Cooking For Engineers

[Maxwar]

I have just ordered an infrared thermometer. When using this, as regards hard anodized aluminum pans (KitchenAid), what is the temperature to look for before adding food. The information given says the pans are safe to 400F in the oven. Information would regard both for omelettes and also for searing meats.

[GaryProtein]

^^^^^It all depends on what you're cooking. I use a Fluke 63 infrared thermometer to check my pans. If I'm cooking a steak 1.5" thick, I like the pan to start out at 500F and stay there for the first two minutes on each side, then I let the temp drop to about 450F. It gives a great crust and rare/med rare center. I know it isn't generally accepted, but when I do a steak in a pan, I keep it covered with a bacon press to keep the splatter down and maintain good contact with the pan. I can hear the peanut gallery screaming "don't put a press on a steak, you'll squeeze the juice out." BUT, if the piece of meat is cooked under the press from the start (that's the key here), you don't squeeze the juice out. Try it once, you'll see. Smooth, even crust, great center.

I can't help you with the omelettes except for what Alton Brown once said on his omelette show: place the eggs in a 350F pan. He likes fast cooked, loose omelettes. Me too. The worst thing is a dry stiff omelette.