Make dinner with two pans instead of one.

by steve
(chicago)

Hi Chef --

I have a suggestion/comment about your saute method based on my experiences when I tried it out. I love the idea of making a pan sauce by deglazing the pan to get the fond up to really make the sauce taste like and compliment the protein. But I had been running into some trouble the first few times I tried this--specifically when I cook chicken and want to make a sauce that has a lighter rather than darker color, like a nice cream sauce. When I cook my protein the fond sticks on the bottom of the pan, which is good. But, before I deglaze my pans, I like to sweat an onion or shallot or something like you do in your videos. Then, it would be nice to throw in some flour to make a roux at that point. But by the time I can sweat the shallots, or cook the roux enough to get the flour taste out, my fond has burned and any hope I had of making a light-colored sauce is gone, because the fond turns the sauce into a brownish color. So I came up with a solution. Instead of a one pan meal, I like to use two pans. I cook the protein. Then i deglaze the pan right away to get the fond up. Then I take that sort-of quick pan-stock (maybe strain it through a chinois if it needs it), and set it aside in a container. Then I'll take a second pan and make a roux, and then add the pan stock from before along with everything else. It may not be quite as quick as a one pan dinner, but it helps a lot when I make a light sauce because the fond doesn't burn.

Thanks again for your videos. They are basically like going to culinary school, which makes them 100% more useful to someone who really wants to learn how to cook than any recipe book.


Chef Todd Says:
Bravo! You've solved a problem that will never be discussed in a recipe. Congratulations to you for cooking with your head, and not just a book.

If you find your fond burning, you need to control the heat, just as you did. Transferring your pan jus to another pan is an excellent idea.

Congrats to you for inventing a new method.

Chef Todd.