The answer is in a single word: "fond" (pronounced in English exactly like "I am fond of [thing]"). The term comes from the French word for "stock" (but for this thing, the French use the word "sucs" meaning "juices"). Why the French needed to invent a new word for the thing we borrowed, or why we English speakers chose to borrow this word and not the one the French actually use, I'm not sure. In English, however, the word refers to sticky, meaty residue left on the pan by the searing process which is very often left unused-- and discarded by the dishwasher-- by the average home cook.
There are two candidates for the biggest possible improvement the average home cook could make to their meat and poultry dishes: using fond well, and seasoning well.
I want this to be a very practical article, so pull it up on your iPad, or wherever you read my work in the kitchen, and have it at the ready as you do what I ask, live. And leave it bookmarked so you can come back to it because the best way to get better at the skill I want to teach here is to practice many times.
There are two possible courses of action that can be taken, and this article will cover both: creating a pan-sauce mounted with butter or creating a glaze thickened only by time.
Either case begins the same way: by thoroughly drying and appropriately seasoning the exterior or whatever cut of meat or poultry you'd like to practice with. Here's a tip to get the best possible sear on anything: add a thin film of oil to a cold pan, and lay in the seasoned chicken, beef, pork, etc. Then, let the protein tell you when it's done searing on that side. Meat goes through four stages during searing: the very beginning, getting stuck to the pan, releasing when properly seared, and getting scorched. It takes practice, but flip the protein over early in stage 3 for the best results, both for the protein and the sauce we're trying to build. Further, when you flip it over, put it back down in the same spot in the pan.
Sear the other side, and then finish the protein however you want: butter-basting, etc.
Allow the protein to rest on a serving platter (i.e., not where you cooked it). Let's turn our attention to the now-empty pan. If there's a considerable amount of fat (especially if there are also aromatics, like sprigs of herbs or cloves of garlic) in the pan, pouring out the fat with those aromatics over the protein would be a pro-level idea.
If the protein was seared correctly (flipped over in stage 3 on the first side, then moved to gentler heat when the second side likewise was at stage 3, maintaining that gentler heat until the desired doneness), then there should be a considerable amount of fond stuck to the bottom and sides of the pan. NEVER THROW THIS AWAY BY WASHING IT AWAY IN THE DISHWASHER.
Return the pan to the stove over medium-low heat and deglaze it with your liquid of choice: depending on the protein and how it was seasoned, this could be anything from stock (beef, chicken, vegetable, duck, veal, or any other) or water, to beer and wine, or in some rare cases, even grape, cranberry, prune, or orange juice. Whatever liquid you choose, remember that its flavor as a sauce will become much more concentrated than if you were to drink the liquid as the liquid normally exists because a lot of volume will be lost in the reduction process. Adding this liquid to the pan should cause any flavor particles that might be stuck to the pan to dissolve into the liquid you just added, and what doesn't dissolve immediately can be helped by scraping the bottom and sides of the pan with a wooden spoon or similar implement. If, after adding some liquid and scraping, you still see anything undissolved, add more liquid and scrape again, and stay in this loop until there is nothing else stuck to the pan.
You have two choices at this point: either you will have par-cooked (cooked almost all the way, but not entirely, so that they can finish in this sauce) some vegetables like green beans or broccoli, or you will have gotten to this point wanting to make a pan-sauce.
Let's say for now that you want to make the vegetable side dish: if that's your plan, then transfer the par-cooked vegetables into the sauce and stir, letting the sauce thicken into a glaze coating the vegetables, adding only a tablespoon of water at a time if you think you might be close to burning anything. The time it takes to reduce the sauce to a glaze without burning it should be enough both for the protein to rest and for the vegetables to be ready since they were par-cooked.
If, however, you want to turn the fond into a pan sauce to be served on top of the protein, follow the following instructions. Deglaze as before, but then reduce the deglazed liquid by half over medium-low. Once the liquid has been reduced by half, switch to a whisk, and incorporate, tablespoon-by-tablespoon, anywhere from 4 to 8 tablespoons of butter. Butter is a natural emulsion of fat, water, and some flavor compounds; failing to whisk will break this emulsion, and will cause a fat slick to develop on the top surface. (Such a presentation is sometimes desirable in Indian cuisine, but never in French or Italian cooking.) Of course, scale this up or down based on how much fond you have, and how much pan sauce you need. Check for seasoning, adjust if necessary, and serve alongside your protein of choice.
