3 Easy Pan Sauces To Upgrade Your Cooking
MARSALA SAUCE:
2 Skin on chicken breasts (bone and tender removed)
100g or 7 baby bella mushrooms, medium diced
50g or 1 shallot, minced
10g or 4 cloves garlic, minced
250g or 1c marsala cooking wine
100g or 1/2c chicken stock
10g or 2t tomato paste
40g or 3T worcestershire
14g (2 packets) powdered gelatine
Oil (avocado, light olive, canola)
Unsalted butter
Instructions:
Whisk together marsala, stock, tomato paste, worcestershire, and gelatine.
Salt both sides of chicken & dry brine at room temperature for 10 minutes.
Dry off the chicken by dabbing well with a towel on all sides. Meat should be as dry as possible before cooking. Preheat a stainless saute pan over med high. Add Tbsp of oil and lay dried chicken breasts into pan, skin side down, pressing down on the meat for 5-10 seconds to ensure solid pan contact.
Saute for 5-6 minutes over medium to medium high heat. Flip to the second side and cook for another 4-5 minutes or until the a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the breast reads 150F/65C. Remove chicken from the pan and tent with foil to rest while you make the pan sauce.
Into the chicken pan over medium heat, add about 2Tbsp/30g butter, diced mushrooms, and pinch of salt. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up chicken fond.
When mushrooms have softened & are taking on color, stir in shallot & garlic, continuing to scrape down the pan. When shallots have softened, deglaze with marsala mixture.
Bring to a simmer over high heat for 7-10 minutes until the bubbles are large & the sauce leaves a slow trail when you run a spoon through it. Reduce heat to low and stir in 50g/3.5T of cold butter.
MUSTARD TARRAGON SAUCE:
2 6oz/170g boneless pork chops
50g or 1 shallot, minced
10g or 3 garlic cloves, minced
5g or 2T parsley, minced
2-3g or 1t tarragon, chopped
250g or 1c dry white wine
100g or 1/2c chicken stock
14g (2 packets) gelatine
High smoke point oil (avocado, light olive, canola)
Unsalted butter
25g or 1 1/2T grainy mustard
40g or 2 1/2T heavy cream
Instructions:
Whisk together wine, stock, & gelatine. Season both sides of chops with salt & dry brine at room temperature for 10 mins, then dry meat well on all sides with a towel.
Add about a Tbsp of high smokepoint oil to a preheated stainless pan over medium high heat, then add the pork. Press down on the meat for 5-10 seconds to ensure pan contact and sear for 6 minutes. Flip and reduce heat to low to cook for an additional 3-4 minutes on the second side until the internal temperature reads 135F/57C.
Rest, tinted with foil while you make the pan sauce. Into the pork pan, add 2Tbsp/30g butter, shallots, garlic & a pinch of salt. Cook for 2-3 mins while stirring & scraping up the pan fond with a wooden spoon. Once shallots have softened, add the wine/stock mixture.
Increase heat to high and bring to a hard simmer and scrape up the rest of the fond. Simmer for 6-7 minutes until passing a spoon through the sauce leaves a trail.
Reduce heat to low and stir in mustard, cream, parsley, and tarragon. Continue to reduce for another minute.
BORDELAISE:
2 6oz/170g NY Strip steaks (sub sirloin)
Unsalted butter
50g or 1 shallot, minced
10g or 3 garlic cloves, minced
250g or 1c dry red wine (cabernet, merlot, etc)
42.5g or 1 packet of demi glace
1g or 1t thyme leaves, chopped
Pinch of black pepper
Salt steaks both sides and allow to sit at room temp for 10 min.
Add oil to a preheated stainless saute pan over medium heat. Add steaks and press down for 5-10 seconds. Sear for 4 minutes. Flip to the second side and sear for 3-4 more minutes or until the internal temp is 125F/52C. Rest, tented with foil while you make the pan sauce.
Add 2 Tbsp/30g butter, shallot, garlic, and a pinch of salt to the pan. Stir and cook for 2-3 minutes, scraping up the fond. When shallots are softened, add wine and demi glace.
Increase heat to high and reduce for 6-10 minutes until the bubbles are large and your spoon leaves a trail when passed through the sauce.
Over low heat, add thyme, pepper, and 50g/3.5T cubed cold butter. Stir to melt.
