![]() Chicken breasts can be lightly pounded at the thicker end to even them out so they will cook consistently. Alternatively, after browning, finish cooking over lowered heat, with the pan covered.) For even cooking, the thickness should be uniform. (A good method for cooking thicker chops and steaks is to brown them, by cooking them briefly on both sides at high heat, and pop them, skillet and all, into a 375☏ oven to finish cooking. Over high heat, thicker cuts will get crusty and dry on the outside before the inside is done. Chops should be 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick and steaks 1 inch thick or less. ![]() Because pan-frying requires high heat, the meat you choose should be fairly thin. Besides being heavy, the pan should have low sides so the meat won’t steam as it cooks. The aluminum is an excellent heat conductor, while the stainless steel offers a good nonreactive surface to cook on. The next-best thing after a cast-iron skillet is a stainless-steel-lined heavy aluminum or aluminum-core frying pan. An added bonus is that a seasoned cast-iron pan is virtually nonstick. The heavy iron heats evenly, making it a wonderful vehicle for browning and frying. If I could have only one pan, it would be a cast-iron skillet. This is key in pan-frying and sautéing, because the pan needs to be quite hot to sear and caramelize or brown, but not burn, the surface of what is being cooked. A heavy pan can distribute heat-and a lot of it-from the burner to the bottom of the pan. Why does a heavy pan matter? Have you ever cooked something in a thin pan and had it burn, with the burn exactly the same shape as the electrical element below? This shows how a thin pan transmits heat directly from the burner to what is cooking instead of diffusing the heat across the pan’s surface. The fundamentals for achieving good results are a heavy pan, high heat, and a fairly thin piece of meat. Pan-frying makes dinner a breeze there is practically no preparation involved and the meat is cooked quickly and sent straight to the table. Tender cuts of meat-chicken breasts, steaks, and chops, for example-are prime candidates for pan-frying, and when properly cooked have a mouthwateringly crisp, browned exterior and a tender, juicy interior.
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