Pan Sauce Mastery

Name: Pan Sauce Mastery
Prep time: 2 min
Cook time: 6 min
Total time: 8 min
Yield: 2 portions
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 1 piece large shallot minced fine; 1 piece garlic clove minced; 0.25 cup dry red wine or beef stock; 0.5 cup beef stock; 2 piece fresh thyme sprig; 2 tablespoon cold unsalted butter cut into cubes, kept cold

CN by Chef Nica 4.7 (76) 8 min total

The short version

A pan sauce is made in the same skillet right after searing a steak — brown fond, shallot, wine or stock, a knob of cold butter whisked in at the end. Done in 5 minutes. Deglazing the pan captures all the flavour that would otherwise go down the drain.

SauceWeeknightFrench technique5 minutes

2m
Prep: 6m
Cook: 2
Servings: Medium
Level

S Pan Sauce Mastery

Ingredients

Batch

1large shallotminced fine
1garlic cloveminced
¼ cupdry red wine or beef stock
½ cupbeef stock
2fresh thyme sprig
2 tablespooncold unsalted buttercut into cubes, kept cold

Method

0 / 4 steps

Soften aromatics
Pour off most fat, leaving a thin film. Over medium-high, sauté shallot 1 minute until translucent.
Deglaze
Add garlic and wine. Scrape up every bit of brown fond with a wooden spoon. Reduce until wine is almost gone, about 1 minute.
Loud sizzle that settles as the alcohol burns off
Add stock & reduce
Add stock and thyme. Simmer until reduced by half, about 3 minutes.
Mount with butter
Remove from heat. Whisk in cold butter one cube at a time until sauce is glossy and slightly thickened. Season and pour over steak immediately.
Should coat the back of a spoon and look glossy, not greasy

Rate this recipe

4.7

76 cooks rated this

Tips

The pan must be off the heat when you add butter — heat breaks the emulsion and you get grease.
No wine? Use sherry vinegar (1 tbsp) dissolved in extra stock.