Perhaps one of the most pesky and frustrating issues to deal with when cooking steak is when it sticks to the pan. Sticking disrupts the perfect, seared crust and leaves a major mess. A non-stick pan may seem like the logical solution to avoiding a stuck steak, but hold your horses. According to Russell Kook, chef and culinary director at The Bellevue Chicago, a non-stick pan isn’t really your friend when it comes to searing a steak. He shared with Tasting Table, “Technically, yes — you can sear a steak in a non-stick pan, but I wouldn’t recommend it.”
Non-stick pans are made by coating a metal base with PTFE, which is Teflon. When deciding if non-stick pans are worth investing in, consider that, over time, the slippery, chemical coating can wear off, making the pan more prone to causing stuck foods. Non-stick pans also don’t retain enough heat to properly sear a steak. Chef Kook explained, “Non-stick just doesn’t get hot enough, and you’ll miss out on that crisp crust that makes a steak truly satisfying.” What does the professional chef and “Iron Chef” contestant recommend instead? “I always use cast iron,” Kook says. “Cast Iron holds heat better and allows you to get a really deep, hard sear that locks in moisture and flavor.”
The science behind why a non-stick pan isn’t great for searing steak
One of the biggest mistakes you can make when searing a steak is using the wrong pan. As we now know, non-stick pans are too thin and flimsy to hold proper heat for searing a steak. Non-stick pans became popular in the ’60s after Teflon was invented by accident in 1938. Boasting lightweight convenience and cooking that requires less oil, non-stick cookware quickly became a household staple. But today, professional chefs avoid using non-stick skillets and pots because they aren’t durable enough for everyday use and don’t hold up to high heat very well; the same high heat that is needed to perfectly sear a steak.
When a raw cut of beef is added to a heated non-stick pan, the steak instantly cools the pan down a bit. With a cast iron skillet, the pan’s bottom is thick enough that high heat levels are retained and not affected by the cool meat, allowing a crispy crust to form. That crust helps lock in flavor and add a caramelized, fatty richness to your beautiful steak. So while non-stick pans might be great for frying an egg, they just don’t get the job done when it comes to searing steak. Stick to cast iron and fully clad cookware instead.
