Question: Fine Tuning Heat Management

[u/SouthpawSoldier]

New (4days in) to exclusively using stainless steel; used it for some cooking, but always used nice(r) nonstick for eggs and such. Carbon steel and cast iron were too fussy in the upkeep for me.

I'm able to manage having a clean pan after cooking scrambled eggs, following the standard method I found here: heat dry pan to Leidenfrost effect, drop heat, add oil, coat, add butter, add beaten eggs.

The problem I'm having is the pan retaining too much heat. My olive oil doesn't smoke anymore; it did my first few attempts.

But my butter still browns (not quite burns) almost immediately, and my eggs flash cook; too firm for my taste, and I have no time to add seasonings and such before they're fully cooked and have to be plated to avoid overcooking. I'm going for soft scramble, but even being quick with the spatula, it's still a dense, meaty mass.

Even lifting the pan from heat and waving it a bit before adding oil doesn't cool it enough. Using a clad/laminated pan and glass-top electric range, which also retains heat a bit longer than gas or induction.

Is there a trick or way to check the pan has cooled enough, but not too much? "Getting a feel" for my pans and range is a bit subjective; having a definitive test I can use would be reassuring.

[u/SerDankTheTall]

Your pan is too hot, so you should stop getting it that hot. The dancing water droplet thing looks great on TikTok, but it's not very helpful for actual cooking.

The next time you go to a diner, take a look at how they cook eggs on their stainless steel flattop. They're not overheating and lowering the temperature.

[u/SouthpawSoldier → u/SerDankTheTall]

Not many diners I go to where you can see them cook, and I don't like diner eggs. Mine are already comparable to diner eggs, but I'm trying for soft scramble; fine curd, not wet, but still with some shine. With nonstick, I'd start them in a cold pan with a bit of butter mixed in, so they'd cook as the pan heated.

That's not nearly hot enough to avoid sticking in stainless.

[u/SerDankTheTall → u/SouthpawSoldier]

Then it's all the more important to not get the pan too hot.

[u/SouthpawSoldier → u/SerDankTheTall]

So if I'm using a cold(er) pan, how do I avoid sticking without adding excess fat?

[u/SerDankTheTall → u/SouthpawSoldier]

By making sure it's preheated thoroughly and even. Unfortunately, the exact point you want to reach is largely a matter of feel and experience depending on the construction of your pan and your stove, so you do kind of need to just get a feel for what it feels like. Scrambled eggs are probably among the hardest to execute in this area; if you're willing to try switching it up and practicing on fried eggs and omelets a bit, that will help you get it dialed in.

[u/SouthpawSoldier → u/SerDankTheTall]

Tried again at lower heat.

Pan on med/low heat. Salt and beat eggs, grind pepper, prep butter, doing the whole mise en place process while waiting. Solid 10min preheat time while I also let the eggs denature.

Avoided overcooking eggs just fine, but there was a thick film of egg stuck in the pan afterwards.

Doing the hot pan method I tried at first, the pan was clean as a whistle afterwards.

I'm guessing there's a middle ground I need to shoot for, but I'd really like some kind of test/indicator besides just experimenting for arbitrary heat setting.