I've read of a technique whereby you sear meat/chicken on the stove,
then place the pan in the oven to complete cooking. I think everything
I've done (that started off as a saute) stayed on the stove.
Is this a common technique? Any reason it can't be done all the time?
How do I know what temp for the oven? any timing guidelines? - Mike

On Nov 19, 6:44*am, Mike > wrote:
> I've read of a technique whereby you sear meat/chicken on the stove,
> then place the pan in the oven to complete cooking. I think everything
> I've done (that started off as a saute) stayed on the stove.
> Is this a common technique? Any reason it can't be done all the time?
> How do I know what temp for the oven? any timing guidelines? - Mike

It works well for food that is a little on the thick side, or suffers
when
overcooked. The heat of the oven is gentler and comes from every
direction rather than just from the bottom.

I did that with some "boneless country-style pork ribs" that were
strips
about 6" long and 1 - 1.5" in cross section, and I often do it with
bone-in pork chops.

It's a popular technique for fish filets, although I usuall grill
those outdoors.

Works well for a beef tenderloin roast, as well as pork tenderloin.

For skinless, boneless chicken breast I usually just dust them with
flour
and do the whole thing on the stovetop. However, if I flour/egg/crumb
them,
the oven works well.

I usually pick an arbitrary 350 F for the oven temp, but I'm sure
there are
more scientific ways to do it.

Cindy Hamilton

"> I've read of a technique whereby you sear meat/chicken on the stove,
> then place the pan in the oven to complete cooking. I think everything
> I've done (that started off as a saute) stayed on the stove.
> Is this a common technique? Any reason it can't be done all the time?
> How do I know what temp for the oven? any timing guidelines? - Mike

Mike,
I do this all the time for whole chickens, rack of lamb, pork tenderloin,
fish fillets if they are thick and I'm searing a crust on them and even
scallops. There is a different method and maybe temperature I'm setting the
oven at but the best part is I'm only dirtying one pan.

For a lot of these dishes the reason is to get a good sear at high heat on
the outside and pop it in the oven for a few minutes finish to medium-rare
in the center. If you seared the meat long enough to get to a MR center the
outside would burn.

With the whole chicken it allows me to brown the skin on one side on the
range and finish roasting at high heat in the oven and not have the whole
skin be crisp. If I just roasted it at high heat in the oven half of the
skin would be soggy. I got this technique from the Judy Rodgers Zuni Café
cookbook and it works great for me.

Just keep in mind that the handle of the pan is freaking hot for a while
after you take it out of the oven. I burned myself a few times when I first
started using this cause I just went into autopilot when I went to make a
pan sauce.

Jon

On Nov 19, 3:44 am, Mike > wrote:
> I've read of a technique whereby you sear meat/chicken on the stove,
> then place the pan in the oven to complete cooking. I think everything
> I've done (that started off as a saute) stayed on the stove.
> Is this a common technique?

Starting on the stovetop and finishing in the oven is pretty common.

> Any reason it can't be done all the time?

I suppose not, but often it would serve no purpose. Either you just
want to sauté and then finish over a lower flame, or you just want to
roast with no needed stovetop browning.

> How do I know what temp for the oven? any timing guidelines? - Mike

Oven temp depends on why you're doing it in the first place. If you
want a surface browning or a sear but then slow cooking to keep
something tender you'd use a low oven. If you're roasting a small
chicken, the normal temp for that. Here's an example I posted last
year:

"Jacques Pepin has an alternate method that works well for
smaller
chickens, too. Put a little oil in a large cast iron frying pan and
brown the chicken over medium-high heat on four sides. Then put it,
skillet and all, in the preheated 350 - 375 oven. After 15 minutes,
rotate it a quarter turn, after 15 minutes more, rotate again, then
again a third time after 15 minutes more. I do it starting with the
bird on its side so that the last position is breast up. This not
only results in a beautiful skin but also enables the easy making of
great pan gravy. -aem

Mike wrote:
> I've read of a technique whereby you sear meat/chicken on the stove,
> then place the pan in the oven to complete cooking. I think everything
> I've done (that started off as a saute) stayed on the stove.
> Is this a common technique? Any reason it can't be done all the time?
> How do I know what temp for the oven? any timing guidelines? - Mike

Fairly common, that's what makes chicken Maryland chicken Maryland,
fried up in a breading on the stove to set the breading and then finish
cooking in the oven.

I used to work for an Italian chef who would do the same sort of thing
with steaks, sans breading, cook to get some color on top of the stove
then finish in the oven.
--

Mr. Joseph Littleshoes Esq.

Domine, dirige nos.
Let the games begin!
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