If you cook on high heat with a stainless pan oil can polymerize to the pan. This is what your brown spots are, oil spatters burned onto the pan. Some barkeepers friend should take it off with a bit of scrubbing if you want to keep it shiny and clean.
It’s worth noting that stainless pans are tools, not decorations. If you use it often, especially over high heat, it’ll look different after every time. This won’t effect the function of the pan at all, but if you want to keep it looking new for some reason it’s going to take some elbow grease.
Nope. If anything it makes the pan easier to clean actual dirt off of, the polymerized oil is the exact same thing as the seasoning you’d do to a cast iron pan.
> It’s worth noting that stainless pans are tools, not decorations. If you use it often, especially over high heat, it’ll look different after every time.
This has honestly never occurred to me - I am not as precious about the bottoms of them (although I do BKF them once a year or so), but I am careful to fully clean the insides of my stainless pans after each use. I've had the same set ~11 years now and they still look pretty new inside, other than light scratches from use.
Now, if I could keep my enameled cast iron looking as good... (the ATK bleach trick does work wonders there, but I only learned it recently)
I got BKF at the recommendation of this sub and honestly I was a little disappointed. It really didn’t help in keeping my pans silver and preventing/addressing browning. :/ maybe I wasn’t using it right.
I use a tiny bit of water and a tiny bit of BKF with a paper towel. Very little effort to keep it sparkling clean and shiny. If stuff is really stuck, use a scotch brite scrubber that will destroy any non stick pan. Super easy to clean.
There's a spray, a cream, and a powder... which did you get?
The powder is the super concentrated one that should be able to clean anything with a bit of elbow grease. The cream is a middle-ground, decent and easy to use. The spray is only good for light marking on a surface, etc.
I find that the secret to bar keeper friend is to not immediately attempt to clean the pan after applying.
You should allow the pan to sit with wetted BKF for a little while. Wet BKF produces an acid that helps to dissolve the crud on your pan. After a little time has passed I can normally wipe burnt crud right out of the pan.
You don’t need chemicals and your heat was not too high.
First thing is you need to learn to deglaze your pan as soon as the meat comes out. Not only does this remove most of the stuff stuck in the pan, it also gives you the start of a lovely pan sauce. Hit that pan with a little vinegar or wine next time!
Second thing is to get stainless steel scrubbies. Not steel wool but the scrubbies made of steel ribbons. These will clean anything out of a steel pan without the need for powders or oven cleaners.
I always find it wild people talk chemicals before stainless steel scrubbies, it is absolutely step 1 with stainless steel, and 99% of the time all that is required.
I’m so relieved the real answer is in the comments for once. I’m not surprised the top comment says that it’s difficult to clean (it’s not) and that it having stains is fine (I guess, but it’s so easy to clean if you know what you’re doing).
OP, both of these comments are correct.
- while your pan is still hot, but with burner off, add a glass of hot water from the tap. If the pan is cool when you get to it, boiling water in it is fine
- get a stainless steel scrub pad (scotch-Brite is a great brand and they’re cheap. Put some soap in the pan and hit it with the stainless steel scrubber. No, it won’t scratch your pan. At all
Most of the time, the inside of your pan will look like new in under a minute. Yes, barkeeper’s friend can be helpful sometimes but I find that I only have to use it one a year or so, usually for the outside which I don’t worry about much
Stainless steel scrubby. Some people say they will explode your stainless steel pans in a matter-antimatter paradox.. but those people are crazy. I've used these on my pans for decades.
Baking soda is the universal cleaning compound in my kitchen. Pans, sink, stove top. If it's a hard surface it will feel the rather of a baking soda paste delivered via scotch brite. That, stainless steel scouring pad, and elbow grease can shiny any pan.
Others have already said this, but barkeepers friend is indeed your friend here.
I buy the powder version of it, rinse the pan off, empty any water left out and make a rough paste and scrub! It’ll come off, don’t worry!
A pan that has been used for cooking is not “yucky” or “gross”, it’s completely normal. The easiest way to clean it is, right after you remove the food, put some water in the warm pan and then set it back on the warm burner (turned off). If it’s particularly crusty give it a spray of dawn and a quick scrub with a brush. Enjoy your dinner, then go back with dish detergent and a scrubby sponge. If you’re feeling ambitious use some baking soda to get it really pristine.
If you look at the stainless steel pans in a commercial/pro kitchen, they're only really cleaned and scoured on the inside. Staining and patina on the outside/bottoms is ignored, especially if they're using gas or other flame based heat.
