Help - I HATE my omelet pan- the steel pan thread

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StephanFowler

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I have a 7 year old set of wolfgang puck pans (wedding gift) that has served me pretty well.

All stainless construction, riveted on handles, nice heavy bottoms.

I have only recently started making omelets regularly as my wife doesn't really care for eggs but due to diet can't have her normal breakfast fare (pancakes, oatmeal, granola cereal, etc)

so enter the 8" omelet pan from wolfgang,

I've tried everything I can think of and it STILL sticks to the dang pan.
doesn't help that my range top is a 15 year old solid element style that really doesn't understand lower heats.

is there a consistent way to season or oil the pan that could help me out, or should I go invest in a nonstick just for omelets???
 
+1 this is my go-to pan for eggs. Also it helps to let the eggs sit a little so they're not so cold from the fridge.

Couple questions -
A: would you specifically recommend the Blue Steel pan or would any of their carbon pans do just as well?
B: where would I look for a good vendor?

If you never want to buy another pan, pick up a De buyer carbon steel pan- only gets better over time.

Sweet, I'd never heard that before.
 
Why would you want lower heats? The trick to keeping your omelets from sticking (and to making them light and fluffy) is ripping high heat.
 
those are not bad pans. a trick to those is put them in a 400 degree deep fryer and it will make seasoning them much easier.

i prefer cast iron for almost anything. if you are just looking for something that doesn't stick, any non-stick omelette pan will work from sears or bed,bath,and beyond. it sounds like a little more practice will do you wonders.

it takes people a long time to learn correct heat and oiling techniques to make great omelettes. check out a few youtube videos and consider keeping you pans and save some money :D
 
Couple questions -
A: would you specifically recommend the Blue Steel pan or would any of their carbon pans do just as well?
B: where would I look for a good vendor?



Sweet, I'd never heard that before.


They have 2 lines of product, I have never used the heavier and 10X more expensive one but did hear very good things from a couple of pro's who were in JB prince when I purchased one of mine.They were over the moon about them.

I heard from a member that world food(?) has great buys on this pan.

Found a photo of it new-
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I have both the force blue and carbone plus, i would suggest the blue line since it's easier to care for and will work better with your flat top range since it's thinner. you can get them pretty cheap from costplus world market. they go on sale from time to time. i picked up the force blue crepe pan for 9 bucks the last time they were on the cheap.
 
those are not bad pans. a trick to those is put them in a 400 degree deep fryer and it will make seasoning them much easier.

i prefer cast iron for almost anything. if you are just looking for something that doesn't stick, any non-stick omelette pan will work from sears or bed,bath,and beyond. it sounds like a little more practice will do you wonders.

it takes people a long time to learn correct heat and oiling techniques to make great omelettes. check out a few youtube videos and consider keeping you pans and save some money :D


gotcha, I kept having problems with burning and sticking no matter how hot I let it get so I assumed it was either technique or temp control
 
The temptation is to use butter, but it's jake at high heat so temper it with some cooking oil. Heat the pan until it's got that rippling shimmer, but the water in the butter isn't popping yet. It's a tricky sweet spot.

If the heat is too low, then you're gonna get some stick. Most proteins do this, that's why we preheat pans before putting steaks in 'em. But if it's crazy-balls hot, when you put the eggs in, the water contained inside is gonna just explode, which is also gonna give you some stick. Ideally, you want that moisture to make the eggs "puff up" but retain their protein structure, giving you bubbly eggs that are, really, just shallow frying on a layer of fat. Like Citizen said, it takes a good deal of practice to really nail it. Start to finish, your omelet should take about 15 seconds.

I use cast iron and carbon pans for almost everything, and could probably fire off an omelet on a piece of aluminum siding if I had to, but I still keep a cheap non-stick pan in the house for eggs. It just makes life easier.
 
The De Buyer Force Blue crepe pan is a nice introduction to carbon steel. Easy to season and maintain. However if you want to use the jerking method of cooking an omelette the crepe pan is a bit low on the rim. For that method any of the other regular carbon steel pans would be a better fit.
 
The temptation is to use butter, but it's jake at high heat so temper it with some cooking oil. Heat the pan until it's got that rippling shimmer, but the water in the butter isn't popping yet. It's a tricky sweet spot.

If the heat is too low, then you're gonna get some stick. Most proteins do this, that's why we preheat pans before putting steaks in 'em. But if it's crazy-balls hot, when you put the eggs in, the water contained inside is gonna just explode, which is also gonna give you some stick. Ideally, you want that moisture to make the eggs "puff up" but retain their protein structure, giving you bubbly eggs that are, really, just shallow frying on a layer of fat. Like Citizen said, it takes a good deal of practice to really nail it. Start to finish, your omelet should take about 15 seconds.

I use cast iron and carbon pans for almost everything, and could probably fire off an omelet on a piece of aluminum siding if I had to, but I still keep a cheap non-stick pan in the house for eggs. It just makes life easier.

sweet, sounds like some practice is in order.

