Kitchen & Bar

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How to get around

The bar across the top scrolls sideways. These are the same stops, with the job of each one written out.

Sauce

Pan sauce

Turning what stuck to the pan into a sauce. Two minutes of work at the end of something you already cooked.

What you are actually controlling

  • fond
  • deglazing liquid
  • reduction
  • salt concentration
  • finishing fat

Naming the dials is most of the difference between cooking and following. Everything below is a way of moving one of these.

How it goes wrong

  • watery
  • too salty
  • greasy
  • broken
  • bitter

If your result is on this list, the step it belongs to is named below and so is the way back.

The loop

Pan sauce6 steps. Each step shows the cue that confirms it worked below the step, and above it the way it fails together with the correction that returns you to the same step.GOES WRONGThe bottom is black andsmells acrid.1Look at what is inthe panLOOKS RIGHTA thin film of fat, and adark rusty layer stuck tothe base.GOES WRONGGarlic browning andturning bitter withinseconds.2Soften aromatics inthe fatLOOKS RIGHTIt smells sweet ratherthan sharp, and has gonetranslucent at the edges.GOES WRONGBrown patches still weldedto the pan after theliquid has reduced.3Deglaze and scrapeLOOKS RIGHTThe base goes clean andpale, and the liquiddarkens.GOES WRONGIt runs straight off thespoon and slides off themeat on the plate.4Reduce further thanfeels rightLOOKS RIGHTIt coats the back of aspoon and a line drawnthrough it holds for a…GOES WRONGA slick of clear yellowfat separating on thesurface.5Mount with coldbutter, off the heatLOOKS RIGHTGlossy, slightlythickened, opaque. Itclings.GOES WRONGSharply salty after areduction that startedfine.6Season at the end,not the startLOOKS RIGHTBalanced, with the acidjust noticeable ratherthan announcing itself.
Read down, not just across. Below each step is the cue that says it worked; above it, dashed, is how it fails and the correction that sends you back to the same step.

Step by step

  1. 1

    Look at what is in the pan

    Pour off most of the fat but keep every brown speck. Brown is flavor; black is bitterness and has to go.

    Looks right
    A thin film of fat, and a dark rusty layer stuck to the base.
    Goes wrong
    The bottom is black and smells acrid.
    Way back
    Start again with a clean pan and a spoonful of stock. A burnt fond will make the sauce taste burnt and nothing downstream removes it.
  2. 2

    Soften aromatics in the fat

    Shallot, garlic or a spoon of mustard, thirty to sixty seconds. Long enough to lose the raw edge, not long enough to color.

    Looks right
    It smells sweet rather than sharp, and has gone translucent at the edges.
    Goes wrong
    Garlic browning and turning bitter within seconds.
    Way back
    Add the liquid immediately — it drops the pan temperature and stops the browning dead.
  3. 3

    Deglaze and scrape

    Wine, stock, cider, even water. Pour it in and scrape everything up with a flat wooden spoon while it boils.

    Looks right
    The base goes clean and pale, and the liquid darkens.
    Goes wrong
    Brown patches still welded to the pan after the liquid has reduced.
    Way back
    Add a splash more liquid and keep scraping. Anything left on the pan is flavor you paid for and did not collect.
  4. 4

    Reduce further than feels right

    Boil it down by half to two thirds. This is where a sauce becomes a sauce rather than a puddle.

    Looks right
    It coats the back of a spoon and a line drawn through it holds for a second.
    Goes wrong
    It runs straight off the spoon and slides off the meat on the plate.
    Way back
    Keep going. The only real failure here is impatience — and the only risk on the other side is salt.
  5. 5

    Mount with cold butter, off the heat

    Pan off the burner, cold butter in two pieces, swirl until it disappears. Taste, then salt and acid last.

    Looks right
    Glossy, slightly thickened, opaque. It clings.
    Goes wrong
    A slick of clear yellow fat separating on the surface.
    Way back
    Take it further off the heat, add a teaspoon of cold water or stock and swirl hard. Butter mounted into a boiling pan splits every time — the emulsion needs the temperature to come down.
  6. 6

    Season at the end, not the start

    Reduction concentrates whatever salt was already there. Taste, then correct.

    Looks right
    Balanced, with the acid just noticeable rather than announcing itself.
    Goes wrong
    Sharply salty after a reduction that started fine.
    Way back
    Dilute with unsalted stock or water and re-reduce briefly, or stretch it with more butter. Cream, sugar and potato do not remove salt — they only distract from it.

Where the published floor sits

Separate from everything above it. The cues on this page are aimed at a result; these are numbers a food-safety authority published, reproduced with their source so you can read the chart yourself.

Published minimum internal temperaturesWhole cuts of beef, pork, lamb and veal: 63°C, 145°F, plus a 3 minute rest. Poultry, whole or ground: 74°C, 165°F.Whole cuts of beef, pork, lamb and veal63°C / 145°F + 3 min restPoultry, whole or ground74°C / 165°F40°C50°C60°C70°C80°C

These are published minimums, not doneness preferences and not a verdict about any particular piece of food. Ground meat sits above whole cuts of the same animal because grinding moves the surface through the middle — the species is not the reason.

Watch somebody do it

Third-party video. Opens in a new tab — nothing is embedded and nothing is fetched from a video platform until you click.

Reviewed video for this technique. Reading a cue is one thing; seeing it is faster.