Butter/oil heating question

[pacanis]

OK. I usually cook with margarine, adding olive oil (or EVOO) for flavor about halfway through. I do this because I always end up burning butter if I am trying to cook or brown something in it that takes a while.
Tonight I am trying Swiss steak for the first time. Not the red (tomato) kind, BTW, a James Beard recipe. The recipe says oil or butter to brown the meat, so I figure why not butter. I should mention I am using the SS saute pan that came in today, too. This is the second thing I've cooked in a SS pan. The heat is a little above medium on the knob.... quite a bit below high if you are judging by the flame height. I heat the pan. Using the hot pan cold oil philosophy, I add the butter after I feel the pan is heated. Before it is completely melted I add some olive oil and "roll" the pan to mix it up. I added the oil because I heard where it keeps butter from burning and I am already leery of that....

Well, before the butter is all melted, nothing is smoking and nothing is bubbling.... the liquid turned a medium brown. It doesn't smell burned and I reduced the heat even further immediately.... The meat browned up nicely when put in.... everything is smelling pretty good right now, but is it supposed to turn brown? Was I on the verge (sp?) of burning the butter again?

Help

 

[Robt]

I think you were about burnt. I was taught to heat the oil and then add the butter. That same cook used about 50-50 oil to butter.

I'm curious what the real chefs have to say. Although I would have browned off the meat in oil only and added the butter later in the cooking for the butter taste.

 

[Candocook]

OK. I usually cook with margarine, adding olive oil (or EVOO) for flavor about halfway through. I do this because I always end up burning butter if I am trying to cook or brown something in it that takes a while.
Tonight I am trying Swiss steak for the first time. Not the red (tomato) kind, BTW, a James Beard recipe. The recipe says oil or butter to brown the meat, so I figure why not butter. I should mention I am using the SS saute pan that came in today, too. This is the second thing I've cooked in a SS pan. The heat is a little above medium on the knob.... quite a bit below high if you are judging by the flame height. I heat the pan. Using the hot pan cold oil philosophy, I add the butter after I feel the pan is heated. Before it is completely melted I add some olive oil and "roll" the pan to mix it up. I added the oil because I heard where it keeps butter from burning and I am already leery of that....

Well, before the butter is all melted, nothing is smoking and nothing is bubbling.... the liquid turned a medium brown. It doesn't smell burned and I reduced the heat even further immediately.... The meat browned up nicely when put in.... everything is smelling pretty good right now, but is it supposed to turn brown? Was I on the verge (sp?) of burning the butter again?

Help

Just use oil, especially for meat where the butter flavor isn't what is going to prevail. Maybe butter for seafood.
Butter has a low smoke/burn point. If you want to sear meat, the grease that you use has to be able to stand the heat. And your SS pan is the thing to use to sear/brown meat.

 

[Andy M.]

Add a tablespoon of butter to the oil. When they are hot, the butter will begin to brown. That's not a bad thing. Brown butter adds a teriffic flavor to the food.

You don't have to turn down the heat, just add the meat and that will cool the pan enough to keep the butter from progressing beyond brown to burned.

 

[Poutine]

Use clarified butter (butter that has the milk solids and water taken out) - it has a much higher smoke point but still gives you a nice butter taste.

 

[pacanis]

Thanks for the comments.
I too think it was just about to burn, but everything came out great tasting so I guess I lucked out and got the good tatse of brown butter. If it had smelled burnt I would have started over, probably with just the oil. I'm thinking I should not have been waiting for the last of the butter to melt before adding the meat and next time will add the food rather than turning the heat down, but I thought the liquid wasn't hot enough yet.
Can you buy clarified butter? I hate to take the time to make it. I'll go back to margarine before that happens (lol).

Thanks again!

 

[Andy M.]

Margerine will not behave the same as butter in a hot pan. I'd stick to the butter.

You can buy ghee in markets that cater to the Indian population. Ghee is clarified butter.

 

[pacanis]

Ghee.....
I've never heard of an Indian market around where I live. The only Indian restaurant closed 10 years ago even, but maybe I'll find some in the grocery superstore.
Thanks

 

[Caine]

It is not all that difficult to melt some butter, and skim it.

 

[Ali]

I've found that adding Pam cooking spray and then the margarine or butter, sometimes helps.

~Ali

 

[winston]

I agree, use clarified butter or ghee, however most ghee nowadays is not in fact clarified butter as claimed earlier but is made from vegetable oils...

You can make clarified butter at home by very slowly boiling butter in a pan, the solids will stick to the bottom and the water will boil away, leave to cool slightly and pour off the pure clarified butter.... make a load as it keeps in the fridge in a sealed container for ages!!!

 

[black chef]

i NEVER use margarine... stopped about 12 yrs ago.

i use BUTTER in my seafood recipes.
i use clarified butter or ghee (added to another oil) for searing, etc.

and as the other guy said, don't worry if it starts smoking... just add the meat and it'll cool things down from there. after that, adjust the heat down just a little.

 

[pacanis]

I have gotten more used to cooking with straight butter in the meantime. You're right, heat has a lot to do with it. I am cooking at much lower heat now than what I used to. Probably because my new pans conduct much better.

 

[evenstranger]

Just FYI, I spotted clarified butter for the first time in my dairy case at Harris Teeter. Didn't get it 'cause the sticker shock (about $9 for a 1 lb. tub), but it's nice to know it's there. I've been cooking with butter for years, and sometimes, I'll add some olive oil to raise the smoke point, but overall, keep the heat down a bit, don't be afraid of a little brown or smoke. I usually add whatever I'm cooking when the butter stops foaming and the color changes from yellow/clear to light amber.

 

[Lizannd]

If you heat the oil first then you can add the butter

right before you put the meat in to sear. The butter doesn't have to be COMPLETELY melted so if it appears to be browning to fast adding the meat will stop it from burning.

 

[jennyema]

Throw away the margerine, for sure. It's vegetable oil in solid form via hydrogenation. Use liquid vegetable oil instead.

And/or butter.

 

[pacanis]

Yep. Don't even have any margarine left and don't intend to buy any. I have spreadable butter for my toast even.
Two kinds of butter and three kinds of oil... not counting what I keep in my fryer. I'm sure that's low my many of you, but that's a lot for me.

 

[VegasDramaQueen]

Using clarified butter is the answer and you can do this very easily. If you don't want to make this every time then make a large batch and freeze it. Add the butter AFTER you add the olive oil and keep your heat at medium to medium low. I do this all the time and have no problems. I wouldn't use margarine for ANYTHING. Stick with butter. Oops sorry for the pun.