# Stainless Steel and Browning Shredded/Ground Chicken



## wallix (May 10, 2012)

I admit I am new to Stainess Steel. I am doing by best to try and follow instructions but for some reason, browning ground chicken or shredded chicken are a nightmare in my All Clad 12 inch fry pan.

I preheat (glasstop) on about 4.5 for a couple minutes. Add in 2-3tbsp of Canola and wait for the oil to shimmer a little. But when I add the chicken, instead of browning, it creates this dark-brown gummy mass at the bottom of my pan. It looks like a sheet of burned coconut at the end. And as more chicken, "Browns", the gummier the mess.

Anyone have any tips on browning ground and shredded chicken in stainless steel?


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## chefedb (Apr 3, 2010)

Stainless steel is great for storage not cooking .It cooks very unevenly and actually has hot spots some way more then others. It gets overheated very fast. You are also cooking at to high a temp. Electric heat can't really be controlled like gas can. You have hi--low--and medium thats it. Ga can be regulated far better.


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## michaelga (Jan 30, 2012)

what do you mean you preheat at 4.5 for a couple of minutes?


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## koukouvagia (Apr 3, 2008)

Not sure what 4.5 means on your stove.  Is that medium or high?  Anyway, pre-heat on medium for a few minutes, then add the oil until it barely starts to smoke and add the chicken.  The tricky part is not crowding the pan.


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## french fries (Sep 5, 2008)

wallix said:


> I preheat (glasstop) on about 4.5 for a couple minutes. Add in 2-3tbsp of Canola and wait for the oil to shimmer a little.


For browning, you may need to preheat for longer. I've started to preheat my pans longer lately, sometimes 5mn or so, and get better results. Preheating should be done at low/medium to medium, and only raise the heat to high for the last 15-20 seconds. I keep placing my hand a couple of inches from the bottom of the pan to get a sense for how hot it is. Once it's very hot, I add the oil, which starts to shimmer instantly. If the oil does not shimmer instantly the pan was too cold, and that could create sticking problems once you add the food.

Also make sure whatever ground chicken you use has little water content. If you buy cheap watered down processed ground chicken it will create water in the pan and will never brown properly.

And Koukouvagia is so right: do NOT overcrowd the pan! If there isn't enough space for the water inside your chicken to evaporate, it will stay trapped below other layers of ground chicken, start to create steam... and you'll end up with a gooey pile of steamed ground chicken.

While I agree with chefedb that stainless steel might not be the absolute best for browning ground chicken, you should definitely be able to do it anyway. I know I have no problem cooking in my stainless steel pans, and I've already used them to brown ground meat successfully many times (although to be honest I can't remember the last time I cooked with ground chicken).


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## planethoff (Apr 25, 2011)

It might be that you are trying to stir it too early.  It needs to brown up a bit to release from the pan before disturbing.


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## deckoven (May 15, 2012)

I agree that stainless is not the best cooking medium, but that is combatted by the thick gauge of an all-clad pan. It all depends on what you are trying to cook. If you are trying to brown chicken for a soup or chili then you might just be at a loss because the low fat high protein content of ground chicken is going to make it stick and gum up once you try to stir it. On the other hand if you are making chix burgers they will brown nicely especially if you put them into a well heated pan and don't try to move them for the first three minutes. If you are making something that needs crumbles of chicken try browning it in patty form and then breaking it up into pieces. Good luck and good eating.


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## mprasek (Jan 17, 2012)

I agree with Deckoven....

this gels with my experience with stainless and ground meat.. don't move it til the bottom browns, and start with small patties or loosely formed balls, then break them up as they lose the water and brown up.

edited to add....

But I love my 3 ply stainless pans, and brown in nothing else except cast iron....


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