Essential Cooking Techniques to Master with Your Stainless Steel Pan

Stainless steel cookware rewards technique. While a non-stick pan makes some tasks easier, stainless steel enables cooking methods that produce superior results—techniques that professional chefs rely on daily. Master these essential skills, and you'll unlock the full potential of your stainless steel cookware.

Each technique builds on the fundamentals of heat management and understanding how food interacts with the stainless steel surface. Together, they form a repertoire that transforms everyday cooking into something special.

1. The Perfect Sauté

Sautéing—cooking food quickly in a small amount of fat over high heat—is one of the most versatile techniques in cooking. Stainless steel excels here because it can handle the high temperatures needed for proper sautéing and develops fond that adds flavour depth.

The Technique

1. Preheat your pan over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes
2. Add oil and heat until shimmering
3. Add food in a single layer, leaving space between pieces
4. Let food sit until it develops colour before stirring
5. Toss or stir to cook evenly

The key is patience at the beginning—let the food sear before moving it. This develops flavour and prevents sticking.

2. Developing Fond

Fond—the French term for the caramelised bits that stick to the pan after searing—is one of stainless steel's greatest gifts to cooking. These browned deposits are concentrated flavour waiting to be incorporated into your dish.

Why Fond Matters

Fond forms through the Maillard reaction, creating hundreds of flavour compounds that don't exist in raw or steamed food. When you make a pan sauce or deglaze, you're capturing all this complexity and incorporating it into your final dish.

Building Good Fond

• Use adequate heat—too low and food steams instead of browning
• Don't overcrowd—crowding causes steaming
• Use enough fat to prevent burning
• Let food develop a crust before moving

Brown is flavour. Black is burnt. Learn to distinguish between well-developed fond (deep brown, smells appetising) and burnt residue (black, smells acrid).

3. Deglazing

Deglazing is the technique that liberates fond from the pan, turning those caramelised bits into usable flavour. It's one of the most valuable techniques in cooking and the bridge to countless pan sauces.

The Basic Technique

1. After cooking protein, remove it to rest
2. Keep the pan on medium-high heat with the fond intact
3. Add liquid—wine, stock, vinegar, even water
4. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up the fond as the liquid bubbles
5. The liquid will turn brown as it absorbs the fond

Choosing Your Deglazing Liquid

• Wine: Adds acidity and complexity; white wine for lighter proteins, red for beef
• Stock: Adds depth without additional acidity
• Vinegar: Provides sharp acidity; use sparingly
• Citrus juice: Brightness for fish and chicken
• Water: Captures fond flavour without adding other elements

4. Building Pan Sauces

A pan sauce builds on deglazing to create a complete sauce from the same pan used to cook your protein. This is restaurant cooking at its simplest and most effective.

Basic Pan Sauce Method

1. Cook and rest your protein
2. Pour off excess fat, leaving about 1 tablespoon
3. Sauté aromatics (shallots, garlic) for 30 seconds
4. Deglaze with wine (about 120ml), scraping up fond
5. Reduce by half
6. Add stock (about 240ml) and reduce by half again
7. Remove from heat and whisk in cold butter (1-2 tablespoons)
8. Season with salt and pepper
9. Strain if desired, or leave rustic

Variations

• Add cream after reducing wine for a creamy sauce
• Stir in mustard for a classic French finish
• Add fresh herbs off heat to preserve brightness
• Include capers, olives, or other briny elements
• Finish with a splash of lemon juice for acidity

The butter at the end (called "mounting" the sauce) adds richness and creates a glossy, luxurious texture. Add it off the heat to prevent separation.

5. Stovetop-to-Oven Cooking

Stainless steel's oven-safe construction enables a powerful technique: starting dishes on the stovetop for browning and finishing in the oven for even cooking.

Applications

• Thick steaks: Sear on stovetop, finish in a 200°C oven to reach target internal temperature
• Chicken thighs: Brown skin-side down, flip, and transfer to oven
• Frittatas: Cook eggs and fillings on stovetop, finish under the grill to set top
• Roasted vegetables: Start in pan with oil, transfer to oven for hands-off cooking

The Method

1. Preheat oven to desired temperature
2. Sear protein or vegetables on stovetop until well-browned
3. Transfer the entire pan (remember, the handle is hot!) to the oven
4. Cook until internal temperature reaches target
5. Rest before serving

6. Shallow Frying

Shallow frying—cooking in oil that comes partway up the food—produces crispy exteriors while keeping interiors moist. Stainless steel maintains steady temperatures for even frying.

Keys to Success

• Use enough oil to come about 1cm up the side of the food
• Heat oil to proper temperature (175-190°C for most frying)
• Don't crowd—maintain oil temperature by working in batches
• Let crust develop before turning
• Drain on wire racks, not paper towels (which steam the bottom)

Test oil temperature by dropping in a small piece of the food you're cooking. It should sizzle vigorously and float.

7. Proper Searing

We've covered searing in depth elsewhere, but it belongs in any list of essential stainless steel techniques. The high heat tolerance and heat retention of stainless steel make it ideal for developing deep, flavourful crusts.

Quick Searing Review

• Dry the surface of your protein thoroughly
• Preheat pan until water dances (Leidenfrost effect)
• Add high smoke-point oil
• Place protein and don't move until crust forms
• Flip when it releases naturally

8. Reducing Sauces

Reduction—simmering liquid to evaporate water and concentrate flavour—is fundamental to sauce making. Stainless steel's wide cooking surface promotes evaporation, speeding the process.

The Technique

1. Bring liquid to a simmer (not a rolling boil)
2. Maintain consistent heat
3. Stir occasionally to prevent scorching
4. Test consistency by coating a spoon (nappe)
5. Season after reducing—flavours concentrate with the liquid

A common mistake is boiling too hard, which can create bitter flavours and uneven reduction. Gentle simmering produces cleaner, more refined results.

9. Making Roux and Thickening Sauces

A roux—butter and flour cooked together—is the base for countless sauces, from béchamel to gravy. Stainless steel allows you to cook roux to any colour (white, blonde, brown) without hot spots that could burn portions.

Basic Roux Method

1. Melt butter over medium heat
2. Add equal weight of flour (by weight, not volume)
3. Stir constantly for 2-3 minutes for white roux
4. Continue cooking for darker roux, stirring frequently
5. Add liquid gradually, whisking constantly to prevent lumps

10. Toasting Spices and Nuts

Dry-toasting awakens flavours in spices and adds depth to nuts. Stainless steel's responsiveness helps prevent burning—you can quickly remove from heat when done.

Technique Tips

• Use a dry pan—no oil needed
• Heat over medium-low
• Shake or stir frequently for even toasting
• Watch carefully—the difference between perfect and burnt is seconds
• Remove from pan immediately when done (the hot pan continues cooking)

Putting It Together

These techniques don't exist in isolation—they combine into complete dishes. Consider a classic pan-roasted chicken breast with pan sauce:

1. Sear the chicken, developing fond
2. Transfer to oven to finish cooking through
3. Deglaze the pan with wine
4. Reduce and build a pan sauce
5. Mount with butter and season
6. Spoon sauce over rested chicken

One pan, several techniques, restaurant-quality results. This is what stainless steel enables.

Master these fundamentals, and you'll find stainless steel isn't limiting—it's liberating. The techniques that make professional cooking special are all accessible in your home kitchen, with your stainless steel pan.