5 Mistakes Beginners Make with Stainless Steel Pans and How to Fix Them

[@suzannetaylor6285]

I have used your tip for cleaning burnt on food for years and it truely works, not only on Stainless but on enameled cast iron

[@tomwadek]

Thanks for sharing, I’m glad to hear it works for you too! Cheers.

[@LarryHinton-m3b]

Budget pans don't equal bad food. A good fundamental base in cooking is all you need

[@tomwadek]

Absolutely but a cheap pan will cost you money in the long run if you are cooking as much as I do. Just avoid the cheap 3 for $20 deals at check out.

[@AsbjrnHeid]

Your previous "pan selection" video got me buying both a carbon steel and a stainless steel pan, as a replacement for my my teflon pans. Ended up with a Mineral B Pro and a Demeyere Proline stainless, as All-Clad just isn't available here. The Demeyere was a tad more expensive but caught it on a sale, but I just really prefer pans with that extra handle on the opposing side. For the majority of the things we cook we reach for the stainless steel, and hardly ever the teflons. The stainless is so easy to use and clean, and it's half the weight of the carbon steel which is great for my SO. We also end up combining the sauce and meat in the pan, and with it's more rounded edges it holds more and we don't have to think about acidity. Still working on that temp control, but unless it's fried eggs or fragile fish, I actually find it forgiving and relatively easy. It has certainly made a great improvement to the dishes thanks to better browning and the fond. Steaks and chicken breasts, especially with skin on, are on a whole other level compared to earlier. As for heating up, interestingly with an induction top it's a bit different in my experience. The carbon steel one heats up by far the fastest, and gets much hotter. I assume that's just due to more metal, given the weight difference. I have to turn it down 2 steps compared to the stainless steel, and 3 compared to the teflon pans I have. The stainless is 5 (or was it 7?) ply, but it still can't even out the induction coils entirely. So I'm mindful of that when cooking meats. Anyway, if I could have only one frying pan going forward, it would definitely be my stainless.

[@tomwadek]

That’s awesome! I’m so glad you are enjoying your ss and cs pans. Sounds like you are killing it in the kitchen. Cheers!

[@littlequeen22]

I love my wolf gang puck stainless cookware. I’ve had them for over 10 years and they are as good as new.

[@kimberella2105]

Just bought Cuisinart multiclad set and I have never fried with a stainless steel pan before but after watching this I made the best chicken breast and Brussels then a creamy sauce with the fond! I also made salmon but i burned the skin and top . Guess I cooked it too long. Now im watching to see how to clean it properly. It’s clean but I want it to look perfect again lol . I’m so surprised how well my chicken n veggies came out

[@tomwadek]

that makes me absolutely happy! Thank you so much for sharing. I'm glad you are finding my videos helpful. Regarding cleaning, if its light "heat stains" or water stains, use some white distilled vinegar and gently scrub with the soft side of a dish sponge. If it's something heavier, Bar Keeper's Friends is magical.

[@kimberella2105]

@@tomwadekyes I didn’t know about bar keepers friend so I tried it on one of my old heavily heat burned pans that was black inside and it cleaned it right up!

[@MNIU_]

1:31 I like seeing that you have cheaper pans also

[@rochelleschubert3374]

He's right. I recently changed from a non-stick frypan to SS. Once I learned how to use it it became my favourite pan. Food browns up much better and the fond makes fabulous sauces. Fat, especially saturated animal fat is not the enemy to our health we have been told it is. I successfully use beef tallow, lard or butter in my pan.

[@tomwadek]

Right on, thanks for sharing

[@MrOkieChef]

As ma professional chef I choose my cooking vessel according to the food being cooked. SS is great for some things while a cast iron pan will outshine SS if used properly, and if you are cooking eggs nothing beats a non stick pan and for sauces a copper pan is unbeatable.

[@tomwadek]

Great tip! Different tools for the job. Cheers!

[@jamesstarr7912]

Carbon steel for eggs is pretty great

[@maxfin9897]

Great video and my evolution of pans is much like yours. Non stick to carbon steel and now to stainless steel. Although, still use CS about 40% of the time. Larger skillets are also great for vegetable roasting and baking meats in the oven. Great content and keep it up.

