Browning is the process of partially cooking the surface of
meat to develop its flavor through various
browning reactions and give it a more attractive color.
It is a common first step in cooking
braised meats and
stews.
Techniques
Browning is typically done using a
frying pan
A frying pan, frypan, or skillet is a flat-bottomed pan used for frying, searing, and browning foods. It is typically in diameter with relatively low sides that flare outwards, a long handle, and no lid. Larger pans may have a small grab han ...
, which is generally preheated to a medium high temperature to avoid sticking. In order to brown properly, the meat should first have surface moisture removed. This is usually achieved by patting the meat with a paper towel to remove water.
Ground meat
Ground meat, called mince or minced meat outside North America, is meat finely chopped by a meat grinder or a chopping knife. A common type of ground meat is ground beef, but many other types of meats are prepared in a similar fashion, incl ...
is frequently browned before adding other ingredients, as when it is added to
casseroles or prepackaged food products like
Hamburger Helper
Hamburger Helper is a packaged food product from Eagle Foods. As boxed, it consists of a dried carbohydrate (often pasta or rice), with powdered seasonings contained in a packet. The consumer is meant to combine the contents of the box with brow ...
, where the final cooking temperature will not be high enough to initiate the
Maillard reaction
The Maillard reaction ( ; ) is a chemical reaction between Amino acid, amino acids and Reducing sugar, reducing sugars that gives browned food its distinctive flavor. Searing, Seared steaks, fried dumplings, cookies and other kinds of biscuits, b ...
. It is stirred during cooking to break it up and to promote even browning.
Onion
An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onio ...
s and
seasonings are sometimes added. When the meat has reached the desired degree of brownness, the pan is removed from the heat and the excess fat is drained.
See also
*
Searing
Searing (or pan searing) is a technique used in grilling, baking, braising, roasting, sautéing, etc., in which the surface of the food (usually meat such as beef, poultry, pork, seafood) is cooked at high temperature until a browned crust forms ...
References
{{Cooking techniques
Cooking techniques
Culinary terminology