'Tales from the Tale’

Sautéing In the culinary schools in which I taught, we first tackled sautéing and stir frying because the first step one takes when one prepares most meals with vegetables, fish and meats is to sear or sauté the product. The word sauté literally mean “jump” As the word implies, the sauté pan or “sauteuse” must be kept “jumping” in order to insure the product is cooked evenly. One way of doing that is to practice with a sauté pan off the fire by putting dried beans into the pan, tilt the pan forward, then flick your wrist so that the beans jump to the rear of the pan. Keep practicing this maneuver until you get a smooth flow. Constant, smooth movement is important for uniform cooking. Please don’t sauté with hot fat until you can do your bean practice without spilling any beans. If hot fat lands on you while you’re sautéing, you will get a second degree burn. The handle of the sauteuse is also hot, but gloves are cumbersome. Use a light towel to handle the pan. Another way of achieving proficiency with a sauteuse is simply to watch a chef on TV and imitate him or her. Sautéing is used when a product’s juices are to be seared in to retain flavor and moisture. Sautéing also causes the natural flavors of the product to be released into the pan. Sautéing also results in a process known as caramelizing, which is simply the release of the natural sugars which then brown and add color (e.g. the golden brown of an onion or garlic) to the product. Proper sautéing requires that the product not be burnt in the process. Burning during the t step causes bitterness and gives an off-color to the product. Because it is done so quickly, the sauté method is meant for small pieces of seafood.. Shrimp, scallops or shucked mollusks are small and firm enough to be sautéed whole. Larger fish needs to be sliced or escalloped into sauté sized pieces. The sauté method should be used only on fish with firm flesh such as swordfish, monkfish, grouper, tuna or shark. Sauté is not a good method for fish that are too delicate or flaky such as flounder, cod or salmon. An important concept to consider when sautéing is what is known in French as “mise en place” which means “putting in place.” This concept indicates the extreme importance of having everything needed for cooking prepared and readily available before beginning the actual cooking process. To start to sauté a meal and stop to peel or cut up a carrot is not feasible. The Larousse Gastronome states: “When all these small tasks are done, and all the operations preceding the actual cooking completed, the work of cooking is much simplified.” The recipes included in this book are laid out in steps so that the effecting of “mise en place" can be accomplished. The “INGREDIENTS” section of each recipe tells what ingredients should be at hand for each step of the recipe. Sautéing must take place in a small amount of fat. “Fat” can mean such things as animal fat, butter, margarine, vegetable oils, olive oil or seed oils. Which “fat” one uses should be dictated by the product being sautéed and/or the ethnic origin of the recipe and/or health considerations. For instance, shrimp prepared Cajun style should be sautéed in fatback, which is literally fat off a pig’s back. Shrimp prepared in an Italian method such as scampi would be sautéed in olive oil. Yet oriental shrimp would be stir fired in sesame oil and soy oil, same shrimp, but totally different flavors. I hasten to add that substituting a vegetable fat for an animal fat for health or personal reasons (monounsaturated fats, like olive oil is healthiest) or for “whatever blows your hair back” is perfectly all right provided you can accept a non traditional taste. The method of sautéing, as do all cooking methods, consists of several steps which will be illustrated by the following recipes. Sautéing is sometimes only the first step in preparing a course. Other times, an entire entree is prepared within the sautés and usually finished in a sauce. Such an entree is; Sea Scallops with Cracked Peppercorns and Anisette. Yield: 2 servings INGREDIENTS Step one: Fat (olive oil) 2tsp Minced garlic ½ tsp Chopped onion 1Tb _______________ Step two: Sea scallops 12oz Cracked black peppercorns ½ tsp Granulated sugar ½ tsp Anisette 1oz (a shot) _______________ Step three: Prepared tomato sauce 1Tb Prepared beef stock (bouillon) 2oz Heavy cream 1oz Salt to taste (optional) Thyme a pinch ____________________________________________________________________ Nutrition Facts 2 Servings Amount Per Serving Calories 262.4 Total Fat 7.6 g Saturated Fat 1.8 g Polyunsaturated Fat 0.9 g Monounsaturated Fat 3.9 g Cholesterol 61.7 mg Sodium 343.5 mg Potassium 639.8 mg Total Carbohydrate 8.1 g Dietary Fiber 0.5 g Sugars 2.0 g Protein 30.0 g *Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs. METHOD Step one: In a sauté pan, place the fat over high heat. As soon as the fat has heated, add the garlic and then the onion in that order, sauté until translucent. Step two: Add the sea scallops, peppercorns and sugar. Sauté until the scallops are golden and seared. Remove the sauté pan from fire and pour in the shot of anisette. The anisette should vaporize (steam). Return the pan to the fire. At this point you may or may not have a flash of fire if the alcohol ignites. Whether it fires or not, does not affect the recipe, just don’t blow yourself up. At this point, remove the scallops from the pan and set them aside. Step three: Add the tomato sauce, the beef stock, heavy cream, salt and thyme to the pan and return to the fire. Reduce sauce by 1/2. Then return the scallops to the pan and further reduce until the sauce coats the scallops. Put ‘em on some herbal or plain rice. Then, eat ‘em. NOTES Step one: A-The smoking point of oil is higher than butter. Any fat should not be heated past the smoking point because above the smoking point, the oil will not brown the garlic and onions, it will burn them. B- Put the garlic in before the onions because what you are looking for is a golden color from the garlic. You can actually smell the release of the garlic’s essence. Then add onions, whose released water content will further prevent the garlic from burning. Step two: A- When the scallops are removed from the pan and set aside; they should not be fully cooked, just seared. They will tend to “weep” juices, so put them in a bowl rather than on a flat dish. Don’t throw out or drain off the juice. B- We are just kidding about blowing yourself up, but do be careful not to put your face over the pan when returning it to the fire. C-We are not kidding about the importance of taking the pan off the fire before you add the alcohol. If you add the alcohol to a pan on the fire, you really can blow up! Step three: A-The prepared sauce, stocks and liquids used in this and other recipes are known as “cooking mediums” from which sauces are made. In this recipe it’s the sauce for the scallops. They can be store bought, but if you want, can be homemade. Stocks can be made and frozen in ice cube trays for incremental use.