Saute Technique

"Louis Cohen" <[email hidden]> ha scritto nel messaggio
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

When I saute fish fillets in my stainless (not non-stick pan), they stick
badly. Last time I made sure the pan was good and hot, and I used plenty
of oil - they still had to be scraped off the pan.

What's the trick for sauteing fillets so that they don't stick?

Dry very well with cooking paper the fish, because if it is wet, it will
stick to the frying pan.
BTW where is the problem using a non-stick pan?
Cheers
Pandora

Quoted message said:

Thanks
--

===============================================================
Regards

Louis Cohen

"Yes, yes, I will desalinate you, you grande morue!"

Émile Zola, Assommoir 1877

In article <[email hidden]>,

Louis Cohen said:

When I saute fish fillets in my stainless (not non-stick pan), they
stick badly. Last time I made sure the pan was good and hot, and I used
plenty of oil - they still had to be scraped off the pan.

What's the trick for sauteing fillets so that they don't stick?

Fish is tricky, especially if it's a delicate fillet. And stainless
steel pans are prone to hot spots and sticking, even the high quality
ones with aluminum backing (All-Clad, etc.).

You can try to reduce sticking by frequently giving the pan a jiggle.
"Saute" is French for "jump", so keep those fish jumping.

Some cooks recommend using a pan that is just large enough to fit the
item being sauteed, and using enough fat (oil and/or butter) to give it
some buoyancy. Not enough for deep frying, but enough to lift it off
the bottom of the pan, or at least to fill in all the gaps between food
and pan. If you live with a righteous nutritionist (as I do), that's
not an option. But some of the same cooks will tell you that, if you
fry quickly at the right temp, there will actually be less fat absorbed
into the food than if you fry it for a longer time with less fat in the
pan. Purists might draw a distinction and say that this technique is
frying, not sauteing.

If you want to saute in a minimal amount of fat, your best bet is a
non-stick pan. Teflon certainly works, if you are not paranoid about
the recent news stories that it leaches toxic chemicals (I am not yet
convinced on that). I also have good results with ScanPan cookware.
They make pans with a hard ceramic coating on an aluminum core. Not as
slippery as Teflon, but food releases much better than from SS, and the
ceramic coating is quite durable. More so than the aluminum pans with
anodized coatings.

--
Julian Vrieslander

Pandora said:

"Louis Cohen" <[email hidden]> ha scritto nel messaggio
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

When I saute fish fillets in my stainless (not non-stick pan), they stick
badly. Last time I made sure the pan was good and hot, and I used plenty
of oil - they still had to be scraped off the pan.

What's the trick for sauteing fillets so that they don't stick?

Dry very well with cooking paper the fish, because if it is wet, it will
stick to the frying pan.
BTW where is the problem using a non-stick pan?
Cheers
Pandora

I'm with Pandora. I'd use non-stick or cast iron.

Elaine, too

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Thanks
--

===============================================================
Regards

Louis Cohen

"Yes, yes, I will desalinate you, you grande morue!"

Émile Zola, Assommoir 1877

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden]
says...

Quoted message said:

When I saute fish fillets in my stainless (not non-stick pan), they
stick badly. Last time I made sure the pan was good and hot, and I used
plenty of oil - they still had to be scraped off the pan.

What's the trick for sauteing fillets so that they don't stick?

Thanks

Generally speaking I dip my fillets in egg and roll them in breadcrumbs
before putting them in the pan - that sure helps.

I have a 'scanpan' which is non-stick without teflon and that behaves
very well in terms of non-sticking, I also have a 'Fissler' stainless
and that one is not so good. What works best for me is to leave things
in the stainless pan alone until they 'lift' by themselves, i.e. once
they are cooked and nicely browned. Fish, pancakes, chips .... all the
same principle: patience and no premature stirring.

Tuna or marlin or salmon won't give me problems in either pan, but
flakey saltwater fish that doesn't hold together well needs either
crumbs or a non-stick pan i.m.o.

