I threw away my pans this morning.....ideas for cooking eggs?

[WI Mama05]

Tee hee :giggle

I noticed that all three of my non-stick pans were flaking off.....so I pitched them :shifty.

Then I went to make my eggs in my stainless and it was a stuck-on mess (and I did use plenty of butter :grin).

Do I buy another pan (what kind) or is there a way to work with my stainless that will give me a complete egg to eat when I'm done?

:listen

[Annie]

If it is a sticky mess, you're probably just cooking at too high of a temperature. I use my stainless steel (All Clad) pan to make eggs quite a bit, and don't have a sticky problem when I cook them at the right temp :) If it is too hot, they will stick.

[EnglishRose]

I use a cheap griddle pan and it's perfect and I don't use any oil / butter.

[WI Mama05]

If it is a sticky mess, you're probably just cooking at too high of a temperature. I use my stainless steel (All Clad) pan to make eggs quite a bit, and don't have a sticky problem when I cook them at the right temp :) If it is too hot, they will stick.

How do you find the right temp? I've been very spoiled with nonstick.

---------- Post added at 04:30 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:29 PM ----------

I use a cheap griddle pan and it's perfect and I don't use any oil / butter.

I have one too, I just hate dragging it out to make eggs for myself. I usually use it for making family breakfasts.

[Annie]

with eggs, I find medium to med-low to work best. They take a little longer to cook, but the mess is much easier to clean up

[Leslie_JJKs_mom]

spray olive oil works great on stainless steel too.

[WI Mama05]

Imma kinda hyper-ventilating that I threw them out. I have NEVER not had non-stick :jawdrop I know this will be a move for the better, right *holdmyhand*.

[Sundance]

I :love :love :love cast iron

I used to have 1 stainless steel (very high quality, and I actually still have it, but might as well not), and I found it was horrid to keep clean & to keep stuff from sticking.

We can cook everything from spaghetti sauce to eggs to pancakes in our cast iron with no trouble.

[houseforjoy]

1. if you boil vinegar in your stainless steel pans they will become temporarily non stick. it will last through a few washes. -this process will stink:shifty

2. eggs need loooooooooow. do you have gas or electric? if gas do the lowest setting. if electric somewhere between low and medium

3. i also love cast iron.

[Punkie]

I use cast iron for everything. For eggs, I use either a small cast iron pan (http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-L3SK3-Pre-Seasoned-Skillet-6-5-inch/dp/B00063RWT8/ref=sr_1_2?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1368482443&sr=1-2&keywords=cast+iron+egg) or a round cast iron griddle pan (http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-Logic-Pre-Seasoned-Griddle-10-5-inch/dp/B00008GKDN/ref=sr_1_3?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1368482510&sr=1-3&keywords=cast+iron+griddle). Well-seasoned cast iron is just as non-stick as the chemically-laden non-stick stuff, and it is easy to season it yourself if you like bacon. :giggle For example, I make all of our pancakes and such on the griddle pan, and don't need any kind of oil to keep it from sticking and haven't re-seasoned it in years.

[Mother of Sons]

I use cast iron too. I have a video of eggs in my cast iron I can post.

[FaithHopeLove]

So I'm going to be the opposing voice here and say what I learned from Mario Batalli -- hot pan, cold oil (butter). I heat my pan up not scorching, but good and hot, pop the butter in, as soon as its melted I heat the eggs and almost never have a problem with stuff sticking to my pan. There might be some brown crumbly stuff that pops right out, but if my pan is too cool, I have a mess on my hands.

And my favorite ways to cook eggs are over medium and scrambled -- both prone to sticking elsewise.

[Auroras mom]

Hot pan, cold butter or bacon grease, cast iron. Easy clean up while hot too. :thumbsup

[joyousTXmama]

My sister makes a quick egg sandwich for breakfast and says she cooks a scrambled egg or two in an oiled (butter or whatever you like) glass dish in the microwave, and it turns out fine, sortof like an egg patty. I've not personally tried it though...

[marigold]

I will be the middle ground I guess :shrug3 med-med/low heat, preheat the pan, make sure the oil/ butter is melted and hot as well, eggs should sizzle when you drop them into the pan, yum yum

[crunchymum]

Spray oil. :shifty

[ncsweetpea]

Boil your eggs. They won't stick. :P~

[FaithHopeLove]

Boil your eggs. They won't stick. :P~

But then the shell sticks! :-/

[WI Mama05]

LOL!!!! Thanks ladies!!!

