Trouble With Stainless Steel Fry Pans

[Lurch]

I watched dozens of videos on how to make SS fry pans non stick (at least for eggs), and I got so I could fry 3 eggs in a small 8" Revere Ware fry pan with no sticking at all, but I seem to have lost that ability for some reason. Now I'm thinking of getting one of the Blue Diamond non stick ceramic pans. I also have 2 Kenmore saute pans, one that's 10" and I could fry eggs in that with no sticking. The eggs keep sticking, and I hate that. I thought I was using too high of a heat setting, so today I tried on 2 or 3, and it stuck.

I "seasoned" the pan with grapeseed oil, which used to work.

But I noticed a while back that after I had seasoned many pans with this oil, and then not used them, they had a coating that felt sticky, and I had to scrub them to get it off.

Maybe I should season that pan with some other oil.
It's just a matter of heating the pan with oil until it starts to smoke, then letting it cool to room temp, then wiping it clean.
I was also wondering if I'd do better with a new SS fry pan.
They say the Allclad pans work good but they're about $100 for a small one.

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[TonyT]

SS pans work great for eggs IF the butter is heated to the right temp. Too low and eggs will stick, too hot and they will stick. If butter or oil smokes it's too too hot.

[Lurch]

SS pans work great for eggs IF the butter is heated to the right temp. Too low and eggs will stick, too hot and they will stick. If butter or oil smokes it's too too hot.

I think that perfect temp was just under medium though I'm not sure..
Sometimes I kind of feel like giving up on SS pans and going back to non stick pans.

[Lurch]

I'm going to see if my Kenmore multi clad 10" SS saute pan will fry eggs w/o sticking again. I used to fry eggs in that every day with no sticking at all. I also did so with the small 8" Revere Ware SS pan, but for some reason I can't seem to do that any more. It's a thin pan, on a smooth top stove, so maybe that's the problem.
I stopped frying eggs like that every day and somehow I seem to have forgot how I was doing it.

[Humboldt]

I got a 2 skillet set of these a few years ago, small and large: https://www.gothamsteel.com

Their site is cheesy but that's actually a good deal.

Costco, Amazon has them also.

Very happy with them and they work great with eggs.

Only downside I've noticed is they're fragile compared to the SS I'm used to.

Lots if micro-chips on the edges, I figure from either smacking a wooden spoon or spatula (only thing I ever used with them, steel would f*ck them up I think despite their advertising) or cracking eggs.

Interiors are still fine.

[TonyT]

I use the old standard cast iron pans for non-stick frying.

[Philip]

Cast Iron pans are great, but heavy and do require some "seasoning" and maintenance. I don't think any other type of pan should be "seasoned". Also, I wouldn't overheat any non-stick pan, or it will start discoloring and damaging the coating.

I hate frying eggs in SS pans, I can rarely get the oil to the right temperature, and once they stick it is too much of a mess. A couple of years back I got a set of some Italian-made "stone" nonstick pans from TJ-Maxx, and me and the wifey have been very happy with them, easy to clean and no issues whatsoever.

[Lurch]

Thanks fort the ideas.
I'm going to keep trying with the 10" Kenmore clad SS pan for now.
I tried it today, but didn't use enough heat and it stuck.
I believe I did good when I used a dab of butter + a tsp of coconut oil, at just under medium heat, preheated, and with room temperature eggs.

You should never add cold eggs to a pre heated oiled pan.

I eat at least 18 eggs a week.
They're a great source of selenium, choline, and protein.

[YeOldeStonecat]

Cast Iron first choice. I have a 12" and a huge 15".

I season with quality beef suet (tallow). Once seasoned properly, don't need to redo it much, each time you cook meat you're seasoning it some more. Unless you overheat it. And I never..ever...ever...get soap near it. I clean under hot water and scraping with a flat edge wooded spoon or with metal chain sponge.

AllClad makes good stuff too, seriously..the quality of the stainless steel makes a difference with non stick. I can do eggs or anything on mine...
If you cook a lot, well worth the money to purchase quality tools.
There's an all-clad irregular store where you can get factory imperfections for a good discount.
https://www.cookwarenmore.com/all-clad-irregulars/

We go through about 18 eggs a week too, cook only in quality all natural butter, never oil....so bad for you that oil stuff or fake butter. Only pure quality butter like Kates Creamy, Kerry Gold, Vital, stuff like that.
Or cook in bacon fat (from good natural bacon, none of the chemical stuffed common bacon).

[Lurch]

I appreciate the replies. Can we add a "like" button here?

I was thinking about buying a new pan or two, a Gotham Steel or a new Allclad 8" SS that's about $50 on amazon.
Then I was looking at how to use a Starfrit The Rock non stick pan. I have one, I've used it off and on for a few years.
So I thought I better try that again to see how well it might work.

I added a tsp or so of butter and coconut oil and warmed up the pan to about medium heat, and fried 3 eggs.
It did quite a good job and I could wipe out the pan with a paper towel when I was done.
Then I put more oil in it and fried mushrooms, onions, and summer squash in it, and roasted some bacon in the oven..
It made for a great breakfast.
If I had fried the vegs, and then added 3 eggs, it seems to get more sticking then, so I did the eggs first.

