Why does meat require direct contact with the cooking surface to brown?
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Meat just needs heat to brown. Direct contact with the cooking surface is the easiest way to get that heat, but you can do the same in an oven or broiler, using convection/radiative heating to cook and brown the meat.
It doesn’t technically.
Browning is just the Maillard reaction that takes place at around 350*f 175ish C.
This is proteins and sugars reacting to form new flavor compounds.
The direct contact gets it to that temp vs the air pocket if it is not in direct contact. The main cooking method with a pan is direct contact vs radiation. So to get the temp it needs the contact there.
With sufficient temp you can brown the entire steak with no direct contact. Like a hot broiler, roaring charcoal, or blow torch.
Personal story: sous vide ribeye and cooking it over the natural chunk charcoal chimney absolutely slaps.
High heat, the kind you get with that high heat direct surface contact, creates what the cooking world causes the “maillard reaction” i.e, that good delicious browning, vs indirect heat, which is less intense.
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