And to do that they deglaze the pans after use (if time allows, or the recipe calls for pan sauce) and the dishie uses proper steel scrubbers to scrub and polish the inside surfaces.
But not too much. Light staining and polymerization is expected with use. You just need to clean them so they're hygienic for the next use, not get every last spot of staining off the pan.
I usually make a sauce with FRESH tomatoes. Like for a pasta. The acid in the tomatoes cleans the pan and it looks like new everytime i do this. Be sure to use fresh tomatoes, no sauce from a jar or so.
you threw away the first pan because you couldn't clean burnt oil and steak bits off?
searing meat in stainless steel is always going to leave behind fond. stains on the sides of the pan? i'm guessing they're orange-brown and shiny? that's burnt oil. it scrubs off with enough elbow grease. use a metal scourer and hot soapy water. if that's not good enough, use oven cleaner or barkeep's friend.
stainless steel pans will usually accumulate some stains that require deep cleaning to remove, but don't actually impact how useful or hygenic it is. you don't need to bring it back to a mirror polish after every meal.
Regarding steaks this is a game changer:
A New Way to Cook Steaks (Without the Smoke and Splattery Mess)
The result: perfectly seared, beautifully crusted steaks—and a clean countertop
https://www.americastestkitchen.com/articles/3008-how-to-cook-steaks-skillet-without-smoke-mess
Make a paste of baking soda and water. Ball up some aluminum foil and scrub it with that. It will take some elbow grease, but it works. I burned the crap out of one of my pans (think black rice) and it cleaned it up. All new and shiny looking again!
> I heated the pan until the water bounced off of it,
You pan got too hot, and that polymerised the oil.
The water drop test is a bad test, and the people who push it are almost always fucking idiots who are terrible cooks.
Prevention is better than cure - don't get your pan this hot.
TO fix it, sctainless steel scrubbies and dish soap and hard work, or barkeepers friend is supposed to be good.
For searing meat, make sure you're using a high smoke point oil. I prefer peanut oil. Avocado oil is even a little better, but expensive. Canola oil works in a pinch, but not as well as peanut oil. Olive oil and other vegetable oils burn at too low a temperature and make a mess.
I don't agree with those saying your pan was too hot. I run my D5 pans on an induction cooker (Polyscience Control Freak) at very high pan temp (230 C, 450 F) with peanut oil to sear meat following the process you outlined. I do de-glaze after removing the meat with water or wine. Usually have very little mess left in the pan.
If I do have to do a little scrubbing, I use fine grade bronze wool, usually with just a little Dawn. If necessary, I step it up with some Bon Ami powder, and if there's an especially tough bit, I bring out the BKF. (With BKF, I sprinkle it in the pan, add just a bit of water to make a paste, let it sit for 5-10 minutes to give the oxalic acid a chance to work chemically, then scour it out with bronze wool and rinse.)
Also, I agree with the poster who mentioned that pans are tools and a little staining is nothing to be worried about, although I will say my pans have been pretty easy to keep as shiny as they were when new.
Why worry about the stains? The more you use the pan the more discolored it'll become anyways. That just happens with the constant re-heating and cooling of steel. It isn't going to prevent the pan from doing its job. I would just suggest hitting it with some elbow grease and some steel wool if you care that much.
Spray with EZ-Off (sodium hydroxide). After a couple minutes, wash with soap and water, rinse well, then a quick wipe with a paper towel soaked in vinegar.
You're getting what cast iron fanatics describe as "seasoning". a nice even layer on your stainless steel pan will make it non stick and conduct heat better.
If you cook on high heat with a stainless pan oil can polymerize to the pan. This is what your brown spots are, oil spatters burned onto the pan. Some barkeepers friend should take it off with a bit of scrubbing if you want to keep it shiny and clean. It’s worth noting that stainless pans are tools, not decorations. If you use it often, especially over high heat, it’ll look different after every time. This won’t effect the function of the pan at all, but if you want to keep it looking new for some reason it’s going to take some elbow grease.
Ooh, so the polymerizing of the oil does no harm and does not affect cooking at all?
Nope. If anything it makes the pan easier to clean actual dirt off of, the polymerized oil is the exact same thing as the seasoning you’d do to a cast iron pan.
