Browned off

[desperance]

Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon*, but I do get terribly bored, browning a quantity of meat for a stew. Getting a decent colour on every side of every piece takes time; and if you're doing a few pounds and you can only do half a pound at a time without crowding the pan... Yeah. It may even be the single dullest aspect in my repertoire. It wasn't even so bad when we thought we were sealing in the juices, because back then any degree of colour seemed fit for purpose; now that we know that's nonsense and we're all about the Maillard reaction, there's no point doing it at all if you don't hang in there for a decent shade of mahogany.

Next time, I'm thinking I might try tossing it all in a bit of olive oil, spreading it out on a baking sheet and slamming it in a hot oven for ten minutes, see if that works. So much easier than turning every individual cube numerous times...


*I have a terrible temptation to start a magazine called The Streets of Askelon, for obvious reasons**.

**But it's probably been done already.

Comments

[movingfinger]

Yes, as I read this I was thinking that doing it under a broiler might be better, really, than standing over the pan. It is one of the dullest tasks in cooking, no question.

[desperance]

And yet, no recipe ever says "do this under the broiler" or "roast them off quickly in the oven", it's always fry-them-in-batches. I worry, inevitably, that there may be a reason I am not seeing. Still'n'all, I think I'm going to try for alternatives.

[movingfinger]

I think theoretically we are supposed to get fat from the browning meat to do things with, but there is no reason not to do it under the broiler and pour fat off from a broiling pan or foil thing.

[desperance]

Absolutely: one can deglaze a baking tray as easily as any pan.