I did the hot pan + cold butter yesterday and it *would* have worked awesomely if I hadn't pierced the yolks, thus piercing the bottom of the egg, which caused those areas to stick :think.

How do you make scrambled eggs in a SS pan. I'm going to look into cast iron, but trying to work with what I have right now :grin

[ncsweetpea]

I use coconut oil to scramble or fry eggs in my stainless pan. It works better than butter.

[WI Mama05]

Oohhh! I can do that for my eggs. DD1 is the other egg lover and doesn't like CO.

[SamRose]

Dh uses stainless steel for omlettes or scrambled and rarely has anything stuck on, but he uses a TON of butter. Even w/ a pre-heated pan, I usually have some sticking w/ my eggs, and he insists it's just not enuf butter, but idk.
Cast iron works better w/ the same amt of butter. I dont know if this negatively effects seasoning, but when I get something stuck in my cast iron I put water in it while it's still hot and kinda boil it off. (cast iron experts lmk if that's bad. My pans never seem to stay very well seasoned & I wonder if it's cuz of the way I clean em sometimes)

[ncsweetpea]

Oohhh! I can do that for my eggs. DD1 is the other egg lover and doesn't like CO.

Well it worked okay until I added some Cheddar Jack. The cheese stuck.

[Katigre]

I haven't used nonstick in she's ask I'm just used to scraping the pan afterward :shrug. The little brown pampered chef scrapers are great.

I clean my cat iron on the side with some washer boiled in it then everything scrapes up easily.

Sent from my Android phone using Swype

[Sundance]

My cast iron doesn't generally stick *anything* in it, so I rarely have to use anything strong to scrub. But they're well seasoned.....I bet that plays a role. You can always reseason. If mine ever gets not-so-good, I coat it with lard inside & out & bake it for a while....but I have only done that once or twice since getting them.

As for boiling eggs & the shells sticking. I crack my eggs *slightly* (you can't see the crack, it's very tiny. I just gently hit it against the counter until the sound changes & I know it has a microscopic crack). Then I add maybe a tsp of vinegar & boil. Even with our fresh eggs (often laid that day), the shells peel off fairly well.

[CJNeeley]

We use stainless steel and for scrambled, omelet, or fried we heat the pan on high while cracking the eggs, then turn it to the desired temp (for us usually about med) and add the fat/oil. When that is melted/warm and coating the pan, we add the eggs. Cooking scrambled eggs, the oil needs to be good and warm so the eggs are beginning to cook/sizzle as you pour them in the pan so they are ready for stirring... lots of stirring when on a low heat seem like it just blends your oil into the beaten eggs and leaves it more prone to sticking. Temperature seems to be a factor to me... but hubby is an ex-chef and has all kinds of "rules" I find some help and some don't seem to matter much (but for cooking eggs and searing meat and such the hot pan, warmed grease, and "don't flip/stir until it cooked enough to be willing to pull away from the pan" formula to be helpful--I was a chronic egg pan offender though so Bar Keeper's Secret was a great best friend before I gave in and tried it 'his way').

[Mother of Sons]

I finally got my video up. I don't use butter or oil other than the couple of drops that I use to prime the pan (literally a couple of drops) you can see after intake the eggs out, the pan is dry.

http://youtu.be/LmEoEBB1cO4

---------- Post added at 06:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:21 PM ----------

And here are pancakes I made this morning. Again, no oil or butter except for a few drops to prime the pan before I started.
http://youtu.be/OQJou5VHPb8

[StumblinMama]

I got one of these (http://www.walmart.com/ip/WearEver-Pure-Living-Non-Stick-12-Saute-Pan-Champagne/19791524) ceramic coated pans for Mother's Day. I cooked eggs in it this morning, and it was amazing :rockon

[FaithHopeLove]

I will be the middle ground I guess :shrug3 med-med/low heat, preheat the pan, make sure the oil/ butter is melted and hot as well, eggs should sizzle when you drop them into the pan, yum yum

See, if the eggs sizzle when you drop them in the pan, that's a hot pan to me. :yes :thumbsup

MOS -- you are the Queen of Cast Iron, which makes you sound kind of terrifying in a way, but um, I mean it with the greatest of admiration and respect! :rockon :giggle

---------- Post added at 12:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:14 PM ----------


As for boiling eggs & the shells sticking. I crack my eggs *slightly* (you can't see the crack, it's very tiny. I just gently hit it against the counter until the sound changes & I know it has a microscopic crack). Then I add maybe a tsp of vinegar & boil. Even with our fresh eggs (often laid that day), the shells peel off fairly well.

