How To Make A Pan Sauce For Chicken Breasts

Learning how to make a pan sauce is one of the most important culinary techniques you can learn to take your home cooking to the next level! Join Eric from Simply Elegant Home Cooking as he demonstrates his method for making a pan sauce. Today Eric is using a bone-in, skin-on chicken breast, however this is a method, not a recipe, and can be used for any type of meat or fish to get a similar result.

To make a restaurant quality pan sauce, it is imperative to use a homemade stock! Check the link below to see Eric’s foolproof recipe for homemade chicken stock from chicken carcasses:

youtube.com/watch?v=Q1mDvHQP65c

Here is all you will need for this delicious pan sauce! Although, since this is a method and not a recipe you can certainly substitute whatever type of liquor and seasonings you like. The pan sauce can be customized for any dish. Use for any cut of chicken, or any cut of meat or fish! You can also substitute out the fresh thyme for any fresh herb that you like!

Ingredients:

-1/3 Cup Pinot Grigio Italian White Wine

-1/2 Cup Homemade Chicken Stock

-2 Cloves Garlic

-1 Small Shallot

-1 Tablespoon Fresh Thyme Leaves

-1 Small Slice Fresh Lemon

-1 Tablespoon Cold Butter

-Salt and Pepper to Taste

Method:

-Sear a chicken breast, or any other piece of meat in a stainless steel or cast iron skillet. When meat is cooked, remove to rest and leave any browned bits in the pan.

-Deglaze the skillet with the white wine, or other liquor of your choice. Be sure to remove the skillet from the heat to avoid a flare up.

-Add in the chopped shallot and the garlic, cook until the liquor is reduced in volume and becomes syrupy.

-Once liquor has reduced in volume, add in the chicken stock. Add salt and pepper to taste if desired. Be sure not to over season as the sauce will reduce and become concentrated.

-Add in any accumulated juices from the chicken. There is a ton of flavor in the juices!

-After the sauce has reduced in volume, add in a small squeeze of the fresh lemon juice.

-Once the sauce has become thick enough to coat the back of the spoon, turn off the heat. Another way to gauge the consistency is to run a spatula along the bottom of the pan. Once the sauce streaks to where you can see the pan, the sauce is ready!

-With the heat off, add in the fresh thyme (or other herbs), and add in the chunk of cold butter. Use the spatula to move the butter around and it will emulsify into the sauce and give you a perfectly thick, rich, restaurant-quality sauce!

-Serve and enjoy!