In the little town where I was raised, fuel for cooking was always at a premium, as it was everywhere in France. Only the big hotels roasted lamb, beef, and poultry every day. Only the big brick oven of the boulanger baked loaves of crusty bread, which we youngsters were sent to buy each day, and the pâtisserie was the source of those irresistible sweet cakes, the gâteaux, petits fours, and friandises, But my mother and my grandmother knew ways of cooking that did not require great quantities of the carefully hoarded fagots. When we filled our big clay marmite with water, addeda plump old hen or beef and vegetables to make a nourishing soup and put it on the range to simmer, we could encourage the slowly rising bubbles with the merest handful of twigs.
Mais oui, savory soups, full-bodied stews, and perfectly blended sauces are all children of necessity. They have all been brought to perfection because the French needed to conserve fuel. But not all foods—and no one knows it better than a French cook—lend themselves to gentle simmering. Many foods are so tender that they would fall to pieces in the marmite. Besides, they need outside crispness, a golden-brown crustiness, to contrast with their tenderness and seal in their special succulence. For foods like these, Maman brought out the big black skillet. In it she heated clarified butter or fresh sweet fat drippings, and sautéed delicate foods in ten, fifteen, or at the most, twenty minutes. And just a few of the precious faggots, not nearly so many as roasting and broiling required, could supply the heat.
To say that sautéing, the subject of this month's article, is a method of cooking “fit for a king” is to use perhaps the worst kind of cliché, since there are so few kings to cook for these days. But it is a fact that Napoleon himself, once king and emperor of France, gave it his blessing. Anyone in Royal can tell you the story about the time Napoleon stopped in that little town just at lunchtime and went for his midday meal to the local inn, which, because it was run by the miller's pretty wife, was called La Belle Meunière. Napoleon, like other travelers in France, knew that if he ordered a spécialité de la maison he could be sure of something extra good. So he asked what the specialty of the house was, and the answer with 300 out an instant's hesitation was, “la truite sautée.” La belle meunière herself cooked and served the fish for the great man in the local way, sautéed and dressed simply with a few drops of lemon juice, a little finely chopped parsley, and a generous spoonful of butter cooked to a hazelnut brown. Napoleon was delighted, declared that he had never eaten better fish, and named the dish truite sautée belle meunière, as a tribute to the miller's wife. In France, trout cooked in this manner is still called by that name. And all over the world, wherever there are French cooks, any dish dressed with browned butter is called belle meunière or beurre meunière.
Sautéing is confusing to some American cooks, just as the word “frying,” as used by Americans, is anything but clear to the French. In the French cuisine there are two ways of cooking in fat on the top of the stove. One is to sauté, to cook in a shallow pan in a small amount of fat, not more than a quarter of on inch deep. As a matter of fact, sometimes the bottom of the pan is merely coated with fat. The other way is to fry, sometimes called “deep fry,” in enough far to submerge the food or permit it to floar on the surface. But no French cook ever “fries” anything in half an inch or so of far in a shallow pan, which I understand is a common method in this country and is the reason why the term “frying pan” is in bad repute.
I am not going to urge you to throw away your frying pans, because I know what a valuable utensil a frying pan, or skillet, is. Instead I am going to tell you how to use it properly, in the French way.
First the pan itself. In France it is called either sautéuse or sautoir; in America, frying pan or skillet. These pans are made in two ways. The sides may slant out and away from the bottom of the pan or the sides may rim the pan at right angles to the bottom. If the sides flare, the steam escapes more quickly and encourages the maintaining of a crisp surface. But in either case the sides are never deeper than one and a half or two inches. Many different metals are used to make these pans: there are the old-fashioned ones of castiron or tin-lined copper, the more modern aluminum, the copper-and-stain less steel combinations, and the iron pans coated with colored enamels. All of them are excellent if—and this is very important—the metal is thick enough. Because sautéing is done over good brisk heat, a very heavy metal pan that will diffuse the hear evenly is a necessary. Otherwise the food will not brown evenly and often will not be cooked through. Thin pans too often overcook or even scorch the surface of the fond before the inside is done. Also, when food is sautéed, the entire surface should he in contact with the bottom of the pan at once and, unfortunately, thin metal tends to warp with use and lose its perfectly flat surface, so that the food browns unevenly.
