Today we start with a new thing here at WDC. Cooking Explained. You can see up at the navigation bar on top we have a new tab called, “Cooking Explained.” Simply, it is a link to a glossary that I have put up explaining cooking terms. I will cross link the previous posts, and future posts there. If there ever is something you need to know about cooking explained to you, check there. If the answer is not there, you can always ask me in my Ask the Chef! page. - Jason Sandeman AKA The Well Done Chef!

Saute

Nothing drives me nuts more than when I see a recipe state, “Saute the onions until they are translucent.” To me, that is like someone scraping their nails down a chalk board. After this post, you will have a clear idea on what sautéing is, how to sauté an item, and how to use it and look like a pro in front of your friends.

The word “sauté” derives from the French verb, Sauter, which literally means, “to jump.”

Right there is a clue on how we should be using this term. To sauté your food means to cook it quickly in a little bit of fat, over high heat.

Usually the term refers to small amount of food (like sliced vegetables), but can also mean larger pieces. (Chicken legs are an example.) Of course, we hope the larger pieces won’t jump. (It’s tryin’ t’ ‘scape Capt’n!)

Here is what you are doing when sautéing:

1. Preheating your pan over high heat.
2. Adding a small amount of fat.
3. Preparing your food by drying, cutting into small pieces (or leaving as is with slices of meat or chicken.)
4. Add into the pan in small amounts to encourage quick cooking. Too much in the pan will cause the item to sweat instead.
5. Deglazing the pan to get the juices.

Here are the steps in more detail to sautéing your food:

Pre-heat your pan over high heat before adding your oil. The food must start cooking immediately when it hits the pan.

This is very important because if your pan is is not hot enough, you will start cooking your items in their own juices. You would be sweating the food instead of sautéing at that point.

Add your oil to the pan. Careful, you only need a small amount. Your oil should shimmer slightly when you add it to the pan.

It is very important to pat your items dry before sautéing.

The reason is both for safety and effectiveness. If you throw in your meat that is dripping with blood, the resulting splash back could burn you.

Make sure you add your pieces a little at a time, so not to crowd the pan. With too much in the pan, you lower the heat of the pan, and then you go back to sweating your food again.

The goal here is to get a nice color on the meat.

If you overcrowd your pan, you will see the juices in the meat start to bubble.

This is a sign you are Sweating instead of sautéing. All you will accomplish at this point is some grey-brown meat that is tough. Definitely NOT Well Done! Take some meat out of the pan and continue.

Flip them with a spatula, or flipping motion to keep the food cooking evenly.

You would not do this with a chicken leg.

Sometimes pieces are dusted with flour before they are added to the hot pan. This is to encourage browning.

We are cooking this item quickly in a little bit of fat. Sauteing it, actually.

So, this piece is too big to flip, (or sauté,) but it is still jumping at the edges.

You can set the meat that is seared/cooked on a plate, and continue sautéing the rest.

Sorry there is not a lot, I had to taste the beef. LOL

When you are finished, you will be left with some brown bits in the pan.

This is the gold that you will extract through Deglazing. That is another post altogether.

I hope that clears up what sautéing is for you all.

Do you have a question regarding this cooking term or technique? You can drop me a question at the Ask the Chef! page.

Tagged as: batch, fat, meat, oil, pieces, quick, saute