Sauteing

Sauteing is a method of cooking food using a small amount of fat in a shallow pan over relatively high heat. Saute means, "to jump," in French, and the food being sauteed is kept moving, not unlike the stir-fry technique using a wok.

Food that is sauteed is usually cooked for a relative short period of time over high heat in order to preserve its colour, moisture and flavour. This is very common with more tender cuts of meat, e.g. tenderloin and filet mignon. Sauteing differs from searing in that the sauteed food is thoroughly cooked in the process.

One may sear simply to add flavour and improve appearance before another process is used to finish cooking it.

Olive oil or clarified butter is commonly used for sauteing, but most fats will do. Regular butter is less well suited for sauteing because it will burn at a lower temperature due to the presence of milk solids.

It is important to ensure that the pan is very hot and that the food is not crowded into the pan. This ensures that the food browns well without absorbing the fat or stewing in its own juices.

Furthermore, the food must be completely dry in order to keep the pan from cooling and to keep the moisture from building up in the pan; moisture will steam or stew the food. This is particularly important in the case of food that has been marinated.

To Saute

• Use a hot pan, large enough to hold all of the food in one layer.
• Do not use too much fat, which will cause the food to fry rather than to saute.
• Do not toss or stir the items in the pan by shaking the pan around, which causes the pan to cool faster.
• Let one side of the sauteed item become golden brown before tossing, turning, or flipping the item over, in order to allow the food to yield more flavour.