How to Make a Pan Sauce: A Restaurant Sauce in Five Minutes
Once you have seared a steak, a chicken breast or a pork chop, look down at the pan. Those sticky brown bits on the bottom are called the fond, and they are pure flavour. Most people wash them down the sink. Chefs turn them into a sauce. It takes five minutes and one pan, and it is the difference between dinner and a restaurant dinner.
The Formula
Fat, aromatics, liquid, reduce, butter. Learn it once and you can make a hundred sauces. This makes enough for 2 to 4 servings.
Move the cooked meat to a plate to rest. Pour off all but about 1 tablespoon of fat from the pan.
Turn the heat to medium. Add 1 finely chopped shallot, or a clove of garlic, and cook for about a minute until soft.
Deglaze. Pour in ½ cup (120 ml) of wine, stock or a mix of both. It will hiss. Scrape the bottom with a wooden spoon until all the brown bits dissolve.
Let it bubble until reduced by about half, 2 to 3 minutes. For a richer sauce, add another ½ cup of stock and reduce again.
Take the pan off the heat. Swirl in 2 tablespoons of cold butter, a piece at a time, until the sauce turns glossy.
Finish with a squeeze of lemon, some chopped herbs and the juices from the resting meat. Taste, then season.
Mix and Match Flavours
Steak: brandy or red wine, beef stock, cracked peppercorns and a splash of cream. That's steak au poivre.
Chicken: white wine, chicken stock, lemon and capers. That's piccata.
Pork: dry cider, a spoonful of Dijon mustard and thyme.
Fish and shrimp: white wine, garlic, lemon and parsley, scampi style.
Mushroom: add sliced mushrooms with the shallot and finish with cream and thyme.
Why It Works
The liquid dissolves the fond and carries all that browned flavour into the sauce. Reducing concentrates it. The cold butter, whisked in off the heat, thickens the sauce and gives it that restaurant shine. The French call it monter au beurre, mounting with butter, which sounds far grander than it is.
What Can Go Wrong
The fond is black: it has burnt and will taste bitter. Wipe out the pan and start fresh, and sear a little lower next time.
There's no fond at all: you used a nonstick pan. Use stainless steel or cast iron.
Too thin: reduce it for another minute.
Too thick or too salty: loosen it with a splash of water or stock. Reducing concentrates salt, so always season at the end.
Greasy and split: the butter went in over heat that was too high. Take the pan off the heat and whisk in a spoonful of cold water or stock.
A flame shoots up: always take the pan off the heat before adding wine or brandy, then return it.
Practise With These Recipes
Try the formula in my Chicken Piccata, Salmon Piccata, Shrimp Scampi, and the Steak au Poivre from my Disney Wonder story.
A pan sauce starts with a good sear, so if you haven't yet, read How to Sear Meat.
The tools I use: Sauté Pan, Stainless Steel Frying Pan, and Silicone Spatula.
This lesson is part of my Anyone Can Cook Kitchen School. Next lesson: How to Cook Pasta Perfectly.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is deglazing?
Adding liquid such as wine or stock to a hot pan after searing, then scraping up the browned bits so they dissolve into a sauce.
Can I make a pan sauce without wine?
Yes. Use stock, dry cider or even water, and add a squeeze of lemon at the end for brightness.
Why do you add cold butter at the end?
Cold butter whisked in off the heat thickens the sauce and makes it glossy. Hot butter just melts into a greasy layer.
Can I make a pan sauce in a nonstick pan?
Not really. Nonstick pans don't build the browned bits that give a pan sauce its flavour. Use stainless steel or cast iron.
How much sauce does this make?
About ⅓ to ½ cup, enough for 2 to 4 servings. Double the liquid for more.
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