Medium is high for CI. When i need to cook at medium i preheat for 7-8mins at medlow. When you flick water on the pan and the droplets dance before evaporating you have medium heat, if that instantly evaporates then you have high
I don't know the physics behind it but every pro cook I watch or follow says the same thing. Preheat dry, then add the fat and wait for the fat to get hot, only then you add the food. It works for me.
Kenji Lopez-Alt has actually commented in at least one video that he thinks preheating dry is the wrong approach because you can easily overheat. If you add the oil as it's heating then you have visual and olfactory feedback that will let you know the oil is running thin or is hot enough that it's breaking down and releasing aromas before it gets so hot it's at the smoke point already.
To expand, i believe Kenji's approach is to use a very small amount of oil- just enough to be an indicator (e.g. when it starts smoking as an indication of heat).
Once it's hot enough, then you can add the amount you want to cook with.
To add all the oil before preheating, you're just overheating the oil needlessly and giving it the opportunity to break down more than it needs to.
Yeah, he also doesn't seem to go in with it totally cold either. He seems to let the pan heat for a minute or two then go in with like half a tablespoon, and then when the pans ready he goes in with the full amount.
Chemistry my good sir. The fats in oils decompose under high prolonged heat. Heating oils at the same time as preheating the pan leads to undesirable flavors from the decomposed oils.
There are a few reasons to do this. One is absolutely undeniable, the other is "people feel it works better but don't exactly know why."
The more controversial idea is that putting oil into an already hot pan helps prevent the food from sticking. I've heard some people say it's nonsense, but it definitely is the conventional wisdom on the correct way to do things. However, in my mind, that pales next to the *other* reason to do it:
If you put the oil in your pan and start the heat and you're waiting for it to heat up and you get distracted, you have an oil fire. If you're heating the pan up dry and you get distracted, you have a really really hot pan.
If you're using aromatic oils that have a nice flavor (such as a perfumey olive oil), letting it heat with the pan will cause it to loose some of the compounds that give it flavor and perfume.
Dunno if it changes anything for regular cooking oil though (by regular I mean soy or sunflower based)
I've heard this explanation before, but I don't know how to answer the followup question "What prevents this from happening with oil already in the pan? Does that mean that the pores don't open if there's oil over them?"
From my mistakes while preheating with a oiled pan, it might be because the dry pan can tolerate smoke-point temperatures the oil can't if it's a bare layer. But the oil is fine if it's immediately sending the heat into your food.
But I've never seen that explanation here before, so I'm probably wrong.
I think it's mostly just allowing the oil to heat up more than anything.
The oil should start to shimmer in the pan before adding any ingredients. I've worked with chefs who both add oil to the cool pan and wait for it to heat or add oil to a hot pan, check the shimmer, then go. This allows the oil to go into the pores of the pan.
I was taught as a young fella that heating the pan dry expands the metal and closes up all the microscopic gaps in the surface, so nothing sticks in there. No idea if it's science, or just an old chefs tale, but I've gone through life believing it as hard fact.
They called it the POP method. Heat your Pan, Oil, then Product
You need the heat to expand the metal and close the pores and pits in the metal, forcing out the air. The oil then can form a meniscus over these microscopic pores and pits and to create a non-stick surface. A cast iron pre heated and oiled after heating can be used to cook an omelet even.
Also on newer seasoning be more patient with proteins. They'll release when ready. As you keep cooking more it will get more seasoned and you'll be a better cook once you get the hang of it.
It’s also worth noting not all burners are the same. Especially if you have a newer stove. I can do medium on one burner, medium high on another and medium low on another.
You're going to have to learn your pan with your stove. I don't set my electric glass top stove past a 5 or so when using it. 5 is high for the pan
I'd also direct you to the FAQs. [link to one relevant post](https://www.reddit.com/r/castiron/s/jSQ1iKnPDf)
A simple metric: Heat until water dribbled on the pan sizzles briskly, but doesn’t dance/skittle (Leidenfrost effect).
If you have an IR thermometer, 325F or so is a reasonable target. (Leidenfrost happens at ~380F)
Also, cast iron has tremendous capacity to retain heat, but it’s ability to distribute heat is mediocre — it stays hot well, but the temperature varies quite a bit across the pan as it reaches equilibrium.
You can mitigate this by pre-heating slowly (which is why people recommend pre-heating on medium) or, alternatively, you can use an aluminum or copper defuser to spread the heat more uniformly.
If you add a lot of food to the pan quickly, the temperature will drop. You’ll have to turn up the heat in this instance.
Similarly, you may have to adjust the flame down if there isn’t much food in the pan.
Just keep cooking. You’ll get the hang of it. It just takes practice. Good luck and enjoy! :)
Definitely possible. I moved from a gas stove to a glass cooktop and it is crazy. How hot the glass cooktops could get. I finally bought a thermometer to make the adjustments to my cooking process.
"Hot to the handle" is a phrase used here. I pre heat on 4/10 and wait until you can feel the handle is nearly too hot to touch bare handed.
Then add a little butter/oil/ cooking spray, then add food.
For meat and eggs and most things, don't touch it once you put it in the pan. It will be "stuck" to the pan for the first minute or two, but it will release naturally after a few minutes.
This is a big one to learn, not just with cast iron but with any non-nonstick pan. Like carbon or stainless steel. Poking and turning and fussing with it will make it stick worse. It sticks, and you scrape the cooked layer off, so it just re-sticks to a new spot, rinse and repeat.
Jet let it do it's thing, and it won't stick at all.
Also, heat control. I don't go above a 5/10 on my stove unless I'm trying to boil a pot of water.
In addition to proper heat control, a seriously good rule of thumb (once you've mastered heat control) is:
If your food doesn't want to flip, it's not ready to flip.
Meats, eggs, potatoes are the ones that immediately come to mind, but often if you're trying to flip an egg, steak, chicken breast, potatoes of any kind, etc, and they don't wanna flip, they're not cooked and not ready to flip. Give it some time and don't try to "loosen it up" from the pan, just let it cook some more and see, it should come free of the pan when it's ready to flip 😊
But again, this assumes you're cooking at the right temp, and pre-heating properly for your stove, which takes some time to get used to if you're accustomed to non stick pans
Wait....I've been putting the food in the pan and then flipping it over so the fire cooks the food and the skillet keeps all the heat under it. Are you saying I'm doing it wrong?
Thats the beauty of cast iron though, you aren't going to ruin it beyond repair and trust me, we all started in your shoes. Keep using it and you'll learn its idiosyncrasies
Like everyone says, use less heat. And then also leave that meat where it is. Don't move it around and flip it too much. When the bottom of the meat is cooked, it will release itself and no longer be stuck to the pan.
