Hi I'm Cheryl from California - Question about sauteeing

:confused:
Hi Everyone!

My name is Cheryl and I basically just cook for my family. I really like to cook and sometimes get creative and things taste wonderful, other times, it's food my dog won't want.

I feel kinda stupid but I was wondering if someone could explain what exactly sautee means. I need to sautee some chicken today and it says to do it for 25 min or until cooked through. I really don't want to screw it up. It's Chicken marsala.

I'm used to stir frying, baking, boiling... but sautee?! I just don't know really what it means.

Thanks.!

The closest approximation I can make is to fry lightly and quickly.

When you saute' you shake the pan instead of stirring, this prevents sticking and browning.

Can anyone explain this better? I am confusing myself now.

Welcome to Chef Talk, Cheryl! We hope you enjoy browsing the forums, cooking articles, cookbook reivews and recipes. There's so much here!

I'm a home cook like you, so I'll try to build on what mredikop explained. I've made chicken marsala (and chicken picatta) many times, so I'll try to explain how I do it.

Yes, sauteeing for a dish like this is like frying in that you're cooking the chicken (boneless pieces, right?) in a little oil (or butter and oil, or just butter). Let the meat sit in the pan (which is over medium heat). Resist the temptation to move it around for this dish. You're going to want to build up some of that tasty brown stuff ("fond") to make a sauce later.

When the meat has browned to a golden color and doesn't stick very much, turn it over and do the same to the other side. As long as the pieces aren't too thick (not more than 1/3" or so) it won't take more than four or five minutes on each side- even a bit less on the second side.

You have just sauteed chicken for your dish.

I'll stop there since we're in the Welcome Forum (which is really just for introductions). I encourage you to start a thread in the "Food and Cooking Questions and Discussion" forum. Or, you can try using our search tool to find more. If you're overwhelmed by too much information you can send a Private Message to me (just click on my name on the main page- over to the right) and I'll walk you through it.

Whew! I hope that helps a bit. We hope you visit and participate often.

Mezzaluna

Hi Cheryl,

I wouldn't trust a recipe that tells you to saute any meat for 25mins. Burned charred meat is only ever nice at a bbq.

I have a handy hint for cooking chicken breasts that keeps them moist while imparting a lovely flavour.

Make a simple stock by adding 2oz butter, several sprigs of tarragon, a peeled shallot, a peeled & crushed garlic clove and a few whole peppercorns to a pan of water (enough to cover your chicken, when added). Bring this to the boil and simmer for 20-25 mins. Add your chicken breasts and poach in the gently simmering stock for 4-5 mins.

Remove the chicken from the stock, pat dry with kitchen paper, season with salt & pepper and then finish cooking by frying, in olive oil for 2-3 mins per side.

You can even strain the stock through a seive and use it as the base for a soup of your choice adding more water and boullion as required.

Hope all goes well.

Iain

Thanks for the Responses!

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for the responses to my question about sauteeing. I get worried about cooking chicken thoroughly so I did end up choppin it up to make sure it was cooked. Everyone liked the dish but I think it could have been better and nice time I will use your advice. I just posted too late and had to give it a try on my own.

Cheryl