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Techniques for NOT burning the inside of your pan?

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Hi folks - wanted to see if there are any special techniques for not burning the inside of your pan when cooking on the stovetop? Sounds elementary, but could be some techniques out there I don't know about? Treating the meat/fish/poultry before placing in pan? Adding something to the pan different than non stick cooking spray before beginning? Just curious if you have found something unique, maybe even by accident?
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gorillacoder
1
Dec 2, 2018
  • Pan: thick clad aluminum/copper. I like All-Clad.
  • Pan: properly seasoned cast iron or carbon steel. Lots of stuff on the web on how to do this. Basically, strip the old seasoning (in the oven and hit self clean), then use apply a real thin layer of polyunsaturated oil, like flax seed, wipe as much off as possible, and heat until smoking. Repeat once or twice. Check the googles for details.
  • Technique: don't overheat. Clean out/deglaze when getting a good fond, but before burning, reapply fat, then continue.
RayF
22213
Oct 30, 2018
Good pans don’t burn; ditch your old non-sticks!
littlejoepieweed
3
Aug 23, 2018
Good tips for cooking eggs in stainless steel pan without sticking from the folks at Hestan Cue: https://youtu.be/XK-5o2LLrOE.
phoenixsong
1055
Apr 21, 2018
For fish I tend to add more oil, also you'll have to understand what's in the pan and their burning point. Usually when I sear steak at high temperatures I use grapeseed oil, only adding butter after that when the fire's turned down
LeCheffre
42
Feb 14, 2018
Turn down the temperature?
Is it burnt, or just browned? Burnt can't be saved, but if you've got a nice fond going on, my suggestion is to embrace it, deglaze with some wine or stock, and use cream to build a nice pan sauce. If you are burning it, turn down the temperature as others have noted, then you should be able to build the sauce. This does a nice job of explaining the technique: http://www.cookingforengineers.com/recipe/59/Chicken-Mushroom-Marsala
nasal
4
Nov 21, 2017
If you like cooking at a higher heat, why not switch to a wok or cast-iron pan? Cast iron will distribute the heat more evenly, and with woks you can push food from the "hot spots" on the bottom to the cooler spots on the sides.
ms
77
Nov 21, 2017
Burning the sides or burning the bottom? Burning the sides where the curves are is a fault of the pan design rather than anything the cook can do to help it, if the burning is around the inside of a bulge in your pan then that's not going to go away as the flame of a gas burner lick up to the sides and create hotspots. If you're asking how to mitigate burning on the bottom of the pan, like when making soups, stews or sauces then that can be helped with temperature control and a pan with a heavier base.
SidPost
73
Nov 20, 2017
Temperature control works really well. Natural oils and fats are very helpful at preventing sticking and avoiding burned on bits, though pay attention to smoke points (olive for example smokes at a relatively low temperature). With soft flaky fish for example, don't rush it and let the crust build a little and release everything from the pan. Medium heat with a little butter works really well for me in good stainless steel pans similar to yours with most vegetables and proteins. I have turned out some awesome fried eggs this way with luscious yolks and tender whites that are very nice. A steak with a good sear in butter and some garlic is another awesome combination when you spoon the melted butter over it and finish in the oven. If you don't overheat things, they clean up easily with a paper towel or synthetic scrubbie and a bit of dish soap.
High heat will burn more often causing food to stick and non-stick sprays leave residue behind that will burn on as well. Gummy non-stick cooking spray residue is a problem many people overlook as it is very hard to clean off and burns over time with heat. Also, look at the ingredients in your cooking spray, many of them contain silicone which while slick is not something I want to ingest or scrape off a pan.
Your cooking technique is 99%+ of what keeps your pans from becoming a blackened speckled mess that is near impossible to clean to a sparkle or bright sheen like they were when new. I can cook in pans my mother can't in her kitchen and her stove because I don't rush and overheat things like she does. Patience in the kitchen and a little extra time in meal prep are good steps in the right direction for cooking great meals without some of the side effects of a rushed high heat meal preparation routine.
Ianthe22
1
Nov 20, 2017
Sometimes food burns and sticks to pan's and pot's a bit. Accept it and clean it when needed.
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