To Find the Best Offset Turners, I Smashed Loads of Burgers and Flipped Pancakes

A good offset turner is a tool that you’ll find yourself reaching for again and again. While you might associate them with a short-order cook using one to flip plate-size hash browns, they also come in more compact sizes for the home cook—and they're mighty useful. They can transfer cookies to a cooling rack, serve up clean slices of casseroles, flip pancakes, smash burgers, and more.

So what exactly is an offset turner? It’s sometimes called a metal spatula, which should tell you everything you need to know. It's designed with the express purpose of turning food while cooking, such as burgers or pancakes. Almost all of them have two bends in them (i.e. the offset part): one bend down where the handle meets the blade, and another one where the blade flattens out to create a level surface.   

We put a variety of metal offset turners—big and small, squared-off and rounded, long and short—to the test, sussing out which ones flipped, scraped, smashed, and served with ease.

The Tests

• Pancake Test: For each offset turner, I cooked four, 1/4-cup-size pancakes in a large cast iron skillet, using the turner to flip them and transfer them to a plate. I noted how well the turners slid under, lifted, and flipped pancakes, and whether they bumped into other pancakes.
• Smash Burgers Test: I cooked two, 2-ounce ground beef patties in a cast iron skillet “smash burger” style, pressing them with the back of each turner, then scraping them up and flipping them. The turners were evaluated based on how easy it was to fit the spatula in the pan, how much effort was required to smash the patties, and how well it picked up the burgers.
• Lasagna Test: I baked a family-size lasagna and, using only the turners that performed well in at least one of the previous tests, served two pieces with each. I paid attention to how well each turner angled into the pan, slid under the lasagna piece, and picked up and transferred it in one piece.    
• Cleanup Tests: Over the course of testing, I evaluated how easy each turner was to hand-wash with warm, soapy water and a sponge.
  

What We Learned

What Size Turner Was Best?

I included a large range of sizes in my testing, with turners measuring 10.5 to 15 inches long. The turners that performed well in both the pancake and lasagna tests were all shorter than 12.5 inches, with blades narrower than three inches wide. Models with wider blades, such as the Dexter Russell, were excellent at flattening meat patties for smash burgers. However, this feature hindered them when attempting to angle under a single pancake without disturbing the others, and when I tried to use them to pick up a slab of lasagna; the width of the blade was too big to easily maneuver in the pan.

That being said, some of the smaller turners failed to smash burger patties thin enough in one go. And because of their more narrow blades, I couldn’t scrape the wide patties off of the skillet while keeping them in one piece. But, again, their more compact frames also made them a delight to use for other applications like flipping small pancakes and serving delicate pieces of lasagna. 

We found that the size of one of my favorite turners from MÄNNKITCHEN was just right at 2 7/8 inches wide and 11.5 inches long; it was nimble yet sturdy and wide but not too much so. 

Blade Shape Made a Difference

Blades with a flat front edge and squared-off corners were much better at sliding under pancakes and scraping up burger patties than those with rounded edges. This is probably because when working with a rounded edge, only one point of the edge is touching the skillet at an angle, meaning less of the turner is in contact with the food at once. With a flat edge, you can ensure the turner’s entire front edge is flush with the skillet, and it has a better chance of sliding cleanly under the pancake or scraping up the burger in one piece.

Offset Turners with Sharp Angles Worked Better

We found models with larger offsets like the MÄNNKITCHEN (which had a 155-degree offset angle near the handle and a 125-degree offset where the blade flattens out) were the easiest to maneuver. The design made it a cinch to angle under a single pancake without smashing the others. Plus, its highly-angled bends made it super easy to position it flat in a cast iron skillet, helping me smash burger patties without too much effort and without burning my hands on the skillet. 

The Criteria: What to Look for in an Offset Turner

What makes the best offset turner depends on what you want to use it for. But overall, I preferred a squared-off blade to a rounded one. Slightly rounded corners were okay, as long as there was a flat edge at the front of the blade. 

A smaller head (narrower than 3 inches) is more versatile. Any larger, and they brought a lot of collateral damage to pancakes in a crowded pan; they were also way too big to serve a normal-sized piece of lasagna. Look for offset turners with a more severe offset. This made it easy to slide underneath a piece of food. And when making smash burgers, it helped the handle avoid hitting the side of the pan. 

