frying pan lid
 

Wondered if anyone else has had this problem. My wife was simmeriing chicken breasts and sauce in a frypan. Put the lid on and turned down the heat.
Went to remove lid and could not it has become vapor locked to pan.
Tried reheating pan, tried hot water water, just about everything.
Can't get the lid to budge. Anyone else have a similar situation perhaps have a solution we haven't tried. We are renting and really don't want to destroy pan if we don't have to, although drilling ahole in lid may be final option.
Right now I have it in the freezer so the food doesn't rot.

You could try using a plastic spatula or other plastic utensil that could be wedged between the lid and the pan.

You may have to pour water into the pan. If water can leak under the lid, it will help to break the vacuum seal. Try twisting the lid left and right in order to allow the water to get in.

You can also try pouring dishsoap around the rim of the glass lid and twisting the lid back and forth.

Another possibility might be holding the cover and try twisting the knob counter clockwise to see if it can be loosened.

stuck lid
 

never had that happen..hope you have it off by now..however did find this

How to Remove a Stuck Pot Lid
By an eHow Contributor

If the lid to a pot is stuck, you need to take care in removing it. Here's how.

Forks
Rubber mallets
Lid wand
Lid lifters
Oven mitts
Suggest Edits

1
Put oven mitts on and use a lid-lifter if you have one. Two lifters are better: one to lift and one to steady. When you take the lid off watch where you put it. It's plenty hot!

2
Try this method if you have no lid-lifter: Use a fork to carefully pry the lid from the pan while holding the pot lid with a potholder.

3
Use a rubber mallet and strike the curved rim of the lid with sharp glancing blows.

4
Try a "lid wand", which is a pencil-size plastic stick with a magnet on one end. It is used for retrieving canning lids from the bottom of a pot of boiling water.



Read more: How to Remove a Stuck Pot Lid | eHow.com How to Remove a Stuck Pot Lid | eHow.com

I was totally surprised when this happened to me several weeks ago. I'd never heard of such a dilemma before. Assorted remedies were tried which didn't work.

Was successful when a small amount of water was put on top of the lid and allowed to seep into the pan below. Then the pan was tilted and one side held to the flame from our gas stove. The heat caused just enough expansion of the metal to finally allow removal of the lid.

I wouldn't use a fork. Plastic ain't strong enough and metal can damage the pot or lid!

Also thought of another way... hire the guy in the Planet Fitness commercial that says "I lift tings up and put dem down!" http://www.ironmagazineforums.com/im...ilies/flex.gif

Funny Bodybuilder Planet Fitness commercial - YouTube

If your fry pan cover has a removable handle
Try unscrewing it to break the vacuum

Put it in the freezer and them let it thaw out.

I googled the situation :) and found several places that said to heat the pan back up slowly which will cause the pan to expand. One site went as far as to say to heat the bottom of the pan (heat expands) and then place ice cubes on top of the lid (cold contracts) and that works nicely to break the suction.

Let us know what worked for you!

Well, this explains why my new pots 'n pans have holes in the lids!

We want to know!!!!!!!
 

It's been 2 days since this episode began and we're all on the edge of our seats awaiting the outcome.........hope none of the solutions lead to a large sledge hammer :icon_wink:
Skip 2

frying pan roadtrip
 

We have tried all the solutions and unfortunately none have worked.
Pan is currently in the freezer /chicken within.

Will be taking it on a road trip to my brother in law's house, he has a power drill, we will be drilling a hole in the lid. Hopefully that will do it.

Stay tuned

Here's one more idea....heat the oven to about 300 degrees. Then put the pan in for at least a half hour...or more if it's been in the freezer. If there is any moisture left in the meat, it should reach the boiling point and practically force the lid off. Take great care, though when trying to lift the lid off. There might be a burst of steam that could burn you.

frying pan
 

I thought about that but not sure if plastic handle and knob is oven safe.

frying pan issue resolved
 

Good news! We drilled a small hole in the top of the lid, immediate escape of air and voila! the lid was released.

I can not believe the pressure was this strong for this long.

Issue solved. We drilled the hold under the knob on the top of the lid so it is covered by the knob...this should prevent a "perfect" seal and the problem recurring in the future.

I believe you had a vacuum in the pan, not pressure. Pressure would force the lid off. You may want to be careful when you grab the knob while cooking. Steam escaping the hole you drilled could heat the knob to a temperature sufficient to burn your fingers.