Gotta throw some butter in there with some onions, peppers and some chicken stock… cook in down for a bit and put it on what ever chicken you just burnt…😂🤷🏻♂️
It’s a sauce that reduces a liquid into something thicker that usually starts out exactly with that stuff you took a picture of, which is called fond. Those liquids are usually a little bit of wine a little bit of stock, some aromatics, some butter and And you reduce it and scrape at the same time you get to clean your pan and get a nice sauce. Excellent twofer. Google “pan sauce ideas“ and you will have so many to choose from. There are three or four basics that you can modify.
well, not really. Deglazing is the technique of dissolving the fond into a liquid. It's probably good for the OP to know that there's a term for this, but I'm answering the questions of "What's a pan sauce". You can google 'deglazing' all you want, but if you want to enter the wonderful world of pan sauces using wine, stock, cream, butter , etc, you need to be searching for 'pan sauces' and developing some awesome creative ideas.
Maybe I just use my shit wrong but that happens to me every time. Giving it a real good chance to preheat has helped, and using oil while cooking helps too, but really the reason I bought cast irons is so that when this happens I can just use a sponge made of fucking metal to get it all off. Wash, rinse, repeat.
Ahhh maybe that’s my problem. I threw the chicken right on there and didn’t let it preheat 😂 no fucks given and throw it on there apparently isn’t the best choice
You want to wait for the pan to get hot, but also wait for the chicken to release on its own after forming a good sear. Patience is key for everything.
Add 5 minutes to your kitchen prep time to let the pan heat up; you gotta at least wait until you can feel the heat in the handle. Then add oil or butter and cook away!
If you’re preheating your skillet and it’s still ending up with this much stuck to it, you may want to try using more oil or butter. I usually do a bit of olive or avocado oil first then add some butter on top of that. If my pan starts to look dry, I add a bit of one or the other. It’s helped me out.
Try frying with butter to get a feel for the pan. Butter has water inside. You add butter to the pan and it's just melting without bubbling? Under the boiling point of water. The next stage would be foaming butter everything above 100°C. The last stage violently foaming and splashing butter which browns quickly that's too high for most cooking.
preheat. more oil. temperature control. you don’t want it too hot. I seriously recommend an infrared thermometer. It’s really helped me dial in my cooking process.
I try and hold the temp somewhere between 420 and 430. That temperature is going to drop as soon as you put a protein in if you’re temperature is much higher than that then you’re well exceeding the smoke point. I was very surprised to find out that even on a medium setting, my electric glass cooktop was producing over 800°. For cast-iron I think you can safely do most of your cooking in the medium low range.
Preheat is optional, depending on what you cook, but temperature control and use of the right amount of oil are essential. I often cook protein without preheating on my glass top stove, but change the temperature as needed. Eggs require careful preheating.
Did you have any oil in the pan? Even a well seasoned CI wants oil in the pan before you toss the meats in. Also looks way too hot, turn it down 50% of where you had it and give the pan a few mins to heat up. When the handle is warm/hot to touch, add oil then meats. Don't move the meat until it naturally releases from the pan, it should lift/slide easily when ready.
Now get scrubbing and use soap and don't be scared to scrape all that burned black crud off your pan. I assure you that you cannot damage it and leaving crud will make your future cooks stick more and taste worse.
Seasoning is not meant to make cast iron "Non-Stick" - It's to make it "Less-Stick" and it's there to protect the pan from rust.
* Use the motto "**Low and Slow**".
* Preheat the pan on medium or between low and medium until it's hot. You'll know it's hot enough when you toss a couple of drops of water in the pan and it kinda "dances" on the surface.
* It's time now to add your oil/butter. Let it melt and swirl it around on the surface. Don't be shy with the amount but don't overdo it. You're not making Mama's Old fashioned Fried Chicken.
* Add your meat and it'll sizzle some. If it goes crazy and sizzles loudly, the pan is too hot, lower the temperature. Remember, Low and Slow.
* If you've got a thermometer for meat, use it. Check the meat's temperature. Before you flip over the meat, the temperature won't be where you need it...yet.
* Flip the meat over, it won't be stuck if you did this right.
* Low and Slow... After the flip, use the thermometer again and when you reach the proper temperature for your cut of meat, you're done.
* Deglaze the pan with water or wine and get a delicious sauce out of the deal. There will be some bits on the surface, but the meat won't be stuck. Use a metal spatula to get any small bits still in the pan. Depending on exactly what you put on the meat prior to cooking (sugary sauce, rub, or just salt and pepper) will depend on what's still on the pan surface and will determine if what you deglazed is worth using.
* Eat your newly cooked meat and enjoy it.
* Put a little hot water in your pan and give it a little scrape, if even necessary. Wash it when it's cooled down with hot water and Dawn - soap will NOT hurt your pan. Dry it thoroughly - some people will put it back on the stove and put some heat to it to completely dry it. That's your call. But don't forget it's on the burner!!!
* Also some will rub a little fresh oil onto the surface and wipe it down. Don't do this unless you're going to use the pan again soon. Raw oil can get rancid and sticky.
More grease and less fire my friend. Was that hashbrowns? Those are tough. You need less heat than you think so they don’t burn like that before they’re cooked. You’ll get it!
Are you using a cooking medium? Oil, butter or other fats.
Meat will almost always stick to cast iron without it.
I like spray on olive oil but u have to be careful with olive oil because it will start to smoke and burn at lower temps compared to butter or canola oil.
I second or third or fourth, preheating first is important. Putting the food into a cold or cool pan will do that to you every time. As a kid, my mother used to scold me, "How do you get this pan so sticky?". It took me a long time to figure it out but that was before the internet so I didn't have the resources of today.
We've already discussed oil and heat management, but in my quick review I did not see anything about cooking. In short, food will release nearly on it's own. If the food is sticking to the pan, it's not ready to be turned. Give a little longer and try again. Your food should release easily when flipping. Also, let your food just sit and cook, don't move it around while you're cooking (especially meats). Obviously this wouldn't be the case if you're stir frying something, but in general it's a good rule to follow.
Cast Iron (and carbon steel) pans can take some time getting use to. Temperature control is different and there is a learning curve. Know what you're cooking, how you want to cook it, and use the right oil. You don't want to sear you steak in butter with a very hot pan, the butter will burn. It's all about the smoke point.
Finally, please, please, please... don't be afraid to wash your cast iron in hot water and soap. It will not strip the seasoning! I use a blue sponge with the non-abrasive scrubbie on one side, and I scrub until the the pan is smooth (no stuck on food particles). Dry thoroughly, and maybe set it on your stove over low heat for a few minutes to ensure it's dry. If you aren't going to use the pan for a while, put down that very thin layer of oil... and then try to remove it. You're not good for the next cook.
Enjoy your cast iron!
Get a big bag of bacon scraps. Start with a piece of fatty bacon. Render the bacon at low medium for 10 minutes. Then start cooking. Leave temp at medium low. It'll take a bit longer but it'll turn out great.
I’d look for an older video of The Urban Peasant he explains this process quite well . This is a Canadian cooking show from the 90’s I think. Around that time anyway
I looked through the top comments and didn't see this mentioned yet - make sure your protein, especially chicken, is patted dry with a paper towel. I also rub a little olive oil on the protein itself in addition to whatever cooking oil is going in the pan. And take your protein out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking, if you can, so it is not so cold.
