Sometimes, I have cuts of meat/fish (mostly fish) that have dramatically uneven thickness. I like to pan sear, so how would I cook it so the thinner ends are still tender, but the thicker ends are not undercooked?
-
1It is often desirable, and a pleasant eating experience, to have different parts of a protein cooked to different levels of doneness. This is a good example of why, sometimes, sous vide produces a less than optimal eating experience. Eaters expect and enjoy this doneness gradient.– moscafjOct 1, 2019 at 10:51
2 Answers
It's quite the challenge. The two things I do are lift the thin end off the hot surface with something spatula-like or the edge of the pan, leaving the thicker part on the heat. The other thing is sear relatively quickly and then move the whole pan with fish in it to the oven, this method good with very thick meat. There's also the option of sous vide.
I like to put the pan half on and half off the burner. This will help create a cooler area for thinner meat while the thick part still has direct heat. You can also cut the meat or fish to similar sizes before cooking. This way you can get the sear and not lose juices by cutting mid cook. You can also use a cooking hammer and flatten out thicker areas to match thicknesses.