Can the Proclamation Duo Pan Really Do It All?

Much like medieval alchemists searching for the formula for gold, direct-to-consumer cookware companies are always looking to create One Pan to Rule Them All, i.e. a pan so versatile that you would never need to buy another. I, for one, would love some sort of pan-acea, if you will, which is how Proclamation Goods Co., a relatively new DTC brand, popped up on my radar. Specifically, I wanted to try their flagship modular cookware set, the Proclamation Duo, which contains, as the brand claims on their website, “the only two pans you need to cook anything you want.”

The Proclamation Duo consists of three pieces, a seven-quart stainless steel wok and stockpot hybrid called the Hybrid pot, a 12-inch Sidekick skillet (which comes in stainless steel or carbon steel), and an additional stainless steel lid for the Hybrid pot. The Sidekick skillet also fits as a lid for the Hybrid pot, allowing the two to function together as a kind of Dutch oven (using the skillet as the lid, rather than the stainless steel lid provided, allows for more space at the top of the pot and offers more insulation for applications like braising).

I used the Proclamation Duo over the course of a few months, folding it into my regular cooking routine. I roasted, I braised, I pan-fried, I sautéed, and I boiled, all to find out if these were really the only two pans I needed. Here’s what I found.

The good stuff

Many DTC brands prioritize aesthetics over quality, giving you a product that photographs well but that isn’t built to last. Proclamation’s pans are made from either stainless steel or carbon steel, and come with a lifetime warranty which is a testament to their longevity (and also perhaps serves to justify the Duo’s roughly $400 price tag). When I pan-seared chicken thighs in the Sidekick skillet I achieved deep, even browning and crispy skin thanks to the pan’s heavy carbon-steel bottom, which retains and distributes heat evenly.

The Hybrid pot was also ideal for searing thanks to its aluminum core stainless steel body, which provided consistent, even heat distribution. I made a variety of chicken dishes using these pans, and each time they delivered a consistent sear without any noticeable hot spots. It’s clear that the Duo is constructed with high quality materials, and built to last.

I was initially skeptical that the Hybrid pot’s broad shape would make it less versatile than the company claimed; like a wok, the Hybrid is wider at the top than the bottom, with a roughly three-inch difference between the top and bottom diameters. Unsurprisingly, this shape worked well for searing and sautéing: The pot’s wide, sloping sides, means it offers ample surface area for cooking. When I made Christian Reynoso’s recipe for Braised Chicken with Grapes and Fennel, I was able to sear all four chicken legs at once and achieve even browning, even though the recipe suggested I cook them in batches.

I was worried, however, that I would need to adjust liquid levels in boiling and braising recipes due to the pot’s wide opening. When a batch of basmati rice I made in the pot turned out fluffy and perfectly textured, I was relieved to be wrong. Additionally, the pot’s sloped edges were well-suited for ladling out piping hot servings of vegetable stew, requiring no pot-tipping until the very end.

The problem areas

Proclamation claims that their pans are “lightweight,” but the carbon steel Sidekick skillet weighs around six pounds and the Hybrid pot weights four pounds, meaning that, when used together as a Dutch oven, the Proclamation Duo weighs a whole 10 pounds. The Duo’s heft was a definite asset for the heat retention I mentioned earlier. In general, you definitely want some weight behind your Dutch oven for even heating and moisture retention: An enameled cast-iron Le Creuset Dutch oven generally weighs between 11 and 13 pounds depending on the size. And, carbon steel is lighter than cast iron. If those are your metrics, perhaps the Proclamation Duo qualifies as lightweight. The thing is, though, that these are relatively heavy pans designed like light pans; their long handles belie the fact that they are exceptionally difficult to maneuver with one hand alone, especially if they're full of food.

This bothered me most when I tried to retrieve a molten gochujang chicken braise from the oven. The two pans fit together with their handles aligned, but those handles are awkwardly long and they get blazing hot in the oven. Meanwhile the helper handle on the other end is short, and perilously close to the pan body, making it awkward to hold with a potholder.

Taking a peek into the pan was especially cumbersome when the Sidekick was functioning as a lid, since you have to remove a long-handled carbon steel skillet, rather than a simple lid with a small handle or knob on the top. Since the carbon-steel Sidekick is heavier than the Hybrid pot, using it as a lid makes for an unwieldy, unbalanced experience. I, an able-bodied young man, found the Sidekick to be an uncomfortably heavy lid, and maneuvering it felt borderline unsafe. The stainless steel Sidekick, which I did not test, weighs 3.5 pounds and therefore might be a better choice if you plan on using this primarily as a Dutch oven set.

The Proclamation Duo also didn’t fit comfortably on a single burner on my standard four-burner stove, nor did it fit well in my sink. While the Duo aims to help you downsize your kitchen, it seemed to be most appropriate for those who have kitchens with plenty of space to spare.

In the end, I rarely used the Duo as a modular set. Most of the time I opted to use one pan or the other independently. The lid that comes with the set is perfectly sufficient for most stovetop and oven applications, and it makes the pot and pan far easier to maneuver than using the heavy Sidekick skillet as a lid for the Hybrid pot.

Who should buy this pan?

The Proclamation Duo can do the job of several pans. The Hybrid pot is particularly versatile, acting as an effective sauté pan and stockpot. As for the Sidekick, I found it to be a large and sturdy searing powerhouse with the quality I would expect from a premium-priced pan. I wouldn't, however, go out of my way to use the two pans as a Dutch oven. When you use the Sidekick skillet as a lid for the Hybrid pot, the whole thing becomes unnecessarily heavy and unwieldy. You're better off using the provided stainless steel lid, even for in-oven braises. You may not get the added thermal insulation the Sidekick would provide as a lid, but as far as I could tell, it didn't yield drastically different cooking results.

Buying the Duo in place of a whole cookware set wouldn’t necessarily save you money, either. For the $400 price tag, you could easily buy a quality stockpot, skillet, Dutch oven, and wok. Unless you only ever cook one-pot meals, you’ll likely need more than one pot and one pan anyway. Instead, the Duo makes the most sense for someone who is stocking an empty kitchen, or for someone looking to adopt a minimalist lifestyle, but for whom budget isn’t a top concern.

The Proclamation Duo (Carbon Steel)

$395.00, Proclamation Goods Co.

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Originally Appeared on Epicurious