Why I Season A Stainless Steel Pan Part 2
I love cooking on stainless steel pans, but it took some practice and some tips and tricks to get the hang of using these wonderful pans.
A few months ago, I posted a video and post about Buying and Cooking Tips For Stainless Steel Pans.
In this video I showed you how to preheat your pan and then I added some coconut oil followed by adding my egg mixture and demonstrated how to cook your eggs in a stainless steel pan without having them stick all over the pan.
When A Video Becomes Popular
This video became quite popular and I started to get quite a few tips (good and bad ones), but one stood out to me!
One person commented that you can season a stainless steel pan to create a naturally occurring non stick skillet in less then 5 minutes. This individual also stated that I wouldn’t need to use oils/butters to cook my eggs in, and that the pan would no longer stick.
What? For real? So you know me, I got one of my stainless steel pans out and proceeded with the instructions. I was amazed!
Such little effort and he was right, my pan no longer sticks!! I promise you, after watching this video, you too will be seasoning your stainless steel pans!
A Step By Step Approach To Season A Stainless Steel Pan
Here are the simple steps to create a naturally occurring non stick stainless steel pan!
- On medium to medium high heat, heat your pan for 2-3 minutes.
- Melt a little coconut oil or other high heat oil in your pan and swirl the oil around to evenly coat the pan. Allow the oil to smoke (don’t worry, we will be tossing this oil out)! Once the oil has smoked, turn off your burner and remove pan from heat source and allow to cool completely. You know your pan is seasoned and ready if you can see your mirror reflection of yourself in the pan (more details are in the video about this).
- Once the pan has cooled, pour out the oil and wipe the pan out with a paper towel. You now have a seasoned nonstick stainless steel pan.
- I am going to give you an example on how to cook an omelette in your seasoned pan. Simply preheat your pan on medium low heat for 2 minutes. Pour your egg mixture into your pan with no oil at all! Add desired ingredients (cheese, meat, veggies). Allow the eggs to cook for several minutes without disturbing. After a few minutes, flip you eggs and allow to cook another minute or two. Your eggs will slip right out of the pan, no sticking! (You can view this in the video as well). There is no need to ever wash the pan with soap, just wipe out with a paper towel as nothing will stick in the pan, cleanup takes about 10 seconds. This method is very similar to seasoning your cast iron skillet or wok. As long as you don’t use soap on your pan, your pan will remain nonstick. If you are using higher heat, you might need to add a little bit of oil.
That is it! So easy and no mess! Give it a try, you will be amazed!
Stainless Steel Pans That I Recommend
One last thing, not all stainless steel pans are created equal! Quality is really important when buying stainless steel pans.
I personally have this entire collection of stainless steel pans from All-Clad and absolutely love them! Think of it as an investment. These pans will last you a lifetime!
- If you are looking to try out a piece of all-clad, I highly recommend starting with this one! All-Clad Stainless 10-Inch Fry Pan
- If you are looking to buy a whole set, this is a great option: All-Clad Stainless Steel 3-Ply Bonded 10-Piece Cookware Set
✰ One last thing…there is an incredible sale going on over at Amazon right now! Get 43% OFF an entire set of 10-piece cookware set! Get the details here! (please note sale can end at any time…I do not have control of Amazons sales). ✰
How To Season A Stainless Steel Pan Video
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oops! got distracted by baby. not only smoked but burned! do I scrub it all out and start over?
I tried it. it worked , but only for one time. ive done this several times. the first thing I cook in it doesn’t stick but after that it sticks again.
My wife has a set of really heavy gauge aluminum pans. When I retired and started making my own lunch I found it irritating to use a five inch pan on a six inch burner. So after looking around, I found a six inch stainless steel pan just right for heating up soup for lunch? Such a useless piece of kitchen junk I’ve never used before. It’s just the right size for the burner, and it’s definitely long lasting because I will never use it again. After I get my soup eaten, I discover the pan has a deposit on the bottom that Sherwin Williams would like as a recipe for long lasting anti-skid paint. I’ve found that when I have a problem, I can look on the web for a solution because other folks usually have the same problem, and I can often learn by their experiences. All these comments prove that to be partly true, but not always for practical solutions. As an old fellow growing up with cast iron frying pans and grills, I certainly would never use stainless steel instead of them. After successfully using my wife’s five inch aluminum saucepans, I’d sooner buy a stove with a five inch burner than use stainless steel again. (I haven’t been successful in finding a six by three inch, heavy duty aluminum saucepan) All the comments here suggest to me that a lot of food is wasted every day trying to follow advice on how to use stainless steel cookware. But then, I guess we’re an affluent and wasteful society.
But then surely, you reheating the oil that was left over? which is not good for ones health?
Steve, My home economics teacher from long ago said….
“Get the pan hot before you put the butter in and the eggs won’t stick”.
Very easy and works every time~!!
Does doing this affect your ability to caramelize things like scallops?
-Tony
Thank you, I have juist been searching for information about this topic for a while and yours is the
best I have came upon till now. But, what in regards to the
bottom line? Are you sure concerning the source?
I’m confused…above you said as long as you don’t use ‘soap’ your pan will remain ‘non-stick’; however, in another post, you say to wash the pans after each use with warm soapy water because leaving the residue of cooked foods can cause sticking.
Can you straighten this out for me?
Thanks
Cooking with Stainless steel can be trying unless you preheat first. My “old” home-ec teacher said….
“Get the pan hot before you put the better in and the eggs won’t stick”. It has never failed for me.
I preheat, then spray with cooking spray, you can add a little butter for flavor and then the eggs.
Perfect every time~!!
Linda – Have you cooked hashbrowns in a stainless frying pan? I need to know the secret to keep them from sticking to the pan that works like your egg trick. Again, is the secret heating the pan first, then the oil/butter, then the food? I received a beautiful new set of All Clad for my birthday.
Thanks, Beth
Thanks for your reply ‘above’…appreciate your time. I’ll try it. I have one other question that I can’t figure out, given this new way to use stainless.
In my old ‘non-stick’ pan, I usually saute’ greens and once they’re wilted, then add eggs to the pan, cover until done; putting a cover on, kind of saute/steams everything and then I usually flip it once and it’s done. With this new stainless pan, I’m afraid if I pre-heat the pan and then add the greens, they’ll scorch.
Any suggestions?
Thanks again for your time/site. 🙂
Sorry for the misspelling…I meant butter…not better. I’m not sure whether adding the greens would destroy the coating or not, but I would preheat the pan then spray lightly with Original Pam (not olive oil version). If you add other oils to season the greens I would add just after spraying. Then cook the greens in your usual manner. I’m not sure it will work, but it’s certainly worth a try. Pans with a mirror finish work best, but even the less expensive ‘Revereware’ works well with eggs cooked in this way.
Hope this helps.
I’m not sure this is correct. When I season a pan I add a lid cap full of oil and then use a paper towel to spread that over the pan (after the pan was first heated). Then put it on full heat and leave it until all the oil has smoked off and it will not smoke anymore. I also leave it for 5 minutes after that. The pan will look burnt and dirty but that is a polymers. Let it cool and repeat about 7 to ten times. You really are burning the oil off to leave a very dark brown coating. It will look a mess the first time! It’s that coating that is non stick and will last a long time. The pan in the video is t seasoned at all, it just had some oil in it. You need to put small amounts of oil, wipe it round the pan to get a thin coating than burn it on. My pans are thick so timings vary. If you end up with something dark but stick it could be too much oils or it needs longer to burn the oil off
I will try this. Thanks