How to Make Sauce Out of Your Pan's Brown Bits (aka Fond)
Inspired by conversations on the Food52 Hotline, we're sharing tips and tricks that make navigating all of our kitchens easier and more fun.
Today: Don't wash away them most flavorful bits in your pan. They're called fond, and they're the start of a very good pan sauce. Here's what you need to know.
In the universe of cooking, fond is the dark matter. Undetectable in a finished dish, these concentrated brown bits may seem small, but the impact they have on flavor is huge. Fond, quite simply, is the stuff that sticks to your pan after browning meat or vegetables on the stove top, or at the bottom of a roasting dish out of the oven. Pour off the oil, and these stuck little bits will remain, daring you scrub to them away -- but if you’re a smart cook, you'll turn them into a rich, lip-smacking pan sauce.
A quick note about the pronunciation and definition of fond: “Fond” (pronounced fahn) is literally translated to mean "the bottom" or "base." In classical French cooking, the word is also used to mean "stock," another common base for various recipes. Fond is formed when proteins are exposed to heat, turning food that was once tender and pink into something crusty and brown. Chemists call this process the Maillard reaction, wherein a rainbow of chemicals erupt from the denatured proteins, unlocking flavor combinations that humans are hard-wired to find irresistible. Though similar, caramelization happens at a higher temperature than the Maillard reaction and to sugars instead of proteins. That being said, the two reactions often work together when both sugar and proteins are present.
However they find themselves there, these tasty bits are at the core of classical cooking. Of the 5 mother sauces that culinary school hopefuls memorize, at least 3 are based on fond and the technique known as deglazing. Deglazing reintroduces fond to liquid, loosening and dispersing all of those concentrated flavors back into your dish. Flavor the fond with the addition of an aromatic or two -- such as shallots or garlic -- thicken it with flour, tomato, or vegetables, and you have the blueprint for hundreds of sauces and gravies.
How to Make a Pan Sauce
For a simple pan sauce, return a fond-encrusted pan to a medium-high flame. Add minced onion or garlic, and when the liquid from these begins to cook away -- before you burn them! -- add a half-cup of white wine. Scrape up the bits of fond into the bubbling wine. After a minute or two, add a cup of water and deglaze again until the sauce is reduced by two-thirds. From dirty pan to delicious sauce, the process should take about 5 minutes.
More: Make the most of fond with this recipe for Roast Chicken with Garlic and Herb Pan Sauce.
The Best Pans for Your Pan Sauces
Some pans are more conducive to fond than others. Enamel-coated cast iron, in particular, gives great fond. And be sure that your scraping is done with a wooden spoon or similarly soft utensil, especially if you are using non-stick pans. No pan sauce calls for bits of Teflon.
It's also important not to crowd your pan; when browning, give your protein or vegetable enough room to develop a healthy crust. Overcrowded pans, like overcrowded elevators, beget sweat and steam. You won’t get fond under these spa-like conditions.
When roasting a bird or other large piece of meat, you can maximize the fond by loading your roasting pan with some onions, carrots, and celery and perching the protein above it. As the meat cooks, releasing fond-laden juices, the vegetables will caramelize, adding aroma and depth. In this case, your pan sauce is essentially done. Deglaze with wine or even water, and you’ll never bid fond farewell again.
First photo by Mark Weinberg; all others by James Ransom
