Searing refers to quickly browning food with extremely high heat, usually done in a skillet or broiler. A common misconception about searing meat is that it “locks” in the juices. However, searing meat by no means forms an impermeable layer. Instead, the caramelized surface that searing creates generates lots of grate flavor.
In my opinion, the best way to sear something is with a well seasoned cast iron skillet.
To sear:
- Heat your cast iron skillet over high heat and add in a little fat. Use oil or fat that has a high smoke point such as canola oil.
- Carefully wipe out any excess fat with a dry paper towel.
- When your pan is smoking hot, carefully place the item that you want to sear in your skillet and sear until it is a nice golden brown.
Searing can be a self contained cooking method (such as seared rare tuna), or it can be followed up with a secondary cooking process (such as searing beef short ribs before braising them).
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4 users responded in this post
Amen to the cast iron Jacob! We have about 15 pieces in the home with 3 multi-generational pans in regular use ( after a pan has served the needs of 5 generations we considered it broke in) for the generic steak searing, wish I had a source of sashimi grade Yellow Fin for a little Tuna sear.
Wow, 5 generations…I can’t think of any more valuable family heirloom than a well seasoned, multi-generational cast iron pan. My parents still use a cast iron pan passed down from my great grandfather…Its truly a thing of beauty!
Jacob… I’ve signed in some time ago, but just no I’m really going through the site. It’s fantastic! Great info, specially for a newcomer to the professional kitchen… Now, I have a question: when you say that searing doesn´t “lock in” the juices, why does everyone say that then, even in culinary school? what really happens? tks and congratualations!
McDaniel,
I’m glad that you’re finding the information on this site helpful. Honestly I don’t know where the idea of searing “locks in juices” came from, but it permeates throughout culinary knowledge and is even labeled as the reason why people sear in the Food Lover’s Companion. I guess that’s what happens when people cook first and ask questions latter.
What I do know is that there have been numerous experiments done with two pieces of meat that are the same cut and same weight. One is seared and then cooked to a precise internal temperature, and the other is just baked to the same internal temperature without being seared. The two meats are then weighed after being cooked, and the moisture lost is nearly identical.
The real reason why you sear something though is because caramelized meat taste great. But this old cooking myth is a great example of how one needs to constantly be researching and questioning methods, techniques and the true science behind them.
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