[@tomwadek]

Thanks you for sharing your journey and I’m glad you enjoyed the video 🙏

[@545lemonde3]

Thank you so much for your good advice chef!😊

[@tomwadek]

My pleasure 😊

[@deaconmikepray9793]

Nice video. I use non-stick a lot but am now considering trying this pan. It may work out better than buying a new non-stick every couple of years. Thanks for the overview.

[@tomwadek]

I’m glad I could help. Cheers!

[@SmoothJK]

I was so used to searing with cast iron, I was taken aback by how hot the SS got very quickly. It ended up burning some of the steak and even seemingly the kosher salt (is that possible?)...left the pan ugly and brown, deeply stained. But subsequent cooks, I love how fast it is and the fond it leaves is priceless. Now I just need to clean off the brown stains and try not to do that again lol 😅

[@tomwadek]

Haha, it can get away from you but you’ll get the hand of it soon enough. Keep up updated, cheers!

[@JasonON]

Managing heat was a lesson that took me far too long to learn. So, now I heat it up - leidenfrost test - then put my protiens in and turn it down a skosh. Works perfectly every time.

[@tomwadek]

Glad to hear it, cheers!

[@lightspeedlagu]

Yet another excellent video. Thank you sir!

[@tomwadek]

Very welcome

[@johnstigen2355]

Amazing video. I almost exclusively cook with cast iron/carbon steel these last few years now but i am looking into a stainless steel because i am getting sick of reseasoning after making a sauce. I would love to see a video highlighting the differences between aluminum and copper core and your recommendations for different budgets!

[@tomwadek]

Thank you for the suggestions, great ideas on future videos. Glad you liked this one. Cheers!

[@brandonk5087]

You mantioned Allclad by nane as a quality but budget friendly brand. I also noticed a lot of your clips showed the Kirkland pans. What's your rating on those in the quality hierarchy?

[@tomwadek]

I absolutely loved them and raved about their 5 ply copper core set but sadly, they were discounted by Costco about 2 years ago

[@billiamnotbob]

I bought a lower tier Cuisinart 3 ply set. I watched a lot of videos, yours included and haven't burned anything. lol They are my go to along with my Stargazer cast iron pan.

[@tomwadek]

That is awesome! Enjoy the great food! Cheers

[@kenseeley3761]

Great video man. What are your thoughts on old stainless pans like Legion Utensils? I just acquired a copper / stainless 10” pan from my dad that was made in 1965. Just a beautiful piece.

[@tomwadek]

Love it, hand on to it and pass it down to your loved ones.

[@ogonzaleznyc]

I wonder if you could please make a video explaining when and why you use each type of skillet: cast iron; carbon steel; stainless steel; and ceramic/nonstick. I’d appreciate it. Thanks!

[@tomwadek]

Let me know if this video recently made answers your questions: A Beginner's Guide To Buying Your First Serious Frying Pan kzbin.info/www/bejne/rKfPh36qYr6dqqM

[@ogonzaleznyc]

@@tomwadek Thanks!... I suppose that was helpful. But I guess I was wondering about when and why YOU personally use each type of skillet. (The only thing I know for sure is that if you want a fond or if you need to cook anything acidic, stainless steel's the only option).

[@tomwadek]

@@ogonzaleznycgotcha, I personally use cs most of the time unless I’m concerned with the seasoning getting damaged and I use ss when I want to make a pan sauce with the meal or if I’m cooking a lot of things and it needs to be done quick.

[@ogonzaleznyc]

@@tomwadek Thanks so much. I really appreciate it.

[@kensmith174]

Tom, I've noticed that when I use spray oil like Pam, or my usual from WinCo or CostCo, I can cook anything without having to preheat, or anything. Eggs, fish, whatever. With spray on oil, I can just crack the eggs into the pan cold and it still doesn't stick. With regular oil, I have to preheat the pan before PMI put oil in, or it sticks bad. What is in the spray stuff that makes it so stick resistant?

