Stainless Steel Archives

I currently do not have any stainless steel cookware but my next set of cookware will definitely be stainless steel. I will use it to cook the beef that I eat every day. I collected a bunch of information about stainless steel and wanted to share it with you. Stainless steel cookware is considered the safest cookware on the market. Although it is not nonstick and it does stain easily. This makes stainless steel cookware not as popular as it should be. Stainless steel is non-toxic and is free from PFAS, PFOA, and PTFE. These chemicals are controversial and may cause health concerns, except for PFOA which is considered highly probable to cause health risks. It is best to not consume these chemicals at all and if you use cookware with these then they will get into your food. They make cookware nonstick, so the easy things to cook with are what is bad for you. How do you keep steak from sticking to stainless steel pans? Using plenty of oil will keep steak from sticking to a stainless steel pan. As you cook the oil may be burned off or absorbed by the steak, then you will want to add some more oil to keep the steak from sticking. Oil is usually necessary but not all the time. I will talk more about this below but you may be able to get away with not using any oil when you cook your steak in a stainless steel pan. What oil do you use in a stainless steel pan when cooking steak? You want to be careful which oil you choose to cook with because some are really unhealthy. I recommend staying away from any vegetable oil and using butter or beef tallow. Vegetable oil is high in polyunsaturated fat and omega-6 fatty acids. You can see in this study here how high dietary consumption of omega-6 fatty acids and polyunsaturated fat in the Western diet is detrimental to human health. I have a quote from this research article below. In conclusion, the unbalanced dietary consumption of n-6 : n-3 PUFA is detrimental to human health. Health Implications of High Dietary Omega-6 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Is stainless steel good for searing steaks? You can sear a steak well in a stainless steel pan. Searing a steak can be done in any pan. Although stainless steel is not the best cookware to sear a steak, it is still good for searing a steak. The best cookware for searing a steak is probably cast iron because it retains heat the best. Stainless steel is not the best at retaining heat and so when you put your steak in a hot pan the pan will cook off a little bit. This will cause the sear to not be as good because the pan will not be as hot as it was before you put the steak into it. Unlike cast iron which will not cool off as much when you put the steak into it. I encourage you to check out my post about cast iron pans. Below you will find a video showing you just how easy it can be to sear a steak in a stainless steel pan. The guy uses butter and you gotta be careful with butter because it will burn. It has a lower smoke point but nonetheless, he does a good job. https://youtu.be/YXUp2hXamPI Why use stainless steel pan instead of a nonstick pan to cook steak? Stainless steel is non-toxic and does not contain any PTFE, PFOA, or PFOS. These are chemicals that make pans nonstick and can be dangerous to your health. Stainless steel can be a healthy alternative to a nonstick pan if you are prepared to use it correctly. I recommend checking out this article about PTFE, PFOA, and PFOS for you to learn more. Can you cook steak in a stainless steel pan without oil? Yes, you can cook steak in a stainless steel pan without oil. The pan will have to be at the correct temperature where it is not too hot and not too cool. Also, a lot of steak and especially fatty steak will produce oil in the pan as it cooks. If you try to cook a steak in a stainless steel pan without oil the steak may stick to the pan. Stainless steel is not nonstick and usually needs oil to keep whatever you are cooking from sticking. More chances than not the steak will stick to the pan without oil but you may be able to cook it where it won’t stick. I have below a video of a guy who cooks a steak in a stainless steel pan without oil and the steak does not stick to the pan. I don’t know how hot the pan is but it shows it is possible. https://youtu.be/KTP_YEjf2r4 How do you preheat a stainless steel pan for steak? Preheat the stainless steel pan until the oil is slightly smoking. This means the oil will be hot enough to sear the steak. Once it is this hot then you can put your steak in and you should hear a sizzle. You want your stainless steel pan to be this hot so you can get a good sear on the steak. The sear is the steak becoming brown and creating a Maillard reaction. This causes the steak to taste better. I recommend checking out my other post about what makes steak taste better as well! Conclusion Getting stainless steel cookware to cook steak, in my opinion, is a great investment in your health. We do not fully understand these nonstick chemicals such as PTFE, PFOA, and PFOS, and their effect on our health. It is best we try to avoid these chemicals as much as we can while still being able to enjoy cooking and the food we cook. And yes we can still enjoy cooking and the food we cook with stainless steel while it bot being harmful to us.