Harlan Messinger
> > wrote:

>>
>> Is the
>>pre-searing being done for some reason other than to seal in the
>>juices? Or can I safely skip the inconvenience of the browning step
>>from now on?
>
> I've always thought that was an old wives' tale.

You can skip it, but you skip the benefits also. When you brown meat, it
caramelizes the sugars and it concentrates flavors. While skipping that
step will still cook the met, there is some loss of flavor and if making a
gravy, it will be more bland as th ere will be no fonds in the pan.

Choice is your. Try it both ways and see what you like.

Searing and Sealing


The purpose of sealing meats at high heat is to create desirable flavor and
color by browning the meats' surfaces. It was long believed that searing the
surface of meat "seals the pores", keeping in juices. This does not
actually happen. Meat does not have pores but is an open network of fibers.
Think of the surface of a steak as resembling the cut end of a thick rope.
There are no pores to seal. It is true that heavy browning creates a kind of
crust on the surface of the meat, but this crust is no more waterproof than
an unbrowned surface.



Roasts cooked from the start at a low temperature retain more juices than
roasts that are seared at high heat first.



Steaks, chops, and cutlets cooked very quickly at high heat retain more
moisture at first because the intense heat drives the juices away from the
hot surface into the meat. This permits browning, because moisture would
create steam and inhibit browning. However, overcooked steaks will be dry
whether or not the steak was seared.