How to Make a Pan Sauce in 4 Simple Steps (2024)

FAQs

What are the steps to making pan sauce? ›

One of the most common uses for a saucepan is to make or reduce sauces like rue, marinara, or gravy. This type of pan can also quickly and evenly reheat a sauce. Saucepans can be used to boil water for single servings of pasta or to steep tea. A big enough saucepan can be used to deep fry certain foods.

There are three basic kinds of ingredients in most sauces: a liquid, a thickening agent, and other flavoring and seasonings.

The methods for preparing a small sauce from a mother sauce include the sauté and deglaze method, the reduction method, and the gastrique method.

If you don't have stock on hand, use plain old water; the flavor from the fond, aromatics and wine will provide enough oomph for your sauce. Simmer the sauce again over medium and let it reduce about halfway, until your sauce is slightly thickened.

Saucepans are typically deeper and come with a lid. They're ideal for cooking liquids and making sauces, like tomato sauce. Stock pots are even larger than saucepans and are used for cooking large quantities of liquid, such as for soups or stocks.

In the 19th century, Marie-Antoine Carême anointed Béchamel, Velouté, Espagnole, and tomato sauce as the building blocks for all other sauces in his work L'Art de la Cuisine Française au Dix-Neuvième Siecle. Later on, Hollandaise got added to the family.

Famous chef Marie-Antoine Carême codified the four original Mother Sauces in the early 1800s. His recipes for Velouté, Béchamel, Allemande, and Espagnole were vital to every French chef. About 100 years later, chef Auguste Escoffier reclassified Allemande as a “daughter sauce,” or variation, of velouté.

What are the 4 components of a sauce? ›

Combine 2 tablespoons flour with every 1/4 cup cold water and whisk until smooth. Add the mixture to your sauce over medium heat, and continue to stir and cook until you've reached your desired consistency. Test with a spoon.

Once the liquid is reduced, take it off the heat and stir in another few tablespoons of butter. This will give your sauce a smooth, creamy consistency with a glossy finish.

They can also be used for simmering and boiling liquids to cook smaller portions of rice, pasta, or vegetables. For larger quantities of pasta or rice, look for a saucepan with a helper handle so it's easier to pour out the liquid into a strainer.

A pan sauce is created similarly when a sautéed protein produces caramelized bits that cling to the pan and the juices rendered from the cooked items, whether they are meat, poultry, or fish. The sauce is completed with reduced wine and aromatics (shallots, mushrooms, garlic, etc.)