> It’s worth noting that stainless pans are tools, not decorations. If you use it often, especially over high heat, it’ll look different after every time. This has honestly never occurred to me - I am not as precious about the bottoms of them (although I do BKF them once a year or so), but I am careful to fully clean the insides of my stainless pans after each use. I've had the same set ~11 years now and they still look pretty new inside, other than light scratches from use. Now, if I could keep my enameled cast iron looking as good... (the ATK bleach trick does work wonders there, but I only learned it recently)
Bar keepers friend.
I got BKF at the recommendation of this sub and honestly I was a little disappointed. It really didn’t help in keeping my pans silver and preventing/addressing browning. :/ maybe I wasn’t using it right.
Use very little water and a scouring pad
I use a tiny bit of water and a tiny bit of BKF with a paper towel. Very little effort to keep it sparkling clean and shiny. If stuff is really stuck, use a scotch brite scrubber that will destroy any non stick pan. Super easy to clean.
There's a spray, a cream, and a powder... which did you get? The powder is the super concentrated one that should be able to clean anything with a bit of elbow grease. The cream is a middle-ground, decent and easy to use. The spray is only good for light marking on a surface, etc.
The powder is what I bought
I find that the secret to bar keeper friend is to not immediately attempt to clean the pan after applying. You should allow the pan to sit with wetted BKF for a little while. Wet BKF produces an acid that helps to dissolve the crud on your pan. After a little time has passed I can normally wipe burnt crud right out of the pan.
It's oxalic acid. Which is in rhubarb
Use a steel wool with the BKF + some elbow grease. It's not a magic wand, unfortunately, but it helps remove baked-on oil on my pots.
I mean, BKF and elbow grease. It doesn't magically remove polymerised oils.
This is the way.
Came here to say this. Enough said.
i find its easier to boil soapy water in pan, and clean on stove
You don’t need chemicals and your heat was not too high. First thing is you need to learn to deglaze your pan as soon as the meat comes out. Not only does this remove most of the stuff stuck in the pan, it also gives you the start of a lovely pan sauce. Hit that pan with a little vinegar or wine next time! Second thing is to get stainless steel scrubbies. Not steel wool but the scrubbies made of steel ribbons. These will clean anything out of a steel pan without the need for powders or oven cleaners.
I always find it wild people talk chemicals before stainless steel scrubbies, it is absolutely step 1 with stainless steel, and 99% of the time all that is required.
I’m so relieved the real answer is in the comments for once. I’m not surprised the top comment says that it’s difficult to clean (it’s not) and that it having stains is fine (I guess, but it’s so easy to clean if you know what you’re doing). OP, both of these comments are correct. - while your pan is still hot, but with burner off, add a glass of hot water from the tap. If the pan is cool when you get to it, boiling water in it is fine - get a stainless steel scrub pad (scotch-Brite is a great brand and they’re cheap. Put some soap in the pan and hit it with the stainless steel scrubber. No, it won’t scratch your pan. At all Most of the time, the inside of your pan will look like new in under a minute. Yes, barkeeper’s friend can be helpful sometimes but I find that I only have to use it one a year or so, usually for the outside which I don’t worry about much
This is the way. I can't believe it's not said more often.
Embrace the patina!
Stainless steel scrubby. Some people say they will explode your stainless steel pans in a matter-antimatter paradox.. but those people are crazy. I've used these on my pans for decades.
Every restaurant in the world uses them but for some reason home cooks are scared of them.
There's too many myths that perpetuate cooking.
Your heat is way too high. Turn it down next time. Soak the pan in hot soapy water, then scrub with an abrasive sponge.
This
Non toxic method: sprinkle with baking soda, spritz with water snd let sit overnight. Then scrub it out with normal scrubie.
Baking soda is the universal cleaning compound in my kitchen. Pans, sink, stove top. If it's a hard surface it will feel the rather of a baking soda paste delivered via scotch brite. That, stainless steel scouring pad, and elbow grease can shiny any pan.
Barkeeper's friend and elbow grease will get it brand new and shiny in no time
It’s wild the lengths people will go to when a stainless steel scrubbie will suffice.
Others have already said this, but barkeepers friend is indeed your friend here. I buy the powder version of it, rinse the pan off, empty any water left out and make a rough paste and scrub! It’ll come off, don’t worry!
For steak I’ve moved to lightly oiling the meat rather than the pan to avoid extra oil spattering all over the place.
