Heads up about how long you're holding your pans before searing

I kept wondering why my restaurant's steaks had uneven crusts, turns out my line cooks were tossing the meat in the pan as soon as it hit the heat. After ruining 12 orders on a Friday night, I timed it and we needed a full 90 seconds undisturbed for that proper Maillard reaction. Has anyone else caught their crew rushing the sear like this?

2 comments

2 Comments

gavinhunt1mo ago

Dude I am 100% the guy who would slap a steak in the pan the second it touched the burner and wonder why it looked like a map of the moon. I once had a shift where I burned my hand on the handle because I was so eager to flip the thing after like 20 seconds. My crusts were either pale and sad or straight up burnt on one side and raw on the other. I feel this post so hard man, we all gotta learn to chill out and let that pan do its thing.

ivanl761mo agoMost Upvoted

Did you try patting it dry with paper towels first?