There are two candidates for the biggest possible improvement the average home cook could make to their meat and poultry dishes: using fond well, and seasoning well.
I want this to be a very practical article, so pull it up on your iPad, or wherever you read my work in the kitchen, and have it at the ready as you do what I ask, live. And leave it bookmarked so you can come back to it because the best way to get better at the skill I want to teach here is to practice many times.
There are two possible courses of action that can be taken, and this article will cover both: creating a pan-sauce mounted with butter or creating a glaze thickened only by time.
Either case begins the same way: by thoroughly drying and appropriately seasoning the exterior or whatever cut of meat or poultry you'd like to practice with. Here's a tip to get the best possible sear on anything: add a thin film of oil to a cold pan, and lay in the seasoned chicken, beef, pork, etc. Then, let the protein tell you when it's done searing on that side. Meat goes through four stages during searing: the very beginning, getting stuck to the pan, releasing when properly seared, and getting scorched. It takes practice, but flip the protein over early in stage 3 for the best results, both for the protein and the sauce we're trying to build. Further, when you flip it over, put it back down in the same spot in the pan.
Sear the other side, and then finish the protein however you want: butter-basting, etc.
Allow the protein to rest on a serving platter (i.e., not where you cooked it). Let's turn our attention to the now-empty pan. If there's a considerable amount of fat (especially if there are also aromatics, like sprigs of herbs or cloves of garlic) in the pan, pouring out the fat with those aromatics over the protein would be a pro-level idea.
If the protein was seared correctly (flipped over in stage 3 on the first side, then moved to gentler heat when the second side likewise was at stage 3, maintaining that gentler heat until the desired doneness), then there should be a considerable amount of fond stuck to the bottom and sides of the pan. NEVER THROW THIS AWAY BY WASHING IT AWAY IN THE DISHWASHER.
Return the pan to the stove over medium-low heat and deglaze it with your liquid of choice: depending on the protein and how it was seasoned, this could be anything from stock (beef, chicken, vegetable, duck, veal, or any other) or water, to beer and wine, or in some rare cases, even grape, cranberry, prune, or orange juice. Whatever liquid you choose, remember that its flavor as a sauce will become much more concentrated than if you were to drink the liquid as the liquid normally exists because a lot of volume will be lost in the reduction process. Adding this liquid to the pan should cause any flavor particles that might be stuck to the pan to dissolve into the liquid you just added, and what doesn't dissolve immediately can be helped by scraping the bottom and sides of the pan with a wooden spoon or similar implement. If, after adding some liquid and scraping, you still see anything undissolved, add more liquid and scrape again, and stay in this loop until there is nothing else stuck to the pan.
You have two choices at this point: either you will have par-cooked (cooked almost all the way, but not entirely, so that they can finish in this sauce) some vegetables like green beans or broccoli, or you will have gotten to this point wanting to make a pan-sauce.
Let's say for now that you want to make the vegetable side dish: if that's your plan, then transfer the par-cooked vegetables into the sauce and stir, letting the sauce thicken into a glaze coating the vegetables, adding only a tablespoon of water at a time if you think you might be close to burning anything. The time it takes to reduce the sauce to a glaze without burning it should be enough both for the protein to rest and for the vegetables to be ready since they were par-cooked.
If, however, you want to turn the fond into a pan sauce to be served on top of the protein, follow the following instructions. Deglaze as before, but then reduce the deglazed liquid by half over medium-low. Once the liquid has been reduced by half, switch to a whisk, and incorporate, tablespoon-by-tablespoon, anywhere from 4 to 8 tablespoons of butter. Butter is a natural emulsion of fat, water, and some flavor compounds; failing to whisk will break this emulsion, and will cause a fat slick to develop on the top surface. (Such a presentation is sometimes desirable in Indian cuisine, but never in French or Italian cooking.) Of course, scale this up or down based on how much fond you have, and how much pan sauce you need. Check for seasoning, adjust if necessary, and serve alongside your protein of choice.
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