Red Wine Pan Sauce

By GratefulSea

From America's Test Kitchen's Cooking School: This simple red wine pan sauce is perfect with pan-seared steaks, lamb chops, or pork chops. The flavors in this sauce are too intense for chicken or seafood, although you can certainly pair other reduction sauces with these foods.

Once you master this basic technique, you can change the aromatics (use garlic instead of shallots), change the liquid (use white wine, brandy, apple cider), and change the seasonings (add mustard, lemon juice, other fresh herbs) to make dozens of reduction sauces.

Ingredients

• 1 1 1 large shallot
• 1/2 1/2 1/2 cup red wine *
• 3/4 3/4 3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 2 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 3 3 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 1 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves * *
• table salt
• ground black pepper
• Do not used dried thyme in this recipe. Other fresh herbs, including rosemary and oregano, can be used in placed of the thyme.

Details

Servings 1
Preparation time 10mins
Cooking time 15mins
Adapted from onlinecookingschool.com

Preparation

Step 1

PREPARE INGREDIENTS

1. Mince 1 large shallot to yield 4 Tablespoons.

2. Cut 3 tablespoons butter into 3 pieces and chill in refrigerator.

3. Mince thyme to obtain 1 teaspoon.

COOK SHALLOT

4. Pour off all but 2 teaspoons fat from skillet used to cook steaks or chops (do not clean skillet).

5. Add shallot and cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until softened, about 2 minutes.

DEGLAZE PAN

6. Stir in 1/2 cup red wine, 3/4 cup chicken broth, and 2 teaspoons brown sugar.

7. Scrape up browned bits on pan bottom with wooden spoon.

REDUCE SAUCE

8. Simmer until liquid is reduced to 1/3 cup, 4 to 6 minutes.

9. Stir in any accumulated meat juices.

FINISH SAUCE

10. Remove pan from heat.

11. Whisk in butter, one piece at a time, until melted and sauce is thickened and glossy.

12. Add thyme and season with salt and pepper to taste.

13. Spoon sauce over steaks or chops and serve immediately.