In many French homes, the' skillets are passed down from mother to daughter. I remember particularly the great long handles of the two my mother inherited from her mother. They had been made originally for use in an open fireplace, and a very long handle is essential, of course, when the cook works before a big hot open fire. The forks for turning food were long-handled, too. My little grand-mère dispensed with the fork. She was very skillful at turning food by tossing it up in the air, which is, incidentally, the way this kind of cooking got its name: sautér means to jump. Everyone treasured the old pans because they cooked better than new ones, much better. They became seasoned from constant use; the heat and fat improved the metal in such a way that the foods browned evenly and seldom stuck to the pan even when very little fat was used. Furthermore, an iron pan that has been used regularly for a couple of generations is much less apt to rust than a brand new pan.
Your second consideration is the fat you choose. This depends to an extent upon your personal preference and sometimes on your pocketbook. Or you may like a certain kind of fat because you arc accustomed to it. have learned the “feel” of it, so that you can recognize by its appearance or odor the stage when it is just hot enough.
In fine cooking and in preparing delicately flavored foods, butter is the favorite fat. However, melted butter has a milky sediment that settles in the pan. This sediment scorches easily. Therefore, clarified butter is better to use for sautéing. To clarify butter, heat it until the froth rises. Spoon off the froth and pour the clear oil off the sediment.
Many people use drippings from a roasting pan in sautéing. If you wish to do this, spoon the fat out of the pan as it accumulates during the roasting process instead of waiting until the roast is cooked. Fat works better if it has not been subjected to much heal. Store the drippings in the refrigerator; in a warm kitchen they soon take on an off-flavor and may become rancid. Lamb fat, which has a strong flavor, is not recommended for sautéing, and chicken fat. which has a very individual flavor of its own, is not widely popular. Goose fat is excellent, second only to butter; beef and pork fat are fine, too.
If you plan to sauté pork chops or beef, cut some of the fat from the meat. Heat this suet or pork fat until the fat has cooked out and discard the brown cracklings that remain. This process is called “rendering” or “trying out.” You may also use a good salad oil. However, if a fat other than butter is used for sautéing, it should not be used to make a pan sauce. Always discard the cooking fat and add butter to the pan before starting the sauce. by adding a little butter to the pan after the fat has been discarded and cooking a little chopped shallot or onion in it until the onion is soft. Add 2 tablespoons stock or wine for each serving, deglaze the pan, cook until the liquid is reduced by half, and swirl in a little butter. To make a mushroom pan sauce, add the butter and ½ pound cleaned, sliced mushrooms. Cook them until they are soft, add a tablespoon finely chopped shallot or onion and ¼ to ½ cup gravy, and cook a few minutes. In the recipes that follow you will find variations of these pan sauces. All can be used interchangeably with steaks, chops, hamburger, liver, or veal scallops.
To Sauté Tournedos of Beef and Thin Steaks
Season the meat, cut less than 1 ½ inches thick, with salt and pepper. Heat enough clarified butter in a skillet to cover the bottom of the pan well. Arrange the pieces of meat side by side and brown [hem over high heat for 2 to 5 minutes on each side, depending on the thickness of the meat and the degree of doneness desired. Remove the meat to a serving dish. Add ¼ to ½ cup stock or red wine to the pan and cook, stirring in all the brown bits, until the liquid is reduced by half. Add 1 tablespoon butter, swirling it in by moving the pan in a circular motion, and pour the sauce over the meat.
Côtelettes d'Agneau Sautées (Sautéed Lamb Chops)
Season lamb chops, cut about 1 inch thick, with salt and pepper. Heat enough clarified butter in a skillet to cover the bottom. Cook the chops for 3 to 5 minutes on each side, depending on the degree of doneness desired. Remove the Chops to a warm platter. Add to the pan ½ tablespoon butter for each serving, cook the butter until it is hazelnut brown, and pour it over the chops.
Côtelettes de Pore Sautées (Sautéed Pork Chops)
Trim the surplus fat from 6 pork chops, each about ¾ inch thick, season the chops with salt and pepper, and rub them with Hour. Pur the trimmings of far in a heavy skillet add cook them slowly to render the fat; there should be enough to cover the bottom of the pan. Discard the solid bits. Arrange the chops in the pan so that the whole surface of each chop touches the bottom of the pan. Sauté them slowly about 12 to 15 minutes on each side. Sprinkle with chopped parsley. The flavor of pork liver is made more delicate by soaking the liver in milk for an hour or two. Drain and dry (he slices thoroughly before flouring them. Any moisture will create unwanted steam and destroy crispness.
