How to Sear Meat (and Get a Deep Brown Crust)

Searing meat means cooking its surface in a very hot pan until it forms a deep brown, flavourful crust. The keys are a dry surface, a heavy pan heated well above 150 °C / 300 °F, a little oil, and the patience to leave the meat alone while it browns.

Why searing works: the Maillard reaction

That brown crust is the Maillard reaction, a cascade of reactions between amino acids and sugars that produces hundreds of new aroma and flavour compounds. It gets going noticeably around 140 °C / 285 °F and speeds up as the surface gets hotter.

Here's the catch: water boils at 100 °C / 212 °F. As long as the surface of the meat is wet, it can't climb much past that, so it steams grey instead of browning. Almost every searing tip exists to get rid of surface water fast.

Searing does not "seal in juices." Careful tests show seared and unseared meat lose roughly the same moisture. You sear because browned meat tastes richer and has better texture, and because the browned bits left in the pan (the fond) make excellent sauce.

Choosing the pan and fat

• Pan: Cast iron or heavy stainless steel. Thick metal stores heat, so the pan doesn't crash in temperature when cold meat hits it. Nonstick coatings shouldn't be heated empty to searing temperatures, and they won't build fond.
• Fat: A thin film of refined oil with a high smoke point, roughly 1 tablespoon (15 mL) for a 30 cm / 12 in pan. Canola, grapeseed, peanut, and refined avocado oil all work.
• Butter: Milk solids in whole butter burn around 150–175 °C / 300–350 °F. Add it in the last minute for basting, not at the start.

Salt timing

Salt draws moisture to the surface by osmosis. If you salt and immediately sear, that surface water is still there. Two good options:

• Salt 40 minutes to 24 hours ahead. The salt dissolves, the brine gets reabsorbed, and the surface dries out. This is a dry brine and gives the best crust.
• Salt right before cooking. Fine if you pat dry and get the meat in the pan within a minute or two.

The awkward middle zone, about 3 to 30 minutes after salting, is when the surface is wettest.

Steps

1. Pat the meat completely dry with paper towels, including the edges.
2. Salt it, ideally 40 minutes to 24 hours ahead (uncovered in the fridge), then pat dry again just before cooking. Use about 1% of the meat's weight in salt, or roughly 1 1/2 teaspoons of Diamond Crystal kosher salt (1 teaspoon of Morton kosher) per 450 g / 1 lb.
3. Heat a heavy pan over medium-high heat for 3–5 minutes. A drop of water should skitter and evaporate in a second or two.
4. Add a thin film of oil and heat until it shimmers and just starts to send up a wisp of smoke.
5. Lay the meat in, moving away from you so hot oil doesn't splash toward you. Leave at least 2–3 cm / 1 in between pieces, and work in batches if needed.
6. Leave it untouched until it releases easily and the underside is deep brown, usually 2–4 minutes for steaks and chops. If it sticks, it isn't ready.
7. Flip and sear the second side, then use tongs to hold thick cuts on their edges to render fat caps and brown the sides.
8. Check the internal temperature. Thin cuts may be done; thick cuts (over about 4 cm / 1.5 in) can go into a 200 °C / 400 °F oven to finish. Pull steaks 3–5 °C / 5–10 °F below your target to allow for carryover cooking.
9. Rest the meat for 5–10 minutes on a rack or board before slicing.

Chef Fizz says: If you're itching to poke the steak, poke the pan sauce plan instead. Meat that's left alone browns; meat that's fussed over steams.

Doneness targets

Health Canada and the USDA recommend 63 °C / 145 °F for whole cuts of beef and 71 °C / 160 °F for ground meat. For pork, the USDA says 63 °C / 145 °F with a 3-minute rest, while Health Canada recommends 71 °C / 160 °F. Rarer steaks are a personal choice; ground meat and poultry should always reach safe temperatures.

Common mistakes and fixes

The meat turned grey, not brown. The surface was wet or the pan was crowded. Crowding releases more steam than the pan can boil off, and the temperature drops. Dry more thoroughly and cook in batches.

Burnt outside, raw inside. The cut is too thick for pan-only cooking. Sear, then finish in the oven, or use the reverse sear instead.

Lots of smoke. Some smoke is normal. Too much means the oil is unrefined, there's too much of it, or the heat is too high for a thin cut. Turn on the fan and drop to medium-high.

Black, bitter fond. The pan got too hot with nothing in it. Fond should be mahogany brown. If it's black, wipe it out rather than building a sauce on it.

Meat sticks and tears. You flipped too soon. Proteins grip the metal at first and release once a crust forms. Wait 30 seconds longer.

After the sear

Don't wash that pan yet. Pour off excess fat, add a splash of wine or stock, and scrape up the fond to deglaze the pan. Reduce, swirl in a knob of butter, and you've got a pan sauce in about five minutes.