Searing (or
pan searing) is a technique used in
grilling,
baking,
braising,
roasting,
sautéing, etc., in which the surface of the
food (usually
meat,
poultry or
fish) is
cooked at high temperature until a
caramelized crust forms. Similar techniques,
browning and
blackening, are typically used to sear all sides of a particular piece of meat, fish, poultry, etc. before finishing it in the oven. To obtain the desired brown or black crust, the meat surface must exceed 150 °C (300 °F), so searing requires the meat surface be free of water, which boils at around 100 °C (212 °F).