How do I cook burgers in an uncoated stainless steel frying pan (electric cooker)

cj2011

I can't figure out how to cook burgers on a stainless steel frying pan (uncoated). I use rapeseed oil and it generates a lot of smoke, so I put a glass lid which has a ventilation hole in it. If the heat is lower than medium, the burger browns on the outside but stays pink in the middle. If I use a medium heat, the burger does look brown when I cut it apart, but the texture feels slightly too soft when I bite into it, so it is probably slightly undercooked. If I turn the heat up just slightly higher than medium, it ends up getting burnt, hard and inedible. I use an electric cooker (not induction) and have no intention of getting a gas cooker. When I was using a cheap aluminium frying pan with a thin ceramic coating, I was consistently getting tasty burgers (lately I had been using rapeseed oil in that one also), but with this new one, I can't get the texture right. Any advice, apart from going back to the cheap ceramic frying pan (which is now scratched)?
On a positive note, the food hasn't been sticking to the frying pan, despite the absence of a coating (I guess I have been using the oil correctly to prevent the food from sticking). But that's not of much use if I can't cook anything on it that doesn't end up either under or over cooked.

eamon

There is loads of information on google and it includes the science bits. The main thing is to get the pan hot first then turn the heat down. You can test the temp using a drop of water, it should scoot around the pan and boil then evaporate. Then add your oil/fat, swirl around 3-5 seconds should be enough then start frying your meat/burger. Resist the temptation to poke the food about with a spatula. When a gentle nudge with the spatula moves the food then you can flip it over.

Mistral001

Stainless steel pans often have very thin bottoms.  That might be your problem.  

cj2011

eamon said:

There is loads of information on google and it includes the science bits. The main thing is to get the pan hot first then turn the heat down. You can test the temp using a drop of water, it should scoot around the pan and boil then evaporate. Then add your oil/fat, swirl around 3-5 seconds should be enough then start frying your meat/burger. Resist the temptation to poke the food about with a spatula. When a gentle nudge with the spatula moves the food then you can flip it over.

Let it get hot without any oil in it? I think the instruction that came with it says never to let it boil dry as this could cause damage.

cj2011

Mistral001 said:

Stainless steel pans often have very thin bottoms.  That might be your problem.  

Doesn't look thin to me. It looks pretty thick and sturdy. It just somehow doesn't seem to hold a consistent heat for as long as the cheap ceramic coated aluminium one I had.

cj2011

cj2011 said:

eamon said:

There is loads of information on google and it includes the science bits. The main thing is to get the pan hot first then turn the heat down. You can test the temp using a drop of water, it should scoot around the pan and boil then evaporate. Then add your oil/fat, swirl around 3-5 seconds should be enough then start frying your meat/burger. Resist the temptation to poke the food about with a spatula. When a gentle nudge with the spatula moves the food then you can flip it over.

Let it get hot without any oil in it? I think the instruction that came with it says never to let it boil dry as this could cause damage.

kazwookie

Make the burgers thinner

cj2011

kazwookie said:

Make the burgers thinner

They were as thin as I could get them before they burnt. Was the pan too hot at that point then? It seems very hard to get the right balance as it seems either just hot enough to cause browning but not hot enough to get the right texture (felt too soft when I took a bite), or if I leave them for a little bit longer, they end up burnt and hard.

D_M_E

Try cooking them at a lower heat setting.

Mistral001

I have some stainless steel saucepans and use them on a traditional electric ring cooker.  They look great but I would not recommend them for boiling let alone frying.  They seem to be inefficient at transferring the heat to the contents.  I am not sure why this should happen.  My best guess is that steel is just not as good heat conductor as aluminium or copper.  Also the shininess of stainless steel might reflect heat back rather than absorb it. 

cj2011

Mistral001 said:

I have some stainless steel saucepans and use them on a traditional electric ring cooker.  They look great but I would not recommend them for boiling let alone frying.  They seem to be inefficient at transferring the heat to the contents.  I am not sure why this should happen.  My best guess is that steel is just not as good heat conductor as aluminium or copper.  Also the shininess of stainless steel might reflect heat back rather than absorb it. 

My Russell Hobbs stainless steel saucepans are great for boiling and have been using them for more than 5 years. No problems with boiling (apart from limescale buildup which I regularly remove with some pineapple juice). They do have an encapsulated base that has some aluminium sandwiched between two layers of stainless steel. But the new frying pan (different brand) has a smaller base and the base is rounded off around the edges so maybe the problem is that the frying pan cools down faster around the edges than in the middle. It is a small one, which is what I wanted. I suspect that the shape of the base may be part of the problem.