by Sunshine Simmons

Created on: January 13, 2009   Last Updated: November 09, 2011

After cooking a piece of meat in a pan the drippings are left behind and it's time to deglaze the pan. These drippings are exploding with flavor and make delectable sauces. Where do you start?

First, remove the meat, poultry, or fish from the pan and place it on a platter. Depending on what kind of sauce you want to make, you can either use wine, stock, water, or a combination. Use twice as much liquid as the amount of sauce that you want to make.

Next, raise the heat to high and bring the liquid to a boil, stirring and scraping the brown bits of yummy goodness until they dissolve into the sauce. This is very important. The stirring and scraping is the key to deglazing. Those little bits of caramelized pieces will infuse into the liquid making the sauce pop with flavor.

Then, keep the sauce boiling until it has reduced by half. This isn't a scientific calculation, and you'll get better at it the more you do it. Use your best guess as to when the liquid is half of what it was when you added your water, wine, or stock. Feel free to taste your sauce and add more seasoning if you think that it needs more flavor. To smooth it out, add a couple of teaspoons of cold butter or olive oil

BASIC DEGLAZING SAUCE:

What you'll need:

1 Tablespoon of minced shallots or the white part of scallions or onion,

1-2 cloves of minced garlic,

cup dry white wine (or full bodied red wine if you would rather)

1 cup Organic Low Sodium Chicken, Beef, or Vegetable Stock or Broth,

1-2 Tablespoons of butter,

1-2 Tablespoons of fresh minced herbs of your choice

What you'll do:

First, remove meat from pan and keep warm while preparing your sauce. Remove any excess fat from the pan. Add shallots (scallions, or onion). Add garlic. Saute all over medium heat until translucent. Add wine stirring and scraping the caramelized pieces in the pan. Add stock or broth and allow the mixture to come to a boil while scraping and mixing. When the mixture has reduced by half and thickened, taste to see if more seasoning is needed.Add butter, oil, and herbs. Pour over your meat and enjoy,

MEDITERRANIAN DEGLAZING SAUCE:

What you'll need:

1 Tablespoon minced shallots,

the white part of scallions, or onion

1-2 cloves of garlic

cup Balsamic Vinegar, or good red wine cup

sliced roasted red bell peppers or sliced jarred and drained pimentos

1 medium sized jar of marinated artichoke hearts, drained

cup of pitted green olives, drained

What you'll do:

Remove meat from pan and keep warm while making sauce. Spoon off excess fat from pan. Add shallot/scallions/onions and garlic to sauce and saute until translucent. Add Balsamic Vinegar or wine and allow to boil while mixing and scraping the sauce. Stir in bell peppers or pimentos, artichoke hearts, and olives. Allow the mixture to cook until reduced by half and thickened. Taste and season if needed. Spoon over meat and enjoy.

Get creative with your drippings, and you'll learn how to make sauces that keep people asking, "When's dinner?"

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