7-Piece All-Clad 3-Ply Stainless Steel Cookware Set Expired

Simply put, All-Clad is the best stainless steel cookware you can get, short of going into the severely-expensive territory of imported and bespoke pieces that are a few hundred dollars each.

I've owned the same 12-inch All-Clad skillet for 10 years, and apart from some surface wear, it's like-new. These come with a lifetime warranty (including the "second quality" ones; see below), which All-Clad will actually honor. If the rivets ever give out, for example, they'll just replace the piece, and pay for shipping in both directions.

Why stainless steel over non-stick? For most things, you want the food to stick a bit. For example, if you put a piece of steak on these, it'll initially adhere and develop a crust. This is a good thing. The brown bits on the bottom of the pan add tons of flavor, and you can deglaze them into a sauce. Having said that, you'll probably still want one non-stick pan to cook eggs, etc. I'd say I use my stainless stuff 90% of the time, and the non-stick pan 10% of the time. Stainless steel can also go into the oven at 450-500 degrees. This is useful for finishing steaks, making stews in the stockpot, or even baking a pie (or pie-like-thing) in the skillet.

Now, do you absolutely need to splurge for All-Clad? No, probably not. They make incredibly good cookware, so if you've got the money, and the deal is to your liking, you certainly won't be disappointed. On the other hand, there are very good quality alternatives that go on sale for $200 for a 13 or 14 piece set.

A note on sets: check what you're actually getting. For example, not all sets come with a steamer basket, which may be something you want. Some sets exclude a 12-inch skillet, which is fine if you already own one, but less fine if you don't.

The other thing I'll mention is that All-Clad regularly has "factory seconds" sales (often posted here), where they sell "second quality" cookware at significantly reduced prices. I (and many others) have purchased from these sales and received completely new perfect-condition pieces, so it seems that this is just a way for them to sell more product at a cheaper cost without devaluing the brand.

I own an All-Clad 12-inch skillet and 3-qt saute pan (arguably the two pieces where All-Clad quality will shine the most; both purchased from a factory-seconds sale), but all my saucepans and stockpots came from a Tramontina set. I had some extra/redundant pieces from the set and had no problem reselling them on Marketplace.

See my posts here for a comparison of the cheaper brands:
https://slickdeals.net/e/14656616-amazon-com-cuisinart-mcp-12n-multiclad-pro-stainless-steel-12-piece-cookware-set-kitchen-dining-209-99?p=143315546#post143315546
https://slickdeals.net/e/14656616-amazon-com-cuisinart-mcp-12n-multiclad-pro-stainless-steel-12-piece-cookware-set-kitchen-dining-209-99?p=143410982#post143410982

The short version is: I like Tramontina. I do NOT (unfortunately) recommend the Kirkland stuff, as it has an issue with warping, and that's not okay. I actually like the design of the Cuisinart MCP line more than the Tramontina, but it too seems to be more prone to warping, which is a deal breaker for me. If you do buy stainless steel, make sure it is fully clad, not disk bottom. That's critically important.

What about 3-ply vs. 5-ply vs. copper-core? Stainless steel has great durability, but not amazing heat distribution. 3-ply shoves an aluminum layer between the stainless steel to give you a durable cooking surface with great heat distribution. Copper has significantly better conductivity than aluminum, but it's also way more expensive. 5-ply is generally heavier, which can give it better heat retention, but the weight makes it unwieldy for day-to-day cooking, and you won't see the benefits with 95% of dishes. If you regularly cook steaks, and want that superb heat retention (although not great heat distribution), get a $30 Lodge Cast Iron skillet and skip the 5-ply. Basically, 3-ply stainless steel (with a thick layer of aluminum in between) is the best combination of heat distribution, durability, and price for most people.

I have a fair bit of experience with this, so happy to answer any questions.

EDIT: Reworded and clarified some parts.

I have this set and picked up another. Two tips. When cooking a meat, heat the pan for 3-4 minutes and use a high temp oil like ghee. Wait until the meat lifts up from the pan and that is when to flip. To clean these pans, use barkeepers friend. Add a little water and BKF, sit for 10 minutes, and clean. Looks like new every time.

This set is D3