For skinless chicken breast in particular, a little dusting of corn starch can help as well - absorbs excess moisture, helps seasonings stick to the meat, and makes a better crust.
Summary of all posts: Manage heat, don't play with your food (it will release when it is ready), add fat, dry your meat.
I cook on high with my cast iron wok depending on what I’m cooking, but I start at medium and increase. I also heat a kettle next to the wok. If anything starts to stick, I splash just a little boiling water into the pan to release the carbonized food. Don’t shock your pan with cold water.
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Pan was way too hot. You also didn't temper your meat. Let your meat sit out for half an hour before cooking it, and come as close to room temp as possible.. Your meat will not only be juicier but also not stick as much
Too much heat and not enough oil.
Heat pan until it just starts to smoke, then add oil, wait for oil to heat up, then throw food in and turn the heat down a couple of notches
It's crucial to manage the heat when cooking with a cast iron skillet.
Start by heating the skillet gradually and maintain a moderate temperature throughout cooking (half way). This prevents burning and sticking, which causes carbon build-up.
Thorough cleaning after each use is also crucial. Leftover food particles or oils from previous cooking sessions can cause sticking and burning next time you cook. Use a brush or scraper to remove buildup.
Also consider the type of food you're cooking. Some foods contain sugars 🧅 👀 which are more likely to stick.
Cooking with enough oils or fats can reduce the sticking
Enjoy your perfectly cooked steak tonight. We want photos.
Just remember, preheat on medium temp for like 10 mins, put some oil in it (starts smoking), turn down the heat and cook.
Enjoy
Step 1: crank heat
Step2: throw cold food into dry hot pan
Step 3: scrape food off pan
Step 4: bypass the FAQs and hundreds of similar posts on the cast iron subreddit to post “what am I doing wrong” post.
Step 5: profit?
With chicken breast you tend to get some sticky bits that form a fond. That’s great because you can make a nice pan sauce out of it.
However, I don’t thing Cast iron is the best cooking surface for it. While I’ve made pan sauces in a cast iron I’d much rather use stainless steel for such tasks. Better of the improved visual feedback, no chance for flaked seasoning in the sauce.
Apply thin (invisible) layer of oil, preheat, wait for it to smoke and add oil, then add food, shouldn't stick this way. Needs a bit of practice and brand new pan tend to stick easier probably
What most said PLUS - the more protein in the food the stickier it gets. Chicken has more protein and sticks more than beef for example.... (hell, try to fry an egg ;) )
Cooking way too hot. My gf taught me how to actually cook things rather than burn em. Throughout my teens and twenties I cooked on high heat exclusively. Turns out there are lower settings on stove tops.
Preheating the pan is necessary. I start it on med-high until it gets hot in the center, then down to low until the handle gets hot and the heat has evened out in the whole pan. This is necessary for any meal. Add fat to the pan just before adding your meat.
For a whole chicken breast, season both sides and cook it pretty side down first. Flip only once, after it has a good color. Then right into a 400°F oven until it has fully cooked. About 15-20min depending on thickness of breast.
Get good at heat control and fat usage with eggs over easy first. A good heated and seasoned pan with some butter should not stick any eggs. Flesh tends to stick a bit more, and usually requires a scrape after cooking. Run under hot water, while the pan is still warm, and scrape.
Your "seasoning" also looks like it's mainly random bits of burned leftovers from previous cooks.
Looks like it could use a good scrub with a chainmail and a proper reseasoning.
I like to get a good sear and sometimes my pans look like this after. Let it cool down a bit and pour in a little hot water. Not cold, the pan might warp or crack. I have a metal spatula and that stuff will come off easily
Looks like you have some sort of sugar to the marinade? I’ve cooked Korean bbq on my cast iron it didn’t end well like this. But searing steaks, chicken breast etc good sear
You have to use a oil of some sort and also it needs to be seasoned properly. Heat is a big factor as well I find a med heat does great because of the fact when the pan gets to temp then it keeps it quite well.
Too much heat not enough oil/butter.
I never go above 1/3rd heat on my stove top. Maybe 1/2 if you want. Once the pan is hot, it will stay hot for longer than other pans. I will often take it off the heat and let it sit while I wrap up other parts of a meal. You can throw it back on heat for 2 minutes to warm back up if you need to (you wont usually).
Don't worry about the seasoning. It literally figures itself out. It's a completely over discussed aspect of cast iron pans. Other pans don't have seasoning, so it feels exotic. It's literally just a "natural" plastic that forms over the pan to keep it from rusting. It forms from any oil after you use the pan a few times. It will fix itself again if you somehow damage it.
I don't find that the pan cooks considerably different with a shitty seasoning. Heat control is the most important part.
Everyone already mentioned heat. Another thing that's a game changer is a stainless steel spatula.
You're getting bits of carbonized food that you're not scraping off so food sticks on the burnt food. A steel spatula let's you scrape that off thoroughly without harming the seasoning.
Cast iron will take time to develop a non-stick surface, but it will over time as you use it. I feel like cast iron becomes easier the more you use it. This looks like the result of poor temperature control to me. You have to pre-heat cast iron. I usually turn it on low when I first enter the kitchen and let heat for about 5-10 mins ( yes, that long) then turn it off for 3-5 mins before turning it to the temp I intend to cook at and let it heat for another minute or 2 before placing the chicken in the pan. Once it's in the pan, press down on the meat a bit to make sure the entire surface of the chicken makes contact withe pan surface and then don't try to turn it until it releases from the pan naturally.
ETA: it helps to use a little oil until your pan develops a better non-stick surface.
Too hot, and not letting the meat 'release' if you try to turn it and it's stuck, leave it alone and try again in a few minutes. It will release itself from the pan.
Heat is too high, try to use it in low or medium low. Add more oil than you think you need and let it heat up. Those couple of tips have helped me a lot!
It's likely that you had it too hot. When it comes to electric and infrared ranges, you'll want to gradually preheat the pan. I have a glass top stove that I use my cast iron and usually I never have to go over medium heat to be ready to sear.
Also even on non-stick pans, stuff like meats will tend to stick to the pan and will release when it is done and the pan is really hot.
Best of luck!
It is harder to deal with heat issues on electric burners as opposed to gas burners, so don't feel too bad! But as so many have said here, it definitely looks like the heat is too high. I lived with electric burners for some time and found that it was a lot more effective and easier to err on the side of low heat - that way, you could turn up if you had to, but if you get your pan too hot, it will take longer to get the temperature down.