[@tomwadek]

It’s always a good fundamental step to preheat which applies to pans, grills, oven, and really any cooking tool. The spray on stuff usually contains some synthetics or lecithin which is adding a layer between the pan and the food to allow it to be non stick. One side sticks to the pan and the other adapts to the fats and oils in the food to create that layer in between. It also atomizes the oil to get “better coverage”.

[@kensmith174]

Thanks for the explanation. That makes sense.

[@tomwadek]

@@kensmith174ofcourse, anytime.

[@paulgraham2314]

Oil and fat is also a medium to allow even heat transfer for even browning.

[@tomwadek]

absolutely! thanks for pointing that out.

[@Xdmfan02]

You got me looking into stainless steel for the first time, friday I found a brand new still in-box hestan 5 piece probond set (none of the nonstick stuff), that retails for 430 on amazon, on fb marketplace for $250 (he said when he bought them a few years ago it was a misprice so he bought 3 sets, as much as he could afford and used one set, sat on the other two waiting to use as a gift but eventually decided to sell them) talked the guy down to $200 and he agreed since it was an 80 mile drive for me. Long story short, spent all of Saturday experimenting with the leidenfrost effect to see how the pan reacts, cooked 2 eggs and three meals since then and I absolutely love these pans. The learning curve was FAR less steep thanks to your videos!!!

[@tomwadek]

Congrats! I’m glad my videos helped. Keep me update on your cooking journey. It sounds like you are off to a great start. Cheers!

[@pjab3141]

What is the exception with the food release? Is it fish?

[@tomwadek]

Fish will also naturally release. Stay tuned for a video I’m making where I will demonstrate these methods in a “real time recipe”. The exception are if your temps are too high and the food is burning/black smoke. The food will release but it will be burnt as a result.

[@TheCharleseye]

I honestly don't know why more people don't boil water in their pans after cooking. I do that no matter what pan I'm using (including my cast iron) and never have to scrub afterwards. It just makes sense to let the water and heat do the work for you.

[@tomwadek]

easy clean up for sure!

[@desertca]

I burnt my first stainless steel pans and was frustrated I couldn't get the black off. It was a gift so might have been lower quality.

[@HADESPAYLOAD]

BARKEEPERS FRIEND, this is a mistake for stainless it will look like new. If you have a mirror finish it will last years but BK will make it satin over time.

[@taralaurenedavenport3119]

Burned oil removal????

[@HADESPAYLOAD]

Barkeepers friend, also works to clean rust off a knife if you get pitting. Around the handle you will need to use a small toothbrush depending on handle design. You should wash with soap when done other techniques are listed on the cleaner. Calphalon outlet turned me onto it. Vinegar can remove color staining if you have a rainbow or blue marks and that bothers you which is all superficial. Vinegar turns it bright.

[@braywhitjas]

Thank you for this video! Right when I needed it, can’t believe you just posted this video. It was just for me🥹how do you fix a stainless steel pan that has a “permanent” brown surface in the skillet?? I didn’t really know how to use it at ALL when I first got it and now I feel like they are permanently messed up😅😅

[@tomwadek]

You're so welcome! Here’s a video I did on cleaning SS. You may find one of these methods useful. I would recommend bar keepers friend. Different Ways To Clean A Stainless Steel Pan That Sticks! kzbin.info/www/bejne/p3-kooZvgrVohac

[@braywhitjas]

@@tomwadek😭and you actually responded 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽thank you dude!

[@thoroughsoft]

The without question easiest and cheapest way to check if the stainless steel pan has reached a good temperature is to use... Drumroll... Water. Form your fingers as if you were to pinch some salt. Hold the fingers under running water from the tap. Drop the small amount of water from your fingers into the pan. If the water just fizzles and evaporates, not hot enough. If the water instead forms little balls that roll around in the pan, you are there. Mixing water and fat/oil is not a good idea so now tilt the pan so the water balls "slam" into the side of the pan and break. Once the water is evaporated, add the fat/oil. Wait until the fat/oil is hot as well and you are good to go. Fool proof method.