Pan shuffle/toss technique!?!
 

Any folks have that nack of shuffling/tossing a pan full of stuff to toss
things around in that fashion where the food looks like it's going to fly
out of the pan but is magically gathered out of thin air back into the pan
in less than the blink of an eye?!?

Does it require a special pan? And if it does, which kind?

I'd like to add a little flash but this technique has escaped me forever!
Dammit!!!

How do you do that??? Got a slow-mo video??

Andy

Pan shuffle/toss technique!?!
 

Andy wrote:
> Any folks have that nack of shuffling/tossing a pan full of stuff to toss
> things around in that fashion where the food looks like it's going to fly
> out of the pan but is magically gathered out of thin air back into the pan
> in less than the blink of an eye?!?
>
> Does it require a special pan? And if it does, which kind?
>
> I'd like to add a little flash but this technique has escaped me forever!
> Dammit!!!
>
> How do you do that??? Got a slow-mo video??
>
> Andy

Andy,

Just about any slope sided pan should work, and maybe others as
well. It also helps to have quite a bit of extra room in the pan.
Practice with cold items. Put some crutons, diced apples, or whatever
in a pan, and practice. No heat, no big mess if you drop anything. One
you get the technique down, then you can try the eggs.

My usual technique involves sliding the stuff to the far end, and
then flipping with almost a scooping motion. Usually you just need to
tilt the pan and shake it a little for this, then you can flip it
easier. Don't over-do it, you only want to flip it high enough to get
it out of the pan, and then catch it again. The scooping motion should
provide plenty of rotation, and with a little practice you can get most
of it flipped in one motion.

The main problem I notice other people have is that they want to
flip everything three feet in the air. This will usually result in a
three foot mess. Go slower. Try for thee or four inches instead of
three of four feet. Finally, it only works with things that aren't
sticking to the pan. You didn't need to be told that, but some people
do.

Dean G.

Pan shuffle/toss technique!?!
 

Dean G. wrote:

> Just about any slope sided pan should work, and maybe others as
> well. It also helps to have quite a bit of extra room in the pan.
> Practice with cold items. Put some crutons, diced apples, or whatever
> in a pan, and practice. No heat, no big mess if you drop anything. One
> you get the technique down, then you can try the eggs.

I've read that a folded up tea towel or perhaps a pot holder is a good
thing to practice with.

Pan shuffle/toss technique!?!
 

Dean G. said...

>
> Andy wrote:
>> Any folks have that nack of shuffling/tossing a pan full of stuff to
>> toss things around in that fashion where the food looks like it's
>> going to fly out of the pan but is magically gathered out of thin air
>> back into the pan in less than the blink of an eye?!?
>>
>> Does it require a special pan? And if it does, which kind?
>>
>> I'd like to add a little flash but this technique has escaped me
>> forever! Dammit!!!
>>
>> How do you do that??? Got a slow-mo video??
>>
>> Andy
>
> Andy,
>
> Just about any slope sided pan should work, and maybe others as
> well. It also helps to have quite a bit of extra room in the pan.
> Practice with cold items. Put some crutons, diced apples, or whatever
> in a pan, and practice. No heat, no big mess if you drop anything. One
> you get the technique down, then you can try the eggs.
>
> My usual technique involves sliding the stuff to the far end, and
> then flipping with almost a scooping motion. Usually you just need to
> tilt the pan and shake it a little for this, then you can flip it
> easier. Don't over-do it, you only want to flip it high enough to get
> it out of the pan, and then catch it again. The scooping motion should
> provide plenty of rotation, and with a little practice you can get
> most of it flipped in one motion.
>
> The main problem I notice other people have is that they want to
> flip everything three feet in the air. This will usually result in a
> three foot mess. Go slower. Try for thee or four inches instead of
> three of four feet. Finally, it only works with things that aren't
> sticking to the pan. You didn't need to be told that, but some people
> do.
>
> Dean G.


Dean G.,

Well that's downright sound advice!!!

Many thanks. I'll give it a whirl. ;)

All the best,

Andy

Pan shuffle/toss technique!?!
 

Andy wrote:
> Any folks have that knack of shuffling/tossing a pan full of stuff to toss
> things around in that fashion where the food looks like it's going to fly
> out of the pan but is magically gathered out of thin air back into the pan
> in less than the blink of an eye?!?
>
> Does it require a special pan? And if it does, which kind?

No special pan beyond that it needs to be slope-sided. I
just finished teaching a cooking class and for the first
couple, the attendees were dazzled by flipping food and
knifework. When I took 15 minutes to show them how to do it,
the mystery disappeared and we got down to food. Knifework
took a bit more time and effort.

> I'd like to add a little flash but this technique has escaped me forever!
> Dammit!!!