Our Favorite Offset Turners

What we liked: This turner held up in all the challenges I put it through. It seamlessly slid under pancakes and flipped them with precision and control. The super angled handle was low enough to get under food items without straining but still kept my hands safe from the hot pan. While the blade doesn't have the surface area of the bigger models, it was still pretty good at totally flattening smash burger patties, requiring only a few extra presses and smears. This model is also the perfect size for serving lasagna; it had no trouble cutting through layers of noodles and sauce, getting under a slice, and lifting it all to the plate in (mostly) one clean piece. It also had a sturdy stainless steel blade, so you don’t have to worry about it bending out of shape. I also liked how, unlike any of the other models, all three edges of the blade are beveled, which made scraping and sliding under food from any direction that much easier. And after re-testing it recently, I can assuredly say it's still the best.

What we didn't like: I wish the blade was just slightly wider. If it was, it could have scraped up the smash burger even better—although it performed well in that test nonetheless. While its sturdiness is a boon, a bit more flexibility in the blade would have made it easier to “smear” the burger meat into the skillet, as well as make it easier to bend to get the perfect angle under pancakes and lasagna slices. Also, because of the wood handle, it’s not dishwasher-safe. 

Key Specs

• Materials: Stainless steel blade, wood handle 
• Offset angles: 125-degree angle where blade flattens out; 155-degree angle where blade meets handle 
• Dimensions: 2 7/8-inch wide blade; 5-inch long blade; 11.5 inches total length
• Weight: 6.46 ounces
• Cleaning: Hand-wash

What we liked: In the smash burger test, this model pressed the patties flat in one swift motion and scraped them up perfectly. Because of this model’s large surface area, it was easy to transfer food—  you could even pick up two pancakes or burger patties at a time. The blade’s edges are very straight and sharp, so scraping up the smash burgers was a breeze—it left almost nothing behind. This also made scraping up the debris in the pan easy. Plus, the bend between its handle and the blade fit perfectly into a cast iron skillet. This angle design also helped me smash burger patties completely flat and level without much fuss and, more importantly, without burning my hand on the side of the pan. 

What we didn't like: Its large size made precisely targeting just one pancake without damaging others difficult—this also hurt its ability to flip pancakes with accuracy. When serving lasagna, it was just too big to maneuver well, failing to smoothly slide under and lift a normal-size slice. Because of the finish on the stainless steel, this turner had a slight stickage problem. For example, once or twice a pancake wouldn’t slide off easily—and a small amount of meat stuck to the bottom when smashing the burgers. Also, it’s not dishwasher-safe thanks to its wooden handle.

Key Specs

• Materials: Stainless steel blade, wood handle 
• Offset angles: 115 degree angle where blade flattens out; 135-degree angle where blade meets handle
• Dimensions: 3-inch wide blade; 6.25-inch long blade; 12.75 inches total length
• Weight: 6.56 ounces
• Cleaning: Hand-wash

What we liked: With a 130-degree offset (the same as my winning spatula from Mannkitchen), this metal turner was easy to angle into skillets and casserole dishes. It especially excelled at serving lasagna, since the small blade could slot in neatly under a slice and remove it without mashing the rest of the dish. It also flipped pancakes neatly, and the severe offset kept my hands safe from the pan's heat. 

What we didn’t like: The metal handle got slippery when greasy or wet. This turner is too small to smash burgers in one go—we had to mash it down a few times to get the patties flat. 

Key Specs

• Materials: Stainless steel 
• Offset angles: 130 degrees where the blade flattens out
• Dimensions: 2.5-inch wide blade; 4.5-inch long blade; 10.5 inches total length
• Weight: 6.2 ounces
• Cleaning: Dishwasher-safe

What we liked: With a flexible, narrow blade, this turner was easy to slip into tricky corner spots (like the edge of a pan full of lasagna) and wriggle under floppy pancakes. The handle was trim and easy to grip, and it cleaned up easily.

What we didn't like: The offset angle was just a smidge too shallow to be as effective as other models.

