Changed my mind about preheating pans after a chef yelled at me

I always threw stuff in cold pans. Thought it saved time. Then the head chef at my new gig caught me doing it with eggs. He goes 'you're steaming them, not searing.' I switched to hot pan, cold oil. Now my fried eggs don't stick and get that crispy edge. Anyone else have a kitchen habit that took getting roasted to fix?

2 comments

2 Comments

emery_craig12d agoTop Commenter

Actually I'd push back a little on the "hot pan cold oil" thing. That's fine for eggs and some veggies, but you really want hot oil for things like steak or mushrooms. If the oil is cold when you throw the meat in, it drops the pan temp too much before the oil heats up. That's how you end up with gray meat instead of a crust. Your chef was right about eggs though, that's a solid method for getting that crispy edge without sticking.

michaeljones12d ago

Wait, you're telling me you actually want the oil hot for steak? I've been doing the cold oil thing for years with steaks and always wondered why my crust was hit or miss. That's wild, never heard anyone say that before. Is that a common chef trick or something you figured out on your own?