"--" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Maverick" > wrote in message
> ...
>> "--" > wrote in message
>> ...
>> >
>> > "Ellie C" > wrote in message
>> > ...
>> >> I cooked up some American Chop Suey for lunch today, using hamburger
>> >> from the local market. I've now come to the conclusion that this
>> >> ground
>> >> beef is just weird. It's 15% fat, so I generally add a small amount of
>> >> olive oil to the pan before I start to brown the meat. But, as is
>> >> usual
>> >> with this ground beef, it never browns. Here's the sequence of events:
> I
>> >> heat the olive oil in the frying pan, then I add the beef. For a few
>> >> seconds it sizzles normally and then it starts releasing water, enough
>> >> so that it's actually boiling and it never browns again. Does this
>> >> mean
>> >> the meat has been watered? If I cook it for a really long time the
>> >> "water" boils off, but the meat by this time has turned into little
>> >> crumbles and never becomes browned - the crumbles just get harder.
>> >
>> > It sounds like you are starting with too low a heat, or put too much
>> > ground beef in the pan at once, or are using a pan with low thermal
>> > mass
>> > (e.g, aluminum vs iron), or using too small a pan, or a combination of
> the
>> > above. The hint was the release of water - a sign of a pan chilling
>> > sometime
>> > during the process
>> > The meat browns because of its immediate contact with a source of
> heat
>> > large enough to fry the surface before the source cools below frying
>> > temperature-
>> > e.g., you need a large slab of metal that holds heat (there is a
> reason
>> > iron takes longer than aluminum to heat - its storing that heat from
>> > the
>> > burner instead of immediately passing it on), enough oil to "deep fry"
> the
>> > surface (the hot oil transfers its internal heat to the food until it
>> > cools)
>> > , etc.
>> > The idea is to have a pan capable of keeping temp, and not dumping all
>> > the
>> > meat in, thus to keep the meat from "chilling the pan"
>> >
>> > To brown well, use a 10" iron skillet with a layer of oil on the
> bottom
>> > heated to medium high (that's roughly just before smoking, and where a
> bit
>> > of meat sizzles when dropped in), and put in just enough meat at a time
> to
>> > thinly cover the bottom.
>> > I can't do much more than a half a pound at a time in a 10" iron.
>> >
>> > Seasoned iron does a much better job of browning than teflon
>> > coatings,
>> > stainless, or aluminum.
>> > In one experiment we did with iron, stainless, and aluminum, the same
>> > amount of meat wouldn't even brown in an aluminum or teflon pan, was
> so-so
>> > in stainless, and browned evenly and fully in seasoned iron.
>>
>> Ok. I'm probably wrong but why would you want to add oil if the
>> hamburger
>> already has %15 fat? It will provide it's own oil.
>
> Its oil (fat) is mixed in with its proteins and sugars. Using oil
> 1) keeps the pan seasoned and
> 2) assures that the proteins and sugars do not touch the metal directly
> (and
> then stick) but rather touch oil on the pan.
Gotcha. I happen to use a teflon pan when I want to brown hamburger but
I've been know to throw a couple of lbs of ground beef in my CI if I think
it needs a quick seasoning. Or bacon. Bacon works well to for a quick
light re-seasoning of my CI.
> Also, I agree with
>> using a thicker/heavier pan than a copper pan. I use a 10" teflon sauté
> pan
>> to brown 2lbs of ground beef and a pound of sausage, all at the same
>> time,
>> when I make my spaghetti sauce and I've never had a problem browning the
>> meat. I've tried using my SS skillet but it is not high enough to hold
>> it
>> all.
>
> I have a hunch that "one man's browning might be another man's cooking",
> and so there is a wide variety of what actually is called browning.
> What some of my friends call browning is not certainly steaming, and it
> indeed does keep much of the juice and avoids that boiled-meat taste, but
> it does not add the flavor of "gently carmelized" meat I want when I
> brown.
I have a hunch you are right. I call it browning when the meat is a
reasonably mid to dark brown when I'm done. I don't think it's called
browning if it is grey or very light brown colored.
Course, since I've started making my own meat-spaghetti sauce (is that a
ragoo?) from scratch and not out of a jar, I've found that I always saute
(or sweat?) some diced onions and garlic in the pan first before I add the
hamburger and sausage (we prefer spicy Italian sausage)
Ok, this is where being a novice in the cooking world comes to life for me.
I know what I'm doing when it comes to, say, sauteing (or sweating) some
diced onions for my sauce but I don't know the correct culinary terms for
what I'm doing. What the hell is the difference between a saute and a sweat?
About the only difference I can see between them is the temp difference. Is
there more to it than that?
> Just a hunch there is a wide variation in what people (accurately) think
> of as browning.
You do realize that you've turned this thread into a major thread, right?
;->
Bret
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