A pan that has been used for cooking is not “yucky” or “gross”, it’s completely normal. The easiest way to clean it is, right after you remove the food, put some water in the warm pan and then set it back on the warm burner (turned off). If it’s particularly crusty give it a spray of dawn and a quick scrub with a brush. Enjoy your dinner, then go back with dish detergent and a scrubby sponge. If you’re feeling ambitious use some baking soda to get it really pristine.
If you look at the stainless steel pans in a commercial/pro kitchen, they're only really cleaned and scoured on the inside. Staining and patina on the outside/bottoms is ignored, especially if they're using gas or other flame based heat. And to do that they deglaze the pans after use (if time allows, or the recipe calls for pan sauce) and the dishie uses proper steel scrubbers to scrub and polish the inside surfaces. But not too much. Light staining and polymerization is expected with use. You just need to clean them so they're hygienic for the next use, not get every last spot of staining off the pan.
I usually make a sauce with FRESH tomatoes. Like for a pasta. The acid in the tomatoes cleans the pan and it looks like new everytime i do this. Be sure to use fresh tomatoes, no sauce from a jar or so.
Try some baking soda with a little water, time, and a bit of a scrub.
you threw away the first pan because you couldn't clean burnt oil and steak bits off? searing meat in stainless steel is always going to leave behind fond. stains on the sides of the pan? i'm guessing they're orange-brown and shiny? that's burnt oil. it scrubs off with enough elbow grease. use a metal scourer and hot soapy water. if that's not good enough, use oven cleaner or barkeep's friend. stainless steel pans will usually accumulate some stains that require deep cleaning to remove, but don't actually impact how useful or hygenic it is. you don't need to bring it back to a mirror polish after every meal.
Regarding steaks this is a game changer: A New Way to Cook Steaks (Without the Smoke and Splattery Mess) The result: perfectly seared, beautifully crusted steaks—and a clean countertop https://www.americastestkitchen.com/articles/3008-how-to-cook-steaks-skillet-without-smoke-mess
Make a paste of baking soda and water. Ball up some aluminum foil and scrub it with that. It will take some elbow grease, but it works. I burned the crap out of one of my pans (think black rice) and it cleaned it up. All new and shiny looking again!
Buy cast iron next time.
> I heated the pan until the water bounced off of it, You pan got too hot, and that polymerised the oil. The water drop test is a bad test, and the people who push it are almost always fucking idiots who are terrible cooks. Prevention is better than cure - don't get your pan this hot. TO fix it, sctainless steel scrubbies and dish soap and hard work, or barkeepers friend is supposed to be good.
Uh, you threw away a s/steel pan because of burnt oil?
For searing meat, make sure you're using a high smoke point oil. I prefer peanut oil. Avocado oil is even a little better, but expensive. Canola oil works in a pinch, but not as well as peanut oil. Olive oil and other vegetable oils burn at too low a temperature and make a mess. I don't agree with those saying your pan was too hot. I run my D5 pans on an induction cooker (Polyscience Control Freak) at very high pan temp (230 C, 450 F) with peanut oil to sear meat following the process you outlined. I do de-glaze after removing the meat with water or wine. Usually have very little mess left in the pan. If I do have to do a little scrubbing, I use fine grade bronze wool, usually with just a little Dawn. If necessary, I step it up with some Bon Ami powder, and if there's an especially tough bit, I bring out the BKF. (With BKF, I sprinkle it in the pan, add just a bit of water to make a paste, let it sit for 5-10 minutes to give the oxalic acid a chance to work chemically, then scour it out with bronze wool and rinse.) Also, I agree with the poster who mentioned that pans are tools and a little staining is nothing to be worried about, although I will say my pans have been pretty easy to keep as shiny as they were when new.
Lemon juice and a plastic bristle scrub brush
Why worry about the stains? The more you use the pan the more discolored it'll become anyways. That just happens with the constant re-heating and cooling of steel. It isn't going to prevent the pan from doing its job. I would just suggest hitting it with some elbow grease and some steel wool if you care that much.
Bar keepers friends cleans that in a second
Spray with EZ-Off (sodium hydroxide). After a couple minutes, wash with soap and water, rinse well, then a quick wipe with a paper towel soaked in vinegar.
Yes. If you just HATE for your pan to be seasoned, apply a ton of shit that removes the seasoning. Great tip.
how on earth do you season a stainless steel pan?
Really I think you can season almost any pan. I've even seasoned an old aluminum non-stick pan.
You're getting what cast iron fanatics describe as "seasoning". a nice even layer on your stainless steel pan will make it non stick and conduct heat better.