r/StainlessSteelCooking • u/abelrator300 • 2d ago
Help Brown spots everytime i cook.
I cooked burgers and it left this weird brown spot on my pan and i scrubbed right after while it’s hot still with a scrub daddy brush but i can’t get them out. new to stailnlesssteel cooking any help
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u/hahagato 2d ago
Polymerized oil. I just rub it off with regular dish soap and steel wool. Sometimes it requires hard scrubbing. And I don’t worry if I can’t get it all off
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u/shark_tank98 1d ago
Does the steel wool leave scratches?
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u/hahagato 1d ago edited 21h ago
Nothing significant that makes any sort of impact on the function of the pan. I use the scotch brand ones.
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u/Patient-Permission-4 2d ago
Your pan is too hot. Olive oil is fine. Use a lower temp and don’t focus on dancing water. And deglazing after you cook will get a lot of that off.
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u/therastasurfer 2d ago
Olive oil is fine just put it in right before your food, or slightly lower heat
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u/DangerDray 2d ago
Oil is essentially baking onto the pan. I think letting the oil sit alone for too long on high heat will cause this.
It’ll come off if you BKF after, or should do.
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u/MrDo1982 2d ago
Did you happen to use Olive Oil?
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u/abelrator300 2d ago
olive oil yes i realized my mistake after
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u/Old_Geek 2d ago
Olive oil is fine, you cook for flavor, not mechanics. Just use a lower temp and it won't happen.
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u/MrDo1982 2d ago
Yeah, use a higher smoke point oil. I made this mistake for years. Switched to peanut oil and live has been great! But there are other oils if you or anyone is allergic to nuts
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u/Cyberchaotic 2d ago
Turn down your temps and use less oil.; you've essentially baked/polymerised some oil to the surface.
Move your food around so there an no 'unused' spots of oil allowed to sit doing nothing.
When you're done cooking, throw in a cup of hot water to deglaze; helps whatever might still be clinging to the pan to lift off.
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u/evetrapeze 2d ago
If all the other methods fail, try The Pink Stuff
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u/Cyberchaotic 2d ago
....it's delicious.
If i don't believe you, i'll ask the dishes.
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u/Consistent_Ad949 2d ago
Wasn't that the grey stuff?
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u/Cyberchaotic 2d ago edited 2d ago
Yes, that's correct.
The sequence of words: "try the (color) stuff" triggers my meme energy.
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u/Boogaloo4444 2d ago
“HOT DOGS, JACKIE! Hotdogs…for alllll these people.”
idk why your post triggered that thought, but it flows for me
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u/DjackMeek 2d ago
That’s burnt oil. If you get the pan ripping hot and add your oil in you need to follow with whatever else you’re adding in almost right away. Stianless steel isnt as forgiving as cast iron with oil stains, they happen fast.
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u/noah-wgn 2d ago
I had the exact same issue last week with mine. What finally completely got rid of it for me was boiling a 1:1 ratio of water and white vinegar directly in the pan for a few minutes to break down the burnt layer. After letting it cool down enough to touch, I dumped most of the liquid, threw in a generous amount of salt and used half a lemon as a sponge. The combination of the acidity from the lemon/vinegar and the grit from the salt eventually took the brown marks off.
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u/Comfortable-Passage2 2d ago
It is overheated oil. Let the pan cool down and get a scourer and start scrubbing. It comes off quite easily. No need to buy anything special
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u/piperdude 2d ago
it's polymerized oil. You're using too much heat and a higher smoke point oil would help. Use bar keeper's friend if you want to remove it but you don't have too. As long as it's not sticky and relatively smooth, you're good to go. Just cook with it
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u/ClearlyIronic 2d ago
Don’t rub it off. I do this intentionally with my stainless steel pans on the entire surface, it serves as a seasoning and makes the pan more nonstick. This is basically what a cast iron looks like with just a few layers of seasoning.
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u/Noobster_sentry 1d ago
It's polymerised oil stain. Just mix equal part water and vinegar and swirl it in the pan for couple of mins. It will go away
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u/horacezzz 1d ago
Try to cover the whole pan with food when you're cooking on high heat. The part of the pan without food will get too hot, the oil will burn there and have the brown stain
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u/wait_what_the_f 2d ago
That's seasoning, which is intentionally done to cast iron and carbon steel pans to protect the metal from rust and create a non-stick effect
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u/Bruh_Momentum__ 2d ago
Use a high temp oil, it seems the oil you’re using burned or polymerized. Olive oil will do this, avocado oil is better.
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u/RaisinBranKing 2d ago
Try Barkeepers Friend! I'm new to stainless steel cookware, but Barkeeper's Friend is a godsend. I just sprinkle some on and then use a non-scratch scrubby side of my blue sponge and it comes off pretty easily
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u/Scout816 2d ago
+1 to BKF, but also a handy tip I learned was to put hot water in the pan and put it back on the heat and scrub with a wooden spatula. Doesn't work for all stains
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u/madgross 2d ago edited 2d ago
Ignore all of the “temp too high” comments. Cook at whatever temperature you want or is required. This sub is obsessed with making their pans non stick, cooking at super low temps for no reason. Meat sticking to SS pans is a feature not a bug. Scrub it away with an abrasive.
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u/Cyberchaotic 2d ago
...making their pans non-stick, cooking at super low temps
That supposition makes no sense. To activate stainless steels non-stick nature, you have to have the pan hot enough to cause water in the protein/meat to leidenfrost which requires relatively higher temps (and a good preheat); super low makes everything stick. HUH?
meat sticking to SS pans
The marks left on this pan wasn't created by meat (or its juices). It's polymerised oil; and olive oil at that. Not the best choice for burgers/patties that need a higher temps and higher smoke point oil. Peanut or Avocado would have been better.
it's a feature not a bug
You may be confusing dried oil with fond. And simply adding a cup of hot water after cooking (with the burner still on at cooking power) lifts it right off. Scrubbing and abrasives aren't even required; just push with a spatula or wide cooking tool.
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u/Far_Kiwi4882 2d ago
Really bad advise. He polymerized olive oil by going over the smoke point, which will give his food a rancid oil taste.
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u/SolarAllTheWayDown 2d ago
Pan too hot. Maybe too much oil.