Question: Is it necessary to preheat a pan or baking sheet if baking meats? (chicken, beef, pork)
By: Cliff
Published: October 20, 2010

I know that it is always necessary to preheat the pan and oil before frying meats on a stove top, but if baking the meat instead of frying, should you preheat the pan also? I have NEVER preheated a pan when baking, but a friend insists you should. Doesn't make sense to me. I feel that is like throwing cake batter into a hot pan to bake it. That's just dumb to me. To me, the purpose of baking something is to cook it slowly (like a chicken breast) instead of frying and searing it. Am I just old school or is this some new fangled way of cooking taught by one of the TV cooking channels?

Answers:
Chris Paulk

No it's not necessary. It can be helpful or harmful to your over all recipe. It can either help to sear or caramelize the meat- usually only one side- but it can also cause it to over cook on the side that lays on the pan. I usually do NOT preheat my baking pans for meat.
Curt

No, it's not.  Always preheat saute pans before adding oil but baking...no so much.
lise meyer

I have never preheated a pan, but, if what you are looking for is a quick sear on a roast or such, I often preheat the oven to a higher temperature, put in the roast, and then turn down the heat.
For example, when I make Roast Beef, I heat the oven to 425, put in the meat (room temperature), and let it sear for 15 minutes before turning the temperature down to 350 for the remainder of the cooking time.
HyeThymeCafe

No, do not preheat the pan, but also, do not add the meat to the pan directly out of the refrigerator.  Always let it sit out for a while (20-40" while you do your prep work, etc.) before introducing it to the heat - promotes more even cooking and prevents seizing/tightening.