Why Your Food Sticks to the Pan (And How To Avoid It)

When I was getting married, I registered for a big-girl set of All-Clad pans. At that point, I was almost six years into my culinary career, but the pans I was using at home were rather embarrassing. I was so excited when I unwrapped each shiny piece of glistening stainless steel cookware that I could hardly wait to start cooking with them. After all, I was a classically trained chef, so I knew just what to do.

Wrong! My first few attempts at eggs were a travesty, and don’t get me started on cooking fish. Though I knew exactly how to cook, there was something about being in the comfort of my kitchen that made me less focused on proper techniques.

I slowly got used to cooking with stainless steel at home. Now, nearly 12 years later, I still use these pans daily. They’ve held up beautifully (though they could use a good scrub of Bar Keepers Friend).

When it comes to preventing food from sticking, the pan you use matters less than a few solid rules to remember. Your eyes, and oftentimes your ears, will guide you much more than any recipe could. Here are my top six tips to help prevent food from sticking to the pan.

1. Match the Pan to the Protein

While I’ve gotten to the point where I use my stainless steel pans for almost everything, it takes a lot of practice—and lots of stuck, overcooked eggs—to get it just right. To ensure success, make sure you match the material of your pan to the protein you are cooking.

If you are new to cooking or want to keep things simple, use nonstick pans for eggs or other delicate proteins, like fish or tofu. If you are going for a nice sear, stainless steel is always great—just be sure to let the meat release naturally before flipping it. Lastly, I love using a cast-iron pan for recipes where I’m trying to build a lot of fond (i.e., the tasty brown bits on the bottom of a pot that help create a sauce).

2. Let Cold Meat Lose Its Chill

A general rule to live by when cooking is that extremes are usually bad. Adding a cold glass baking dish to a hot oven can cause it to crack. Adding eggs to hot liquids can inadvertently scramble them, and adding cold meat to a hot pan can lead to tough meat and a stuck-on mess.

Allowing your proteins to come to room temperature will result in a better sear, more even cooking, and meat that is less likely to stick to the pan when you try to flip it.

3. Make Sure the Meat Is Dry

Any moisture left on the surface of protein when you cook it will create steam as soon as it hits the hot pan. This steam will turn the surface tacky, which causes it to stick to the pan. If the surface is patted dry with a paper towel, a seared crust will form as soon as it hits the hot pan, making it nearly impossible for the food to stick.

4. Start With a Hot Pan

The key to keeping things from sticking is that your pan needs to be screaming hot—not warm. A warm pan allows the meat to relax on the surface, where it can get stuck. A hot pan will help form a crust immediately, so the protein eventually releases itself from the pan.

Always heat the pan first, and once it’s hot, add your cooking oil of choice before adding the protein. If you heat the oil for the same amount of time you heat the pan, it can burn, become bitter-tasting, and lead to unsafe splattering when you add your protein.

5. Don’t Move It Too Soon

It's so much easier said than done, but this is the part where you have to trust your eyes and ears. A properly seared piece of protein will practically turn itself. Once it has a proper crust, it will release from the pan, allowing you to flip it easily. If you go to turn the meat and you still hear an active sizzle and the meat is sticking, let it be.

6. Use the Right Heat (Not Max Heat)

While the pan should initially be quite hot, you don’t need to cook over high heat the entire time. Play with the temperature while the protein cooks: if you see a nice crust developing, you can turn it down to a more moderate heat. If you notice some sticking, try turning the heat up slightly to facilitate an even sear.