What did I do, broil, braise or fry?

[vilasman1]

I had this piece of lamb, I olive oiled it,kosher salt, pepper and rosemary, then it put it in my cast iron grill pan, which was sizzle water hot and let it cook till it started to show the lines, then I put it in the broiler till I though it was done. Started eating ut and found it to be a little rare on the inside so it is on the grill pan now on its edge cooking or burning one.
But what technique is this that I am screwing up and how do i do it right?

 

[norgeskog]

Re: what did I do,broil,braise or fry?

I had this piece of lamb, I olive oiled it,kosher salt, pepper and rosemary, then it put it in my cast iron grill pan, which was sizzle water hot and let it cook till it started to show the lines, then I put it in the broiler till I though it was done. Started eating ut and found it to be a little rare on the inside so it is on the grill pan now on its edge cooking or burning one.
But what technique is this that I am screwing up and how do i do it right?

Cook it longer, I use the same method for pork chops and steak because in a cast iron grill pan you get the nice lines, then I turn it over in another hot castiron skillet and into my toaster oven until done, this way I get the juices to make a sauce out of chicken or beef stock, wine and herbs. Test for doneness by poking with your finger, the firmer it is the more done it is.

 

[vilasman1]

why do you use the second cast iron skillet? is it a regular skillet or a grill pan?

 

[norgeskog]

why do you use the second cast iron skillet? is it a regular skillet or a grill pan?

regular flat bottommed cast iron. With the other one it is hard to have any juices so I just transfer it.

 

[vilasman1]

mine (grill pan) was guess i slathered it with to much olive oil

 

[norgeskog]

mine (grill pan) was guess i slathered it with to much olive oil

It does not require much, I use a brush because otherwise it just sits in the slits and burns.

 

[Otter]

Go light on the olive oil and shove it in the oven on the hot skillet. yum!

 

[ironchef]

what you did was, you grilled then broiled.

next time, set your oven on bake instead of broil to about 425 degrees, and cook the lamb longer if you want it more done. If you rubbed/marinated/brushed the lamb in olive oil, then you shouldn't need any more if you're going to grill it. just don't move the lamb once you add it to the grill before it has had a chance to sear and it won't stick. it should come off fine as long as you have that nice char on the surface of the lamb.

 

[buckytom]

lamb is generally greasy, so it doesn't need much oil, if any at all. i grill lamb frequently, and only put on evoo when i want that flavor.

 

[vilasman1]

I understand grill and broil
Now what is sear and braise? What would I have done differently? And is there a rule of thumb on how long the meat has to stay in the pan before crust forms?

 

[Michael in FtW]

SEAR: To brown meat quickly by subjecting it to very high heat either in a skillet, under a broiler or in a very hot oven. The object of searing is to seal in the meat's juices, which is why British cooks often use the word "seal" to mean the same thing.

BRAISE: A cooking method by which food (usually meat or vegetables) is first browned in fat, then cooked, tightly covered, in a small amount of liquid at low heat for a lengthy period of time. The long, slow cooking develops flavor and tenderizes foods by gently breaking down their fibers. Braising can be done on top of the range or in the oven. A tight-fitting lid is very important to prevent the liquid from evaporating.

Lamb is normally cooked a little on the rare (pink inside) side.

ROAST: as a verb not a noun - To oven-cook food in an uncovered pan, a method that usually produces a well-browned exterior and ideally a moist interior. Roasting requires reasonably tender pieces of meat or poultry. Tougher pieces of meat need moist cooking methods such as braising

Don't know what cut of lamb you had - what kind of crust you were trying to develop .... or even why .... but I usually roast (on a rack) something like a leg of lamb without searing and it first (just a brushing of EVOO and a sprinkle of salt/pepper/rosemary) and it comes out with a nice crispy crust.

 

[vilasman1]

Thank you!
I have to print all of this... most of the time when I am on I am on my pocket PC... screen 2" by 4" maybe. Everything looks so tiny but I have to go to laptop to print

 

[jennyema]

You did not actually grill because you didn't cook over a direct heat source. You used a pan. A grill pan just puts marks on the food.

I avoid using the broiler to actually cook anything. Unless you have a commercial grade salamander, it's a pretty bad way to actually cook food (as opposed to browning it).

Next time i would season the meat, then sear the meat briefly in a very hot regular cast iron sillet and then finish in a very hot oven till desired doneness (in same pan). This is an exceptional method for any kind of meat. So simple, yet such uniformly great results.

Braising by definition means cooking slowly in liquid. Usually used for tough cuts like pot roast and stew.

 

[chez suz]

I'm with Jennyama..I stopped broiling quite some time ago...I start my chops in a very hot cast iron pan that has been well seasoned..then when they are brown on both sides I put in a 450 oven till done..testing for doneness with the touch test to see how soft or firm the meat is.

 

[vilasman1]

I tried what you all said and it worked for the most part. I got it browned it sufficiently in the grill pan on the stove and then into the oven at 450. It was done to my satisfaction but it didn't get as crusty outside as i would like. I think I tried to cook it to hot. It seems that you don't want your pan fire roasting red hot, but just barely, sizzle water hot.

 

[Michael in FtW]

I tried what you all said and it worked for the most part. I got it browned it sufficiently in the grill pan on the stove and then into the oven at 450. It was done to my satisfaction but it didn't get as crusty outside as i would like. I think I tried to cook it to hot. It seems that you don't want your pan fire roasting red hot, but just barely, sizzle water hot.

Key thing I noticed was you said "grill pan". A grill pan has ridges so you are only going to sear ridges on the meat - not the entire surface of the meat. To that - you need something with a flat bottom - such as a skillet.

To get the crusty surface - yep - you want the skillet blazing hot. When you "sear" the surface of the meat you create the "crust" ... you finish the cooking in the over.

 

[vilasman1]

so you cant get a good sear and pretty grill marks... #$%& the grill marks, it's about the taste and the goodness...
I feel good! I'm learning!

 

[vilasman1]

so you cant get a good sear and pretty grill marks... #$%& the grill marks, it's about the taste and the goodness...
I feel good! I'm learning!

 

[vilasman1]

why is broiling a bad idea with anything less than a commercial salamander?

 

[chez suz]

why is broiling a bad idea with anything less than a commercial salamander?

Most home broilers are not hot enough to give you that outside crust...We have an infra red broiler at home and although good...it still doesn't compare to the very hot cast iron skillet method.
Last nite I made a Hanger Steak in my cast iron pan..it never had to go in the oven to finish...the outside of the meat looked as though it came off a barbecue. Crust outside poink inside.
The only downside to this method is that it creates a lot of smoke...our exhaust fan is on the blink!