# Chicken Dinner: Help Me Out!



## Mylegsbig (Apr 17, 2006)

Hey guys i have some wild rice w/ herbs here i want to use as a side dish for chicken breast.

i love my new steel skillet and i know how to use it so im ready to deglaze and make a sauce.  Here is the style i will be cooking the chicken. about 12 Oz of Boneless skinless chicken breasts.  

I will sear it for two minutes on each side on medium high/high

i will then transfer it to a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes to finish.

Okay - What is some sauce i can make for this chicken deglazing this pan?  Something to go with herbed wildrice/long grain rice.

Maybe some garlic white whine shallots?

throw me some ideas please.  also, techniques.  Like, the pan will be VERY HOT from being in the oven so long, do i let it cool? or throw it right on the skillet?  What temperature do i put my burner on to deglaze? If it's too hot and i throw garlic on tehre, it will burn up quick. can i deglaze with a wooden instrument or only a steel one?  (For scraping up the fond)


Please detail to me how to deglaze using a technique, and give me a good sauce i can make to go with the chicken and rice.

basically i know how this skillet works w/ heat levels and what not for cooking, and ive never used it to deglaze and want to learn how to do it.

thanks in advance.  (keep sauce simple if you can)


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## vyapti (Apr 17, 2006)

How about a Marsala.

Either cruise the internet for Chicken Marsala or just deglaze the pan with the wine and make a cream sauce, adding a little lemon juice at the end.  

As far as deglazing goes (and I'm not an expert), I want the pan hot enough that the liquid quickly boils and lifts the chunks off the pan without having to scrape it.  I wouldn't wait to let the pan cool at all.


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## GB (Apr 17, 2006)

Whatever you end up doing...*use an oven mitt*


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## Mylegsbig (Apr 17, 2006)

" just deglaze the pan with the wine and make a cream sauce,"

can you elaborate on this?


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## Mylegsbig (Apr 17, 2006)

as in what components.....cream sauce does that involve a roux? i was trying to stay away from that...... no milk especially


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## Andy M. (Apr 17, 2006)

MLB:

I take the pan out of the oven, remove the chicken and add the shallots right away.  Medium high heat will be fine.  You could also add a handful of sliced mushrooms.  

I use a flat wood spatula to deal with the fond.  Pretty much any tool will work.  After you sauté the shallots and mushrooms for a bit, add the garlic last and continue until you can smell the garlic.  Then add the wine to the hot pan and stir to clean the bottom of the pan.  Let the wine reduce to half.  You can add a little chicken broth for flavor and reduce that as well.

When it comes time to finish the sauce, you have a couple of choices.  Add some heavy cream and reduce to thicken.  That is, just cook it a little longer until the sauce is thick.

If you don't want cream, take the pan off the heat and whisk in a couple of pats of butter.  This will thicken the sauce a little, give it a Nice shine and make it taste really good.


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## GB (Apr 17, 2006)

How about deglazing with the white wine and shallots (chopped fine) then finishing with some butter, off the heat?


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## ironchef (Apr 17, 2006)

Use the sauce portion of this recipe. Learn this technique and it can be the base of many different sauces using many different flavors. 

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f15/pan-roasted-stuffed-chicken-breast-honey-dijon-pan-1037.html


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## GB (Apr 17, 2006)

Oops sorry for stepping on your toes Andy


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## Andy M. (Apr 17, 2006)

GB said:
			
		

> Oops sorry for stepping on your toes Andy


 
Great minds...


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## corazon (Apr 17, 2006)

As far as the spoon issue, I think it's better to use a wooden one.  
Here's an interesteing article on sear roasting with a couple sauce ideas
http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/pages/c00010.asp
check out the steak au poivre recipe, there's some comments about technique for a sauce.


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## corazon (Apr 17, 2006)

whoa!  Everyone replied at once.  You have some great advice here!


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## Mylegsbig (Apr 17, 2006)

awesome advice........ thanks so much!  Will let you know how it turns out


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## Michelemarie (Apr 17, 2006)

MMmmmm - sounds great Andy M - I can't wait to hear out it turns out!


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## Mylegsbig (Apr 18, 2006)

****, just ate this meal.  Came out GOOD.  rubbed in olive oil salt and pepper, then seared on MED HIGH for 2 mins, then oven @ 400 degrees for 9 minutes.

for the sauce, did a mix of Andy and Ironchef's suggestion.

took chicken out and threw in some shallots...then tossed in some garlic

let it get aromatic...then i threw in 3 rosemary sprigs and half a cup of white wine.....

scraped off fond, then threw in 1/2 cup of chicken stock.

simmered for 5 mins and covered my chicken and served

my first time to use my skillet to pan - sear then roast, then deglaze and use the fond!

and it was a great success!!!

Wooooo!

Hey guys - Can anyone give me a quick easy recipe using this technique to cook up some nice pork chops?

Thanks for all your help!

Im really starting to be able to hold my own in the kitchen.

Cheers

legsbig


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## Andy M. (Apr 18, 2006)

That's great. I'm glad you had a success.

As far as pork chops are concerned, you can do the exact same as the chicken.

Now that you have the process down, you should try different seasonings and combinations to expand your repertoire.

Knowing the process opens doors. Be open to trying new ideas and combinations.


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## Mylegsbig (Apr 18, 2006)

andy, want to use different herbs and a different liquid to deglaze the pan, but i want the technique to be the same

any ideas?


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## Andy M. (Apr 18, 2006)

Sage works well with pork.  You could try some dry marsala wine or a dry red wine.  Did you use either butter or cream to finish the sauce in the chicken dish?


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## Mylegsbig (Apr 18, 2006)

i used butter....


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## Mylegsbig (Apr 18, 2006)

never had marsala win..okay mate im going to do some pork with sage and marsala wine, is that literally what the bottle says? is it a kind of grape?

do i use fresh sage?

About how much sage for 2 good sized pork chops.  Have no idea how strong fresh sage is i've never tried it.

for liquid measurements i will be using 1/2 cup wine 1/2 cup broth

prob 6oz pork chops.....


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## Andy M. (Apr 18, 2006)

Consider trying some heavy cream next time.  It'll work with the pork too.  Then you can decide which one you like better.


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## Andy M. (Apr 18, 2006)

Look for dry marsala.  That's what it says on the bottle.  Florio is a good brand.  There is also a sweet marsala but I prefer the dry.  Marsala is a fortified wine.  That is, alcohol in the form of brandy has been added to the wine.  

Fresh chopped sage will be good.  A couple of leaves.  You could use dry but fresh is better.


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## Mylegsbig (Apr 18, 2006)

thanks mate


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## Andy M. (Apr 18, 2006)

Mylegsbig said:
			
		

> thanks mate


 
You're welcome.


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## vyapti (Apr 19, 2006)

Andy M. said:
			
		

> Look for dry marsala. That's what it says on the bottle. Florio is a good brand. There is also a sweet marsala but I prefer the dry. Marsala is a fortified wine. That is, alcohol in the form of brandy has been added to the wine.
> 
> Fresh chopped sage will be good. A couple of leaves. You could use dry but fresh is better.


I agree.  Dry Marsala is best.  Around here, I can only find a couple of brands.  In my experience, stick with a Sicilian import.


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