Flambe

To flambé means to set fire to alcohol that has been poured over food. Once on fire, the alcohol burns off quickly--but that doesn't mean flambéing food isn't ridiculously impressive. However, this cooking technique can be dangerous. To learn how to safely wow your guests with your culinary skill, read this article.

Steps

Readying the Dish and Alcohol

  1. Buy the right kind of alcohol. You should only use 80-proof liquor or 40% alcohol by volume liquor. Anything higher than 80-proof can create a fire hazard that could be very dangerous. Liquors that are lower-proof may not ignite.[1]
    • If your recipe doesn’t specify which alcohol to use, choose an alcohol that compliments the dish you are making. Use a whiskey or cognac for meal dishes; for fruit or dessert dishes, choose a fruity brandy.
  2. Prepare the dish you want to flambé. This involves following the recipe that you have. Some traditional flambéed dishes include Make Crepes Suzette bananas foster, and Chateaubriand.
  3. Warm the alcohol. Cold alcohol will not be as effective so you have to warm your alcohol up. Pour the alcohol into a saucepan with high sides. Heat the alcohol until is reaches 130 degrees F or 54 degrees C--you should be able to see bubbles just beginning to form.[1]
    • If you would prefer to use a microwave, you should heat the alcohol up in a microwave-safe bowl. Make sure the microwave is at 100 percent power and then heat the alcohol for 30 to 45 seconds.
  4. Take precautions. Make sure that you have a metal lid large enough to cover the pan you will be using. If the flame becomes too large while you are flambéing, immediately cover the pan with the metal lid. This will control the flame and will ultimately cause it to die (when fire does not have oxygen, it will burn itself out.) The lid must fit tightly on the pan in order to ensure that the flame dies.[2]

Flambéing Your Dish

  1. Never pour the liquor directly from the bottle near an open flame. 80-proof liquor is incredibly flammable. If you pour directly from the bottle too close to a flame, the liquor could catch on fire. The fire will then shoot up the liquor into the bottle, causing the bottle to explode.[2]
  2. Pour the alcohol into the pan you are going to flambé. This pan should contain the food you wish to flambé. If you do not have a flambé pan, you can use a large skillet with a long handle and deep sides. Make sure you have matches or a lighter near by.
    • If working on an electric element or stove top, pour the alcohol over the top of the food and slightly tilt the pan away from you with one hand.
    • If using a gas burner, remove the pan of food from the ignited burner and add the alcohol.
  3. Light the liquor in the pan immediately. Do not wait too long to do this because the food you have poured the alcohol over could absorb the raw liquor, ruining the flavor of the food. Always make sure to light the edge of the pan and not the actual liquor. It is recommended that you use a long barbecue lighter or a long match.[1]
    • If using an electric element or stove top, touch the flame from a match or lighter to one edge of the pan, allowing the flames to leap over the pan.
    • If using a gas burner, set the pan back on the burner and tilt the pan slightly so that the fumes from the alcohol ignite.
  4. Cook the food until the alcohol is gone. You can tell when all the alcohol has cooked off because there will be no more flames. This will only take a few moments but is important so that the astringent alcohol flavor burns off.[2]
  5. Serve your impressed guests.



Warnings

  • Always have a tight fitting pot lid handy in case the flames get out of hand.
  • The flames that result from igniting alcohol can flame upwards very quickly. Always make sure your guests are far enough from the dish being ignited to avoid any burns.
  • Never pour alcohol directly from the bottle to the dish. The flames can leap upwards and cause the entire bottle to ignite, causing serious harm.

Things You'll Need

  • Dish to be flambéed
  • Alcohol
  • Lighter or matches
  • Non-flammable container from which to pour the alcohol
  • Tight fitting lid for the pan
  • Electric or gas stove element

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 http://whatscookingamerica.net/flambe.htm
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 http://www.cookingclarified.com/2011/02/how-to-flambe/

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