Techniques and Recipes

Sear
WITH THESE SIMPLE TIPS, YOU WILL BE ABLE TO STAND
THE HEAT OF THIS HIGH-POWERED COOKING TECHNIQUE
The pièce de résistance for many home cooks is the pan-seared steak.
A quick internet search will turn up an almost overwhelming amount
of tips, tricks, and theories (and many myths) about the “perfect”
preparation of a seared fi let or rib eye.
For that quintessential golden, crisp crust and nearly melt-in-your-
mouth center of pan-seared proteins, we have complied and tested
the following technique to demystify and simplify searing.
USED FOR:
Adding a fl avorful, browned crust to proteins
Salt: Properly seasoning your food not only makes food taste better but it also aids in a
more tender and moist fi nal result. Either salt right before, preventing leeching, or salt
enough in advance (40 minutes to days, depending on the food) so the salt can draw
out the moisture and then reabsorb as a sort of brine.
Ventilation: Your kitchen’s smoke alarm should not dually function as the dinner bell.
Searing produces quite a bit of smoke and grease, so turn on your ventilation system
when you start preheating the pan.
A hot pan: To avoid steaming or overcooking your food, you need a ripping hot pan
that is properly, evenly preheated. Cast iron pans are a good choice for this very reason.
On the other hand, stainless steel pans o er more responsiveness and are good
options for more delicate foods, such as scallops and fi sh. Avoid nonstick pans, as they
cannot provide the same high-heat results as cast iron and stainless steel.
Hot oil: Once the pan is well on its way to preheating, add a couple of tablespoons to
¼ cup of oil (depending on the size of your pan). Canola, grape-seed, and sunfl ower
oils are all suitable options because of their high smoke points. Heat the oil until it
starts to shimmer and then add your food to the pan.
Basting: Enter: butter. Finally. Basting involves spooning melted butter over the food,
enhancing fl avor and crust development. By basting, the food is cooked and browned
more evenly. Adding aromatics, such as hearty fresh herbs or sweet alliums, to your
basting liquid also imparts more fl avor.
Quick tips: Searing proteins
Let us debunk a common myth about searing: it does not
“seal in” juices. Yes, properly cooked and seared food will be
tender and moist, but also loses moisture during the searing
process. To test it for yourself, weigh your food before and
after searing—the uncooked food will no doubt weigh more
than the seared food.
Myth busted: Searing “seals in” juices
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TECHNIQUES Sear