Kitchen Tip: Stainless Steel Cookware

My sister once had a stainless steel skillet but didn't like it much as she said the food always stuck and it was a bear to clean.  It got me to thinking of tonight's blog.

You don't have to be concerned with food sticking to the pan, burning, or having to scrub the skillet till your fingers ache if you follow some basics that have worked for me.

So why would you want to use a stainless steel skillet and not a non-stick?  Many recipes call for stainless steel because when you are cooking meat it leaves some yummy bits on the bottom of the pan.  You then will deglaze with stock or wine to create a fond (pan sauce) with those yummy bits. You can't get this fond from a non-stick skillet.  Plus the pans are durable and they don't scratch, won't corrode, or warp.

What should you look for when purchasing a skillet?  Here's what I looked for:

• At least a 12" pan maybe 14" at most. Stay away from sets as they usually include 8" and 10" skillets which are much to small. 
• Look for 18/10 pans. This means the pan is more durable.  Click on this link for more details: 18_10_stainless_steel_cookware.html

• Look for pans that have the words Clad or Tri-Ply in the description.  It's like a metal sandwich with stainless on the outside and a core of aluminum (or copper if you can afford it) sandwiched in between from side to side.  Beware of skillets that only have a disk of metal at the bottom or base.  They can heat unevenly or burn food more easily. 
• You don't have to spend an arm and a leg for skillets unless you want to.  Some All Clad skillets can go for as much as $400.  But if you recall, I mentioned in a previous post  I got my Tramontina skillet for less than $40 at Walmart. The bad news is I just looked at their website and couldn't find it.   Cuisinart skillets are reasonably priced too. 

Even if your pan isn't 18/10 or tri-ply or clad, there are some basics to remember: 

• Unless your boiling a liquid you should never place the pan on high heat. In fact, I never turn my stove top on past medium.  I learned this the hard way. 

• If you aren't going to create a pan sauce (and I don't know why you wouldn't) you can clean any sticky things by pouring warm (not ice cold) water in a fairly hot pan then scrape the bottom. Be careful not to get burned by the steam. 
• Finally, your best friend in cleaning will be a can of Bar Keepers Friend. It is so inexpensive and makes my pans so clean and shiny. 

 

I find that foods cooked in my stainless steel skillets seem much hotter and seem to taste better than when I cooked them in my old T-Fal.

But don't take my word for it.  There are many sites with information on what I covered.


Happy cooking!