This is what I do. Heat the pan on a medium high heat. Give a couple of minutes to get hot. How to tell if you’re ready is to drop a couple water droplets on the pan. If they disappear immediately, then it’s not ready. If they hold their form and dance on the pan, then it is ready for food. There is the way too hot part is easily seen by smoke. If too hot turn of the heat and let cool before starting over. If you get the water droplets to dance, turn the heat down a notch, remove any water that’s left in the pan, add your oil/butter, then add your food. When you’re done, turn the water on the hottest it will go in your sink. Give it a minute to get hot, then transfer your pan, and rinse off. Then do a maintenance seasoning and put away. I hope that helps.
EDIT: Just look up Leiden frost effect for cooking
EDIT2: Electric burners get super hot very fast and also turn on and off to try to hold heat. That makes it difficult, not impossible, to cook with. What I told you should help you get a visual while you’re learning to use the pan.
The procedure you use for every metal pan should be pretty much the same. For Cast iron and stainless steel.
1. Preheat the pan by turning it on low for a few minutes, then medium for a few, then at your final cooking temperature until the pan is fully heated. If you have a thermometer 350-400 is best. I'm partial to 380+.
2. add a small amount of oil, just enough to coat the bottom of the pan. wait until it shimmers, if it starts to smoke, don't let it get any hotter. if you add the oil before the pan is fully hot, the oil will burn before the pan is hot enough, or it will prevent the pan from ever getting hot enough in the first place.
3. add your food, but don't fill the pan up completely all at once.
4. when cooking is done, deglaze the hot pan with a little bit of water. that will release almost everything that will ever stick to it. Instead of water, you can also use that opportunity to make a pan sauce. If you have fond, just add some stock, cream, and herbs and you have a fantastic sauce.
5. while the pan is still hot, (with oven mitts) take it to the sink and rinse it out. wipe it out with a paper towel or dish towel.
6. return it to the stove and let it cool.
If you do that every time with all your cast iron and stainless steel pans, they'll be like new forever and be non-stick for their lifetime. Same with Carbon steel.
Things almost always stick because whatever you're cooking has time to sink down into the microscopic pores of the surface of the pan or grill grate, sit there, and then get cooked. The secret to non-stick is to either fill all those pores with teflon, or fill them with oil and get them so hot that the outer surface of the food gets cooked instantly upon first contact so the food never has the chance to sink down into those pores in the first place. Preheat your pan!
Seasoning on that pan is poor. You need to properly season/prepare the surface. You need to create a polymer layer through proper seasoning. Ton of videos online about how to do it. But that surface has no layer of “non-stick” built up on it.
If its a nonstick pan you can ruin the coating in not just your dishwasher but also by having too high of heat. If its cast iron or cold rolled steel and you seasoned it properly the food wont stick unless you overheated your pan and cooked the "seasoning" off. In that case you must reseason your pan.
Cast iron pans aren't "non-stick" in the traditional sense (like Teflon pans are).
It takes years of cooking (or hours of scrubbing/polishing) to get modern cast iron smooth enough to be "non-stick".
Cast iron also isn't like Teflon in that you have to oil up a cast iron pan alot more than you would other non-stick pans.
You may have to re-season your pan by using 2 cups of potato skins, 1/3 cup of kosher salt, and 1/2 cup of grape seed oil. Add everything to the pan and cook on medium low for 15-20 minutes. Cook until the potato skins have browned. Discard everything and wipe the pan clean with a paper towel.
[This recipe](https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/restaurant-style-pan-seared-salmon.html) has always served me well in my cast iron and I have found that the technique generalizes well to many recipes.
My best guess is heat control. This thing looks like it was way too hot
And then way to cold
I’m guessing it could be that and I didn’t let it pre heat. I had the heat set to medium but maybe that’s too hot?
Medium is high for CI. When i need to cook at medium i preheat for 7-8mins at medlow. When you flick water on the pan and the droplets dance before evaporating you have medium heat, if that instantly evaporates then you have high
Thank you guys!! I think that’s my issue for sure. I guess a good learning experience going forward
Also, pre-heat dry, \*then\* add oil, then add food. Just that is huge, heat too high on top of that compounds it.
Why do you preheat dry and then add oil?
I don't know the physics behind it but every pro cook I watch or follow says the same thing. Preheat dry, then add the fat and wait for the fat to get hot, only then you add the food. It works for me.
Depending on the oil there’s a smoke point. You don’t want your fat to burn.
Getting the pan hot first also means the temperature doesn’t dip as far when the relatively cool food is added.
Kenji Lopez-Alt has actually commented in at least one video that he thinks preheating dry is the wrong approach because you can easily overheat. If you add the oil as it's heating then you have visual and olfactory feedback that will let you know the oil is running thin or is hot enough that it's breaking down and releasing aromas before it gets so hot it's at the smoke point already.
To expand, i believe Kenji's approach is to use a very small amount of oil- just enough to be an indicator (e.g. when it starts smoking as an indication of heat). Once it's hot enough, then you can add the amount you want to cook with. To add all the oil before preheating, you're just overheating the oil needlessly and giving it the opportunity to break down more than it needs to.
Yeah, he also doesn't seem to go in with it totally cold either. He seems to let the pan heat for a minute or two then go in with like half a tablespoon, and then when the pans ready he goes in with the full amount.
That can be solved simply with a heat gun
Chemistry my good sir. The fats in oils decompose under high prolonged heat. Heating oils at the same time as preheating the pan leads to undesirable flavors from the decomposed oils.
There are a few reasons to do this. One is absolutely undeniable, the other is "people feel it works better but don't exactly know why." The more controversial idea is that putting oil into an already hot pan helps prevent the food from sticking. I've heard some people say it's nonsense, but it definitely is the conventional wisdom on the correct way to do things. However, in my mind, that pales next to the *other* reason to do it: If you put the oil in your pan and start the heat and you're waiting for it to heat up and you get distracted, you have an oil fire. If you're heating the pan up dry and you get distracted, you have a really really hot pan.
If you're using aromatic oils that have a nice flavor (such as a perfumey olive oil), letting it heat with the pan will cause it to loose some of the compounds that give it flavor and perfume. Dunno if it changes anything for regular cooking oil though (by regular I mean soy or sunflower based)
I believe because it opens up the pores of the metal which allows the oil to seep in
I've heard this explanation before, but I don't know how to answer the followup question "What prevents this from happening with oil already in the pan? Does that mean that the pores don't open if there's oil over them?" From my mistakes while preheating with a oiled pan, it might be because the dry pan can tolerate smoke-point temperatures the oil can't if it's a bare layer. But the oil is fine if it's immediately sending the heat into your food. But I've never seen that explanation here before, so I'm probably wrong.
This is correct in terms of not having the oil smoke but getting the pan hot enough - Source: Salt Fat Acid Heat, Samin Nosrat.
I think it's mostly just allowing the oil to heat up more than anything. The oil should start to shimmer in the pan before adding any ingredients. I've worked with chefs who both add oil to the cool pan and wait for it to heat or add oil to a hot pan, check the shimmer, then go. This allows the oil to go into the pores of the pan.
