Common Mistakes People Make When Trying to Get a Good Sear on a Piece of Meat

Pan too cool
The pan should be as hot as possible. The oil can be just verging on smoking.

Meat is Wet
If you put wet meat in a pan it will release moisture and you’ll end up with gray steamed meat. Use a paper towel to blot it as dry as possible. Salt meat right before putting in pan because salt left too long on meat will begin to draw out moisture.

Too Much Meat in Too Little Space.
Ideally you should have 1/3 to ½ of the area of the pan left open, otherwise the temperature drops too quickly and also the steam being released by the meat gets stuck and again, gray meat.

Moving Meat Around Too Much.
When you are trying to get a really nice crust on a piece of meat it is absolutely essential that you put it down in your very hot pan and then leave it. Do not stir around stew meat or push your steak around the pan. I always tell people to leave it be as long as you think is right, and then wait one more minute. This goes for grilling too.

Trick of the Trade
The reason why steaks in steakhouses are super crunchy on the outside is that they are finished with butter. You can either start with a mix of oil and butter or throw a lump in at the end, but the milk fat helps to create that crust you are seeing and also enhances the flavor.

Couple more items on cooking meat- don’t be afraid of salt. You can basically coat a steak in kosher salt before cooking and it will not taste “salty” at all. The other important item- meat has to have a “resting period” once it’s left the pan. If you let it sit for 5 minutes before cutting into it the juices inside redistribute and make it much more moist.