This week on Back to Basics, Whitney shows us How to Make a Pan Sauce in just four easy steps.
- Sear your meat - try using steak, pork chops, bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- Add aromatics
- Deglaze - try using red wine, white wine, chicken stock or even water
- Add fat
Check out the full recipe here:
INGREDIENTS
- Meat of choice
- Chicken stock
- Salt
- Pepper
- Fresh thyme
- Butter
- Shallot
- Garlic
- Lemon
- Oil
DIRECTIONS
- Heat 1-2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a large stainless steel or cast iron skillet (do not use nonstick) over medium-high heat until nearly smoking. Add your choice of meat and cook until done. Set aside, covered, to retain heat.
- Pour off any fat remaining in the skillet, but keep solid brown bits remaining (this forms the base of the sauce). Add a bit of butter if the pan seems dry. Turn the heat down to medium and add one chopped shallot and two cloves of minced garlic. Cook, stirring constantly, until the shallots are softened, about 4 minutes.
- Pour in about ½ cup chicken stock. Add a few sprigs of thyme. Add some lemon zest (optional). Simmer, using a wooden spoon to scrape up any stuck pieces until the liquid is thickened and reduced by half, about 5 minutes.
- When the liquid is reduced, remove from the heat and stir in a couple tablespoons butter. Season it with salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle the pan sauce over the meat.
![How to Make a Pan Sauce How to Make a Pan Sauce](/media/9ef08566-2b5b-4fed-8ace-0365b26d3780/5uJLEg/Blog/Oct%202020/B2B_Pan_Sauce_Web_735x1103.jpg)