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[YeOldeStonecat]

The attachment steaks.jpg is no longer available

A pic of my AllClad (the sea scallops) and big cast iron (the steaks) in action.

[Lurch]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]1467[/ATTACH]

A pic of my AllClad (the sea scallops) and big cast iron (the steaks) in action.

Nice.

I bet I'd like an Allclad SS fry pan and I may get one someday.
I think the one I can get for about $50 on amazon is an Allclad D3.

[MadDoctor]

I have a set of “Greenpans”. Never had an egg stick

[Lurch]

I had an "Orgreenic" pan I gave away after it got some chips in the porcelain coating. I can't really remember how it did with frying eggs.

This video, and others, say you don't need to "season" a SS pan.
This video says you need to leave the eggs be for at least 2 minutes at low / medium heat so the base of the eggs can solidify and supposedly release from the pan.
That could be my problem right there -- trying to move the eggs around in the pan before they had time to to cook on the bottom.
I will try it again today with low/med heated pan, 1 tsp butter, and leave the eggs alone for at least 2 minutes.
Was going to get an All Clad but I think I'll figure out how to fry in my own SS pans if I work at it.
This guy is using an All Clad pan, but I have a feeling the same technique will work on most SS fry pans.

[video=youtube;jbALNwE5cCQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbALNwE5cCQ[/video]

[YeOldeStonecat]

I have a set of “Greenpans”. Never had an egg stick

Careful not to get that too hot...I bought one of those around 15 years ago...and one day, while in a rush...pre-heating it...I forgot to turn it down, and..she got too hot. Once it overheats..loses the non stick..can't bring it back. had to toss it.

[Humboldt]

My best egg story is cracking the 4th and last into a midnight scrambled eggs feast.

Full of blood.

Cracking them into the pan so it just settled in with all the rest.

Tried to scoop it out with a spoon, but it would pull some weird physics thing and siphon itself back out every time.

Very cool and very gross. Tossed the whole batch.

[Humboldt]

I was thinking about buying a new pan or two, a Gotham Steel or a new Allclad 8" SS.

Still loving the Gotham. Works well and cheap.

[Humboldt]

If you cook a lot, well worth the money to purchase quality tools.
There's an all-clad irregular store where you can get factory imperfections for a good discount.
https://www.cookwarenmore.com/all-clad-irregulars/

Holy sh*t. Looks nice, but even their discounted stuff is off the charts for me.

[Philip]

Yeah, All-Clads are expensive, I can't justify the cost, I am too cheap

I bought a set of those at TJ Maxx for $15-20 ea. depending on size --> https://amzn.to/3LUT8B6
Aluminum is thick so they retain heat, light so the wifey doesn't complain, easy to clean, non-toxic, non-stick, etc., very happy with them. I just had to reuse some other glass lids when needed.

[MadDoctor]

Careful not to get that too hot...I bought one of those around 15 years ago...and one day, while in a rush...pre-heating it...I forgot to turn it down, and.. she got too hot. Once it overheats.. loses the non stick.. can't bring it back. had to toss it.

Correct. I have an induction range. I can put the butter in the pan, go to the fridge to get the eggs, and the butter is burning when I get back. Love the induction though. I learned that real quick with a old pan. I'm carful with the new green pans. Good call sir.

[MadDoctor]

One post?????? I'm going to go cook perfect eggs. The farmer likes the way I cook them but complains about wool between his teeth. But that's another subject.......

[Lurch]

I got a 2 skillet set of these a few years ago, small and large: https://www.gothamsteel.com

Their site is cheesy but that's actually a good deal.

Costco, Amazon has them also.

Very happy with them and they work great with eggs.


Interiors are still fine.

When you fry eggs in them do you add any oil?

[Lurch]

UPDATE :

I'm getting a Duxtop induction cooktop burner. I saw a youtube video of a man frying eggs on one in a stainless steel fry pan, and they cooked perfectly, and quickly.
My stove is a smooth top / ceramic, and they say those are the worst for frying eggs and other things bc the temperatures are not steady.
So I will try eggs in SS again, with induction cooktop. If it sticks again, I will update my SS fry pan. Duxtop makes one for about $40.

I also am going to season my SS pans. To do it right, the pan is heated up first, then a fat is added, and brought to the smoke point, then allowed to cool.
I basically just want to fry eggs with no sticking at all in an SS pan.

[YeOldeStonecat]

UPDATE :

My stove is a smooth top / ceramic, and they say those are the worst for frying eggs and other things bc the temperatures are not steady.

Certain the smooth ceramic top stoves can vary in quality, and I'm sure some of the cheaper ones can be irregular.
However the big key is...having pots and pans that have thicker bottoms on them. They heat up well, distribute the heat evenly, and importantly..keep that heat when you plop big "cool or room temp" food on them.

