What is the best / safest pan / material for use when searing meat after sous vide cooking? I cooked steak tonight using Anova, and then used culinary torch to brown the meat. I noticed that the aluminum foil that lined the pan (when torch flame was deflected off of meat onto the aluminum foil) was changing the shape of the aluminum foil where the heat was concentrated. Though I was able to prevent the metal from melting and/or getting into the food, I’m thinking aluminum foil may not be the best material to use underneath while using culinary torch to brown the meat.
Torch it on a pan or baking sheet.
Torch it on a pan or baking sheet.
I think I’ve seen recommendations to avoid torching on non stick baking sheets/pans. That sort of heat probably is no good for the teflon coating.
Doing a little searching, I found this:
Claims (toward bottom) that it can withstand temperatures up to 2500 fahrenheit. A little expensive, but probably worth it to be worry-free about whether the materials you’re putting under the torch will be able to function properly in that kind of heat.
It's probably bad for the teflon coating and definitely bad for some tropical birds (like parrots) in the area since it gives off dangerous fumes if you get the teflon hot enough. It is kindof like how coal miners used to take canaries into the mines with them. The canary acted as a kind of early warning system where if the canary passed out then it was time for the workers to get out before they became overcome with the dangerous gasses.Torch it on a pan or baking sheet.I think I’ve seen recommendations to avoid torching on non stick baking sheets/pans. That sort of heat probably is no good for the teflon coating.
Torch it on a pan or baking sheet.I think I’ve seen recommendations to avoid torching on non stick baking sheets/pans. That sort of heat probably is no good for the teflon coating.
@Mindflux, Great insight. Will a pan/baking sheet without teflon work? Would you recommend a cast iron pan and/or aluminum baking sheet? Thanks!
I’ve used a roasting type rack over an enameled type roasting pan with success.
Yeah. Why not just go with your trusty cast iron skillet?
Thank you all for your feedback and suggestions. After additional research and contemplating, I ended up going with the Xtrema Ceramic Cookware. Here is a link I found to be useful when deciding:
This is the product I ended up going with:
Quick update. I mentioned previously that I purchased the “ceramcor Xtrema 6 qt baking pan”. Tonight I broke it in. First I should say that I think shipping is baked into their price because I received the package yesterday, which would make that 2-day shipping for me.
When I first received the pan there were notices in the package that I should consider heating the pan to low to medium heat before exposing it to extreme heat. Of course I forgot all about that when the time came, anxious to try it out. I’m happy to say there were no issues. It held up well.
Now that I’ve tested it out, I feel I can now strongly vouch for the material the pan is made out of. Even when browning the edges of the steak with the culinary torch I had no concerns that the pan was not holding up in the extreme heat.
No odd tastes / smells coming from the meat either. From my research I saw that alot of people have complained about odd smells / tastes coming from their meat after browning it with a butane culinary torch (primarily attributing the tastes / smells to the butane itself). I was even considering purchasing the “Searzall” which claims it helps to reduce or remove smells or tastes that seep into the meat during the searing process. After my experience tonight I’m 99% certain most if not all odd smells / tastes coming from using a culinary torch are actually coming from the metal or other materials people are putting their sous vide entree on for searing.
The steak I was testing with was about 1.75lb (bone-in), cooked medium to medium-rare. While eating I realized I was probably enjoying a $50+ steak for $20.
I’ve been using a stainless steel pizza pan with a Searzall broiler.I put the pizza pan over a small baking pan to catch any drippings. It all sits on a Wilton Trim-n-Turn rotating cake stand. Helps to move the food around while broiling. I’ve also used a Lodge cast iron skillet and when I got really lazy, a non-stick frying pan.
@datashovel said:
What is the best / safest pan / material for use when searing meat after sous vide cooking? I cooked steak tonight using Anova, and then used culinary torch to brown the meat. I noticed that the aluminum foil that lined the pan (when torch flame was deflected off of meat onto the aluminum foil) was changing the shape of the aluminum foil where the heat was concentrated. Though I was able to prevent the metal from melting and/or getting into the food, I’m thinking aluminum foil may not be the best material to use underneath while using culinary torch to brown the meat.
I know this is a relatively new technology in the kitchen. The only decent resource I can find on safe pans is stone frying pans.
I have used a cast iron skillet (a CI griddle should work just fine too), a raised stainless steel cooling rack (over a short sided baking pan to keep the drippings down and heat off of a rotating cake decorator, and an “old” ceramic frying pan all without any trouble. Your culinary torch should not be pointed directly at the cooking surface anyway, for any great length of time. I use a Searzall handheld broiler that has worked very well. What I would like to find is a stand alone propane searing station I can use indoors or outdoors.