# Why add oil to pan before cooking fatty meat?



## seans_potato_business (Feb 28, 2018)

Why do people put oil in a pan before cooking fatty foods when so much fat oozes out anyway and much of it often just ends up drained away?


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## Kayelle (Feb 28, 2018)

Don't know about other people, but I don't add oil when cooking something fatty like a burger or chicken thighs for example.


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## Steve Kroll (Feb 28, 2018)

I use oil because I mostly use carbon steel pans, and even if the food you are cooking is fatty, it will begin to stick before any of the fat renders. That said, I don't use a lot of fat - just enough to coat the bottom of the pan.

I'll also add that I truly believe fat has gotten a bad rap over the years, and I'm not afraid to use it when I cook. Fat = Flavor.


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## medtran49 (Mar 1, 2018)

Steve Kroll said:


> I use oil because I mostly use carbon steel pans, and even if the food you are cooking is fatty, it will begin to stick before any of the fat renders. That said, I don't use a lot of fat - just enough to coat the bottom of the pan.
> 
> I'll also add that I truly believe fat has gotten a bad rap over the years, and I'm not afraid to use it when I cook. Fat = Flavor.



Me too


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## Rocklobster (Mar 1, 2018)

It also helps distribute the heat and promotes even browning and caramalization, helping achieve a nice crusty coating to the meat.


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## Aunt Bea (Mar 1, 2018)

Kayelle said:


> Don't know about other people, but I don't add oil when cooking something fatty like a burger or chicken thighs for example.



I agree.

Meat will sometimes stick but it always seems to let go when it's ready to turn, just be patient and let it cook.


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## jennyema (Mar 1, 2018)

Kayelle said:


> Don't know about other people, but I don't add oil when cooking something fatty like a burger or chicken thighs for example.


 

I don't add oil either.  Its not needed for fatty meats.

I throw down some salt in my cast iron or carbon steel or stainless pan and add the meat.


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## RPCookin (Mar 1, 2018)

I don't use oil for ground beef or for bacon, but otherwise I'll preheat at least little oil for even cooking until the fat in the meat starts to render.  Sometimes that just means a quick spray with Pam or similar.  There are few things I hate worst than trying to flip a pork chop or nice steak that's stuck to a stainless clad pan like it's glued there.  

I'm still learning what I can and can't do with cast iron, but I don't really concern myself with the small about of fat that I may get from starting with a little oil.  If it's a naturally fatty cut cut of meat, I'm not changing the nutritional properties in any significant manner.  What fat renders out will still render, and what stays with the meat won't change.


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## Cooking Goddess (Mar 1, 2018)

seans_potato_business said:


> Why do people put oil in a pan before cooking fatty foods when so much fat oozes out anyway and much of it often just ends up drained away?



Sometimes the answer might be "because that's how my Mom did it". 

*Grandma's Cooking Secrets*


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## Rocklobster (Mar 1, 2018)

Cooking Goddess said:


> Sometimes the answer might be "because that's how my Mom did it".
> 
> *Grandma's Cooking Secrets*



Like the girl who shared her baked ham recipe. It said to cut the ham in half, so that’s why she always did it. When  aske why, she didn’’t know so she asked her mother. Her mother didn’t know either so she went and asked her mother. Her mother said she cut it in half because her oven  was too small to fit the whole ham in.


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## Just Cooking (Mar 1, 2018)

too true..

Ross


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## buckytom (Mar 1, 2018)

If it's all fat or nearly all as in a piece of salt pork/fat back, I start with a cool pan and let the fat render out as it heats. No extra oil needed.


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## GotGarlic (Mar 1, 2018)

buckytom said:


> If it's all fat or nearly all as in a piece of salt pork/fat back, I start with a cool pan and let the fat render out as it heats. No extra oil needed.


I do bacon the same way. Otherwise, I use oil to get a good sear going.


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## dragnlaw (Mar 3, 2018)

A couple of years ago while grocery shopping, I was standing by a mother & daughter who were looking at fiddleheads.  They had never had them and were wondering what they were like and trying to figure out how you cooked them.  

