How to Make a Sauce for a Skillet
When I first started cooking for myself and others, I saw the steak dinner as the epitome of sophisticated adulthood, especially when served with an aggressively tannin bottle of red wine. I cooked pretty well, but one element always eluded me: freaking pan sauce.
Part of The Grown Up Kitchen series , Skillet is designed to answer your most basic cooking questions and fill in any gaps that may be missing from your home chef education.
The steak was not a problem. I could cook a steak. I could also bake potatoes. I even made small chocolate lava cakes for dessert. The only thing I couldn’t master was the damn frying pan sauce, which I imagined was made for tossing wine and oil into a hot skillet when the meat was resting. Suffice it to say that my first sauces were somewhat caustic, and the syrup and is rarely added to the real steak.
The funny thing is, skillet sauces are actually pretty easy to make. I wasn’t too far off as wine and fat are a big part of the process, I just needed to make a few adjustments. I have since made these changes and can hardly remember those days of horrible skillet sauces. (Just kidding, these burnt syrups are burnt on my tongue for all eternity.) Now I will share this information with you, since I really like you and think that you deserve all the delicious sauce in this world.
To make the sauce for the frying pan, you will need:
- Frying pan: Do not use a non-stick coating as the sauce for the skillet gets its flavor from the small pieces that stick to the pan .
- Meat: Steaks, pork chops, and chicken pieces are definitely good choices.
- Aromatic substances : be sure to chop the shallots, as well as a couple of garlic cloves. You can also add mustard seeds, peppercorns, star anise, cloves, or even cinnamon, but I would start with shallots and garlic as a base.
- 1/2 cup some kind of icing remover: I like something with a little alcohol. You can use broth, juice, or even what’s called “water,” but they won’t give you the same decadent, versatile flavor that you get from a sauce made with a drink. Wine is never a bad choice, but beer, rum, whiskey, and sherry have their own delicious places.
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup broth: The more flavorful your stock, the more flavorful your sauce will be. You can also cheat and use my best friend Better Than Bouillon .
- Whole Serving Dairy: I understand that “Whole Serving” is not a standard form of measurement, but to be honest, I just add it to taste depending on the meat I am cooking. Start with a couple of tablespoons and work your way up. I use whipping cream because I don’t believe these rules apply to me. Half and half also work. Use skim milk if you just want to watch the world burn. (If you don’t want cream, use butter.)
- Thickener: This is technically optional, but I think sauces should have some consistency and the best way to achieve this is to add a little starch. A slurry of cornstarch (two parts cold water + one part cornstarch) will do, but I’m a fan of beurre manie , which is French for flour and butter paste or crude dressing oil. To make this ball of thickened magic, simply take equal masses of flour and butter and grind it all into a small piece of pasta. To thicken the sauce (or soup, or whatever), break off a small piece and dip it in the hot liquid. Stir, stir, stir and watch the magic happen.
This should be all you need. Here’s what you need to do.
Everything is ready
Your sauce is assembled in a matter of minutes, and if you are trying to make your little ball of butter paste while the wine is decreasing, it will likely shrink excessively and you will probably feel sad. … I don’t want you to be sad, so do the following before you even think about heating the pan:
- Chop the shallots and garlic. Put these bad guys in a small bowl.
- Measure your alcohol and your supplies. Pour yourself some of the frosting off the ice because you are doing a great job of growing up buddy.
- Use an empty bowl to drain the fat from the skillet.
- Decide which thickener you want to use and either stir the slurry or knead in a small ball of oil.
- Take your cream.
Group everyone together within easy reach so you don’t have to look for anything, then start cooking.
Get scorching
Preheat oven to 200 ℉. Pour a couple tablespoons of vegetable oil or ghee into a heavy-bottomed saucepan and hot. Fry the selected protein on all sides and cook until the desired degree of doneness is desired. Transfer the meat to a plate and place in the oven to keep warm.
Now you’re making the sauce
Since your meat is in a warm oven, you don’t need to worry about it getting cold. The sauce for the skillet doesn’t take long, but rushing won’t help, and I like to keep my peace of mind knowing my steak isn’t getting cold. To turn drips from the pan into velvety and tasty garnishes for meat, simply do the following:
1. Reduce heat to medium and drain excess fat into a small bowl. Put this aside. Don’t wipe the pan; you will need some oil for the next step.
2. Add shallots, garlic and any spices to the skillet. Cook until the shallots are tender and the spices are fragrant (about four minutes).
3. In the icing liquid and a wooden spatula or spoon, scrape off any small browned pieces that have adhered to the pan. Let it decrease by about half. To be honest, it’s hard for me to visually assess the volume, but we don’t need to be precise. When you first add liquid, the saucepan will look something like this:
Cook until it looks like this:
4. Pour in 1/2 cup broth. Let it simmer for a couple of minutes, then add the cream and fat you drained off earlier.
5. Let everything cook for a few minutes until you reach the desired consistency. If you want it to be really thick and juicy, add cornstarch or a dash of butter ball. (If it gets too thick, just add some more broth.) Whisk again, transfer to a serving container, and pour over all of your sexy meat.
Once you’ve mastered the technique, you’ll want to take a chance and play around with add-ons, alcohols, and stocks. I wholeheartedly support that and can’t wait to talk about modifications, but that’s a different article another time.