higher smoke point: ghee (clarified butter) or peanut (ground nut) oil?

[epabella]

hello all, what have you had better results with for hi-temp searing? also, does ghee still impart a butter taste given all the milk solids have been removed? TIA.

[Caralien]

Ghee does taste like butter.

According to the chart at the following link, ghee has a higher smoke point:
http://whatscookingamerica.net/Inform...

I sear with very little oil on a cast iron pan.

[MikeG]

I think that chart is a little optimistic where ghee is concerned; most of what I've read suggests the temperature is closer to 385F, slightly above simple clarified butter which is said to be about 375F. (In my own experience, it has seemed to me it's lower than that, but I may be under-estimating the temp of heated griddle, even over low heat.) 450F for peanut oil agrees with other sources.

I agree with you about using little, if any, added fat to sear things but for general purpose frying or higher heat sauteeing, I think peanut oil is the better choice of these two. I use safflower as my "neutral" oil of choice, but a lot of other commercial oils have equally high smoke points so it becomes a matter of taste more than anything else.

Ghee doesn't taste like fresh butter but it has very distinctive flavor, dense mouthfeel and solidifies at room temperature - makes it great for some things, but it's not general-purpose for Western/"international" cooking.