By searing, you can change the texture and flavor of an entire meal. Searing is a method of capturing all the juices inside meat or vegetables. It caramelizes, or brings out the natural sugar in, the meat or vegetable to create a beautiful crust and juicy, tender interior. Searing is done over very high heat. The trick to this technique depends greatly the equipment. Chef Jamie Gwen shares the following searing tips with us: - Chef Jamie's pan of choice for searing is a cast-iron skillet (figure A). It maintains the heat, conducts it beautifully through the pan and keeps the heat at an even temperature. It can go from the stove to the oven.
- If you use a stainless-steel pan (figure B), you need to make sure that it has an ovenproof handle.
- You can use a nonstick grill pan. The meat will sear beautifully and have nice grill marks. Again, you have to make sure that the pan has an ovenproof handle.
- You can also use your broiler to sear meat. Place the meat about 1" to an 1-1/2" away from the heat and allow it to sear.
- The oil you use for searing is very important. You need to use oil that has a high smoking point, such as olive, canola and peanut oils.
- You can also use searing to help impart incredible flavoring. What is left in the pan after searing is called the "fond" (figure C). These caramelized brown bits from cooking meat offer a wonderful concentration of flavors.
- To use the fond requires a process called deglazing, or preparing a sauce from the fond. You can use your favorite vinegar or wine, or you may prefer to use stock. For her sauce, Chef Jamie pours a little balsamic vinegar into the fond and stirs it with a wooden spatula, scrapping to get all the bits off the bottom of the pan. She then adds some beef stock, turns the heat up and lets it reduce down. You can add salt and pepper to taste, followed by a couple pats of butter; then simmer for a minute or two. Drizzle over steak for a delicious sauce (figure D). Garnish with a little chopped parsley.
- The pan should be almost smoking hot before you sear meat. Don't poke the meat with a fork because the juices will escape; use a spatula.
- To create perfect grill marks on meat, (figure E) place one edge of the meat at the 11 o'clock position. Then, to create the opposite mark, reposition the edge of the meat toward the 1 o'clock position.
Web site resources for Searing: Seared Tuna with Melon Salsa and Tangerine Lime Mojo from Food TV.com Seared Scallops with a Portobello Mushroom Truffle Emulsion, Shaved Truffles and Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese from Food TV.Com Pan-Seared Snapper with Saffron Sauce from Food TV.com New York Strip Steak with Cognac Butter and Portobello Mushroom Ragout from Food TV.com Braised Chicken Breasts on Toasted English Muffins with Vegetable Mirepoix, Toasted Pine Nuts and a Zucchini, Summer Squash and Onion Medley from Food TV.com We at DIY believe all of the recipes from DIY Cooking are accurate and reliable, but since we have not tested them personally, we can claim no responsibility if the desired results are not achieved.
RESOURCES :
USDA Meat and Poultry Hot Line
Talk to the big guns for official answers on defrosting, internal temperature readings and how long you can safely keep leftovers.
Toll-free: 800-535-4555
Website: www.usda.gov/fsis
Complete Meat Cookbook
Model: 0395904927
Author: Bruce Aidells
(1998)
Houghton Mifflin Co.
Boston, MA 02116
Phone: 617-351-5000
Email: tradecustomerservice@hmco.com
Cooking for Dummies, 2nd Edition
Model: 0764552503
Author: Bryan Miller and Marie Rama
(2000)
Web site for the Dummies books: www.dummies.com
IDG Books Worldwide, Inc. (An International Data Group Company)
Foster City, CA 94404
Food Lover's Companion
Model: 0812015207
Author: Sharon Tyler Herbst
(1995, 2nd Edition)
Barron's best-selling A-to-Z guide is back and better than ever with 900 new listings and the most up-to-date information on culinary terms.
Barron's Educational Series, Inc.
Hauppauge, NY 11788
The Food Lover's Tiptionary
Model: 0688121462
Author: Sharon Tyler Herbst
(1994)
William Morrow Books / Hearst Books
Website: www.harpercollins.com
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