Browning of Meat

Some recipes require the meat to be browned first. This does not (and never has) seal in the moisture, whatever a thousand witless TV chefs might profess. Harold McGee, author of On Food and Cooking (Hodder & Stoughton, 1984), has long proved this errant. No, one browns meat to get more flavour, thanks to the wonders of the Maillard reaction. Named after Louis Camille Maillard, a French physician and chemist, this is the process that creates the cooked colour and flavour of everything, from bread crust and roasted coffee to dark beers and roasted meats. On meat, it produces that wonderful caramelised crust. But you do need a high heat. Heat the oil until it smokes, then brown the meat in batches (if you overfill the pan, the meat will sweat rather than brown. Like me sitting by the pool). Drop it in, leave for about a minute, then turn and leave for the same amount of time. You want dark-brown streaks rather than insipid grey hues.