I was burning butter in my saute pan for 3 weeks before my line cook said something

Julia Grant · 2026-09-11T21:55:04.834839+00:00

So I've been starting my saute pans on high heat for pretty much my whole career, always thought that hard sear was the whole point. About 3 weeks ago my new line cook Maria, who trained at a spot in Chicago, asked me why I was letting the butter go brown before every single order of scallops. I brushed it off at first but then I watched her do it on low, just slow melting till it foamed, and the scallops came out with this golden crust I couldn't get. Took me 3 more days of testing to admit she was right, my pan was way too hot before the protein even hit it. Now I pull the pan off the flame for a full 30 seconds before adding butter and let it come back up slow. Any of you run into this with new cooks pointing out stuff you've done forever?

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I was burning butter in my saute pan for 3 weeks before my line cook said something | Chefs - Opinions Matter