Two examples of classic and quick homemade pan sauces
Here are two versions of the same sauce. Both are easy to make and don't take that much time and the quick recipe cuts down the time even more. In a restaurant, they would have on hand demi-glace or a reduced brown sauce to make these sauces but most of us don't have the time or energy to make them at home. It is a time consuming process but the results are spectacular.
There are commercial products on the market, my favorite being Demi Glace Gold and Glace de Viande from More Than Gourmet. They are not cheap so these recipes are great alternatives.
Red Wine Sauce w/ Mustard & Thyme
Yields approximately 1/2 cup, enough to sauce
Ingredients:
- 2 medium shallots, minced
- 1/2 cup dry red wine
- 1/2 cup homemade stock (chicken, beef, lamb, or venison)
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
- Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
After sautéing properly, remove meat or chicken from the pan leaving the residual fat that it was cooked in. There should be some brown bits of meat or chicken in the pan leftover from the cooking. This is called fond. Leave it right where it is. Add the shallots to the pan and cook over low heat stirring frequently until the shallots are translucent.
Raise the heat to high, add wine, stock, and bring to a boil. At this time loosen any of the browned bits stuck to the pan with a wooden spoon and incorporate them into the sauce. Boil until the liquid is reduced in half.
Reduce heat to medium, add the balsamic vinegar and Dijon mustard and cook until the sauce has the consistency you like. It should be thick enough to coat regular spoon. I hesitate to give cooking times for each of these steps because the amount of heat (Btu's) varies from stove to stove.
Remove from heat and stir in butter. This will help thicken it a little more and give it a nice glossy appearance. Add the fresh thyme, season with salt and pepper to taste and serve over your main course immediately.
Quick Red Wine Sauce w/ Mustard & Thyme
Now if you want even a pan sauce that takes less time but still adds flavor to what you are preparing, this is a good one. Notice I reduced the amount of liquid by half to reduce the reduction time.
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup chicken stock
- 1/4 cup red wine
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 Tablespoon. unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
After sautéing properly, remove meat or chicken from the pan leaving the residual fat that it was cooked in. Add the chicken stock and red wine and reduce over high heat by half (1/4 cup). Whisk in the butter, mustard, thyme and serve.
Now that's fast and will be so much better than no sauce at all.
