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I'm not the most domesticated person on earth. Far from it. Until very recently (upon beginning my tenure here at Insider Reviews), most of my meals were cooked al fresco, haphazardly prepped on the yawing decks of boats or in the damp, cluttered confines of a camper van. I am not, in essence, housebroken.

And yet, I am regularly amazed to find how often I enter the kitchen of someone whom I deem to be markedly more domiciliary and find they're frying and sauteing without a splatter screen.

To me, splatter screens are an essential piece of kitchen equipment for anyone who cooks with any amount of oil (which is most people). Leaving aside the risk of bodily injury or grease fire from splattering oil, nobody enjoys scrubbing grease from a stovetop. And when I cook with oil, I generate a prodigious mess. What transpires is a rhapsody in grease splotches in places you'd think they'd never reach. If you, too, are one of these people, check the cabinets above your stove. Heck, even check the ceiling. You're liable to be surprised.

A splatter screen is most commonly a basic kitchen-grade stainless steel mesh affixed to a wire ring with a handle. It's about as simple as anything, and among the cheaper and less cumbersome tools you can add to your kitchen to make your life easier.

The most common ones are a basic stainless steel mesh, but if you prefer silicone, Frywall makes large conical ring inserts you can purchase (read our review on Frywall). They take up a lot more space, allow a small amount of grease to splatter upwards, but they catch most of it and come in various sizes. However, you can also use them for cooking down an unruly mound of greens, or for containing a stir fry as you move the food around with a spatula. In essence, silicone "collars" like these allow more access to your food as it fries. 

Each version has its merits, but I prefer stainless steel to silicone because it tends to last longer, stores more easily, and as long as you don't keep the screen on the pan too long before cooking, you won't have any issues with condensation dripping back into your food and making it soggy. I use my 13-inch stainless-steel screen for all of my pans, and it hangs neatly on a cabinet door, taking up virtually no space when stored.

Using a splatter screen is simple: just place it over the pan when you're not adding, removing, or flipping the food. A good splatter screen is heat resistant and should be able to sit right on top of the pan (though take care to move any plastic handles away from the heat). When you're adding, removing, or stirring food, you can lift the screen up and angle it to protect your body.

Once you're done cooking, cleanup is simple: just throw the splatter screen in the dishwasher. If you don't have a dishwasher, you can also just use soap and water. I prefer a hard bristle brush for the task.  

Plainly and simply, this is a cheap and time-saving contraption that belongs in every kitchen.

Whether you have your dream kitchen, complete with a Viking stove and a full-sized range hood, or you're in a tiny apartment with little to no ventilation, a grease screen might not catch it all (and almost certainly not the purported 99% advertised), but it will go a long, long way. They come in sizes that fit most pans, they're cheap as can be, dishwasher-safe, and save a whole lot of cleanup.

Frankly, just about any model will do, but below are models we've tested and vetted.

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