I really appreciate all the help (I do have an unfortunate tendency to go with crazy-balls hot)
 
I make my omelettes in stainless. I preheat the pan close to smoking, add a little oil, dump the egg base in and then anything else I want to stuff in it (I generally precook things like mushroom and onions.), once it browns, I turn the heat down a bit and let it cook through some before I fold it over. The only time I have any problems is if cheese gets stuck to the pan.
 
sweet, sounds like some practice is in order.

I really appreciate all the help (I do have an unfortunate tendency to go with crazy-balls hot)

Wait, I got more! ;)

Since it's all about controlling the temperature, which is gonna be hard enough using solid element heating, you want to minimize how much the pan cools when you introduce the eggs. As mentioned before in this thread, let them stand at room temperature for a bit before you start. Then tilt the pan to the side (so the fat forms a pool along the lip) and pour slowly into that, leveling the pan back out as you go. This will get the eggs cooking before they ever touch the pan, which will not only prevent them from sticking, but will also save your pan from a sudden drop in temperature.
 
Wait, I got more! ;)

Since it's all about controlling the temperature, which is gonna be hard enough using solid element heating, you want to minimize how much the pan cools when you introduce the eggs. As mentioned before in this thread, let them stand at room temperature for a bit before you start. Then tilt the pan to the side (so the fat forms a pool along the lip) and pour slowly into that, leveling the pan back out as you go. This will get the eggs cooking before they ever touch the pan, which will not only prevent them from sticking, but will also save your pan from a sudden drop in temperature.



what about added veggies, obviously precook them but should they be introduced hot (straight out of the other pan) or room temp?
 
I pull the omelet and fold it before it's finished cooking, letting it's own heat finish it off. Doing it like that, I introduce the fillings hot right before folding. Some people take a more "frittata" approach, in which case you can introduce them lukewarm.
 
Like your wife, I'm not a big egg fan; I'm happy with my nonstick and see no reason to switch. I suggest you try one before devoting a lot of money and energy to producing the perfect omelet for someone who would rather have a bowl of oatmeal.
 
If you do get a nonstick pan, just get a cheapo. An expensive allclad or whatever lose their coating like anything else. Throwing away a $20 pan is easier to stomach than a $200. I do have pretty good luck with Scanpan nonsticks, so if you do want to pay for a nicer nonstick pan, I would recommend them.
 
After reading everyone recommend de Buyer pans for the last few months I ordered a de Buyer Mineral 8" pan from Amazon and it came yesterday. I can already tell after using it three times that buying this pan was the best money I have ever spent on kitchen equipment. I don't know how I've been living without it. I cooked pork chops in it, sauteed vegetables, and cooked eggs in it this morning. I can't imagine buying another piece of equipment for $40 that I would never want to replace for the rest of my life, but I already like the de Buyer better than my All Clad. I ordered three more pans today. Even if you do decide to go with a dedicated non-stick for eggs after you buy a carbon steel pan, I don't think that there's any way that it could be a bad purchase because you're gonna fall in love with it as soon as you pick it up. The eggs did feel a tiny, tiny bit "sticky" on the edges this morning, although they were far from sticking, and I'm sure the non-stick properties of this pan will get better very quickly with heavy use.

Practically every other kitchen tool that I own that I consider perfect cost me a lot of money. This is one of the only things I own that I can honestly say I don't want the more expensive version of, even if I could buy it for the same price. It really feels like a professional tool.

Note: The 8" pan may be a little small for a three egg omelet.
 
[video=youtube;LWmvfUKwBrg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWmvfUKwBrg[/video]

'nuff said!

Stefan
 
The clip about McD fries is rather good as well!
 
Someone has to have an IR thermometer and can give us that exact "sweet spot" for pan temp. C'mon, let's make it scientific.
 
Harbor Freight has an IR thermo for not much money now...........
 
Harbor Freight has an IR thermo for not much money now...........

20 bucks if you wait for just the right time ;) even at 30 bucks it is a good price.

I keep wanting to pick up a flir thermal camera, i would totally point it at a pan if i ended up getting one just to see what the heat pattern is like across different materials. I just realized how nerdy i sound
 
20 bucks if you wait for just the right time ;) even at 30 bucks it is a good price.

I keep wanting to pick up a flir thermal camera, i would totally point it at a pan if i ended up getting one just to see what the heat pattern is like across different materials. I just realized how nerdy i sound

Nahh, you've just been watching too much Alton Brown on the Food Network.
 
20 bucks if you wait for just the right time ;) even at 30 bucks it is a good price.

I keep wanting to pick up a flir thermal camera, i would totally point it at a pan if i ended up getting one just to see what the heat pattern is like across different materials. I just realized how nerdy i sound

Now that sounds really cool. Why don't you develop a Masters degree thesis with analysis of flir images of various types of cookware pans? You could be the next Verhoeven
 
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