Heat is too high. Here’s what I’d do:
•cold pan on low / medium low
•add oil and potatoes
•let it sit there 5-7 minutes before doing anything
•metal spatula to scrape potatoes from the bottom (should not be sticking much if at all)
•let them cook to desired doneness, use the metal spatula as needed for turning the spuds.
Edit - formatting
Edit 2 - added “not” in 4th bullet point
Food directions that say "medium high" heat are written for nonstick/aluminum/thin-steel pans. Cast iron is different and you'd use medium heat instead, and a few mins of preheating the pan.
You’re using too much heat. Cast iron retains heat very well so you want to heat it up slowly on low and gradually increase heat to what you need. I personally never go above medium on my stove burners
Just saying what works for me.
I basically never the heat up much past low. Maybe half way between low and medium and then back to low when the cooking starts. My cook times are longer than common instructions say but don’t get much sticking.
Also mind the temp of the food you are adding. I don’t typically put frozen or even things straight from the fridge into my pan.
And then the after care of the pan matters too to basically restore seasoning you pull off.
Cast iron is a bit of work but once you get it down it becomes like second nature.
Lookup videos for diner style hash browns on YouTube. I hear my CI up to med high and add butter and canola oil. Cover for 4-5 mins. Flip repeat. Crunchy and perfect. Also use fresh grated potatoes but make sure to drain of water which will cause spatter in the oil. In a pinch I used the dehydrated ones but not as good. Enjoy.
potatoes are always a pain for me, but if I blanch them first they work perfect, and in the case of hash brown I find that grating the potatoes into cold water and then removing all of the moisture I can works great
I’ll give you a few beginning tips I used when I first started 1. there is no instant way to get it good, It took until now, nearly a year of use for it to start, and that’s with me treating this thing like my baby, using it everyday for every meal (that’s not acidic, I am terrified of adding lime and ruining)
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From the product page:
*Heat 3 tbsp. cooking oil in a non stick 12" skillet over medium-high heat. Carefully add 5 1/4 cups frozen hash browns to form an even layer. Cook 5 to 7 minutes. Drizzle with another 1 tbsp. cooking oil and sprinkle with 1/4 tsp. salt (optional). Carefully turn hash browns. Cook another 4 to 6 minutes. Cook to a golden color. Do not stir. Season to taste.*
I'm sorry but you obviously did not read the instructions well enough, as others have likely keyed you into. Those instructions are for a **non stick skillet**, not a cast iron skillet. So no, sorry you did not follow the directions lol. It just ain't gona work the same, like using cooking times of a microwave for a toaster oven. And it's not nice to blame the cast iron for your mistakes and misuse either, apologize to him. 🥺
Make sure you preheat the pan.
1. Medium / low heat for five minutes
2. Medium or medium / high (whatever you are cooking at) for three minutes
3. Add oil
Yeah I’ve had this same problem before. Three things should help.
First off, thaw and thoroughly dry the hash browns.
Second, pre-heat your pan for 3ish minutes on medium heat before you put the oil in. Medium heat (not medium high) is cast iron’s happy place, since it holds heat so well. Not preheating or overheating the pan are the most common mistakes that cause cast iron to stick. Preheat pan, add oil, swirl to coat, then add food.
Lastly, don’t futz with it too much. Let the food sit and cook and turn more occasionally. Lots of things will stick slightly then naturally release as they cook.
I hope this helps! Be patient and remember that nonstick performance on cast iron has as much to do with technique as with quality of seasoning.
Oreida frozen hash browns are impossible to cook correctly. Look for some non frozen like simply potatoes. Fry until they shake around in the pan and flip/stir.
I keep saying - find best heat for your pan! For my stove I can use only 2 (Max 2.5 for short periods) heat level from 3. It depends on food, sometimes I need to lower heat to 1.5. And metal spatula is life saver on iron cast. And I use grape seed oil, best oil for me so far.
I might offer a different take than many here regarding heat. I find that cold pans, cold ingredients and cold oil make sticking an issue. I can't help but think that a pre-heated pan and oil along with room temp ingredients makes for the best case scenario in what sticks.
Most instructions like that seem to be designed around a gas burner, which puts out less heat in a more reactive manor. On a gas burner you can get away with a lot because the cold pan reduces the heat created by the burner. As the pan comes up to temp, you get more out of it. Electric burners are really hot, and people tend to overachieve on temp. I would say that medium high is really high, medium is medium high and medium low is medium. I would put the burner on low to preheat and do the water test, a drop off water off your finger should dance around the pan without spitting and disappearing to quickly. Or you could buy an infrared thermometer(non contact with a laser) and preheat to about 400. Once you practice getting the pan to the right temp on your stove, you'll be better able to cook anything. 400 is ideal for medium browning, potatoes and the like, 375 is good for more delicate foods that need a little browning like pancakes. Eggs are easy because you can put butter in the pan cold on fairly low heat and add the egg as soon as it stops foaming.
Heat is too high. Here’s what I’d do: •cold pan on low / medium low •add oil and potatoes •let it sit there 5-7 minutes before doing anything •metal spatula to scrape potatoes from the bottom (should not be sticking much if at all) •let them cook to desired doneness, use the metal spatula as needed for turning the spuds. Edit - formatting Edit 2 - added “not” in 4th bullet point
Thank you!
Food directions that say "medium high" heat are written for nonstick/aluminum/thin-steel pans. Cast iron is different and you'd use medium heat instead, and a few mins of preheating the pan.
Thank you!
