What Does Saute Mean In Cooking

How to Sauté Just About Anything in Your Trusty Go-To Pan

Need dinner on the double? Quick-cook vegetables, meat, or fish until golden by sautéing them in a small amount of fat. This cooking method is simple (and fast) enough for busy weeknights, with really tasty results.

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What does sauté mean? The word is culinary-speak for browning or cooking a food quickly over fairly high heat using a small amount of fat in a wide, shallow pan. The word "sauté" comes from the French word sauter, which means "to jump." Imagine a toque-capped (a toque is that classic puffy, white hat worn by chefs) chef shaking a pan of veggies back and forth while making the food jump in the air, and you get the idea. Fortunately, you can get the same jumpy, nonstick effect simply by stirring the food with a spatula or flipping it with tongs. Best of all, no matter how you choose to sauter, dinner will be done soon, as sautéing is one of the quickest cooking methods around. Here's everything to know about how to sauter comme un chef de cuisine! (How to sauté like a chef, that is! And we're done with today's vocab lesson.)

Empty 12-inch sauté pan with clear glass lid sitting on white surface.

What Is a Sauté Pan?

Start with the right equipment. While you can use a frying pan to sauté, the best option for sautéing is a sauté pan. A sauté pan ($88, Bed Bath & Beyond) has sides that are a little taller than the sides of a frying pan. These taller sides help keep food from spilling out of the pan as food is shaken, stirred, and flipped.

Sauté pans come in a variety of materials such as aluminum, stainless steel, and enameled cast iron; the key is to select a sturdy, heavy pan that will cook evenly. Sauté pans have straight sides (a skillet has flared or slanted sides but can also be used for sautéeing), and they often come with lids, because some foods, such as larger pieces of meat, benefit by finishing the cooking process covered.

Sauteeing corn in pan using wooden spoon to stir

How to Sauté Vegetables

The best sautéed vegetables have a crisp-tender texture with caramelized surfaces. Here's how to sauté vegetables to perfection.

Choose the right-size sauté pan: The pan should be able to hold the food in one layer. If the pan is too small, the food will steam instead of brown.
Prep the veggies: Wash veggies and pat them dry. If possible, cut the vegetables into uniform-size pieces so they will cook evenly. Note: Mushrooms require their own style of prep. Find out how to trim and wash mushrooms for sautéing.
Heat the sauté pan: Lightly coat your sauté pan with 2 to 3 teaspoons oil, such as cooking oil or olive oil. Or you can spray the unheated pan with nonstick cooking spray. Preheat the pan over medium-high until hot.

Test Kitchen Tip: Butter adds a nutty, rich flavor, but the drawback for sautéing is that it burns more quickly than cooking oil or olive oil at higher temperatures. If using butter, watch it carefully and lower the heat if necessary. You can also combine butter with cooking oil or olive oil, which allows cooking at a higher heat than butter alone.

Add the vegetables: Carefully add the veggies and reduce the heat to medium. Do not add liquid and do not cover the pan. Stir the food with a spatula ($14, Sur la Table) or wooden spoon ($10, Williams Sonoma), or use the pan's long handle to shake the pan in a back-and-forth motion, making sure the food is coated with the fat and cooks evenly without scorching.
Cook until crisp-tender: The sautéed vegetables should be just tender but still somewhat crunchy. At this stage, a fork can be inserted with a little pressure.

turning chicken, chicken with pan sauce

How to Sauté Meat and Poultry

When it comes to beef, lamb, pork, and veal, sautéing works best for tender cuts, such as steaks, chops, and cutlets. As for sautéing chicken, good candidates include chicken tenders; skinless, boneless chicken breast halves; and skinless, boneless chicken thighs. Here's how to sauté meat and poultry.

Choose the right-size sauté pan: Be sure the food can easily fit in the pan in one layer without overcrowding.
Heat the sauté pan:
- For meat: Lightly coat the unheated sauté pan with nonstick cooking spray or use a heavy nonstick sauté pan. Preheat the pan over medium-high until very hot.
- For chicken: Lightly coat the sauté pan with 2 to 3 teaspoons oil, such as cooking oil or olive oil. Or you can spray the unheated pan with nonstick cooking spray. Preheat the sauté pan over medium-high until hot.
Cook until done: Add the meat or poultry to the sauté pan. Do not add any liquid and do not cover the skillet. Reduce heat to medium; cook until done as determined by a meat thermometer ($15, The Home Depot), turning the meat or poultry occasionally. If the food browns too quickly, reduce the heat to medium-low. Use these as guidelines for minimum internal meat temperatures: chicken 165°F, pork chops 145°F, beef 145°F for steaks and 160°F for ground, lamb 160°F, veal chops 145°F.
Let meat stand: Tent the meat with foil and let it stand 5 minutes (for beef steaks and lamb and veal chops) or 3 minutes (for pork chops).
Make a pan sauce: This is entirely optional, but once you're done sautéing meat or chicken, you're already well on your way to making a great pan sauce to go with it! Find out how to make a pan sauce for sautéed chicken or steaks using those tasty browned bits left in the pan.

There you have it, the ins and outs of sautéing explained. The only other tip to remember is that sautéing and multitasking don't mix well. Unlike the watched pot that never boils, sautéed vegetables and meats get done in a flash. So keep your eye on what's cooking, and you'll achieve sautéed perfection in a flash.