Searing

The myth, and what is actually true

The claim that searing seals in juices dates from the 1840s and has been tested many times since. It does not hold: a seared piece of meat loses about the same amount of moisture as an unseared one cooked to the same doneness, and sometimes slightly more, because the crust is hot and dry and keeps evaporating.

What searing does do is create flavour, and a great deal of it. High surface heat drives browning reactions between amino acids and sugars, generating hundreds of aromatic compounds that did not exist in the raw food. That is the entire reason to do it, and it is reason enough.

The practical consequence of dropping the myth is freedom about when to sear. If it were sealing, it would have to come first. Since it is only flavour, it can come at either end — and finishing with the sear, rather than starting with it, is often better.

Getting a proper crust

• Dry the surface completely. Water must boil off before the surface can exceed 100°C, and browning does not begin until well above that. This is the single most important step.
• Get the pan hotter than feels comfortable. Cast iron or carbon steel, preheated for several minutes.
• Use a fat that tolerates the heat. Neutral oil, or beef dripping. Butter burns; add it at the end.
• Do not crowd the pan. Two steaks in a pan sized for one will steam.
• Leave it alone until it releases. It will tell you.
• Salt in advance or immediately before — not ten minutes before, which is when the surface is wettest.

The reverse sear

For a thick steak or a joint, the sequence that gives the best result is the opposite of the traditional one. Cook the meat gently first — in a low oven, around 110 to 130°C, or sous vide — until it is nearly at the doneness you want. Then sear it hard for a minute a side in a very hot pan.

This works because the gentle first stage cooks the interior evenly, with none of the grey band that fierce heat creates just under the surface, and it dries the exterior beautifully, so the sear happens fast and needs no long contact. It also removes the need for a long rest, since the meat was never violently heated.

It takes longer in total and it is much more reliable, which is a reasonable trade for anything expensive.

When to sear, and when not to bother

Steaks and chops

Always. It is most of the flavour.

Meat for a braise or a stew

Yes, in batches. The fond it leaves is the foundation of the sauce.

Thick joints

Reverse sear. Gentle first, hard sear at the end.

Anything going into a slow cooker

Sear it in a pan first — a slow cooker cannot brown, and unbrowned stew tastes noticeably flat.

Poached, steamed or boiled food

By definition not seared, and that is the point of those methods.

Common questions