Time for another round of The Basics. This one covers pan sauces, and the reason it’s a basic is because they are pretty easy to make, and turn a ho-hum weeknight dinner into something your friends would marvel over. This is one of those that involves more technique than anything, as the ingredients are extremely interchangeable depending on what you have or don’t have on hand. The basic steps are as follows:
1. Create fond.
2. Saute aromatics.
3. Deglaze and reduce.
4. Add herbs or garnishes and season.
5. Thicken.
The first step is probably the most important. Fond is all those crunchy bits of proteins, sugars, and fats in the bottom of the pan when you’re done sautéing a piece of meat. It is technically known as the Maillard reaction, and it results in the creation of hundreds of flavor compounds. They are ESSENTIAL for creating a great sauce. Without them, you have a sauce that lacks complexity and flavor. The way you create fond is by using an appropriate pan. Some suitable pans include stainless or carbon steel, cast iron, or enameled cast iron. Non-stick surfaces suck for fond development, so if you’re cooking something that is prone to sticking, make a simple butter sauce instead. Moderately high heat is also necessary. You have to get above 300 degrees F for the Maillard reaction to happen, so high heat is the order of the day. Another important factor is to leave alone whatever is in the pan. The more you move the meat around, the less fond you will get.
Something that may happen while browning meat, especially in multiple batches, is that your fond may start to burn. Burned fond is not good, so it should be avoided at all cost. If you notice your fond starting to burn, evacuate the pan, and deglaze it with some water. Scrape up the bits, and pour this into a bowl. When you’re done sautéing meat, you can add it back in, boil off the water, and you’re good to go.
Once you’re done browning all your meat and it’s out of the pan, check and see how much fat is in the pan. You’re going to need about a tablespoon, so add or remove as necessary. Now you’re going to add your aromatics. It can be garlic, shallots, onion, leeks, or even green onion. The only hard and fast rule is that they should all be minced very fine so the cook quickly. Add them to the pan, and stir them around a bunch so they cook evenly and quickly. Do not let them burn.
Next comes deglazing, and it’s the first time this stuff in the pan will start to resemble a sauce. It can be just about any liquid, be it wine, beer, stock, or even water. If you’re using wine, it should be added first so the high heat and reducing can remove the vast majority of the alcohol. When you add the wine, you will need something like a whisk or a flat spatula to loosen all the bits stuck to the pan. At first, they may not come loose easily, but given time, they will dissolve and become a part of the sauce. If you’re using wine especially, it should be reduced to almost dry. Basically, there shouldn’t be much liquid at all left in the pan. There needs to be a little to keep all the compounds in the wine from burning, but not much. You should be looking at no more than a tablespoon of liquid. Next comes the other liquids, either stock or water, and here is where I will depart from traditional technique for a bit. If you don’t have homemade stock on hand, and the only thing you have on hand is canned beef or chicken broth, use water instead of canned stock, and for all that is holy, do not use bouillon cubes. Water doesn’t have any flavor, but canned beef stock is horrid for sauce making, and canned chicken broth isn’t much better. I’ve made plenty of pan sauces without stock, and they’ve turned out good because I had a good base flavor to start with. If you have homemade stock on hand, by all means, use it! Some people will disagree with me on using canned stock, but you’re not going to change my mind. So there. Whatever you use, you’ll want to reduce it some to get the flavors concentrated. Usually you will want to reduce it about 50-75%, but it all depends on your stock.
Once you add you stock and water, you can add herbage and other flavorings. For most beef based sauces, some fresh thyme sprigs (thrown in whole) is a nice addition, as would some mushrooms sautéed in butter. For a chicken or sauce for fish, some lemon zest, preserved lemon, or capers could be some suitable choices. For herbs like thyme and rosemary, I prefer to leave them whole, because they are easier to fish out of the pan later. Also, soft herbs like basil, tarragon, and sage should be added at the very end, so save them for the next step. Once the sauce has reduced down to your liking, now is the time to season. Does it need salt or pepper? It likely will if you’re using water or homemade stock. Maybe some acid to brighten things up. A couple drops of fish sauce can add some complexity and umami. Once you have the seasoning where you want it, it’s time to thicken the sauce.
There are a lot of thickeners you can use for pan sauces, including corn starch, arrowroot, and potato starch, but I like butter. Butter adds flavor, and it’s got enough emulsifiers (namely lecithin) to bind everything together well. For this to work, your butter needs to be cold, so no room temperature butter here. Remove the pan from the heat, and let it sit until it’s almost done boiling. Swirl the butter in a tablespoon at a time, and once it’s melted, add the next piece. You should see your sauce starting to come together, and get a sheen to it. Once it’s at your desired thickness and body, stop adding butter. Taste it again, adjust the seasoning if you need to, and serve it.
