This is a method of cooking best suited for small pieces of meat and is accomplished in a wide flat pan over fairly high heat using clarified butter or oil, or a combination, as the cooking medium. The job of saute cook in a restaurant is perceived by eager young hotshots as a desirable one, and so it is, if one knows what one is doing. Novice saute cooks seem to spend a lot of time shaking the frying pans and profiling in front of the range. This behavior will be toned down after the first bout of tendonitis. The essence of the job is accuracy, speed under pressure, and economy of motion.
Technique is everything.
With the food properly prepared and the pan hot, a saute can be completed in mere seconds, for instance, a shrimp dish. Proper preparation of the food pieces to be cooked is important. They should be of an even thickness and size, and dry before dredging in flour. Place the pan on the heat, jack up the fire, and wait. When the pan is hot, add the cooking medium you have chosen, wait briefly for it to get hot, and then put the food pieces in the hot fat.