5-minute pan sauce with wine or broth
4
Units:
Prep: 2 min Cook: 5 min
Ingredients
- pan drippings from cooked meat (no added oil needed)
- 1 shallot, minced (optional)
- ½ cup white wine, red wine, or broth
- 1 tbsp cold unsalted butter
- fine salt and black pepper to taste
The foundation of restaurant-style sauces: deglaze the fond (browned bits) left in the pan after cooking meat, reduce, and finish with cold butter. Five minutes, one pan, no flour — and a glossy, luxurious sauce.
Instructions
- Rest meat: Remove the cooked meat from the pan to a plate. Tent loosely with foil.
- Saute aromatics: Keep the pan on medium heat. If using, add minced shallot or garlic and cook 30 sec.
- Deglaze: Pour in the wine or broth. Scrape up every brown bit from the bottom with a wooden spoon.
- Reduce: Let the liquid simmer until reduced by half, 3-4 min.
- Mount butter: Off-heat, swirl in the cold butter until just melted and glossy. Do not boil.
- Season and serve: Taste, adjust salt and pepper, and pour over the meat.
Tips
- White wine pairs with chicken and fish; red wine with beef and lamb; broth works with everything.
- Swirl butter off-heat — boiling breaks the emulsion.
- Finish with a squeeze of lemon or a teaspoon of Dijon mustard for a brighter finish.
- Sauce is ready when it coats the back of a spoon.
Created: 3/23/2026, 2:34:55 AM diyfreetraditional
Skillet or saute pan, wooden spoon