subject: The Best Way To Make Incredible Pan Sauces [print this page] If you wish to elevate your cooking abilities to a new level and add a whole lot additional to your gastronomy repertoire, understand the best way to make a very simple pan sauce. With this method within your cooking bag of tricks, you may turn a very simple pan-fried steak into a mouth-watering meal, a plain boneless chicken breast into a delicious feast, or perhaps a modest pork chop into a scrumptious banquet. (Read about how to make a bbq sauce here.)
Restaurants chefs use this method all the time. Basically they cook something in a sauce pan more than pretty high heat until it is accomplished and leaves a bunch of brown caramelize bits of "stuff" in the pan. You appear at this "stuff" inside the pan and say to oneself, "Now how am I going to clean this 'stuff' off the pan? What a mess! I wish I had used a non stick pan."
The "stuff" has a name, it is named "fond" and you desire that "fond" stuck to your pan mainly because it truly is packed with amazing flavors. It is also effortless to get rid of by adding a little liquid to the pan and utilizing a wooden spoon to dissolve it. This is named deglazing and may be carried out with wine, brandy, fortified wines, stock, cider, fruit juices or most commonly a mixture of two. Just be careful should you use wine to get rid of the pan from the heat so the alcohol does not ignite and blow up within your face. I've spoken with chefs who have observed this happen.
The subsequent steps are to continue to cook the liquid in the pan until it's reduced by half and finish by adding several pats of butter to thicken and improve the flavor of the sauce. In the event you ever knew just how much butter expert chefs use in restaurants to "enhance" flavor, you would be amazed. I occasionally believe they make their dishes too rich mainly because I get that uncomfortable "too full" feeling later on, but then once more, it's so superior whilst you are dining. Now those are just the basics. (Or you could just buy bbq sauces or other prepared sauce at the store or online.)
To make more complexity to the sauce you'll want to add some aromatics like garlic or shallots for a subtle but extra layer of flavor. Then you might want to add some additional ingredients such as mushrooms, mustards, chutneys, herbs and/or spices to give much more complexity and flavor.