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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can you use this method
For stainless pots as well??
Nelly I am not sure why you would want to do them on pots? Most pots are used for boiling, stewing and not for frying up things. You certainly can, but I don’t see the use in seasoning pots.
Pots can be used for things like spaghetti sauce which often sticks to the bottom of the pan. So I’m sure she’s wondering if seasoning would prevent that kind of sticking.
This method worked beautifully for me this morning while making hash browns. I’ve been trying to cook them on my stainless steel pan for weeks, and all the wonderful flavor kept sticking to the pan, even with tons of oil, and it was almost impossible to scrape it off. I seasoned my pan this morning per these instructions, and ta-dah! Perfectly crispy hash browns! Thanks for posting this. Breakfast has been saved! 🙂
Jessica – My hashbrowns stuck to my pan, too. Did you season your pan by burning off the oil first? How many times did you do this before cooking the hashbrowns?
Thanks,
Beth
Thanks so much for the tutorial, it worked really nicely for my stainless steel pan! I followed directions exactly as it was in the video, and my eggs no longer stick in the stainless pan, and I was amazed when my omelette glides off the pan and there I was thinking I had to buy non-stick teflon pan, which I know it is quite toxic. Clean up was very easy as well just as it was in the video, I just wiped it off with paper towel. I hope the non stick surface stays longer if I don’t wash it with soap and water. Thank you again for the nice video!
So happy it worked for you! 🙂
Hi, i was wondering about stainless steel racks? I make beef jerky and i smoke it first on racks…but the cleaning afterwards is a real pain…do you think it possible to somehow season the racks so that the cleaning becomes easier? Thanks
Since you are initially heating the pan with nothing in it at a high heat, can you use a glass top stove too? Don’t want the stove to crack from the heat. Thanks.
The glass-top stove should be built to handle the heat, but do check your owners manual and start on medium heat and add more heat if needed.
Am I correct in understanding that you still need to cook on low to medium heat. I have been told that the best way to create a nice fluffy omelette is to add water to the egg mixture and the cook on medium high heat so that the water boils and creates bubbles in the omelette. This does work, but it’s hard to find a non stick pan that works on high heat.
Also, will grapeseed oil work. I understand it is a high heat oil.
I tried doing this while watching the instructional video, and now have one of the worst oil burns I’ve ever seen covering a good portion of my brand new pan :/ I watched the video and waited a couple minutes for my pan to get “really hot” and when I put the coconut oil on, it started smoking a lot and immediately. Within 30 seconds my pan was black and now I have to see if I can get it all off, but I do not have much hope. I’m sure I did something wrong, but this is still a HUGE bummer. 🙁
Hi Natalie,
Your pan will come clean. Get some Bar Keepers Friend and it will come clean. Next time, don’t heat the pan up as long. My guess is that you have a gas stove. Gas stoves heat up a lot faster. Reduce the heat next time and don’t go as long. I’d let it preheat on medium heat for about a minute, add the oil and wait for it to smoke, and then remove and proceed with the next steps.
Did the seasoning yesterday on an electric stove – worked very easily and came out OK – reflection was good too!. This morning, on medium hot, about a teaspoon butter and 4 eggs fried beautifully and no sticking at all. My SS pan is about 40 years old and I have NEVER been able to cook anything without sticking. Thank you so much for this – wish I knew this 40 years ago!!! (although the internet was not yet invented??)
Did the seasoning yesterday on an electric stove – worked very easily and came out OK – reflection was good too!. This morning, on medium hot, about a teaspoon butter and 4 eggs fried beautifully and no sticking at all. My SS pan is about 40 years old and I have NEVER been able to cook anything without sticking. Thank you so much for this – wish I knew this 40 years ago!!! (although the internet was not yet invented??)
Congrats! Happy you are finally able to use your SS pan after 40 years! (I love my older pans too, can not or will not get rid of them)!
I read on another thread where a guy was thankful to his chef school instructor
For the ss non stick trick of heating the pan very hot with oil and then adding several tbsp fine salt and scrubbing with a cloth while still hot. Wipe out, don’t wash, etc. Wonder what difference that would make other that buffing or removing cooking residue?
Thank you for a great post. I’ve practiced with my shiny new Tramontina Tri-ply and have managed to cook scrambled eggs in a nice, non-stick environment. I tried the exact same method with potatoes, however, and have had dismal results. Is there something else to do if you’re cooking room-temperature white or sweet potatoes? I’ve managed to mangle both and am dutifully returning to the kitchen to re-season my skillet. Thanks in advance.
I was told (but you should look this up) if you parboil your potatoes, then slice them, you need to then soak them for a bit in water to remove some of the starches. The starch is part of the reason for the potatoes sticking. I’m going to try this next time, after I successfully season my (now scratched) SS skillet. I do hope the scratches won’t really matter once it’s got a good coat of seasoning…always some concerns, right?