Oignons Sautés (Sautéed Onions)
Heat enough clarified butter in a skillet to cover the bottom generously. Add peeled, sliced onions and cook them over moderate heat until they are richly golden and soft, stirring and turning them frequently to insure even cooking.
Champignons Sautés (Sautéed Mushrooms)
Remove the stems from 1 pound mushrooms and reserve them for another use. Wash the caps and peel them if the skins are tough. Season the mushrooms with salt and a little pepper. Heat 4 tablespoons clarified butter in a saucepan and sauté the mushrooms in it until they are golden brown. Serve them on toast or as an accompaniment to any sautéed meat. Pour over them the butter from the pan and sprinkle with finely chopped parsley.
Tomates Sautées (Sautées Tomatoes)
Cut firm tomatoes in thick slices, season the slices with salt, and roll them in flour. Heat oil or clarified butter in a heavy skillet and brown the tomato slices on both sides.
Sautéed bananas and apples make different and delicious garnishes for meat.
Bananes Sautées (Sautéed Bananas)
Heel bananas and halve them lengthwise; if the bananas are very large cut them in quarters. Heat enough clarified butter in a heavy skillet to cover the bottom well and cook the pieces of banana until they arc golden brown on both sides. Serve either as a garnish or in place of a vegetable.
Pommes Sautées (Sautéed Apples)
Select firm apples; Rome Beauty and Spitzenburg sauté well. Peel and cut them in small pieces, in balls, or in olive shapes, and roll the pieces in flour. Heat enough clarified butter in a skillet to cover the bottom of the pan well and cook the pieces of apple until they are golden brown and just tender, turning them often. Serve with pork.
Heat the fat very hot for sautéing to sear and seal the surface of the food immediately. Then finish the cooking quickly, over brisk heat. Beef, lamb, or liver, or any meat that is to be cooked only to the rare stage will be done by the time both sides are browned, providing that it is not much more than a half inch thick. But for meats like pork and veal, which should be well done, brown the meat, turn down the heat, and took it slowly until it is well done. To test sautéed meat for donencss, prick it with a sharp-tined kitchen fork, if the juice that comes out is clear, with no tinge of pink, the meat is well done; if the juice has a pink tinge, the meat is still rather rare. A good cook watches the food as it cooks and learns to recognize the various stages of browning and cooking and knows when to increase or decrease the heat.
Three rules should be remembered. Only very tender foods are suitable fur sautéing. Fish, the loin and rib chops of lamb, pork, or veal, liver, hamburger patties, beef filets, onions, mushrooms, and the like can be cooked by this quick method. Thick slices of meat cannot be successfully sautéed. Very thin slices, or escalopes, of veal or minute steaks can be cooked this way with far better results than can two-inch steaks, for instance. Finally, the pan should not be covered, because the steam thus held in will braise the food and destroy the crisp surface.
Some people like sautéed foods just as they come from the pan, without an accompaniment, some prefer only the browned butter, and some insist on having a sauce. The first way, of course, is the simplest. It is nearly as simple to discard the fat the food was cooked in and to brown some butter in the pan, about ½ to 1 tablespoon for each serving. If desired, a few drops of lemon juice and some finely chopped parsley can be sprinkled on the food, too. To make a simple pan sauce, discard the cooking fat, add either stock or wine, about 2 tablespoons for each serving, deglaze the pan—that is, stir in all the brown crustiness clinging to it—and cook the liquid until it reduces by half. Add salt to taste and if desired a little pepper. Finally, swirl in 1 or 2 tablespoons butter for each ¾ cup sauce by moving the pan in a circular motion. As soon as the butter melts, remove the pan from the heat and pour the sauce over the meat. When butter is swirled in this way it thickens the sauce.
A more elaborate pan sauce is made Prick the meat with a fork; if the juice shows no tinge of pink, the chops are done. Remove the chops to a serving dish, discard the excess fat, and add about ½ cup stock or red wine to the pan. Cook slowly, stirring in all the brown bits. Skim off the fat that rises to the surface. Cook the sauce until it is reduced by about one half, correct the seasoning, and pour it over the chops.
