Tips & tricks for stainless steel

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that enjoys cooking.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

RUZQ2

Assistant Cook
Joined
Oct 11, 2006
Messages
1
Location
NH
:chef:
I had old hand me down cookware & was used to a teflon fry pan. I just bought a Wolfgang Puck stainless set & I have a gas stove.

I'm looking for any tricks & tips for cooking with SSlike :
should meat be room temp b4 cooking?
heat pan first ?
came with a wok .. heat pan then add oil?
 
Hi RUZQ2. Welcome to the site!

The most important things to remember with SS, in my opinion at least, is to use enough heat and enough fat. If you use too little of either then you will run into problems with food sticking. Knowing how much of each is not something that can be taught over the internet though. You will need to play around and try things out to figure out what is right.

Generally, yes meat should be at room temp before cooking. This is not a hard and fast rule though as there are some situation where it might be better to have cold meat hit the pan.

Once the meat goes in the pan (for things like streaks, chicken breasts, etc.) do not play with it. Put it in the pan and do not touch it for a minute or two. Initially the food will stick to the pan, but if you resist the urge to touch it then it will eventually release (assuming you use enough heat and fat). be patient. It will happen.

I generally heat the pan first and then add the oil. That is the way a lot of people do it and some will tell you that is the correct way. Persoanlly, I have yet to see a good reason why the oil can not be heated in the pan at the same time though.
 
What do you then do if you are following a process that calls for medium heat? Using high heat in that situation would likely not produce the desired result. :ermm:
 
We have a number of SS pots and pans we purchased over a few years at a restaurant supply place (open to the public).

They are great.

Think GB is right on, you cannot be too skimpy with the oil.

I know the Frugal Gourmet's mantra was 'hot pan, cold oil, food won't stick', but often want both a hot pan and oil before tossing in the food, particularly meat. Find hot oil tends to decrease the oiliness of the cooked food.

One thing we found useful. When you do get that buildup of thick fond (or gunk if you are not going to use it) we don't cool the pan and then wash it.

Instead we just pour off the oil and then add the water with the pan on the burner and hot. It does a wonderful job of cleaning the surface, just as it would if you were deglazing for a sauce. Usually a minute or two of doing this will get rid of all, or at least most, of the gunk on the bottom.

Love the SS but also use the non-stick. Would not, for example, consider making an omelet in anything but a Teflon pan.

And always reach for my old iron wok rather than the SS one.

Hope you enjoy the set.
 
RPCookin said:
What do you then do if you are following a process that calls for medium heat? Using high heat in that situation would likely not produce the desired result. :ermm:
Well this is where trial and error comes into play. You will need to use the right amount of heat for the dish. If that means med-heat then that is what you need to do. You would need to have enough fat though and depending on what it is that you are cooking, don't play with it for a while.
 
GB said:
Persoanlly, I have yet to see a good reason why the oil can not be heated in the pan at the same time though.

GB, how about to minimize deterioration of the oil caused by heat?

I'm one of those who heat the oil after the pan is hot and ready. I figure the oil will get hot and ready faster this way. Then the oil is exposed to heat for a much shorter period of time (than if pan and oil were heated together) and will hopefully deteriorate less. (Never mind if the heat temp in both methods are the same.)

Just my thinking but what do I know? :)
 
It only takes a few seconds to heat the pan and oil so I do not think deterioration would be much of an issue.
 
Hello and welcome to DC. I used to have stainless steel pots and pans and I always had to be careful to oil them a lot before using them.
 
hey, what's that stuff that's used to clean SST? it's called "bar-something," and where do you get it?
 
black chef said:
hey, what's that stuff that's used to clean SST? it's called "bar-something," and where do you get it?
"Bar Keepers Friend, cleanser & polish". The grocery store was out when I needed it last so I ordered online. They also make a liquid cleanser that I occasionally use on the All-Clad polished exterior.
 
RPCookin said:
Also available at Walmart.... but then what isn't???:LOL:

Those scrubbies you use with liquid bath soap, on a stick.

I used to buy them there all the time, but they don't carry them any more.
 
Back
Top Bottom