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Core Methods

Pan Work at the Pit

Sauté & Simmer

Sby SoCueCo

Stovetop cooking done on the side burner, a propane ring, or a cast-iron pan straight on the coals: sauces, dips, onions, greens, and the quick pan jobs every barbecue plate leans on. It covers the hard, fast heat of a sauté and the low, patient heat of a simmer, because both happen in the same pan on the same fire.

Direct, in a pan: high for a sauté, a bare bubble for a simmerHeat
Dips and sauces, onions and peppers, greens, gravies, glazes, reheating pulled porkBest For
Cast-iron skillet or a heavy saucepan, a side burner or propane ring, a wooden spoon, a grate you can set a pan onGear
5–45 minutesCook
BeginnerSkill

When to use it

  • Warming a vinegar dip or building a sauce while the meat rests
  • Onions, peppers, and mushrooms for sausage and chops
  • Greens and beans that want a long, low simmer with smoked meat
  • Reheating leftover pork in its own juices without drying it out

Not the move when

  • Anything that wants smoke or char; the pan blocks both
  • A thin aluminum pan on live coals; it warps and scorches
  • Sugar-heavy sauces on high heat; they go from glossy to burnt in seconds

The Method

How It’s Done

  1. Pick the pan and the heat

    Cast iron for anything that wants browning; a heavy saucepan for sauces and dips. On a side burner, you have a dial. On coals, you have distance: set the pan on the grate over a small pile for high heat, or at the edge for a simmer.

  2. Sauté hot and fast

    Heat the pan dry until a drop of water skitters, then add fat. Food goes in in a single layer and gets left alone until it releases and browns. Toss or stir, salt, and get it out before it steams in its own juices.

  3. Simmer low and slow

    For dips, sauces, and pots of greens, bring the liquid just to a boil, then pull the pan back until it barely bubbles. Lid ajar. Stir now and then so nothing catches on the bottom. Taste as it reduces; salt and vinegar both get louder as water leaves.

  4. Finish off the heat

    Butter, fresh herbs, and a last splash of vinegar go in after the pan comes off. Sauces thicken as they cool, so stop a little thinner than you want them on the plate.

From the pit

Pitmaster Tips

Avoid these

Common Mistakes

  • Crowding the skillet and steaming instead of browning
  • Boiling a dip hard and cooking off the vinegar you wanted
  • Sugar-based sauce over high heat until it scorches
  • Thin pans on live coals
  • Salting a reducing sauce at the beginning

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What You'll Need

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