With eggs, ensure the pan is heated up fairly well. You'll learn the temp it should be at. I just use butter, or bacon grease...for cooking my eggs (my wife and I follow a carnivore diet).
I like the pan hot enough so when I crack eggs onto it..they sizzle and form large bubbles on the bottom right away. I like over very easy (very runny). For sunny side...the bottom would brown/crisp up too much if cooking over the high heat I like, would have to lower pan temp a bit for sunny side.

[Lurch]

Certain the smooth ceramic top stoves can vary in quality, and I'm sure some of the cheaper ones can be irregular.
However the big key is...having pots and pans that have thicker bottoms on them. They heat up well, distribute the heat evenly, and importantly..keep that heat when you plop big "cool or room temp" food on them.

With eggs, ensure the pan is heated up fairly well. You'll learn the temp it should be at. I just use butter, or bacon grease...for cooking my eggs (my wife and I follow a carnivore diet).
I like the pan hot enough so when I crack eggs onto it..they sizzle and form large bubbles on the bottom right away. I like over very easy (very runny). For sunny side...the bottom would brown/crisp up too much if cooking over the high heat I like, would have to lower pan temp a bit for sunny side.

IDK what's been happening with my eggs lately. They stick every time.
Yesterday in my Revere Ware SS fry pan, I heated it up to about 3, then added butter and a little olive oil, and 3 room temp eggs.
Then I put a cover on it and let it cook, then lowered the heat setting to 2, and they still stuck.
I used to do eggs every day in this pan with no sticking at all, but then I stopped doing that and now I can't recall how I did it to not stick.
I may need to use even lower heat.

It seems that if you cook at a setting about medium, they might not stick, but around medium it seems to stick.

I'm going to buy me a darned Allclad SS pan one of these days.
Allclad + induction cooktop might solve my egg sticking issues.

[triniwasp]

Has anyone tried the Hexclad pans? If so, how do you like them?
https://hexclad.com/

[YeOldeStonecat]

Has anyone tried the Hexclad pans? If so, how do you like them?
https://hexclad.com/

Not if you value your (or your families) health.

All non stick cookware is coated with a form of PTFE...polytetrafluoroethylene........teflon, which is in the PFAS "forever chemical" family.
Read up on the impacts to our health, as well as environmental horrors due to PFAS spills from plants that make products from it (such as leaking into rivers...)

[Lurch]

I'm not going back to non stick pans again. They only seemed to work good when they're new, and after that they useless.

I will eventually find a method that works on stainless steel fry pans.

[Lurch]

I got the Duxtop induction cooktop and it seems that frying non stick eggs are going to be a piece of cake with this in my existing Kenmore SS sauté pans.
At first I tried it like some guy on youtube, at around 275℉ and that stuck, though I used coconut oil.
The next time I tried at about 250℉, with butter, and it didn't stick much.
The next time, 2 more cold eggs, with butter, and about 180℉ to 210℉ and no sticking at all.

Evidently my problem has not been my Kenmore SS pans, but my GE smooth top range burners.

I love how the pan heats up in mere seconds on the induction cooktop, so you need to be ready with your butter and eggs.
It's even faster than gas.

[Lurch]

I do best with low heat, that would be 180*F on the Duxtop induction cooktop.
I bought an 8" Duxtop SS fry pan that's quite nice, but all my SS pans get the same result if I start with some butter and use low heat.
I can fry eggs flawlessly this way.

[YeOldeStonecat]

I do best with low heat, that would be 180*F on the Duxtop induction cooktop.
I bought an 8" Duxtop SS fry pan that's quite nice, but all my SS pans get the same result if I start with some butter and use low heat.
I can fry eggs flawlessly this way.

Yup, stay away from non-stick....you can cook just fine with SS or cast iron.
Preheat
Lots of fat...
Use quality fat.
Coconut oil
EVOO
Good organic old fashioned butter like Kates Creamy, Vital Farms, or Kerry Gold
Or using good Tallow...quality beef fat from rendering the fat(suet) from beef organs. It's actually good for you. Decades ago we were taught the wrong thing about fats, and the food pyramid was taught to us upside down.
https://babsbonebroth.com/why-you-shoul ... allow-fat/

[Leatherneck]

I have done all the cooking in my house for at least 18 years trying at least 50 skillets. I also went from a gas stove to a smooth top. At first I hated the electric stove/oven, but it's all about mastering what you have. I learned to enjoy the smooth top and electric convection oven. I use different skillets for different meal styles. Absolutely cannot beat a perfect cast iron, but they are heavy and sometimes I just don't want to mess with it. My stainless skillets haven't seen the light of day forever. Just too finicky (for me). I have a couple cast/ceramic that are ugly as heck, but cook great. I have some Sam's Club non stick, anodized skillets that work too and are terrific for eggs. I would like to try some all clad, but just don't feel the need to spend that much since I have gotten so good with other pans. My Wife bakes special breads and would literally shoot someone if they took her cast iron skillet. They heat so evenly and stay warm so long, I clean them the next morning.

[Easto]

I'll have to go out to the maid's quarters and ask them what they use.

[Philip]

I hope "they" don't read the SG Forums, I'd hate to see you getting smacked around with a cast iron pan