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Sautéing
It doesn't get any faster than sautéing and, once you get the hang of it, you can make up recipes as you go. Sautéing is frying but with only a little bit of oil or butter. It’s a little like stir-frying only with less heat. With this technique, you can brown foods quickly over high heat. If you do it right, the food won’t absorb much fat. But you have to be quick.
Sautéing Tips
- Use a low-sided, heavy-duty pan (cast iron is perfect) and make sure it's big enough to hold what you're cooking without crowding.
- Lightly flour whatever it is you're going to sauté. This helps absorb any moisture. The food needs to be completely dry so that it doesn’t stew in its own juices.
- Use a combination of butter and olive oil, butter for the taste and olive oil since its produces a nice crust and doesn’t burn easily at higher temperatures.
- Make sure the pan is hot enough to instantly sear the meat. The food should brown quickly.
- Turn whatever you're cooking just before it begins to burn.
It's a good technique to use when you want to really impress people. Make sure the salad or soup is on the table; top off everyone's drink; and then invite your guests (keep it to no more than three dinner guests or you'll be doing your cooking in too many batches) into the kitchen as you prepare the main course.
Preheat the Pan
Start by preheating the pan on low heat until it gets to be about 180°F, which should take about 10 minutes. Then add equal amounts of butter and oil and—just as the mixture stops foaming and begins to turn brown—turn up the heat to medium. This is where a gas stove or cook top really shines. The instant response of a gas flame allows you to quickly increase the heat of the pan to a point where the oil and butter “ripple” on the surface. That’s when you want to add the food, just before it reaches the smoking point.
Sear the floured meat, fish or vegetables one side for two to three minutes, flip over and sear on the other. The actual time will depend on what you're cooking. A chicken filet pounded to a ¼-inch thickness will take three minutes on the first side and two on the other. An un-pounded chicken breast, will take three to four minutes on the first side and three on the other. Fish filets should take two to three minutes on one side and maybe a minute on the other.
Like grilling, you have to stay with sautéing. You can't walk away to answer the phone or make a drink. Once the meat or fish is done, you can serve immediately or really impress everyone by quickly making a sauce from the pan drippings. Transfer whatever you're cooking to a plate and keep in a warm oven while you finish the sauce. It’s not hard at all. There are several sauce ideas in the recipe section.
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