marmalady
Executive Chef
'Pan' sauces are wonderful, and are something everyone who cooks a steak, chicken breast or piece of fish should have in their 'batterie de cuisine'.
There are many ways to make them - the basics are -
When your food is cooked, remove it from the pan to let it rest; turn the heat on to medium, and add a little water/stock/wine to all those wonderful brown bits in the pan. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to scrape up all the 'bits', which the French call 'fond' (pronounced fon - sort of). Bring this to a boil, and let it cook out for just a minute or so. Then add however much more stock/water/wine/cream you need to complete your sauce. Bring to a boil, turn down, and let it simmer for just a minute or so; season to taste( here's where you add your fresh herbs, etc.) at the last minute,a swirl of butter to finish the sauce. Perfect! And done in the time you'd let that steak sit to 'rest' anyway!
This is a good sample of a delicious pan sauce:
RED WINE PAN SAUCE
WITH MUSTARD AND THYME
Makes about 1/2 cup, enough to sauce 4 steaks
2 medium shallots, minced (about 1/4 cup)
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1/2 cup dry red wine, such as Cabernet Sauvignon
1/2 cup canned low-sodium chicken broth
1 small bay leaf
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
Salt and ground black pepper
To same skillet used to cook steaks (do not clean skillet or discard accumulated fat), add shallots and sugar off heat; using pan’s residual heat, cook, stirring frequently, until shallots are slightly softened and browned and sugar is melted, about 45 seconds. Return skillet to high heat, add wine, broth, and bay leaf; bring to boil, scraping up browned bits on pan bottom with wooden spoon. Boil until liquid is reduced to 1/3 cup, about 4 minutes. Stir in vinegar and mustard; cook at medium heat to blend flavors, about 1 minute longer. Off heat, whisk in butter until melted and sauce is thickened and glossy. Add thyme and season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove bay leaf, spoon sauce over steaks and serve immediately.
You can make an easy cream sauce for chicken or fish, by adding a little white wine to the pan, cooking it out, then adding some cream; bring to a boil, cook it t il it gets thick and creamy (you should be using a wide, flat pan anyway, to have cooked your chicken or fish); add seasonings like grainy mustard, basil, capers, lemon zest, etc.
There are many ways to make them - the basics are -
When your food is cooked, remove it from the pan to let it rest; turn the heat on to medium, and add a little water/stock/wine to all those wonderful brown bits in the pan. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to scrape up all the 'bits', which the French call 'fond' (pronounced fon - sort of). Bring this to a boil, and let it cook out for just a minute or so. Then add however much more stock/water/wine/cream you need to complete your sauce. Bring to a boil, turn down, and let it simmer for just a minute or so; season to taste( here's where you add your fresh herbs, etc.) at the last minute,a swirl of butter to finish the sauce. Perfect! And done in the time you'd let that steak sit to 'rest' anyway!
This is a good sample of a delicious pan sauce:
RED WINE PAN SAUCE
WITH MUSTARD AND THYME
Makes about 1/2 cup, enough to sauce 4 steaks
2 medium shallots, minced (about 1/4 cup)
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1/2 cup dry red wine, such as Cabernet Sauvignon
1/2 cup canned low-sodium chicken broth
1 small bay leaf
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
Salt and ground black pepper
To same skillet used to cook steaks (do not clean skillet or discard accumulated fat), add shallots and sugar off heat; using pan’s residual heat, cook, stirring frequently, until shallots are slightly softened and browned and sugar is melted, about 45 seconds. Return skillet to high heat, add wine, broth, and bay leaf; bring to boil, scraping up browned bits on pan bottom with wooden spoon. Boil until liquid is reduced to 1/3 cup, about 4 minutes. Stir in vinegar and mustard; cook at medium heat to blend flavors, about 1 minute longer. Off heat, whisk in butter until melted and sauce is thickened and glossy. Add thyme and season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove bay leaf, spoon sauce over steaks and serve immediately.
You can make an easy cream sauce for chicken or fish, by adding a little white wine to the pan, cooking it out, then adding some cream; bring to a boil, cook it t il it gets thick and creamy (you should be using a wide, flat pan anyway, to have cooked your chicken or fish); add seasonings like grainy mustard, basil, capers, lemon zest, etc.