Drag'n to the rescue!   I said they were delicious - just with butter.  To cook them be sure to rinse them really well and place in a pot of cold water, bring to a boil.  As soon as it boils, drain them, add fresh water, boil again, drain them and once more, add fresh water, boil and drain.  A good knob of butter and serve. 

They thanked me and the mother asked as I was walking away - "Why do you boil them so many times like that?"  

I hung my head and honestly, I actually blushed a little bit when I replied - "I don't know but that is how my Mother does it." 

They both burst out laughing and I could still hear them chuckling when I was half-way down the aisle.


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## Kayelle (Mar 3, 2018)

Another story in that line of thought. 
When SC and I married he would cut a thin sliver off of each end of the potato before baking. He said his late wife did it that way but he never asked why and she has nobody surviving to ask. 
Since then, I've always cut off the pointy potato ends and I'm convinced it actually improves the baked potato. I assume it's the moisture venting out through the ends.
Anyway, give it a try and see what you all think.


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## GotGarlic (Mar 3, 2018)

Kayelle said:


> Another story in that line of thought.
> When SC and I married he would cut a thin sliver off of each end of the potato before baking. He said his late wife did it that way but he never asked why and she has nobody surviving to ask.
> Since then, I've always cut off the pointy potato ends and I'm convinced it actually improves the baked potato. I assume it's the moisture venting out through the ends.
> Anyway, give it a try and see what you all think.


Do you do that along with, or instead of, poking holes in the potatoes with a fork?


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## Kayelle (Mar 3, 2018)

GotGarlic said:


> Do you do that along with, or instead of, poking holes in the potatoes with a fork?



Nope, I don't use a fork GG. 

Think I'll start another thread about the subject.


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## CharlieD (Mar 5, 2018)

Steve Kroll said:


> I use oil because I mostly use carbon steel pans, and even if the food you are cooking is fatty, it will begin to stick before any of the fat renders. That said, I don't use a lot of fat - just enough to coat the bottom of the pan.
> 
> I'll also add that I truly believe fat has gotten a bad rap over the years, and I'm not afraid to use it when I cook. Fat = Flavor.





medtran49 said:


> Me too



Me three


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## CakePoet (Mar 6, 2018)

Flavour and to help the meat not stick.  Should say this Swedish  ground meat isnt as fatty as American, ours are leaner so I seldom need to drain off fat.

Last time I did a  test of  Swedish  ground beef  vs Irish ground beef vs Scottish ground beef, I ended up with a  2  tablespoon fat in the Swedish one,  300 ml fat in the Irish and  100 ml fat in the Scottish.

Also I use cast iron pan and not nonstick.


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## Caslon (Mar 6, 2018)

seans_potato_business said:


> Why do people put oil in a pan before cooking fatty foods



Should one thaw a frozen hamburger patty first or just fry it up frozen?   

The packs of frozen patties you buy say to just fry them up, frozen.


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## dragnlaw (Mar 6, 2018)

Packs of frozen patties are of a consistent thickness and usually much thinner than homemade ones.  

The tendency for fat thick burgers nowadays means that should you start cooking them without defrosting - the insides will not reach temperature before the outside is done. So it all really depends on the thickness of your patti.

Should you make them fairly even across and on the thinner side - I would say no, don't bother.   But otherwise... 

Your method of cooking (as in temperature used and pan) would also play a factor.


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## GotGarlic (Mar 6, 2018)

CakePoet said:


> Flavour and to help the meat not stick.  Should say this Swedish  ground meat isnt as fatty as American, ours are leaner so I seldom need to drain off fat.



In the United States, we have a choice of ground beef with different amounts of fat. It ranges from 72 to 95 percent lean.


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## Caslon (Mar 6, 2018)

By the way, I found out you should not mash up, ball up, form up  hamburger too much.  It changes the texture when pan fried.


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## Mad Cook (Mar 9, 2018)

seans_potato_business said:


> Why do people put oil in a pan before cooking fatty foods when so much fat oozes out anyway and much of it often just ends up drained away?


To prevent the thing you are cooking from sticking when first put into the hot pan. You needn't put a full bottle/half a stick of the oil/fat you are using - just enough to grease the base of the pan.


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