Whether you're searing some tasty fish or stir-frying cubes of beef, you know the
scariest — and messiest — part of the process isn't handling the raw meat or trying to cook
it perfectly. Rather, it's the moment when your pan has finally finished preheating and you're
about to add the meat. Holding your breath, you slowly place it in the pan — only to be greeted
by sizzling hot oil drops shooting off the pan and onto your stove -- or worse, onto your bare skin!
It's a common kitchen nightmare, and one that both
home cooks and professional chefs have to deal with on the regular.
So how do you stop it from happening? Well,
these secret tricks might just save your skin -- literally!
Sure, you could wear some serious protective gear to cook, or even buy one of those cheap
splatter guards to protect yourself and your kitchen, but if you're about to cook right now,
you don't have time to wait for Amazon to deliver one to your doorstep. Fortunately,
there are a few easier ways to prevent hot oil from splattering when you're cooking on the
stove — here's what you need to know to keep your countertops mess-free and your skin burn-free.
Most of us drizzle our oil into the pan or skillet while it's heating up on the stove. After all,
that's what you're supposed to do, right? Well, maybe not if you want to avoid oil splatters.
Here's a little science lesson: It isn't the oil itself that spits and explodes out of the pan.
Rather, it's the moisture of whatever you're cooking that interacts with the oil,
Yummy explains. When the water molecules hit the oil, they create tiny pockets of steam that burst,
launching an oil-coated drop up in the air. The result is painful splatters
that can quickly turn your perfect dinner night into a scene from Lord of the Rings.
"It burns."
A simple way to prevent that, according to a post on Instagram from Cook's Illustrated,
is to toss your meat or veggies with the oil before cooking, rather than adding the cooking oil
directly to the pan first. So the next time you go to cook with oil, you can easily reduce all those
annoying and painful oil splatters. This same rule of thumb applies if you're cooking veggies, too.
If you're plopping meat straight out of the package into the pan,
it's no wonder you're experiencing oil splatters galore thanks to all the water in the package.
When a dripping piece of chicken gets dropped into sizzling oil, it's a veritable fireworks show.
An easy way to prevent this from happening is by patting your meat — or any type of wet
food for that matter — dry with a paper towel or clean cloth towel before putting it in the pan.
And if you're cooking anything with a marinade or sauce, you should let excess moisture drip
off before placing it in the oil. And before you even put the oil in your pan to start cooking,
make sure it's completely dry and there's no water droplets left
from when you washed it. This will minimize the risk of splattering as the oil heats up.
On the other hand, maybe you're using the wrong sized pan.
Most people blame the oil — it's too hot, the wrong type,
etc. — or the food being fried for the onslaught of sizzling hot splatters. But one thing that's
also a factor is the size of the pan you're putting said oil and food in. Kitchenicious
recommends picking a deeper pan with higher sides that are more likely to keep oil contained,
even if some happens to splash up. The culinary blog adds that it isn't just size and shape that
can make a difference — you should consider the type of cookware you're using, too. A pan
that distributes heat more evenly is less likely to cause your oil to spit out onto your stove.
Don't have a pan with sufficiently high sides? Lifehacker notes you can invest in a silicone
"frywall," which is essentially like a collar that wraps around the edge of your pan to add more
height and more protection. Of course if you're still struggling with splatters, you can put up a
splatter guard, cover your pan with a lid, or even use something as a makeshift barrier between the
oil and the rest of your kitchen to stop those splatters and get your dinner back on track.
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