-Peter

--
=========================================
firstname dot lastname at gmail fullstop com

Louis Cohen wrote on 17 Nov 2005 in rec.food.cooking

Quoted message said:

When I saute fish fillets in my stainless (not non-stick pan), they
stick badly. Last time I made sure the pan was good and hot, and I used
plenty of oil - they still had to be scraped off the pan.

What's the trick for sauteing fillets so that they don't stick?

Thanks

Well there is the Usual Standard Stuff...You know, cook in plenty of oil...
hot pan cold oil...Leave it until it releases by itself stuff. Then there
is the "Is your pan wearing out? hot/cold spots" type dealie standard
disclaimers.

When I fry a fish fillet, it usually has a crumb coating and is of a
uniform thickness, I'm assuming yours does too. I go the flour, egg wash,
seasoned breading route, with the short rest (20 minutes or so) in the
fridge for better initial breadcrumb bondage.

I make sure the pan is to temp before starting. Add a 50/50 mix of butter
and canola oil enough oil to completely cover the bottom of the pan, after
the pan has reached temp. Around a 1/16 of an inch for depth of oil.

But I find that for breaded fish a lower frying temp works better than a
higher. I routinely cook fish at more of a low high to a medium (more like
a 5 or 6 than a 7 or 8) than a medium high. I wait till the fish releases
itself from the pan and generally move it all around the pan, flipping more
than once prior to cooked. I feel this moving it about practise allows for
a more even cooking and allows for better "browning of the crumb coating"
control...AKA as making sure the breading hasn't burned syndrome...

My feelings on the matter are (no documented facts) that the fish onced
cooked is tender and flakey. If cooked too hot, it sticks because the outer
surface is flaking off before the inside has reached temp.

These are instructions I use for my coil electric stovetop and a fish.

--
The eyes are the mirrors....
But the ears...Ah the ears.
The ears keep the hat up.

Louis Cohen said:

When I saute fish fillets in my stainless (not non-stick pan), they
stick badly. Last time I made sure the pan was good and hot, and I used
plenty of oil - they still had to be scraped off the pan.

What's the trick for sauteing fillets so that they don't stick?

The trick is to *fry*, NOT saute... saute means to cut small and toss
about, essentially the french term for stir frying.

I assume you're talking filets. Typically pan fried fish filets will
have the skin on (holds things together), and/or will be breaded... one
of the best ways is to fry fish filets is with skin on and dusted with
seasoned flour only, no breading. I think breaded fish cooks better
in deep fat, where temperature is more easily controlled so breading
absorbs less fat, or baked. Fish steaks (ie. salmon, sword fish, cod,
shark, etc.) are typically cooked with skin on too and naturally are
not fileted, those are best grilled/broiled, or baked, no
flour/breading.

http://www.oldetimecooking.com/Definitions/saute.htm

Sheldon

"Sheldon" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Louis Cohen said:

When I saute fish fillets in my stainless (not non-stick pan), they
stick badly. Last time I made sure the pan was good and hot, and I used
plenty of oil - they still had to be scraped off the pan.

What's the trick for sauteing fillets so that they don't stick?

The trick is to *fry*, NOT saute... saute means to cut small and toss
about, essentially the french term for stir frying.

I assume you're talking filets. Typically pan fried fish filets will
have the skin on (holds things together), and/or will be breaded... one
of the best ways is to fry fish filets is with skin on and dusted with
seasoned flour only, no breading. I think breaded fish cooks better
in deep fat, where temperature is more easily controlled so breading
absorbs less fat, or baked. Fish steaks (ie. salmon, sword fish, cod,
shark, etc.) are typically cooked with skin on too and naturally are
not fileted, those are best grilled/broiled, or baked, no
flour/breading.

http://www.oldetimecooking.com/Definitions/saute.htm

Sheldon

Yep - what he said.

I also think people try and turn fish (not only fish) a little too soon which
leads to the sticking problem.

Dimitri

If you have baking paper (not wax paper) then you can cut a piece the
size of your fillet(s) brush with oil lay fish on top and then proceed
as usual in hot oiled pan.