A pan sauce is the flavour you’d otherwise wash down the sink. SearingSearBrown the surface of food over high, dry heat. meat, poultry, fish, or vegetables leaves browned, sticky bits on the bottom of the pan. The French call them sucs (from the Latin succus, juice), and the layer they form the fondFondThe browned, sticky bits left in a pan after searing: concentrated flavour, and the base of a pan sauce., the base. Liquid dissolves them, reduction concentrates them, and cold butter whisked in at the end turns the thin liquid into a glossy sauce.
The searing makes the flavour, and everything after it only collects and concentrates it. A good fond gives you most of a good sauce, and no amount of butter rescues a pan with none.
How fond forms
Fond is the Maillard reactionMaillard reactionBrowning of proteins and sugars under dry, high heat, which makes the flavour of seared meat, toast and roasted coffee. and caramelization stuck to metal. High heat browns the proteins and sugars at the surface of the food, and some of that browning stays behind when the food lifts off. Three things decide how much you get:
- The pan. Stainless steel, cast iron, and enamelled cast iron, which food sticks to. Nonstick is built to leave nothing behind, so it leaves no fond.
- The heat. Hot enough to brown, not so hot the bits go black. Golden to dark brown makes a sauce; black makes it bitter.
- Space. A crowded pan steams instead of searing, and steam washes the bits away before they brown. Leave room between pieces, and pat them dry first.
The steps
Quantities are for two to four portions in a 25–30 cm (10–12 in) skillet. Start the sauce as soon as the meat comes out; it’s done by the time the meat has rested.
- Sear and remove. Cook the protein, then move it to a board to rest. Pour off all but about a tablespoon of fat. Why: too much fat won’t emulsifyEmulsifyWhisk or blend fat and water into one smooth mixture that holds together instead of separating, as in mayonnaise, vinaigrette, or a pan sauce finished with cold butter. later and leaves the sauce greasy.
- Sweat the aromaticsAromaticsVegetables, herbs and spices cooked first in fat to build a dish’s base flavour: most often onion, garlic, celery, carrot, ginger or chili.. Over medium heat, add a finely diced shallot (or a little onion or garlic) and cook 1–2 minutes until soft and fragrant, scraping at any loose bits. Why: the moisture from the shallot starts lifting the fond, and the shallot gives the sauce a sweet base. Garlic burns fast, so it goes in last.
- Deglaze. Pour in 125–250 ml (½–1 cup) of liquid while the pan is hot, and scrape the bottom hard with a wooden spoon or flat spatula until the fond dissolves. Why: the hot liquid softens the stuck bits so they release; a spoon on a cold pan only smears them.
- Reduce. Simmer over medium-high heat until the liquid is down by about half and coats the back of a spoon, a few minutes. Pour in any juices the resting meat has let go. Why: reducing concentrates the flavour and cooks off the raw edge of wine or spirits. Stock with gelatin in it thickens as it reduces.
- Mount and balance. Take the pan off the heat and whisk in 1–2 tablespoons of cold butter, a piece at a time, until glossy. Taste, then add a splash of acid (lemon juice or vinegar), salt, pepper, and fresh herbs. Why: cold butter whisked off the heat emulsifies into the sauce; added to a boiling pan it melts into a slick of grease.
Season last. The liquid is a fraction of what it was, and salt added before reducing is concentrated with everything else.
The variables
Pick the liquid to suit the protein, and the finish to suit the mood. Most pan sauces are one choice from each column.
| Protein | Liquid | Finish |
|---|---|---|
| Steak, beef | Red wine, brandy, beef stock | Butter, mustard, black pepper, thyme |
| Pork chops | Cider, white wine, chicken stock | Butter or cream, mustard, sage |
| Chicken | White wine, sherry, chicken stock | Butter or cream, lemon, tarragon or parsley |
| Fish | White wine, vermouth, a little stock | Butter, lemon, capers, dill |
| Mushrooms, vegetables | Stock, sherry, soy | Butter, herbs, a little vinegar |
Wine or spirits plus stock gives more body than either alone: deglazeDeglazePour a liquid into a hot pan and scrape, so the browned bits stuck to the bottom dissolve into it. with the wine, reduce it nearly dry, then add the stock and reduce again. Water works when there’s nothing else. It lifts the fond as well as anything; the sauce is just lighter.
How it fails
- Bitter: the fond burned. Black bits don’t get better with liquid. Wipe the pan and make the sauce from stock alone, or skip it.
- Greasy or split: too much fat left in the pan, or the butter went into a boiling sauce. Off the heat, whisk in a tablespoon of cold water or stock to bring it back together.
- Too salty: salted stock reduced by half is twice as salty. Use unsalted or low-sodium stock, and salt only at the end.
- Thin: not reduced enough. Put it back on the heat; it thickens as it cools, too.
- Gluey: gelatin-rich stock reduced too far. Loosen it with a splash of water.
- Harsh or boozy: the wine wasn’t reduced long enough before the stock went in.
- Nothing to deglaze: a nonstick pan, or a crowded one. Start from stock and lean harder on the shallot and the finish.
Variations
Cream sauce. Swap the butter for a splash of cream (or use both), and simmer a minute to thicken. A spoonful of Dijon with it makes a classic mustard cream for pork or chicken.
Lemon and caper. White wine and chicken stock, finished with butter, lemon juice, and capers. Good on thin chicken cutlets and fish.
Brandy and peppercorn. Deglaze steak with brandy (off the heat, then back on), add beef stock, reduce, and finish with cream and cracked or green peppercorns.
Mushroom. Brown sliced mushrooms in the fat after the meat comes out, before the shallot. They add their own fond.
Gravy. Stir a tablespoon of flour into the fat and cook it before deglazing, then whisk in more stock. The rouxRouxEqual weights of fat and flour cooked together to thicken a sauce. thickens it instead of reduction and butter; see Simple chicken, pork, and beef gravy.
Recipes
- Chicken Milanese: wine and stock, finished with cream
- Beef stroganoff: the same deglaze, carried on into a braiseBraiseBrown, then cook slowly in a covered pot, part-way submerged in liquid, until a tough cut turns tender. with sour cream
- Roast poultry: deglazing roasting pans for stock or gravy
For the stock that goes in, see Stock. For getting a hard sear on thick cuts, see Reverse cooking: reverse sear and water frying.