Key Specs

• Materials: Stainless steel, POM (polyacetal), aluminum
• Offset angles: 140-degree angle where blade flattens out; 130-degree angle where blade meets handle
• Dimensions: 3-inch wide blade; 5.2-inch long blade; 11 inches total length
• Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Cleaning: Hand-wash

The Competition

• Field Company Griddle Turner: This turner was very similar to the Lamson, though the wooden handle was rougher. The offset was shallow, so my hands got closer to the hot skillet than we’d like when smashing burgers and flipping pancakes. It pressed flat burger patties, but when doing so, I noticed that the metal tang in the handle bent and pushed the wood apart, which was concerning. 
• Williams Sonoma Signature Stainless Steel Burger Turner: This turner was 14 inches long, and the blade was almost eight inches—way too big. I struggled to fit it into a 12-inch cast iron skillet when flipping pancakes, and it was impossible to serve a slice of lasagna. While the turner did squish smash-burgers pretty flat, it took a lot of leverage, and the area where the handle meets the blade bent dramatically. I don’t have high hopes for longevity if it’s used for this frequently. 
• Blackstone Hamburger Spatula: With a ginormous square blade, this turner wasn’t good at anything other than smashing burgers. Even then, though, the blade was so wide it was difficult to angle into the skillet. We’d pick a grill press over this. 
• Ultimate Smashburger Spatula From MÄNNKITCHEN: Like the Blackstone turner, it excelled at smashing burgers, but the blade was so wide that it was awkward to angle into the skillet. WeIpreferred the slimmer spatula from Mannkitchen, which was more versatile and easy to use.
• OXO Good Grips Restaurant Turner: Like its brother, this model performed well at lifting and flipping pancakes (although one or two did slide off) and also worked just as well in the lasagna test. Its very slight offset made it difficult to smash burgers—no matter how you maneuvered it, it could never lay flat and level in the pan. However, its larger blade was better than the lasagna turner at flattening the whole patty.  
• Sabatier Triple Rivet Turner: This was a larger model that failed to easily lift pancakes; instead, it smushed them into each other, hitting other pancakes in the process. It flattened the meat patties well, but, thanks to its rounded front edge, it failed to scrape them up in one piece. Its long and wide blade made it awkward to angle under and pick up a piece of lasagna.
• Norpro Stainless Steel Turner with Wood Handle: One of the longest models, this turner was no good at flipping pancakes, but its large size and severe offset helped it fit perfectly into the skillet to press down burger patties. However, because of its rounded front edge, it failed to scrape up the burgers in one piece, leaving behind a lot of meat. 
• Mercer Culinary Hell's Handle Heavy Duty Turner: This was a heavy, bulky model that lagged behind in every test. Its only positive feature was the ultra-wide and sharp front blade that was perfect for scraping up burgers. 
• New Star Foodservice 36299 Wood Handle Heavy Duty Hamburger Turner: This huge, industrial-size turner might be good at flipping burgers and serving-tray sized pancakes on large flat-top, but it was way too big and bulky for a home cook. Plus, it only has one bend, not two, making it awkward to hold. 
  

FAQs

What's the best spatula for cast iron?

Metal spatulas are best for cast iron. These durable pans won't get damaged by the metal utensil (unlike nonstick skillets), and their sharper edges are ideal for sliding underneath and scraping up bits of food.

What’s the difference between an offset turner and a spatula? 

Spatulas can take many shapes: there are rubber spatulas that are perfect for making scrambled eggs or folding flour into cookie dough. There are offset spatulas, which, like offset turners, have bends between their handle and blade, making it easier to get the blade flat and level for getting super smooth frosting on a cake. There are fish spatulas, which are slotted, super-thin, and flexible, and also slightly angled at the end of their blade. And then there are the normal, ubiquitous spatulas you know and love that might be slotted, but usually only have one bend. Offset turners, on the other hand, are made specifically for the purpose of turning things (burgers, pancakes, etc.), and their two bends provide a better angle to slide under food items. 

Do I really need an offset turner in my kitchen?

In many cases, an offset turner might be good enough to replace a normal spatula (excluding the ones made of silicone for use on nonstick pans). For tasks like flattening and flipping burger patties for smash burgers, there really isn’t a better option (unless you want to invest in a plastering trowel).

Can you use an offset turner for frosting a cake?

Nope! You're thinking of an offset spatula: it has a thin, metal blade that easily levels out and creates swoops and swirls in icing. You can read more about it here.

Why We're the Experts

• Eric King is a recipe developer, food stylist, and photographer.
• He is the founder of the blog easygayoven, and has been featured in Vulture, Entertainment Weekly, and Billboard.
• He has a degree in magazine journalism from Syracuse University.
• For the review, Eric tested nine offset turners, evaluating them across various metrics.
• Grace Kelly is a senior editor at Serious Eats. She helped update this piece by testing a few more offset turners and named the OXO Steel Lasagna Server as a new top small pick.