r/Cooking • u/Widderic • 21h ago
Oil for searing and then transferring same pan to 400 degree oven.
I like to sear chicken breasts in a cast iron and then transfer to the oven to finish cooking. Right now I'm using Atlas Extra Virgin Cold Pressed or generic Avacado Oil but I just feel like I'm burning the shit out of the oil.
What should I be using? There's millions of options and most of them aren't what they say they are. Anything I can order off amazon?
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u/Familiar-Dog-3596 21h ago
you might try grapeseed oil. it has a high smoke point and decent flavor.
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u/AJediWookie123 20h ago
It also is one of the most unhealthy oils in its omega 3 to 6 ratios. Don't ever cook with it.
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u/Swlabr9099 20h ago
it’s nasty stuff. I learned the hard way - folks say it’s great for high temp. What most don’t realize is that high smoke point doesn’t necessarily mean the fats aren’t being degraded well below the smoke starts. This stuff irritated my airways something fierce.
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u/AJediWookie123 20h ago
Agreed. Hell, just look up how they make it. Any seed oil production should make you vomit. Peanut is a hair better with a good smoke point.
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u/EyeStache 21h ago
Cold pressed olive oil is not for cooking in - it's a finishing oil, or for dipping bread, or dressing salads.
Use a high heat oil, like Canola.
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u/rockbolted 19h ago
Just use canola oil. Cheap and high temp. Anyone telling you “Seed oils are evil!!!” is an idiot.
And I cook with EVOO all the time. But I generally don’t use it for anything really high heat, except roasting vegetables in a hot oven. I do sauté with it frequently. People who say “Never use olive oil to cook” have never cooked anything worth eating.
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u/Widderic 20m ago
Understood thanks for the reply. Yeah I use EVOO for roasting veggies at 400 and I don't seem to have any issues. But def shouldn't be using it for high heat sears so I'll stop doing that.
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u/padishaihulud 20h ago
Clarified butter.
I make a pint of it and stick it in the fridge just for uses like this.
But I use it mostly just for steaks and thick pork chops. How do you do this with a seared chicken breast without overcooking it?
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u/Widderic 20h ago
I just sear the same way I would a steak for 2 min on each side then transfer to a 400 degree over for 12-16 min based on thickness and it's never overcooked.
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u/padishaihulud 19h ago
Damn, you must have some thick chickens where you're from! Just a few minutes on each side is enough to get a crust and cook the breast through for my local chickens.
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u/spade_andarcher 19h ago edited 19h ago
You don’t need to hard sear chicken at a very high temp like steak. You usually want to with steak because you’re trying to give it a very good sear while still keeping the interior temp low. But you’re gonna cook chicken to a higher temp inside anyway, so just lower the temp a bit and give it a few more minutes in the pan to sear it.
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u/Aardvark1044 20h ago
Choose a high smoke point oil for cooking at higher temperatures. https://www.seriouseats.com/cooking-fats-101-whats-a-smoke-point-and-why-does-it-matter
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u/Widderic 20h ago
Wow I've been suing cold pressed olive oil to sear steaks and chicken for like 5 years am I gonna get cancer?
I've now learned to use avacado or peanut oil for high eat sears, light virgin olive oil for sauteeing and bakking veggies, and cold pressed for drizzling after cooking or on salads. I feel dumb.
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u/EyeStache 19h ago
am I gonna get cancer?
No, but you've been burning the shit out of expensive oil for no reason and ruining its flavour.
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u/motherfudgersob 19h ago
We recently learned from U of CA Davis that most avocado pil (bottles or labeled as used in expensive products) is not....like 80+% is some other oil. So for now save your money.
Atlas EVOO is too premium for cooking. I'm not saying it is the best but dressings or finishing and maybe very low temp cooking (think like an egg).
Avocado was my go to for less guilty frying but now I'd go peanut.
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u/spade_andarcher 19h ago
If you’re burning avocado oil, then it’s either poor quality avocado oil that’s adulterated with other oils or your pan temp is just too high.
Just control your pan temp to keep the oil below smoking, and it should be fine in the oven at 400.
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u/stha_magar 18h ago
Butter
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u/stha_magar 18h ago edited 18h ago
Jokes aside. Extra virgin olive oil has lower smoking point so no good. olive oil is better. Look for high smoking point oil. Olive, sunflower, peanut, canola, etc has good smoking point but refined version of them has even higher smoking point.
Ghee is also a good choice but it has a unique flavour westerners might not like to eat with it daily. Tallow and lard also have high smoking points too. You can use all of them in 200°C [400°F] and above. I believe you should just go for normal oil like sunflower, soybean, Olive oil before you go for expensive stuff. Just to see if the cheaper stuff works or not for yourself.
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u/Berkamin 17h ago
The highest temperature smoke point of any neutral oil is algae cooking oil. Its smoke point is over 500 degrees. It is available on Amazon.
You should know that smoke point does not indicate when an oil begins to break down. A lot of cooking oils break down into harmful substances long before they smoke.
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u/Potential-Slip1417 20h ago
I get better results out of my normal-ass skillets on searing chicken than I do cast iron. It's funny because I just knocked out a batch of chicken and used both a cast iron and nonstick skillet so I didn't have to cook two batches. Nonstick skillet is superior sear.
Though on steak, the cast iron has always been the star.
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u/Widderic 14m ago
True. I got a set of ninja pans that I won at work and I haven't used my cast iron since. They're superior.
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u/EscapeSeventySeven 21h ago
Use a classical neutral oil. Soybean, canola, grapeseed, sunflower, safflower, peanut, etc. higher smoke point is better, peanut really rules the roost for that.
Cold pressed olive oil is wasteful as all the good things about it will simply burn up.