I was taught as a young fella that heating the pan dry expands the metal and closes up all the microscopic gaps in the surface, so nothing sticks in there. No idea if it's science, or just an old chefs tale, but I've gone through life believing it as hard fact. They called it the POP method. Heat your Pan, Oil, then Product
You need the heat to expand the metal and close the pores and pits in the metal, forcing out the air. The oil then can form a meniscus over these microscopic pores and pits and to create a non-stick surface. A cast iron pre heated and oiled after heating can be used to cook an omelet even.
How is it dry if it’s also seasoned?
When theyre saying dry they mean you haven't added any oil to this cooking session yet.
I mean, the seasoning is dry to the touch. What I mean is, heat the pan without any oil in it, then add the oil when it's hot.
Also on newer seasoning be more patient with proteins. They'll release when ready. As you keep cooking more it will get more seasoned and you'll be a better cook once you get the hang of it.
It’s also worth noting not all burners are the same. Especially if you have a newer stove. I can do medium on one burner, medium high on another and medium low on another.
Buy a cheap laser thermometer
Also remember that sometimes it's natural for food to stick to the pan, and it needs to cook a bit to let go of the pan.
Oooh this explains the very hit and miss rate of success I've had the past few years I've owned one 😅
And if the drops roll around like little frictionless BBs, then you have very high.
Great statement. When I started doing this along with adding the oil AFTER the 7-8 mins cooking with CI became fun.
You're going to have to learn your pan with your stove. I don't set my electric glass top stove past a 5 or so when using it. 5 is high for the pan I'd also direct you to the FAQs. [link to one relevant post](https://www.reddit.com/r/castiron/s/jSQ1iKnPDf)
A simple metric: Heat until water dribbled on the pan sizzles briskly, but doesn’t dance/skittle (Leidenfrost effect). If you have an IR thermometer, 325F or so is a reasonable target. (Leidenfrost happens at ~380F) Also, cast iron has tremendous capacity to retain heat, but it’s ability to distribute heat is mediocre — it stays hot well, but the temperature varies quite a bit across the pan as it reaches equilibrium. You can mitigate this by pre-heating slowly (which is why people recommend pre-heating on medium) or, alternatively, you can use an aluminum or copper defuser to spread the heat more uniformly. If you add a lot of food to the pan quickly, the temperature will drop. You’ll have to turn up the heat in this instance. Similarly, you may have to adjust the flame down if there isn’t much food in the pan. Just keep cooking. You’ll get the hang of it. It just takes practice. Good luck and enjoy! :)
Definitely possible. I moved from a gas stove to a glass cooktop and it is crazy. How hot the glass cooktops could get. I finally bought a thermometer to make the adjustments to my cooking process.
Did you use any butter or oil to cook the food in? Have you seasoned the pan?
"Hot to the handle" is a phrase used here. I pre heat on 4/10 and wait until you can feel the handle is nearly too hot to touch bare handed. Then add a little butter/oil/ cooking spray, then add food. For meat and eggs and most things, don't touch it once you put it in the pan. It will be "stuck" to the pan for the first minute or two, but it will release naturally after a few minutes.
This is a big one to learn, not just with cast iron but with any non-nonstick pan. Like carbon or stainless steel. Poking and turning and fussing with it will make it stick worse. It sticks, and you scrape the cooked layer off, so it just re-sticks to a new spot, rinse and repeat. Jet let it do it's thing, and it won't stick at all. Also, heat control. I don't go above a 5/10 on my stove unless I'm trying to boil a pot of water.
Preheat the pan always.
I have an electric stove too. I find it works best with the knob at 50% - 60%, and waiting more than necessary to heat up, when searing things.
Always worth remembering that oven settings are basically just guesses. Medium on one stove might be "charcoal" on another one.
In addition to proper heat control, a seriously good rule of thumb (once you've mastered heat control) is: If your food doesn't want to flip, it's not ready to flip. Meats, eggs, potatoes are the ones that immediately come to mind, but often if you're trying to flip an egg, steak, chicken breast, potatoes of any kind, etc, and they don't wanna flip, they're not cooked and not ready to flip. Give it some time and don't try to "loosen it up" from the pan, just let it cook some more and see, it should come free of the pan when it's ready to flip 😊 But again, this assumes you're cooking at the right temp, and pre-heating properly for your stove, which takes some time to get used to if you're accustomed to non stick pans
You need to let it preheat, then add some oil, finally once the oil is hot add your food
I keep an infrared thermometer in my kitchen, just so I know exactly how hot the metal and/or oil is.
Possibly to hot and not enough fat
Definitely needs a lot more oil or butter. That thing is bone dry
This has got to be it.
The fire goes UNDER the pan
Interesting…
Wait....I've been putting the food in the pan and then flipping it over so the fire cooks the food and the skillet keeps all the heat under it. Are you saying I'm doing it wrong?
That’s how I do it too. Next they’ll tell us that we are supposed to ride in the car 😂
The fire? That's right! The fire goes in the square hole!
Noooooo!
The fire extinguisher? You guessed it! It goes in the square hole!
You’re telling me I have been cooking wrong my whole life?
Tell me more...
Like others are saying, heat control + more fat. But also, use a metal spatula instead of tongs.
Ahhh I used tongs. I seemed to do everything wrong I possibly could lol
When you know better, you do better. Don’t beat yourself up over something you were ignorant of. Now you know, and knowing is half the battle.
Yes sir. The only reason we know these things is because we’ve all made these mistakes at one point or another.
Correct. Didnt know what seasoning cast iron was and used them for years lol... They were just my "sticky" pans 🤣
GI Joe!!
I was wondering if anyone would pick up the reference. Well done.
Thats the beauty of cast iron though, you aren't going to ruin it beyond repair and trust me, we all started in your shoes. Keep using it and you'll learn its idiosyncrasies
Idk i cant cook i saw this post accidentaly im here to support you emotionally
Like everyone says, use less heat. And then also leave that meat where it is. Don't move it around and flip it too much. When the bottom of the meat is cooked, it will release itself and no longer be stuck to the pan.
Was gonna say this. It took me forever to learn that if you're having to pull your chicken off the pan, it needs to cook a bit more
Gotta throw some butter in there with some onions, peppers and some chicken stock… cook in down for a bit and put it on what ever chicken you just burnt…😂🤷🏻♂️
Went right in the garbage I can tell you that 😂
Most of that stuff was dark brown, not burnt. It would’ve made an excellent pan sauce. If you get fond like that again, please make a pan sauce.
Good old Maillard reaction. I watch a lot of *America's Test Kitchen* and they never miss an opportunity to point out that fond is your friend.
Ok newbie question here…what’s pan sauce?
It’s a sauce that reduces a liquid into something thicker that usually starts out exactly with that stuff you took a picture of, which is called fond. Those liquids are usually a little bit of wine a little bit of stock, some aromatics, some butter and And you reduce it and scrape at the same time you get to clean your pan and get a nice sauce. Excellent twofer. Google “pan sauce ideas“ and you will have so many to choose from. There are three or four basics that you can modify.
