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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I love this tip! Thank you. But I have one concern (I’m OCD about germs). Is it really safe/hygienic to cook in a pan that only gets wiped cleaned but never washed?
HELP! I was too quick and wanted to season my brand new stainless steel frying pan. I put the coconut oil in before the pan was hot and now it is a sticky mess and brown and discoloured!!! How can I clean it? It won’t come off and I don’t want to do more damage. I can’t believe it!! Can anyone help out?
Apology Halle if this was asked before (trying to peruse the 102 comments above).
You mentioned that on high heat the metal expands, so the coconut oil seeps in causing the pan to become non-sticking. Two things came to mind:
1. Does that mean if you’re cooking on high heat (say Chinese stir fry .. say you don’t have a wok) .. does the gravy from the Chinese stir fry also seeps into the pan?
2. Mold and bacteria growth; after cooking on high heat and if you just wipe off the pan with a paper towel does the stuffs you cooked in high heat (that is seeped into the pan) becomes a concern for mold and bacteria growth? I’m assuming you’ll need to wash with soap and maybe warm water? and then re-season the pan again?
Thanks in advance Halle for your reply!
Thanks for asking this as that was my one question after I seasoned all my frypans.
Hi,
I tried this on a brand new Calphon stainless steel wok- burnt it to a toast! I don’t know if this works on stainless steel pans with aluminum bottoms? Because the Calphon I have is that way. The sides weren’t burnt, just the bottom. So if you wanted my assessment of the sides of the pan which is probably only stainless steel, then yes it seems like this method of seasoning was effective. I spent the rest of the day scouring and treating the pan with a stainless steel cleaner, still some burnt residue but not as bad. The oil I had smoked immediately. I would suggest watching the video instead of reading the instructions (I didn’t watch the video), but I still think my pan would still have burnt. Also, I have a glass top stove so maybe medium was still too hot.
I’m dumb, I couldn’t understand the word ‘seasoning’ relating to non-stick profile of cookware. I just know that some cookwares are non-stick wile some are not. We should try to buy only non-stick cookware for the cleaning convenience and high quality meals cooking.
Thank you, thank you. Have a number of All Clad stainless frypans and really didn’t enjoy using cause of seemingly sticking whether oil or not was used. The process works like a charm. Once again, thanks.
Awesome.. I will be giving it a shot. 🙂
I just got a new set of cookware and wondered if you should also season the pots? Or do you just do the pans? Thanks so much!
I just do the pans.
Stainless steel has very good properties, long lasting and most importantly it does not react with prepared food.
How do I know if a stainless steel pan is all clad? I have a few pans that I love but not sure if all clad. Please help.
While I wait for an answer I’m going to go season my pan. I’m used to doing that I used to cook on cast iron all the time. Not sure why I stopped come to think of it.
Also do you ever use the magic eraser on your pans to clean them?
It will clearly say All Clad on it, usually around the handle.
It works! Seasoned my small Cuisinart pan per your directions, then made an omelet! It slid right out of the pan onto the plate! Hooray! When I complained about sticking, a friend said “Season the pan.” I thought, “What, season a stainless pan?” Well I did it and it works! Thank google I found your site!
Hi, I am a chef. I used many kinds of pan. But I face problem in use of different pan. I get total knowledge from your post about pan. From now I will use this pan.