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 If you're a meat eater like me then you can use the grill all the time or learn to sauté stuff in a pan. It's what the French do with every thing and the meat comes out with a nice brown crust on it and then you can make a little pan source to add some flavor. Once you get this cooking technique down you can take any piece of meat and make it taste delicious without adding a bunch of extra fat.
Basic Sauté
This method works great with chicken cutlets, pork loin chops, fish and steaks.
Heat a clean dry pan over medium heat. Season the meat with salt, pepper and spices. Pat the meat dry. Turn up the heat on the pan and add 1 to 2 tablespoons of oil or butter. Then add your meat or fish and leave things alone. Let things cooks for a few minutes while they brown and get a great flavor. It's easy to want to push it around, press on it, touch it and just keep it from cooking properly. Don't! Scallops and thin fish fillets need about 2 minutes while chicken cutlets, thin chops and salmon may need 3 to 4. Steaks and thick chops might need 4 to 5 minutes.
Flip the meat, lower the heat to medium and let cooks for the same amount of time plus a minute or three until the food is cooked through. If you're working with items 3/4 on inch or thicker you can remove them just before they reach desired doneness. Put them on a plate and create a tent with some foil and let them rest for 5 to 10 minutes.
Sauce From A Basic Sauté
After you remove the meat or seafood from the pan you should have some brown bits left in the pan. This is called fond. Non-stick pans don't leave much fond but they're easier to clean, it's harder to ruin a dish but your sauce will have less flavor then if you used a regular skillet.
Once the food is removed from the pan, remove the oil that's left in the pan (you can leave a small coating and up to about 1 tablespoon). Toss in some aromatics such as minced shallots, garlic, tomato paste, demi-glaze or ginger. Stir for about 30 seconds and then add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of liquid such as sherry, wine, apple juice or broth such as low-sodium chicken or vegetable. Using a wooden spoon scrape up any brown bits and cook over high heat until the liquid comes to a boil and starts evaporating. When it's cooked down to 1/2 or 1/3 add some fresh herbs, salt and pepper to taste and maybe even a splash of vinegar.
Sauté to Braising
This method is great for thick cuts of chicken breast, thick fish and tough cuts of meat. Basically you sauté the food as above but as soon as you remove the extra oil from the pan you put the meat right back in (or remove the oil while the meat is still in the pan), add your aromatics, possibly some additional veggies such as tomatoes, squash and onions and about 1 cup of liquid. Cover the pan and simmer (just a few small bubbles and steam) for 5 to 10 (or more) until the food is cooked through.
Sauté to Oven Roasting
This is perfect for thick steaks and chops. You can use this for thick chicken breasts but I prefer the braising method for poultry.
Once the item is sauté as mentioned above with a nice flavorful crust developed and you've removed the extra oil, place the entire pan in a preheated over between 350 and 450 degrees. Cook for an additional 5 to 10 minutes depending on the thickness and cut of the meat. Aren't you glad you didn't get a pan with rubber handles that would melt in your oven?
When the meat is cooked almost through, remove the pan and tie a kitchen towel around the handle because it's still 400 degrees and you don't want to grab it. Then remove the meat to a platter, tent with foil and make a pan sauce as mentioned above. You can also sauté mushrooms, onions and other vegetables at this point since the pan is hot and you have about 10 minutes before the meat can be served.
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