Into the Frying Pan

by Mark R. Vogel

Sautéing is cooking food in a small amount of fat over high heat. A sauté pan, (a.k.a. skillet or frying pan), with straight sides is known as a sautoir, and with sloping sides, a sauteuse.

A high quality sauté pan is imperative for successful sautéing. Heavy gauge stainless steel with aluminum sandwiched in-between is the way to go. Such a pan will distribute heat evenly without burning your food and be highly responsive to sudden temperature adjustments.

Heavy metal plating will also ensure the base of the pan stays flat and does not warp with use. An uneven bottom will produce unevenly cooked food and "hot spots" where food can scorch.

Considered a dry heat method, sautéing is an ideal means for searing or browning food, a process that imparts significant flavor. To accomplish this you need high heat and must not introduce the food until the pan and fat have been heated first.

If the pan/fat are not hot enough, the food will not sear properly, will stick, and will absorb some of the fat. The fats utilized most often are oil and butter or some combination thereof. I prefer oil since butter will burn quicker.

Virtually all foods can be sautéed with a few caveats. With red meat, only tender cuts can be employed. Because it is a dry heat method, sautéing will make tough cuts of meat even tougher.

Thus, you can sauté a filet mignon or strip steak, but never the shank or brisket. You might start the shanks in a sauté pan to brown them, but they would need to be finished with a wet heat method such as braising.

Even tender steaks that are thick, (beyond an inch), would first be seared in a sauté pan and then completed in the oven. This is why professional cooks prefer pans without those rubber handles: so they can be placed directly into an oven.

You would also never sauté an entire roast or chicken. By the time the center of a roast or bird was cooked in a sauté pan, the exterior would be burnt beyond edibility.

Sautéing is better suited for thinner cuts of meat, (fish, veal and chicken fillets), or meat cut into pieces or strips. All vegetables can be sautéed although harder ones, e.g., root vegetables, may need to be cut smaller.

Sautéing is quick cooking. You are seeking to sear the food rapidly and remove it immediately or shortly thereafter. Thus, the food must be small and/or tender enough so that the center is done by the time the outside has browned.

If you are sautéing a compilation of items, cut them to the same size to ensure even cooking. But some foods are harder than others. A one-inch slice of zucchini will cook faster than a one-inch slice of carrot.