How to Deglaze!

How to capitalize the delicious fond that is bursting with flavors?

First, remove the food you’ve just cooked from the pan and pour off any liquid or fat. Dump out anything that seems burned because that won’t taste good if you’re making a sauce.

Return the pan to the heat and add liquid to cover the pan by about half an inch. As the liquid heats, use a spatula or spoon to scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan until the pan is clean and all the fond bits are dissolved or floating into the liquid.

You can simply add water to deglaze but if you want to jazz up the flavor with the fond, use stock, wine, juice, beer or vinegar to deglaze. If you are using alcohol to deglaze, make sure to remove the pan from the heat when adding the alcohol to prevent flames.

To transform that liquid into a sauce or gravy for a meal, boil the liquid until it’s reduced and thickened. Add any aromatics such as shallots, garlic, fresh herbs, or whole spices and cooked briefly. Remove from heat, strain off the solids if necessary, whisk in butter or cream to make it velvety, and serve.

Where are those brown bits from?