When coating raw meat with flour, does leaving it for a period of time make the flour 'disappear'?
I recently trying the flour coating trick before frying it so my meat can withstand more temperature and does not get dried up so easily inside.
However, when I rolled the meat with all-purpose flour so it became white, I observe that if I leave it for a period of time, the white-ness is kind of gone away. Did the flour somehow goes in the meat? What is the consequence of it? And should I apply flour coating again before immediately drop into my frying pan?
Best Answer
It doesn't go into the meat, it soaks up water and becomes a slurry. The slurry is transparent, so you don't see it.
If you fry it as it is, you won't prevent spraying and sticking the same way it would have been possible with a dry flour layer. If you roll it again, you will have these effects again, plus slightly more heat buffering because of the double amount of crust. The crust will be more noticeable in taste, towards schnitzel style.
In general, you don't want it to happen at all. If you miss your timing and it happens, re-roll. But the proper way to do it is to roll each piece separately, directly before dropping it in the pan. This gives you the optimal effects from the flour with minimal change in taste.
If you want the benefits and taste of a thick crust, make a real schnitzel, including pounding the meat thin and making several alternating layers of egg and flour in the crust. Double dipping in flour is not a good approximation, it is a middle thing which doesn't approach the good parts of either technique.
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What happens when you put flour on meat?
The idea behind coating meat with a sprinkling of flour before browning in a hot pan is pretty simple: Flour is full of starch that will caramelize quickly and give a deeper color and flavor. You most often see this technique called for in stews, where flour is used to thicken the cooking liquid.What is it called when you put flour on meat?
Dredging is coating something, usually meat, with a flour before browning the item. The purpose of dredging is to make a meat's surface a more attractive brown colour, and to create flavourful carmelized [1] flour bits in the pan that can be used in making a thick sauce through deglazing.Can you save leftover dredging flour?
You can certainly prepare your seasoned flour mixture and keep it in bulk. Just transfer it as you need it to the container where you do the actual breading or dredging; then you don't need to discard the entire amount.Why do you need to coat the meat with flour before cooking?
Aside from its thickening power, flouring meat, especially with seasoned flour, can provide both a flavorful crust and insulate the meat from the high heat in the pan.Chicken Made From FLOUR? | TikTok Wheat Gluten Recipe
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Answer 2
The flour is still there, it has just been moistened by the meat, giving it a translucent appearance. It hasn't in any way soaked into the meat. You don't have to re-flour, but you can, lightly, if you care to.
By flouring the meat, you are doing a couple of really nice things. The flour will form a brown crust on the meat by virtue of the Malliard reaction. Don't buy into the idea that it "seals in the juices", it doesn't, but it can kind of seem that way.
Secondly, the flour is going to leave nice juicy bits in the bottom of your skillet. That's called fond, and it's the basis of a beautiful pan sauce. See the answers here for more on that: Failed pan sauce didn't thicken and tasted far too much of wine.
Answer 3
When you coat meat with flour and let it sit for a period of tome, the flour will absorb some moisture from the meat and appear less white. It's still there.
I find that allowing the time for the meat to sit before cooking produces superior results. It actually seals the meat better, keeping the moisture in and grease out. Bonus is that the crust on the meat will be crispier.
I always use this method and I know some people that actually cover the meat after flouring and put in their refrigerator to cook the next day. I have only done that a couple of times when something unexpected happened and I couldn't prepare my meal as planned and it did work well.
Regarding applying more flour before cooking I do not personally recommend it. Much of the dry flour on the outside will simply come off in the pan and what does stay on will hold more grease.
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