How to Sauté Everything Like a Professional Chef
Sautéing is one the most important culinary techniques—and one you probably use daily—or will.
Learning how to sauté properly is vital to knowing how to cook—along with other essential techniques such as braising or roasting. Whether you're a professional chef or a home cook, sautéing is one of the cooking techniques you'll use most often—and it can be used on a wide range of foods. Learn how to sauté any kind of ingredient, from meat and seafood to your favorite vegetables, plus the basic tools you’ll need for the task.
Related: Why You Should Always Salt Pasta Water—and the Right Way to Do It
What Is Sautéing?
Essentially, sautéing is cooking food in a small amount of fat in a skillet or sauté pan over moderately high heat. The word "sauté" comes from the French "sauter," which translates as "to jump." This makes sense when you think of pieces of vegetables or other ingredients being tossed in a sauté pan by a chef.
Why It Is So Important
Sautéing is a beloved technique because it gives the cook a lot of control; you can actively stir the ingredients or adjust the heat so that the food cooks to your liking. While developing color isn’t always the goal when it comes to sautéing, this technique is a great way to create a golden brown color (and, ultimately, more flavor) on the ingredients. It's a technique used in professional and home kitchens every day. So many of our recipes (especially those quick weeknight meals) involve sautéing, partly because it’s one of the easiest and quickest techniques to master.
Essential Tools and Ingredients
Sautéing is simple and doesn't require special equipment or unusual ingredients.
The Best Pan to Use
Contrary to what you might have heard, you don’t have to use a sauté pan to sauté. Any shallow skillet or frying pan can be used. Our best advice is to choose the pan that is the right size for what you're cooking–you want the pan to have just enough room to cook all of the ingredients without overcrowding them.
Depending on the recipe, you may reach for a cast-iron, nonstick, or stainless steel pan. Cast-iron and stainless steel pans retain heat very well, so they are ideal for searing larger pieces of meat to achieve a proper Maillard reaction. Nonstick skillets are perfect for sautéing various vegetables like mushrooms, squash, peppers, and tomatoes. They require less fat since the ingredients are cooking on a nonstick surface.
Tips
If you’re looking to develop color by searing an ingredient, like a piece of meat or fish, we don’t recommend using a pan with high edges. Deep-sided pans retain heat differently than shallow ones and can cause the food to steam rather than sear.
Related: How to Choose Between Stainless Steel, Nonstick, and Cast-Iron Pans
The Best Oil to Use
Since sautéing is done at a relatively high heat, we recommend using fats with a moderate-to-high smoke point. Avocado oil, extra-virgin olive oil, and neutral vegetable oils (like safflower and canola) will allow you to sauté without smoking up your kitchen.
Using Butter: If you want to enhance the flavor of the ingredients you’re sautéing by adding some butter, make sure you use an equal amount of oil with it. When the two fats are used together, the butter (which has a lower smoke point) will smoke less.
Seasonings
The best way to establish the natural flavors of the ingredients you’re sautéing is to season them simply with salt and pepper. The seasonings will permeate the ingredients as the food cooks, seasoning them from the inside out.
Fresh and dried herbs and spices are also a great way to enhance or add even more flavor to the dish. Fresh herbs can be folded in off the heat so that they retain their fresh flavor. Dried herbs and spices should be sprinkled over the food a few minutes before it's done–giving the dried herbs and spices a chance to toast in the pan is integral to releasing their flavors.
How to Sauté
There are a few key things to know when it comes to sautéing, whether you’re getting a nice sear on a piece of meat or cooking a side dish of vegetables.
Sautéing Basics
Mise en place: Work smarter, not harder. Follow the French technique of mise en place and ensure you have all your ingredients and tools handy. Since sautéing is a quick cooking method, you want to have everything ready to go before you start cooking.
Use evenly sized ingredients: Cooking ingredients that are similar in size will ensure that everything sautés evenly. For instance, if you’re sautéing mirepoix (a combination of onions, carrots, and celery) for a recipe, try to keep everything roughly the same size. If you’re searing chicken breasts or fish fillets, look for portions that are about the same thickness.
