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How to Deglaze a Pan

Deglazing is a technique often used to create a base for making sauces.

To loosen these bits, just add a small amount of liquid, (wine, stock, lemon juice or water for example) to the pan and start stirring. Using a wooden spoon, spatula, or a whisk to loosen the meat pieces.

While the meat is cooking, you could also ad small amounts of water to the pan (once the meat has begun to brown and drippings have thickened up) to keep the juices from burning and not being any good.

It is important for you to remove the pan from the heat when adding any liquids with alcohol so you don't end up getting burned, as some liquids "will cause a fire to flare up".
When fatty foods have been cooked, try using lemon juice or wine.

Both can be used to help the food from being so heavy tasting.

For less fatty foods, any type of deglazing liquid can be used to blend with the meat juices, to make gravies or sauces.

Another idea, when deglazing a pan, try using some onions, garlic, in the pan before adding the liquid, to make a sauce with a more flavorful texture.

You can also try sauteing them in a pan with seasonings and oil or butter.

After the cooked food has been removed from the heat, you then begin your process, stirring while adding.

Then the pan is returned to the heat and a liquid such as stock, wine, or water is poured in.

As the liquid is gently heated, a spatula or wooden spoon can be pulled along the bottom of the pan to bring up any bits which may be stuck to it.

When the entire pan has been deglazed, you may want to pour the finished liquid over the food, add spices, thicken it with flour, or corn starch.

Or you can use it as the base for a more complex sauce.

You can now use this mixture to create a wonderful sauce to accompany your meal.

One such sauce you can create is using brown sugar and soy sauce.

This mixture is particularly good on a pork roast.

First you start with a deep roaster pan. (The sugar will create a lot of bubbling.)

Pour approx. A cup soy sauce over your roast.

Next add approx. 2 fully packed cups of brown sugar, completely covering the roast.

You will then need to securely cover with a baking lid or use Reynolds wrap to keep it from boiling over. Would be a good idea to put a flat pan under it, just in case it does boil over.

Cook the normal time required for the amount of weight of meat you are preparing.

When it is cooked completely, you can now start to deglaze the pan, by adding a small amount of water and corn starch to make a gravy to tantalize your taste buds.

So get cooking and practice your new found deglazing method and enjoy!

Learn more about this author, Sam Madsen.
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