When it comes time to make the sauce, it will take you longer to read this than to make the sauce, so proper preparation is important. Have everything chopped and at the ready so you’re not looking for stuff while things in you pan start to burn.
1. Create fond.
2. Saute aromatics.
3. Deglaze and reduce.
4. Add herbs or garnishes and season.
5. Thicken.
The first step is probably the most important. Fond is all those crunchy bits of proteins, sugars, and fats in the bottom of the pan when you’re done sautéing a piece of meat. It is technically known as the Maillard reaction, and it results in the creation of hundreds of flavor compounds. They are ESSENTIAL for creating a great sauce. Without them, you have a sauce that lacks complexity and flavor. The way you create fond is by using an appropriate pan. Some suitable pans include stainless or carbon steel, cast iron, or enameled cast iron. Non-stick surfaces suck for fond development, so if you’re cooking something that is prone to sticking, make a simple butter sauce instead. Moderately high heat is also necessary. You have to get above 300 degrees F for the Maillard reaction to happen, so high heat is the order of the day. Another important factor is to leave alone whatever is in the pan. The more you move the meat around, the less fond you will get.
Something that may happen while browning meat, especially in multiple batches, is that your fond may start to burn. Burned fond is not good, so it should be avoided at all cost. If you notice your fond starting to burn, evacuate the pan, and deglaze it with some water. Scrape up the bits, and pour this into a bowl. When you’re done sautéing meat, you can add it back in, boil off the water, and you’re good to go.
Once you’re done browning all your meat and it’s out of the pan, check and see how much fat is in the pan. You’re going to need about a tablespoon, so add or remove as necessary. Now you’re going to add your aromatics. It can be garlic, shallots, onion, leeks, or even green onion. The only hard and fast rule is that they should all be minced very fine so the cook quickly. Add them to the pan, and stir them around a bunch so they cook evenly and quickly. Do not let them burn.
Next comes deglazing, and it’s the first time this stuff in the pan will start to resemble a sauce. It can be just about any liquid, be it wine, beer, stock, or even water. If you’re using wine, it should be added first so the high heat and reducing can remove the vast majority of the alcohol. When you add the wine, you will need something like a whisk or a flat spatula to loosen all the bits stuck to the pan. At first, they may not come loose easily, but given time, they will dissolve and become a part of the sauce. If you’re using wine especially, it should be reduced to almost dry. Basically, there shouldn’t be much liquid at all left in the pan. There needs to be a little to keep all the compounds in the wine from burning, but not much. You should be looking at no more than a tablespoon of liquid. Next comes the other liquids, either stock or water, and here is where I will depart from traditional technique for a bit. If you don’t have homemade stock on hand, and the only thing you have on hand is canned beef or chicken broth, use water instead of canned stock, and for all that is holy, do not use bouillon cubes. Water doesn’t have any flavor, but canned beef stock is horrid for sauce making, and canned chicken broth isn’t much better. I’ve made plenty of pan sauces without stock, and they’ve turned out good because I had a good base flavor to start with. If you have homemade stock on hand, by all means, use it! Some people will disagree with me on using canned stock, but you’re not going to change my mind. So there. Whatever you use, you’ll want to reduce it some to get the flavors concentrated. Usually you will want to reduce it about 50-75%, but it all depends on your stock.
Once you add you stock and water, you can add herbage and other flavorings. For most beef based sauces, some fresh thyme sprigs (thrown in whole) is a nice addition, as would some mushrooms sautéed in butter. For a chicken or sauce for fish, some lemon zest, preserved lemon, or capers could be some suitable choices. For herbs like thyme and rosemary, I prefer to leave them whole, because they are easier to fish out of the pan later. Also, soft herbs like basil, tarragon, and sage should be added at the very end, so save them for the next step. Once the sauce has reduced down to your liking, now is the time to season. Does it need salt or pepper? It likely will if you’re using water or homemade stock. Maybe some acid to brighten things up. A couple drops of fish sauce can add some complexity and umami. Once you have the seasoning where you want it, it’s time to thicken the sauce.
There are a lot of thickeners you can use for pan sauces, including corn starch, arrowroot, and potato starch, but I like butter. Butter adds flavor, and it’s got enough emulsifiers (namely lecithin) to bind everything together well. For this to work, your butter needs to be cold, so no room temperature butter here. Remove the pan from the heat, and let it sit until it’s almost done boiling. Swirl the butter in a tablespoon at a time, and once it’s melted, add the next piece. You should see your sauce starting to come together, and get a sheen to it. Once it’s at your desired thickness and body, stop adding butter. Taste it again, adjust the seasoning if you need to, and serve it.
When it comes time to make the sauce, it will take you longer to read this than to make the sauce, so proper preparation is important. Have everything chopped and at the ready so you’re not looking for stuff while things in you pan start to burn.