Deglazing I think is a term you're looking for
well, not really. Deglazing is the technique of dissolving the fond into a liquid. It's probably good for the OP to know that there's a term for this, but I'm answering the questions of "What's a pan sauce". You can google 'deglazing' all you want, but if you want to enter the wonderful world of pan sauces using wine, stock, cream, butter , etc, you need to be searching for 'pan sauces' and developing some awesome creative ideas.
Maybe I just use my shit wrong but that happens to me every time. Giving it a real good chance to preheat has helped, and using oil while cooking helps too, but really the reason I bought cast irons is so that when this happens I can just use a sponge made of fucking metal to get it all off. Wash, rinse, repeat.
Ahhh maybe that’s my problem. I threw the chicken right on there and didn’t let it preheat 😂 no fucks given and throw it on there apparently isn’t the best choice
You want to wait for the pan to get hot, but also wait for the chicken to release on its own after forming a good sear. Patience is key for everything.
Bingo here. Let it sit.
Also try to avoid cold and wet meat, its sticks way more than meat that has been dried with a paper towel and had some time in room temp.
Thanks! Great tips.
I think it took me about 5 months to realize that. Wonder what I'll know next year lmao
Add 5 minutes to your kitchen prep time to let the pan heat up; you gotta at least wait until you can feel the heat in the handle. Then add oil or butter and cook away!
Feel the heat in the handle. Thx for the great tip. Appreciated.
You shouldn’t start with a cold pan, but hot or cold wait for the food to release before flipping.
If you’re preheating your skillet and it’s still ending up with this much stuck to it, you may want to try using more oil or butter. I usually do a bit of olive or avocado oil first then add some butter on top of that. If my pan starts to look dry, I add a bit of one or the other. It’s helped me out.
Keep in mind that virgin olive oil shouldn’t be heated above 120* C (248* Farenheit) as it starts smoking (burning point).
If the oil smokes you’ve turned the olive oil into trans fats
Word, thanks for the heads up
Try frying with butter to get a feel for the pan. Butter has water inside. You add butter to the pan and it's just melting without bubbling? Under the boiling point of water. The next stage would be foaming butter everything above 100°C. The last stage violently foaming and splashing butter which browns quickly that's too high for most cooking.
Turn that into a pan sauce. Clean pan in 5 minutes.
I always run my cast iron on medium but use a lot of oil or butter. It took a lot of use for it to become fairly non stick.
Burning the crap out of your food is what it looks like.
preheat. more oil. temperature control. you don’t want it too hot. I seriously recommend an infrared thermometer. It’s really helped me dial in my cooking process.
What's the target temp?
I try and hold the temp somewhere between 420 and 430. That temperature is going to drop as soon as you put a protein in if you’re temperature is much higher than that then you’re well exceeding the smoke point. I was very surprised to find out that even on a medium setting, my electric glass cooktop was producing over 800°. For cast-iron I think you can safely do most of your cooking in the medium low range.
This!! Can’t even imagine using cast iron without my thermometer gun anymore. Game changer
Everything
Preheat is optional, depending on what you cook, but temperature control and use of the right amount of oil are essential. I often cook protein without preheating on my glass top stove, but change the temperature as needed. Eggs require careful preheating.
Did you have any oil in the pan? Even a well seasoned CI wants oil in the pan before you toss the meats in. Also looks way too hot, turn it down 50% of where you had it and give the pan a few mins to heat up. When the handle is warm/hot to touch, add oil then meats. Don't move the meat until it naturally releases from the pan, it should lift/slide easily when ready. Now get scrubbing and use soap and don't be scared to scrape all that burned black crud off your pan. I assure you that you cannot damage it and leaving crud will make your future cooks stick more and taste worse.
Hot pan brother
Seasoning is not meant to make cast iron "Non-Stick" - It's to make it "Less-Stick" and it's there to protect the pan from rust. * Use the motto "**Low and Slow**". * Preheat the pan on medium or between low and medium until it's hot. You'll know it's hot enough when you toss a couple of drops of water in the pan and it kinda "dances" on the surface. * It's time now to add your oil/butter. Let it melt and swirl it around on the surface. Don't be shy with the amount but don't overdo it. You're not making Mama's Old fashioned Fried Chicken. * Add your meat and it'll sizzle some. If it goes crazy and sizzles loudly, the pan is too hot, lower the temperature. Remember, Low and Slow. * If you've got a thermometer for meat, use it. Check the meat's temperature. Before you flip over the meat, the temperature won't be where you need it...yet. * Flip the meat over, it won't be stuck if you did this right. * Low and Slow... After the flip, use the thermometer again and when you reach the proper temperature for your cut of meat, you're done. * Deglaze the pan with water or wine and get a delicious sauce out of the deal. There will be some bits on the surface, but the meat won't be stuck. Use a metal spatula to get any small bits still in the pan. Depending on exactly what you put on the meat prior to cooking (sugary sauce, rub, or just salt and pepper) will depend on what's still on the pan surface and will determine if what you deglazed is worth using. * Eat your newly cooked meat and enjoy it. * Put a little hot water in your pan and give it a little scrape, if even necessary. Wash it when it's cooled down with hot water and Dawn - soap will NOT hurt your pan. Dry it thoroughly - some people will put it back on the stove and put some heat to it to completely dry it. That's your call. But don't forget it's on the burner!!! * Also some will rub a little fresh oil onto the surface and wipe it down. Don't do this unless you're going to use the pan again soon. Raw oil can get rancid and sticky.
The food is not supposed to be all black and burnt like
heat control
Gonna need a hammer and chisel to get that shit off! Lol
Butter than mf like you're at ihop
You need oil
Deglaze with wine. I'm really not seeing a problem here.
More grease and less fire my friend. Was that hashbrowns? Those are tough. You need less heat than you think so they don’t burn like that before they’re cooked. You’ll get it!
Your burning it 🔥 🔥 To hot my man. Get pan warm like med temp then go from there
Are you using a cooking medium? Oil, butter or other fats. Meat will almost always stick to cast iron without it. I like spray on olive oil but u have to be careful with olive oil because it will start to smoke and burn at lower temps compared to butter or canola oil.
I second or third or fourth, preheating first is important. Putting the food into a cold or cool pan will do that to you every time. As a kid, my mother used to scold me, "How do you get this pan so sticky?". It took me a long time to figure it out but that was before the internet so I didn't have the resources of today.
All together now! Heat and oil! Heat and oil!
Started too cold then turned up too much to compensate.
"preheat" and "preseason" 😭😭😭
Do you cook with oil?
