Why not brown before breading?

I love fried stuff. But one thing I've always wondered is why not brown meat before breading and frying? Obviously there's plenty of browning that goes on because the outside is fried, but the inside is basically steaming. Why not quickly sear your meat before breading it to make chicken fried steak? Why not quickly sear chicken before making chicken parmigiana? Wouldn't it add another layer of flavor?

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meyer8863

I think the reason you don't sear then fry, is because it would be redundant.... And frying does a better job of transferring the heat (and therefore browning) than searing would. It would be like doing a method that is "pretty good" at browning, before doing something that is "really good" at browning. Plus... Its an extra step!

Just my guess,,, interesting idea!

Was there a particular result you're hoping to achieve with the searing before frying?

Jack_Lawrence_155138

This is just a guess, but I think the breading would fail to bind with the meat as well.

wolfiegirl

One word comes to mind... overcooked.

JasonWirth_68226

Try some experiments, we're all awaiting your research.

I don't see why it couldn't work. Three words come to mind... too much work.

I don't want to do all that work for only a little bit more flavor.

Amos_Schorr_168815

It wouldn't be overcooked unless I decided to overcook it.

Amos_Schorr_168815

Why?

Amos_Schorr_168815

But it's not redundant. When you fry something breaded, you're browning the breading. Redundancy implies that there's no added value at all, but by browning the meat, you get more flavor. It IS an extra step, but it doesn't seem like a particularly annoying one.

My particular desired result? More flavor.

meyer8863

Maillard reactions start around 285F, which means no matter how thin the layer, you're cooking the surface of the beef to at least 285 F. Then you're going to bread it, and throw it in oil that is around 375F. My real concern is those brown flavor you develop in the first step, will turn into a burned flavor in the second step.

I encourage you to try it... its an interesting idea.

If you have the time, I would cool the protein between the searing and the breading... That will increase the time it can spend in the oil before overcooking.

brian_martin2001

Because of the physical changes that happen to the surface of the meat after searing. Searing the meat, while it doesn't seal anything in the meat, does change the surface considerable as compared to the surface of a raw piece of meat.

However, as you seem to disagree with most folks thoughts on why people do not sear before breading, why don't you get a junk cut of meat, something cheap and not all that important if you ruin it, sear it, try breading it, and examine your results to see if it's something worthwhile pursuing.

Amos_Schorr_168815

The actual meat surface of breaded meat often won't reach 285, because when things are too wet, it's very hard for them to get any hotter than the temp of boiling water. This is the problem I'm trying to solve.

And I would definitely cool after searing.

Amos_Schorr_168815

The breading falling off is the only thing I'm really concerned about. I've already cooked my food for the week, but I'll test it out soon.