Choose the right size pan: Overcrowding the sauté pan can cause the ingredients to steam rather than sauté or sear, so make sure you choose the right size pan. Too small and the ingredients won’t develop a nice color (and it’ll take twice the amount of time to cook). Too large and the exposed surface area of the pan will burn.
Start with a hot pan: This is one of the most important steps, especially if you’re aiming to develop color. Preheat the dry pan for a minute or two—you shouldn't be able to hold your palm close to the surface for more than a few seconds. Once the pan is preheated, add the fat and ingredients you are going to sauté.
How to Sauté Vegetables
Preheat the pan and prep the vegetables: Get the pan nice and hot while you peel and chop your vegetables of choice.
Swirl in the fat: Once the pan is hot, drizzle in the oil (or melt the butter and add the oil).
Add the vegetables: Add the vegetables to the pan in an even layer and toss to coat in the fat. Season with salt and pepper at this stage.
Sauté until tender: Cook the vegetables by either stirring them occasionally with a spoon or spatula or by holding the handle of the pan and giving everything a good shake now and then.
Tips
Add Flavor With a Post-Marinade
One way to add a lot of last-minute flavor to vegetables (or even lean meats like chicken and seafood) is by adding what we call a "post-marinade." Whisk together your marinade of choice and drizzle it over the cooked ingredients as soon as they come out of the pan. They’ll soak up so much flavor this way.
Bonus: You don’t have to worry about cross-contamination when dealing with raw ingredients like poultry.
Sautéing Meat, Poultry, and Fish
Preheat the pan and prep the meat: Get the pan nice and hot and pat the pieces of meat or fish dry with some paper towels. (They will develop a much nicer sear if they aren’t holding onto any excess moisture. )
Swirl in the fat: Once the pan is hot, drizzle in the oil. If you’re adding butter, it’s usually best to melt it into the pan once the meat is almost completely cooked through so you can use it to baste the meat.
Add the meat: Without overcrowding the pan (working in batches if necessary), add the meat (anything from marbled rib-eyes and thick-cut pork chops to wild salmon fillets and plump shrimp) to the pan in an even layer.
Sear to the desired doneness: Cook the meat, poultry, or fish, occasionally flipping to sear each side until it develops a golden brown color and is cooked through. Use a meat thermometer to get an accurate internal temperature.
Let it rest: Meat usually tastes the best when you let it rest for a few minutes. Transfer the pieces of meat to a cutting board and tent them with foil. This will keep them warm while the juices settle.
Tips
You’ll know a piece of meat is ready to be flipped when it releases easily from the pan. If you find that it’s sticking to the surface, give it another minute or two.
Common Sautéing Mistakes (And How to Fix Them)
Using the Wrong Size Pan: Everything you’re sautéing should be able to fit in a relatively even layer. If your vegetables or fish is crowded or layered, you need to use a larger pan. Using the wrong pan size or one with deep sides can cause the ingredients to steam (or sometimes even burn).
Using the Wrong Type of Fat: Fats with lower smoke points (butter in particular) have a tendency to wreak havoc in the kitchen when it comes to sautéing. If you use a fat with a low smoke point, make sure to combine it with a fat with a higher smoke point, such as canola or olive oil.
Not Getting the Pan Hot Enough: Adding ingredients to a cold pan can cause them to stick (even when using nonstick pans). Preheating the pan is the most important step to take to avoid this.
Using Wet Ingredients: This is especially true when it comes to searing meat, poultry, and fish. Excess moisture can cause the meat to stick to the pan. It will also produce steam, which will prevent the surface from developing a nice sear.
Adding Ingredients in the Wrong Order: Depending on what you’re sautéing, some ingredients may need more time to cook than others. For instance, if you’re sautéing a mix of vegetables, harder vegetables like carrots and broccoli will take longer to cook than peas and corn. Start sautéing the more dense vegetables first before adding the quick-cooking ones.
Read the original article on Martha Stewart.
