HOW TO MAKE A PAN SAUCE
"Pan sauces are the simplest and most natural way to flavor a chicken cutlet, fish fillet, pork chop, or steak. Many classic pan sauce recipes, however, require the reduction of fairly large quantities of wine, stock, juice, or cream, tacking on ten minutes or more to an otherwise quick dish. Unless the sauteed meat, fish, or poultry is held in a warm oven, it often become soggy and cold by the time the sauce is done. In addition, many pan sauces are enriched and thickened with large quantities of butter or heavy cream. I don't mind the extra time or calories for a special meal, but for weeknights, I want a sauce that is flavorful, quick, and light.
A classic pan sauce often starts with sauteing garlic or shallots in the empty skillet. To speed up the process, I eliminate that step. While there's hardly a pan sauce that wouldn't benefit from a little shallot or garlic, for time's sake I usually leave them out. In the few sauces where garlic is crucial, I simply add it along with the liquid and let it soften while the liquid is reducing.
To transform chicken stock, juice, or wine from a thin liquid to a thicker sauce, it must be reduced by at least half. Reducing 1 1/2 or 2 cups of liquid--the quantity called for in many recipes--takes more time and effort than I usually have on a Tuesday night. Plus, we just don't need a quarter cup of rich sauce per person for a family meal. I've found that 1/2 cup of liquid reduces to the proper consistency in just a couple of minutes. With flavorful additions like capers or dried fruit and a modest amount of butter for enrichment, there is an overflowing tablespoon of flavorful sauce for each person-more than enough for a weeknight dinner.
Liquids such as low-sodium chicken broth and orange juice and sweet fortified wines such as marsala, madeira, sweet vermouth, and port make fine sauces on their own. Reduce 1/2 cup of any of these liquids in a pan of chicken drippings and you'll get a good sauce. Acidic liquids, however, need taming. A sauce made from straight lemon juice or vinegar, for example, is too harsh. For these, use six tablespoons of chicken broth, sweet fortified wine, or fruit juice for every two tablespoons of lemon juice or vinegar (for a total of 1/2 cup of liquid).
Though not harsh, pan sauces made with straight red or white wine taste weak, sour, and off kilter. Cutting the wine with an equal amount of low-sodium chicken broth balances the sauce. For wine sauces use 1/4 cup each chicken broth and wine (for a total of 1/2 cup liquid). And if making a red wine pan sauce, it benefits from other flavorings as well.
There are, of course, exceptions to the rule. Asian-style Sweet-and-Sour Sauce calls for 1/4 cup chicken broth, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, and 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar rather than 6 tablespoons chicken broth and 2 tablespoons vinegar (but still a total of 1/2 cup liquid).
When using two different liquids in a pan sauce, some recipes call for reducing one liquid before adding the other. Not these. While the chicken sautes, measure all the pan sauce ingredients into a measuring cup and pour them into the skillet where they simmer together.
How quickly the sauce reduces depends on the heat and heaviness of the pan. If the skillet is hot and heavy-duty, the liquid reduces almost as soon as it hits the pan. In a cooler skillet the reduction may take a couple of minutes. Once the sauce reduces to 1/4 cup -- don't measure, just eyeball it -- it's time to add a little butter or cream.
While I want my pan sauce to be light, I find that a pan sauce without a little fat is brash and intense. Not only does butter, heavy cream, or olive oil enrich and soften flavors, it also thickens the sauce and gives it much-needed body. A small amount of sauce, however, requires only a small amount of butter. Just one miraculous tablespoon of butter or olive oil (or two tablespoons of heavy cream) takes a sauce from puckery to pleasant."
BASIC RECIPE FOR PAN SAUCE
Measure pan sauce ingredients in a measuring cup (liquid always totals 1/2 cup).
Pour liquid into hot skillet once meat, poultry, or fish has been removed. Reduce liquid to 1/4 cup.
Tilt the skillet and whisk in butter or cream, and spoon over each portion and serve.
Makes 1/4 cup sauce
Adapted from source: How to Cook Without a Book by Pam Anderson
"Pan sauces are the simplest and most natural way to flavor a chicken cutlet, fish fillet, pork chop, or steak. Many classic pan sauce recipes, however, require the reduction of fairly large quantities of wine, stock, juice, or cream, tacking on ten minutes or more to an otherwise quick dish. Unless the sauteed meat, fish, or poultry is held in a warm oven, it often become soggy and cold by the time the sauce is done. In addition, many pan sauces are enriched and thickened with large quantities of butter or heavy cream. I don't mind the extra time or calories for a special meal, but for weeknights, I want a sauce that is flavorful, quick, and light.
