Pan-Frying

As promised bitch, here’s everything you need to know about pan-frying. Pan-frying is a method of cooking where you place large cuts of meat, fish, chicken or vegetables into a shallow pan and let them sit in the fat medium, rather than move it around like you would do when sautéing. Here are the differences. Learn ‘em bitch!:

 

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SAUTÉ AND PAN-FRYING

 

When you sauté, you cut the food into smaller pieces, rather than leave it whole (i.e. a chicken breast or pork chop) when you pan-fry.

You will leave the food to sit in the fat and merely flip it once to cook both sides, as opposed to moving it around the pan when sautéing.

You will most likely use a little more oil so the food doesn’t burn.

 

WHY THE HELL SHOULD I PAN- FRY?

 

Well, bitch, there are a few benefits of pan-frying. Firstly, it tastes pretty damn good. Secondly, you use a helluva lot less oil or fat than if you were to use another frying method such as deep-frying. This is a good thing because you will not clog your arteries as fast. It also results in a lot less calories than deep-frying so you won’t get as fat and subsequently… get dead.

 

SO, HOW DO I DO IT?

 

Well, it’s pretty damn simple. If you screw this up… well then, you’re more of an idiot than I previously thought. That being said, the most common fails with this method are A) not using enough oil and B) using too high a temperature setting. That will result in you burning your food. Don’t be a dumbass and burn your food. Here are the steps:

1. Prepare your meat or vegetable by seasoning it, and if you’re not a lazy bitch, lightly flouring it. The flour will help to form a crust on the meat and sear in the juices, so it’s worth the extra two seconds of prep.
2. Heat the pan.
3. Add the oil or fat medium. You should use enough oil to completely cover the bottom of the frying pan and let it rise about a quarter of an inch high.
4. Let the oil heat completely by setting it to medium high.
5. Place your food in the pan and don’t move it around. Monitor the heat so you don’t burn the food.
6. Flip the food to ensure it is cooked on both sides and cooked through.

 

Usually, you will accompany the food with some sort of sauce to enhance the flavor. You can learn all about making sauces here in the Sauce-Making Lesson.