How to Cook · Part 5
Pan-Frying
Dry heat, browning, and gratins: roasting is the opposite of braising.
#Browning Food and Building a Sauce
Pan-frying cooks a tender piece of meat or fish through direct contact with a hot pan. It also creates fond — the browned material left behind after cooking — which can become the foundation of a sauce.
Avoid tough cuts such as beef chuck, pork shoulder, and brisket, which contain connective tissue that requires long, slow cooking to become tender. Pan-frying is better suited to naturally tender cuts such as chicken breast and thighs, pork chops, steaks, duck breast, and fish fillets. These cuts can cook through quickly while developing a well-browned exterior.
#Cuts Suited to Pan-Frying
| Ingredient | Recommended cuts |
|---|---|
| Chicken | Boneless breast, boneless thighs |
| Pork | Loin chops, tenderloin medallions |
| Beef | Strip, ribeye, sirloin, tenderloin |
| Duck | Boneless breast |
| Fish | Firm fillets |
Large, tough cuts such as chuck or pork shoulder should be braised instead.
The pan should be hot enough to brown the food without burning the fond. Proper fond is deeply browned and flavorful; burned fond makes a sauce bitter.