We've already discussed oil and heat management, but in my quick review I did not see anything about cooking. In short, food will release nearly on it's own. If the food is sticking to the pan, it's not ready to be turned. Give a little longer and try again. Your food should release easily when flipping. Also, let your food just sit and cook, don't move it around while you're cooking (especially meats). Obviously this wouldn't be the case if you're stir frying something, but in general it's a good rule to follow. Cast Iron (and carbon steel) pans can take some time getting use to. Temperature control is different and there is a learning curve. Know what you're cooking, how you want to cook it, and use the right oil. You don't want to sear you steak in butter with a very hot pan, the butter will burn. It's all about the smoke point. Finally, please, please, please... don't be afraid to wash your cast iron in hot water and soap. It will not strip the seasoning! I use a blue sponge with the non-abrasive scrubbie on one side, and I scrub until the the pan is smooth (no stuck on food particles). Dry thoroughly, and maybe set it on your stove over low heat for a few minutes to ensure it's dry. If you aren't going to use the pan for a while, put down that very thin layer of oil... and then try to remove it. You're not good for the next cook. Enjoy your cast iron!
Turn the heat down, and most importantly, preheat your pan for longer.
Get a big bag of bacon scraps. Start with a piece of fatty bacon. Render the bacon at low medium for 10 minutes. Then start cooking. Leave temp at medium low. It'll take a bit longer but it'll turn out great.
Well seasoned pans are RELATIVELY nonstick but if you burn something until it’s charcoal it will still stick.
I’d look for an older video of The Urban Peasant he explains this process quite well . This is a Canadian cooking show from the 90’s I think. Around that time anyway
I looked through the top comments and didn't see this mentioned yet - make sure your protein, especially chicken, is patted dry with a paper towel. I also rub a little olive oil on the protein itself in addition to whatever cooking oil is going in the pan. And take your protein out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking, if you can, so it is not so cold. For skinless chicken breast in particular, a little dusting of corn starch can help as well - absorbs excess moisture, helps seasonings stick to the meat, and makes a better crust. Summary of all posts: Manage heat, don't play with your food (it will release when it is ready), add fat, dry your meat.
I cook on high with my cast iron wok depending on what I’m cooking, but I start at medium and increase. I also heat a kettle next to the wok. If anything starts to stick, I splash just a little boiling water into the pan to release the carbonized food. Don’t shock your pan with cold water.
A lot.
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Cooking in cast iron helps when the pan is hot (not warm or cold) before adding the food.
Trolling
Nothing, protein does that sometimes.
Damn dude...
Pan was way too hot. You also didn't temper your meat. Let your meat sit out for half an hour before cooking it, and come as close to room temp as possible.. Your meat will not only be juicier but also not stick as much
Too much heat and not enough oil. Heat pan until it just starts to smoke, then add oil, wait for oil to heat up, then throw food in and turn the heat down a couple of notches
Too hot.
Preheat in oven
It's crucial to manage the heat when cooking with a cast iron skillet. Start by heating the skillet gradually and maintain a moderate temperature throughout cooking (half way). This prevents burning and sticking, which causes carbon build-up. Thorough cleaning after each use is also crucial. Leftover food particles or oils from previous cooking sessions can cause sticking and burning next time you cook. Use a brush or scraper to remove buildup. Also consider the type of food you're cooking. Some foods contain sugars 🧅 👀 which are more likely to stick. Cooking with enough oils or fats can reduce the sticking Enjoy your perfectly cooked steak tonight. We want photos. Just remember, preheat on medium temp for like 10 mins, put some oil in it (starts smoking), turn down the heat and cook. Enjoy
Step by step what did you do in this process?
Step 1: crank heat Step2: throw cold food into dry hot pan Step 3: scrape food off pan Step 4: bypass the FAQs and hundreds of similar posts on the cast iron subreddit to post “what am I doing wrong” post. Step 5: profit?
With chicken breast you tend to get some sticky bits that form a fond. That’s great because you can make a nice pan sauce out of it. However, I don’t thing Cast iron is the best cooking surface for it. While I’ve made pan sauces in a cast iron I’d much rather use stainless steel for such tasks. Better of the improved visual feedback, no chance for flaked seasoning in the sauce.
Too hot
If russia attacked turkey from the rear, would grease help?
Apply thin (invisible) layer of oil, preheat, wait for it to smoke and add oil, then add food, shouldn't stick this way. Needs a bit of practice and brand new pan tend to stick easier probably
The first episode of Good Eats called Steak Your Claim is a good primer for this situation
What most said PLUS - the more protein in the food the stickier it gets. Chicken has more protein and sticks more than beef for example.... (hell, try to fry an egg ;) )
Cooking way too hot. My gf taught me how to actually cook things rather than burn em. Throughout my teens and twenties I cooked on high heat exclusively. Turns out there are lower settings on stove tops.
Preheating the pan is necessary. I start it on med-high until it gets hot in the center, then down to low until the handle gets hot and the heat has evened out in the whole pan. This is necessary for any meal. Add fat to the pan just before adding your meat. For a whole chicken breast, season both sides and cook it pretty side down first. Flip only once, after it has a good color. Then right into a 400°F oven until it has fully cooked. About 15-20min depending on thickness of breast. Get good at heat control and fat usage with eggs over easy first. A good heated and seasoned pan with some butter should not stick any eggs. Flesh tends to stick a bit more, and usually requires a scrape after cooking. Run under hot water, while the pan is still warm, and scrape.
I might be wrong here, but when i use rubs on my food that have sugar it causes this. The sugar melts and then burns. Could be a factor.
"That's seasoning, keep it!"
After cooking add water and boil that out
Use a bit of oil?
Heat too high. To get the burnt stuff out, boil some water in the skillet to help loosen it up
Your "seasoning" also looks like it's mainly random bits of burned leftovers from previous cooks. Looks like it could use a good scrub with a chainmail and a proper reseasoning.
Hot pan, DRY food, plenty of oil, don’t try to force it to unstick—read about the Maillard reaction
I like to get a good sear and sometimes my pans look like this after. Let it cool down a bit and pour in a little hot water. Not cold, the pan might warp or crack. I have a metal spatula and that stuff will come off easily
Just do bacon a few times, then I'd season and it will start performing well.
Lube, low to med heat, probably more lube. Proper care and time. Your pan will not be “non-stick” for a while.
You are not deglazing while cooking and left all the flavor and juice in the pan! There are worse food crimes but this is offensive.
Season it
Looks like you have some sort of sugar to the marinade? I’ve cooked Korean bbq on my cast iron it didn’t end well like this. But searing steaks, chicken breast etc good sear
Cook a pound of bacon in it. rinse. repeat.
You didn’t make a pan sauce.
You have to use a oil of some sort and also it needs to be seasoned properly. Heat is a big factor as well I find a med heat does great because of the fact when the pan gets to temp then it keeps it quite well.
Heat control looks like. Are you letting the cast iron heat up before adding oil and food?
Too much heat not enough oil/butter. I never go above 1/3rd heat on my stove top. Maybe 1/2 if you want. Once the pan is hot, it will stay hot for longer than other pans. I will often take it off the heat and let it sit while I wrap up other parts of a meal. You can throw it back on heat for 2 minutes to warm back up if you need to (you wont usually). Don't worry about the seasoning. It literally figures itself out. It's a completely over discussed aspect of cast iron pans. Other pans don't have seasoning, so it feels exotic. It's literally just a "natural" plastic that forms over the pan to keep it from rusting. It forms from any oil after you use the pan a few times. It will fix itself again if you somehow damage it. I don't find that the pan cooks considerably different with a shitty seasoning. Heat control is the most important part.
