Preferred searing surface?

Made some very juicy porkchops the other night but feel I messed up the sear. Used a non-stick but wonder if I should have used the cast iron or stainless steal pan? Can you offer this sou vide noob some searing secrets? Would you use one for pork or chicken, another for beef?

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Comments

Johan_Edstrom_5586

Cast iron, you want it silly hot, it might take a little while on a regular domestic stove

, if you are going to torch, use a cast iron pan on a wood cutting board.
Some non-stick pans even recommend against heating them up to searing levels.

meyer8863

+1 with @Johan_Edstrom_5586. There are two big reasons I choose cast iron.

1. You want it hot enough, that it would actually be pretty hard on the non-stick pan.

2. Cast iron pans are particularly heavy. While this means they take much longer to heat up, that also means that have much more energy to transfer to the food in the pan.

Good luck!

Andy_N__316340

Cast iron. Non-stick (teflon) shouldn't be used at high Temps.

Cast iron is the way to go or those tri-ply pans.

Brandon_Byrd_40557

Cast iron or carbon steel. Or a deep fryer (messy, but a totally even sear on all sides at the same time). Or charcoal.

fisher23

I really like my Darto carbon steel pans for searing. Heated hot enough that the oil smokes as soon as it hits the pan.

meyer8863

I had never heard of those pans before. They look awesome!

fisher23

ChefSteps has used them for years. There are a good number of us here who use and love them. Do a search and just type in Darto at the top of this page. They are made in Argentina, shipping can be pricy but if you order the set it includes free shipping, which makes them very reasonable. Shipping is via DHL and only takes a few days. If you season them properly they are very non stick as well.

Mike_Kisiel_129680

Same here. Darto is a great pan.

HammeredChef_DEFINITELY_does_NOT_work_at_22134

All the points below are very valid....in addition...you could never get teflon or even the ceramic pans as hot as any steel because the original development and use of both teflon and ceramic were for the INSULATING properties, i.e.

space capsule reentry shields, shuttle nose cones etc. In essence you are protecting the meat from the heat source...yep, a sober moment....but it's early yet..

AngelArs_240456

I am rather particular when it comes to searing. I have tried many surfaces. Nothing has worked better, and given me more - control - over the seared surface than using a Searzall. Now instead of just rolling the dice with a pan, I always use the Searzall and it always comes out perfectly.

wolfiegirl

I've been collecting cast iron for years so you know where I stand. FWIW.

hairyotter_273859

You can't go wrong with carbon steel