Learn to Sear — Brown Food Tastes Better

The Maillard reaction — the chemical process that happens when food browns in a hot pan — creates hundreds of complex flavor compounds that do not exist in raw or gently cooked food. Learning to sear properly is the single technique that will most dramatically improve your cooking. It works on steak, chicken, pork chops, salmon, mushrooms, tofu, and even vegetables.

The rules are simple: get the pan very hot, make sure the surface of the food is dry (pat it with paper towels), do not overcrowd the pan, and do not touch the food until it releases on its own. If you have to tug to flip it, it is not ready. When you hear a loud sizzle and see a deep golden-brown crust forming, you are doing it right. That crust is pure flavor.