Oh my goodness I would make such a mess of this! You have mad skillz! :rockon

[Aerynne]

you can make them in muffin tins- little frittatas, or make a big frittata or a quiche.

[FaithHopeLove]

We use stainless steel and for scrambled, omelet, or fried we heat the pan on high while cracking the eggs, then turn it to the desired temp (for us usually about med) and add the fat/oil. When that is melted/warm and coating the pan, we add the eggs. Cooking scrambled eggs, the oil needs to be good and warm so the eggs are beginning to cook/sizzle as you pour them in the pan so they are ready for stirring... lots of stirring when on a low heat seem like it just blends your oil into the beaten eggs and leaves it more prone to sticking. Temperature seems to be a factor to me... but hubby is an ex-chef and has all kinds of "rules" I find some help and some don't seem to matter much (but for cooking eggs and searing meat and such the hot pan, warmed grease, and "don't flip/stir until it cooked enough to be willing to pull away from the pan" formula to be helpful--I was a chronic egg pan offender though so Bar Keeper's Secret was a great best friend before I gave in and tried it 'his way').

So do you scramble them in the pan? Your description of his rules sounds just like what I find too -- especially that "pull away from the pan" thing. :yes

I scramble my eggs in a separate bowl before putting them in the pan, use about the same amount of butter as when I do a fried egg, and make sure I get some up on the sides of the pan before I put the egg in. Again, nice and hot pan, but if it's too hot, it will overbrown the eggs.

But if some egg gets stuck in the pan, it's not the end of the world. This whole "non-stick" pan thing really came around when we were all kids and IMHO has made an expectation that isn't necessary. I mean, if my method doesn't work one time or the other, I either let the remainder dry until I can scrape it out or soak the pan and scrape then. No biggie. I can dooooo it! :yes Better than the funky chemicals of regular non-stick pans!

[WI Mama05]

Oh my wow MOS!!! What brand do you have?

[Mother of Sons]

The pan I used in the video doesn't have a brand name but I have lodge and Wagner and griswold and have the same results with all of them. If you can find one at a thrift store that is really smooth inside, those are the best.

[WI Mama05]

we have an awesome thrift store here - I'll keep my eyes open :tu

[PaperMomma]

Okay, these cooking tips are good, but are you ready for the BEST TIPS EVER for cleaning your stainless steel, even if stuff gets super stuck?


As soon as you take the food out, while the pan is still super hot, pour in a cup of water. It will deglaze the pan and the stuck on stuff will wipe right out. If you forget to do that, or if the caked on stuff was so thick the water didnt get it all, the chore boy steel wool pads clean anything right off. So easy. :phew

[CJNeeley]

So do you scramble them in the pan? Your description of his rules sounds just like what I find too -- especially that "pull away from the pan" thing. :yes

I scramble my eggs in a separate bowl before putting them in the pan, use about the same amount of butter as when I do a fried egg, and make sure I get some up on the sides of the pan before I put the egg in. Again, nice and hot pan, but if it's too hot, it will overbrown the eggs.

But if some egg gets stuck in the pan, it's not the end of the world. This whole "non-stick" pan thing really came around when we were all kids and IMHO has made an expectation that isn't necessary. I mean, if my method doesn't work one time or the other, I either let the remainder dry until I can scrape it out or soak the pan and scrape then. No biggie. I can dooooo it! :yes Better than the funky chemicals of regular non-stick pans!

Yep, I mix them up first in a measuring cup so it pours easy (but for fried eggs I still crack them into the measuring cup and pour them in slower so I can control where they go--hubby doesn't do this one though he just cracks them into the pan, one handed of course :giggle) and so it doesn't cook up little white bits before it's all mixed.

[FaithHopeLove]

Yeah, I don't have that one handed egg cracking thing down that chef type people do . . . :giggle

[CJNeeley]

Me either. :shrug3