Côtelettes de Pore Cbarcutière (Sautéed Pork Chops Cbareutière)
Sauté pork chops and remove them to a serving dish. Pour off all fat from the pan except 1 tablespoon and add 1 tablespoon clarified butter. In this mixed fat, cook 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion until it is soft and golden. Add 1/3 cup white wine and 1 tablespoon vinegar and cook the wine until it is reduced to three fourths the original quantity. Add 1 cup tomato purée and I tablespoon beef extract and continue cooking the sauce slowly for 10 to 15 minutes. Correct the seasoning with salt and add 1 teaspoon prepared mustard, A or 5 slices sour pickle, and ½ tablespoon chopped parsley. Swirl in 1 tablespoon butter, moving the pan with a circular motion, and as soon as the butter melts, return the chops to the pan and heat the sauce until it reaches the boiling point, but do not let it boil. Arrange the chops on a serving dish and pour the sauce over them.
Escalopes de Veau Sautées an Beurre (Veal Scallops with Butter Sauce)
For each serving allow about 1/3 pound veal cut from the leg in slices less than ½ inch thick. Have the butcher flatten each piece with a mallet, Season the scallops with salt and pepper and rub them with a little flour. For 6 servings, heat 3 tablespoons clarified butter in a large heavy skillet and arrange the veal so that the whole surface of each scallop touches the bottom of the pan. (Use 2 skillets if necessary.) sauté the pieces until they are golden brown on each side, about 7 minutes in all. Remove the scallops to a serving dish and pour the butter over them. Add ¼ cup stock or white wine to the pan and cook, stirring in all the brown bits. Pour the sauce over the meat and sprinkle with finely chopped parsley.
Escalopes de Veau Sautées Chasseur (Veal Scallops Hunter Style)
Prepare veal scallops as described above, but after removing the meat to a serving dish, add to the butter in the pan ½ pound mushrooms, cleaned and sliced. Cook the mushrooms slowly until they are soft. Add 1 tablespoon finely chopped shallots or onion and about ½ cup white wine. Cook the wine until it is reduced to one half the original quantity and add ¼ cup tomato puree and 1 teaspoon beef extract. Cook the sauce for a few minutes and add 1 tablespoon chopped parsley and a little chopped tarragon. Pour the sauce over the meat.
Emincé de Boeuf an Vin Rouge (Hamburger with Red Wine Sauce)
Mix 1 ½ pounds chopped lean beef with a little salt and 3 tablespoons water or cream and shape the meat lightly into flat cakes about ¾ inch thick. The moisture and light handling insure succulence. Heat enough suet or good fat in a skillet to cover the bottom generously. Cook the meat 3 to 4 minutes on each side for hamburgers that arc to be served rare. Remove the meat to a serving dish. Discard the fat from the pan, but do not wash the pan. Add 1 tablespoon butter and ill it cook 1 teaspoon chopped shallot or onion until the onion is soft. Add ½ cup red wine and cook, stirring in all the brown crustiness, until the wine is rèduced a little. Pour the sauce over the meat.
Sautéed Calf's Liver with Bacon
Cook bacon, 2 slices for each serving, in a skillet until it is crisp, drain it on paper toweling, and keep it hot. Season slices of liver with a little salt, sprinkle them with flour, and shake off any surplus. Pour all but about 3 tablespoons of the hot bacon fat from the pan and in it brown the liver slices quickly, about 2 minutes on each side. Overcooking toughens liver. Remove the liver to a hot serving dish. Discard the fat from the pan. Do not wash the pan, but add to it ½ tablespoon butter for each slice of liver. Cook the butter until it is hazelnut brown. Sprinkle the liver with a few drops of lemon juice, pour the browned butter over it, and sprinkle with finely chopped parsley. Garnish the platter with the crisp bacon.
Foie de pore aux Oignons (Sautéed Pork Liver with Onions)
Allow 2 teaspoons butter, ½ onion, and 2 thin slices of pork liver for each serving. Melt clarified butter in a skillet, add the onions, sliced, and cook them until they are golden. Remove the unions to a warm place. Season slices of pork liver with salt and pepper, dust them with flour, and shake off any surplus. Heat some pork fat in another skillet, enough to cover the bottom of the pan generously, and in it sauté the liver over high heat until it is brown, about 2 minutes on each side. Remove the liver to a serving dish.
Discard the fat from the pan and add the cooked onions and 2 teaspoons vinegar for each serving, Bring this mixture to a boil and pour it over the liver.