A classic pan sauce often starts with sauteing garlic or shallots in the empty skillet. To speed up the process, I eliminate that step. While there's hardly a pan sauce that wouldn't benefit from a little shallot or garlic, for time's sake I usually leave them out. In the few sauces where garlic is crucial, I simply add it along with the liquid and let it soften while the liquid is reducing.
To transform chicken stock, juice, or wine from a thin liquid to a thicker sauce, it must be reduced by at least half. Reducing 1 1/2 or 2 cups of liquid--the quantity called for in many recipes--takes more time and effort than I usually have on a Tuesday night. Plus, we just don't need a quarter cup of rich sauce per person for a family meal. I've found that 1/2 cup of liquid reduces to the proper consistency in just a couple of minutes. With flavorful additions like capers or dried fruit and a modest amount of butter for enrichment, there is an overflowing tablespoon of flavorful sauce for each person-more than enough for a weeknight dinner.
Liquids such as low-sodium chicken broth and orange juice and sweet fortified wines such as marsala, madeira, sweet vermouth, and port make fine sauces on their own. Reduce 1/2 cup of any of these liquids in a pan of chicken drippings and you'll get a good sauce. Acidic liquids, however, need taming. A sauce made from straight lemon juice or vinegar, for example, is too harsh. For these, use six tablespoons of chicken broth, sweet fortified wine, or fruit juice for every two tablespoons of lemon juice or vinegar (for a total of 1/2 cup of liquid).
Though not harsh, pan sauces made with straight red or white wine taste weak, sour, and off kilter. Cutting the wine with an equal amount of low-sodium chicken broth balances the sauce. For wine sauces use 1/4 cup each chicken broth and wine (for a total of 1/2 cup liquid). And if making a red wine pan sauce, it benefits from other flavorings as well.
There are, of course, exceptions to the rule. Asian-style Sweet-and-Sour Sauce calls for 1/4 cup chicken broth, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, and 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar rather than 6 tablespoons chicken broth and 2 tablespoons vinegar (but still a total of 1/2 cup liquid).
When using two different liquids in a pan sauce, some recipes call for reducing one liquid before adding the other. Not these. While the chicken sautes, measure all the pan sauce ingredients into a measuring cup and pour them into the skillet where they simmer together.
How quickly the sauce reduces depends on the heat and heaviness of the pan. If the skillet is hot and heavy-duty, the liquid reduces almost as soon as it hits the pan. In a cooler skillet the reduction may take a couple of minutes. Once the sauce reduces to 1/4 cup -- don't measure, just eyeball it -- it's time to add a little butter or cream.
While I want my pan sauce to be light, I find that a pan sauce without a little fat is brash and intense. Not only does butter, heavy cream, or olive oil enrich and soften flavors, it also thickens the sauce and gives it much-needed body. A small amount of sauce, however, requires only a small amount of butter. Just one miraculous tablespoon of butter or olive oil (or two tablespoons of heavy cream) takes a sauce from puckery to pleasant."
BASIC RECIPE FOR PAN SAUCE
Measure pan sauce ingredients in a measuring cup (liquid always totals 1/2 cup).
Pour liquid into hot skillet once meat, poultry, or fish has been removed. Reduce liquid to 1/4 cup.
Tilt the skillet and whisk in butter or cream, and spoon over each portion and serve.
Makes 1/4 cup sauce
Adapted from source: How to Cook Without a Book by Pam Anderson
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Thank You To All Who Contribute
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Thank You To All Who Contribute
- Do not use the message boards for advertising or solicitation of our visitors.
- Do not post personal data about yourself or others such as resumes, phone numbers, addresses, etc.
- Be kind. Rude or offensive posts are not acceptable. If you should find a posting that is objectionable to you please do not post a response. E-mail a message to: help@recipelink.com If a complaint is made against a message it is removed.
- Choose the board topic that best suits your post. Off topic messages may be moved or removed. Posts of the same request to more than one message board will be deleted.
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- Please keep posting of URLs to a minimum and limited to exact responses to requests. Posts with links included are removed if they are inaccurate, if they don't lead to the exact answer to the request or if the site content doesn't meet our criteria for sites we link to.
- E-mail all site-related questions and comments to:help@recipelink.com
-
The message
boards are monitored and not all posts are accepted. We reserve the right to
modify, move, use or remove (or not remove) information posted at our discretion
and without prior notification or explanation. Failure to follow the guidelines
may result in loss of access. These guidelines are subject to change without
notice.
Not required, but a request:
Please take a moment to post a thank you to those that take the time (sometimes hours) to find the recipe or information you requested!
Thank you for participating!