Today was the day. In my progression of sautée practice, I moved on from a slice of bread to a generous handful of navy beans.
The trick seems to be, not to feel it in the wrist but to work those biceps, keeping the pan pretty much level. My science background can’t help but analyze the laws of motion and inertia as the beans travel along in the pan like a person would in a car accelerating and braking constantly. The quick forward with the quick backward movement means that the beans are going to run into the side of the pan, hence the pan becomes the force that changes the direction of their movement, and up and over they go like a wave.
Beans are great to practice with because they don’t make an icky mess if they escape the pan, but boy do the skitter and bounce all over the place if they fall out on a hard wood floor. I know because I had to chase a few.
My sautée isn’t nearly as pretty as Chef Husband’s, but it’s improving.