end up steaming whatever you're cooking instead of searing it. You can find silicone models, and you can find them sold in sets of different sizes, but I go for a simple, cheap model that sells for less than ten bucks. The 12-inch screen works for every size pan (it doesn't matter if the screen is larger than the pan it's covering), so I use it all time—much more often than I clean my stove. Any professional chef can attest to the dangers of frying with oil.