Probably because the intuitive way to do it is to propel the
pan with the food in it upward. That won't work. You need to
use the sloping sides of the pan to force the food upward.
The basic technique is to push the pan away gently from you
and then abruptly pull it toward you. A good way to practice
is to put a skillet flat on a counter with some beans in it.
Not a non-stick because the beans might scratch it. Counter
intuitively (sorry, the devil made me write that), gently
push the skillet away from you WITHOUT LIFTING IT FROM THE
COUNTER and abruptly pull it toward you. The beans will
forcefully slide up the slope and be airborne. Quickly push
the skillet back under the cascade of beans. Voila.

For the first few tries, maybe use - don't laugh - a few
loose socks or bits of some kind of fabric. A sponge or
three. Tea towel or two, folded. Face cloths. Or waste a few
silver-dollar pancakes.

That push-pull-push move is hard to imagine in preference to
the push it up and catch it on the way down notion.

Happy flipping.

Pastorio

Pan shuffle/toss technique!?!
 

Andy wrote:
> [snip]>
> Does it require a special pan? And if it does, which kind?

No, any pan except those with straight sides.
>
> How do you do that??? Got a slow-mo video??

It takes less practice than you might think. Main thing is to think of
the motion as away-from-you back-toward-you, not up and down. Out and
back, with just a little vertical component. A slice of bread is a
good thing to start practicing with. After just a few of those tosses,
when you've done it cleanly with control a few times, tear the bread
into 4 or 5 pieces and toss them. Think of keeping them together in a
group and controlling the group. That's about all there is to it.
-aem

Pan shuffle/toss technique!?!
 

Andy wrote:
> Any folks have that nack of shuffling/tossing a pan full of stuff to toss
> things around in that fashion where the food looks like it's going to fly
> out of the pan but is magically gathered out of thin air back into the pan
> in less than the blink of an eye?!?
>
> Does it require a special pan? And if it does, which kind?
>
> I'd like to add a little flash but this technique has escaped me forever!
> Dammit!!!
>
> How do you do that??? Got a slow-mo video??

Just ask to watch a WOP masturbate! <G>

Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. . . .

Sheldon

Pan shuffle/toss technique!?!
 

On 2006-10-30, Andy <q> wrote:

> Does it require a special pan? And if it does, which kind?

Some used to call them egg pans, but surfing the web reveals most are
just called fry pans. They have a rounded sides instead of flat
angled or stright sides. This makes it easier to flip stuff. Start
with a 8" pan as they are easier to handle. A teflon pan will also
aid in flipping contents. Here's a pictu

http://www.webstaurantstore.com/8-sm...936ES4008.html

I have an 8" and 10" pan like this one and I flip everything from
eggs to hashbrowns to sauteed whatever. Works great.

Another tip for when you get around to flipping a couple eggs. When
you break the eggs into the pan, try and get both yolks fairly close
together on one side of the pan, perferably the side opposite the
handle. If not, work them around to that side when the eggs have set
up enough to move around and flip. This puts the weight of the yolks
on in a position to aid in the flip. The trick is to not toss the
eggs so high they break when they come back down in the pan, but just
high enough to completely turn the eggs over. Done correctly, the egg
looks like a breaking wave with just enough of a curl to avoid rolling
over on itself and, again, breaking the yolk.

Once you get the hang of it, you can flip anything in any style or
sized pan, being limited only by your strength and good sense. I have
a Wagner cast iron chef's skillet that would be perfect for flipping
stuff, but it's just too dang heavy so I don't try.

Like another poster suggested, try flipping a dry folded towel in a
cold pan. I just tried it and it works great.

good luck,
nb

Pan shuffle/toss technique!?!
 

"Andy" <q> wrote in message ...
> Any folks have that nack of shuffling/tossing a pan full of stuff to toss
> things around in that fashion where the food looks like it's going to fly
> out of the pan but is magically gathered out of thin air back into the pan
> in less than the blink of an eye?!?
>
> Does it require a special pan? And if it does, which kind?
>
> I'd like to add a little flash but this technique has escaped me forever!
> Dammit!!!
>

Ohhhh, Andeeeeee. You are like those guys I had to train behind
the bar after the movie "Cocktail" came out! They'd put out drinks that
were the wrong gd COLOR but do some fantastic moves between pouring
and serving. Bahhstahhds almost put my eye out. (They were all elbows and
I am petite.)

The old "that was wonderful and what is more important you looked
MARVELOUS while doing it" does not work in cooking, tending bar, and ...
um ... other things. In my experience. The most important thing is the end
product! Better to look like a good getting there than to not get there at
all!
;) To good food, of course, or a good drink, is what I mean.

(Green Mai Tais suck! Because they have Midori instead of Creme de Noyeaux!)

Pan shuffle/toss technique!?!
 

"cybercat" > wrote >

Better to look like a good getting there than to not get there at
> all!

That should have been "goon," of course.