Shelf · Fire & pan · High heat
Searing
Cooking a food's surface hard against very hot metal to build a browned crust.
- The temperature band
- The pan · 220 to 260 °C
- The time
- About 2 min
Why it works
Above browning temperature the Maillard reaction turns surface proteins and sugars into hundreds of savory compounds — grey steamed meat means the pan never got hot enough.
The tell
It hisses hard on contact and releases from the pan without tearing once the crust is set.
How it fails
A crowded or cool pan steams instead of sears — dry the surface, wait for the oil to shimmer, cook in batches. A steamed grey crust can't be browned back.
Open the card in Rikaido
In the app, the card opens on the recipe step that names it, with the tell drawn.
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