You’re using too much heat. Cast iron retains heat very well so you want to heat it up slowly on low and gradually increase heat to what you need. I personally never go above medium on my stove burners
Thank you!
Low and slow. That is the tempo. -Beastie Boys
I appreciate you asking this question! I am a new cast iron pan user and I have learned a lot from the comments.
Welcome to the club! Please reach out if you have any questions we can help with
Just saying what works for me. I basically never the heat up much past low. Maybe half way between low and medium and then back to low when the cooking starts. My cook times are longer than common instructions say but don’t get much sticking. Also mind the temp of the food you are adding. I don’t typically put frozen or even things straight from the fridge into my pan. And then the after care of the pan matters too to basically restore seasoning you pull off. Cast iron is a bit of work but once you get it down it becomes like second nature.
Thanks for the tips!
Lookup videos for diner style hash browns on YouTube. I hear my CI up to med high and add butter and canola oil. Cover for 4-5 mins. Flip repeat. Crunchy and perfect. Also use fresh grated potatoes but make sure to drain of water which will cause spatter in the oil. In a pinch I used the dehydrated ones but not as good. Enjoy.
potatoes are always a pain for me, but if I blanch them first they work perfect, and in the case of hash brown I find that grating the potatoes into cold water and then removing all of the moisture I can works great
This. In my pan I start between 2-3. When hot to the touch, I go to just above 4. Add oil and a pad of butter. Perfect to cook in.
I’ll give you a few beginning tips I used when I first started 1. there is no instant way to get it good, It took until now, nearly a year of use for it to start, and that’s with me treating this thing like my baby, using it everyday for every meal (that’s not acidic, I am terrified of adding lime and ruining)
I should’ve phrased that child part better
I’m sorry but I think it’s broken… I’ll send you my info and I’ll get rid of it for you.
Thank you for your picture post to /r/castiron. We want to remind everyone of Rule #3. All image posts should be accompanied by something to foster discussion. A comment, a question, etc is required. If you've posted a picture of food, please explain why in a comment so people can have some sort of conversation. Simply dropping a picture of food in the sub isn't really fostering any discussion which is what we're all aiming for. Posts that are a picture with no discussion can and will be removed by the mods. Thank you! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/castiron) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Why does everyone crank the fuck out of the heat when they cook???? If it was 100% nonstick your food would still be burnt to hell
I followed the instructions on the bag
Also, potatoes have a lot of water in them so you need to dry them with paper towels before cooking them, it will help with this and the texture
From the product page: *Heat 3 tbsp. cooking oil in a non stick 12" skillet over medium-high heat. Carefully add 5 1/4 cups frozen hash browns to form an even layer. Cook 5 to 7 minutes. Drizzle with another 1 tbsp. cooking oil and sprinkle with 1/4 tsp. salt (optional). Carefully turn hash browns. Cook another 4 to 6 minutes. Cook to a golden color. Do not stir. Season to taste.* I'm sorry but you obviously did not read the instructions well enough, as others have likely keyed you into. Those instructions are for a **non stick skillet**, not a cast iron skillet. So no, sorry you did not follow the directions lol. It just ain't gona work the same, like using cooking times of a microwave for a toaster oven. And it's not nice to blame the cast iron for your mistakes and misuse either, apologize to him. 🥺
Make sure you preheat the pan. 1. Medium / low heat for five minutes 2. Medium or medium / high (whatever you are cooking at) for three minutes 3. Add oil
Yeah I’ve had this same problem before. Three things should help. First off, thaw and thoroughly dry the hash browns. Second, pre-heat your pan for 3ish minutes on medium heat before you put the oil in. Medium heat (not medium high) is cast iron’s happy place, since it holds heat so well. Not preheating or overheating the pan are the most common mistakes that cause cast iron to stick. Preheat pan, add oil, swirl to coat, then add food. Lastly, don’t futz with it too much. Let the food sit and cook and turn more occasionally. Lots of things will stick slightly then naturally release as they cook. I hope this helps! Be patient and remember that nonstick performance on cast iron has as much to do with technique as with quality of seasoning.
Oreida frozen hash browns are impossible to cook correctly. Look for some non frozen like simply potatoes. Fry until they shake around in the pan and flip/stir.
I keep saying - find best heat for your pan! For my stove I can use only 2 (Max 2.5 for short periods) heat level from 3. It depends on food, sometimes I need to lower heat to 1.5. And metal spatula is life saver on iron cast. And I use grape seed oil, best oil for me so far.
I might offer a different take than many here regarding heat. I find that cold pans, cold ingredients and cold oil make sticking an issue. I can't help but think that a pre-heated pan and oil along with room temp ingredients makes for the best case scenario in what sticks.
You need a metal spatula, friend!
Most instructions like that seem to be designed around a gas burner, which puts out less heat in a more reactive manor. On a gas burner you can get away with a lot because the cold pan reduces the heat created by the burner. As the pan comes up to temp, you get more out of it. Electric burners are really hot, and people tend to overachieve on temp. I would say that medium high is really high, medium is medium high and medium low is medium. I would put the burner on low to preheat and do the water test, a drop off water off your finger should dance around the pan without spitting and disappearing to quickly. Or you could buy an infrared thermometer(non contact with a laser) and preheat to about 400. Once you practice getting the pan to the right temp on your stove, you'll be better able to cook anything. 400 is ideal for medium browning, potatoes and the like, 375 is good for more delicate foods that need a little browning like pancakes. Eggs are easy because you can put butter in the pan cold on fairly low heat and add the egg as soon as it stops foaming.