If the chicken is sticking that bad, it’s probably not ready to flip. It will release from the pan when it’s ready.
Way too high of heat, and if you cooked it in that stove top…that burner is not near big enough. Uneven heat distribution
Everyone already mentioned heat. Another thing that's a game changer is a stainless steel spatula. You're getting bits of carbonized food that you're not scraping off so food sticks on the burnt food. A steel spatula let's you scrape that off thoroughly without harming the seasoning.
Cast iron will take time to develop a non-stick surface, but it will over time as you use it. I feel like cast iron becomes easier the more you use it. This looks like the result of poor temperature control to me. You have to pre-heat cast iron. I usually turn it on low when I first enter the kitchen and let heat for about 5-10 mins ( yes, that long) then turn it off for 3-5 mins before turning it to the temp I intend to cook at and let it heat for another minute or 2 before placing the chicken in the pan. Once it's in the pan, press down on the meat a bit to make sure the entire surface of the chicken makes contact withe pan surface and then don't try to turn it until it releases from the pan naturally. ETA: it helps to use a little oil until your pan develops a better non-stick surface.
What did you cook, OP? I think k that’s important also.
Too hot, and not letting the meat 'release' if you try to turn it and it's stuck, leave it alone and try again in a few minutes. It will release itself from the pan.
Heat or olive oil. Maybe season pan more?
Heat is too high, try to use it in low or medium low. Add more oil than you think you need and let it heat up. Those couple of tips have helped me a lot!
I second the "heat it up" really well. My wife screws up my egg skillet all the time even though I show her how well it works when heated.
Heat control
It's likely that you had it too hot. When it comes to electric and infrared ranges, you'll want to gradually preheat the pan. I have a glass top stove that I use my cast iron and usually I never have to go over medium heat to be ready to sear. Also even on non-stick pans, stuff like meats will tend to stick to the pan and will release when it is done and the pan is really hot. Best of luck!
It is harder to deal with heat issues on electric burners as opposed to gas burners, so don't feel too bad! But as so many have said here, it definitely looks like the heat is too high. I lived with electric burners for some time and found that it was a lot more effective and easier to err on the side of low heat - that way, you could turn up if you had to, but if you get your pan too hot, it will take longer to get the temperature down.
Pan too hot and not enough oil.
This is what I do. Heat the pan on a medium high heat. Give a couple of minutes to get hot. How to tell if you’re ready is to drop a couple water droplets on the pan. If they disappear immediately, then it’s not ready. If they hold their form and dance on the pan, then it is ready for food. There is the way too hot part is easily seen by smoke. If too hot turn of the heat and let cool before starting over. If you get the water droplets to dance, turn the heat down a notch, remove any water that’s left in the pan, add your oil/butter, then add your food. When you’re done, turn the water on the hottest it will go in your sink. Give it a minute to get hot, then transfer your pan, and rinse off. Then do a maintenance seasoning and put away. I hope that helps. EDIT: Just look up Leiden frost effect for cooking EDIT2: Electric burners get super hot very fast and also turn on and off to try to hold heat. That makes it difficult, not impossible, to cook with. What I told you should help you get a visual while you’re learning to use the pan.
Too hot, too little oil, clean it good between uses, there seems to be alot of burnt on carbon on the surface
You putting oil or butter on the pan when cooking?
Oil low heat to medium. Make sure protein is oiled as well. Protein should be not freezing cold.
Yes
Cast iron usually only requires medium to medium-high heat and don't use grape seed oil instead use bacon grease
The procedure you use for every metal pan should be pretty much the same. For Cast iron and stainless steel. 1. Preheat the pan by turning it on low for a few minutes, then medium for a few, then at your final cooking temperature until the pan is fully heated. If you have a thermometer 350-400 is best. I'm partial to 380+. 2. add a small amount of oil, just enough to coat the bottom of the pan. wait until it shimmers, if it starts to smoke, don't let it get any hotter. if you add the oil before the pan is fully hot, the oil will burn before the pan is hot enough, or it will prevent the pan from ever getting hot enough in the first place. 3. add your food, but don't fill the pan up completely all at once. 4. when cooking is done, deglaze the hot pan with a little bit of water. that will release almost everything that will ever stick to it. Instead of water, you can also use that opportunity to make a pan sauce. If you have fond, just add some stock, cream, and herbs and you have a fantastic sauce. 5. while the pan is still hot, (with oven mitts) take it to the sink and rinse it out. wipe it out with a paper towel or dish towel. 6. return it to the stove and let it cool. If you do that every time with all your cast iron and stainless steel pans, they'll be like new forever and be non-stick for their lifetime. Same with Carbon steel. Things almost always stick because whatever you're cooking has time to sink down into the microscopic pores of the surface of the pan or grill grate, sit there, and then get cooked. The secret to non-stick is to either fill all those pores with teflon, or fill them with oil and get them so hot that the outer surface of the food gets cooked instantly upon first contact so the food never has the chance to sink down into those pores in the first place. Preheat your pan!
Forgetting to deglaze?
Too hot of a pan and not enough fat.
Cooking
USE LOTS OF OIL DONT BE SCARED
Seasoning on that pan is poor. You need to properly season/prepare the surface. You need to create a polymer layer through proper seasoning. Ton of videos online about how to do it. But that surface has no layer of “non-stick” built up on it.
All the above plus don’t try to turn your meat over until it releases from the pan. When it’s ready to turn, it will easily release.
If its a nonstick pan you can ruin the coating in not just your dishwasher but also by having too high of heat. If its cast iron or cold rolled steel and you seasoned it properly the food wont stick unless you overheated your pan and cooked the "seasoning" off. In that case you must reseason your pan.
Too much heat not enough oil
Need more butter or oil too
Cast iron pans aren't "non-stick" in the traditional sense (like Teflon pans are). It takes years of cooking (or hours of scrubbing/polishing) to get modern cast iron smooth enough to be "non-stick". Cast iron also isn't like Teflon in that you have to oil up a cast iron pan alot more than you would other non-stick pans.
Use fat to prevent sticking. like oil, butter, lard, etc.
What are you doing wrong perhaps cooking...
Cooking?
You may have to re-season your pan by using 2 cups of potato skins, 1/3 cup of kosher salt, and 1/2 cup of grape seed oil. Add everything to the pan and cook on medium low for 15-20 minutes. Cook until the potato skins have browned. Discard everything and wipe the pan clean with a paper towel.
Cooking
[This recipe](https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/restaurant-style-pan-seared-salmon.html) has always served me well in my cast iron and I have found that the technique generalizes well to many recipes.
Your heat is way too high!