Deglazing: What it Is and Why Do It Back to Main Menu     Fond, What Is It ? Deglazing is a fancy and intimidating word that means to pour some cold liquid into a very hot pan to get up all the brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Those brown bits are where all the flavors are, and it is called “fond.” Fond is French for “bottom". After you have browned the meat and removed it from the pan, remove the excess fat. Heat the pan over medium-high heat as you add about a cup of which ever liquid of your choice. The heat will help loosen and dissolve the really stubborn deposits as you scrape the pan with a straight edged metal spatula. The deglazing liquid can be wine, stock, almost any liquid, even water. The idea is to loosen up any bits of meat and all that "burned" on stuff that is stuck on the bottom of the pan and incorporate them into the liquid because they have lots of flavor. The resulting liquid will become the broth in your stew or soup, or a gravy. Restaurants chefs use this technique all the time. They cook something, usually a protein like meat or fish, in a sauté pan over pretty high heat until it's done and leaves a bunch of brown caramelized bits of "stuff" in the pan. You look at this "stuff" in the pan and say to yourself, "Now how am I going to clean this 'stuff' off the pan? What a mess! I wish I used a non stick pan." Before you reach for your green scrubby pad, keep reading. Fond, What Is It Good For? The "stuff" has a name, it's called "fond" and you want that "fond" stuck to the bare metal bottom of your pressure cooker because it is packed with incredible flavors. It's also easy to remove by adding a little liquid to the pan and using a wooden spoon to dissolve it. This is called deglazing and can be done with wine, brandy, fortified wines, stock, cider, fruit juices or most typically a combination of two. Just be careful if you use wine, to remove the pan from the heat so the alcohol doesn't ignite and blow up in your face. I've spoken with chefs who have seen this happen. The next steps are to reduce the liquid in the pan and add several pats of butter to thicken and enhance the flavor of the sauce. If you ever knew how much butter professional chefs use in restaurants to "enhance" flavor, you would be amazed. I sometimes think they make their dishes too rich because I can feel it when I get home, but then again, it's so good when you're eating it. It makes sense, though. Fats not only give foods wonderful body, they also carry a lot of flavor. Now those are just the basics. To create some more complexity to the sauce you'll want to add some aromatics like garlic or shallots for a subtle but additional layer of flavor. Then you might want to add some additional ingredients such as mushrooms, mustards, chutneys, herbs and/or spices to give even more complexity and flavor. This is how many of the classic sauces with all the fancy French names are made. By adding different ingredients to stock reductions, you can create the same sauces at home. Depending on the level you want to take it to, it can be quick and easy or a little more time consuming and complex. But no matter which way you decide to go, you will end up with a more incredible, flavorful, delicious result than if you didn't make the sauce at all. How To Deglaze a Pan You probably deglaze all the time without even realizing it: When you pour water into a pot to make gravy or add some chicken stock to a pan of sautéed onions, or maybe you pour some wine into the pan that you roasted the pork in... yep, you're deglazing.   Now that you know what it is, let’s make sure you are doing all the steps correctly.     • Don't burn the food in the pan you are going to deglaze—you are looking for nice, deep brown goo and bits, that are stuck on the bottom, but not blackened , burned on bits. • Pour off most of the fat in the pan. • Turn the heat up to high. • Add a small amount of cold liquid to the hot pan. The liquid will boil up, creating a big cloud of steam and make a lot of noise, but this is all good. as the liquid will loosen up the brown bits on the bottom of the pan. • Using a spatula, scrape up the all the brown stuff -- this is now the "fond" -- as the liquid boils. • Once the fond is dispersed throughout the liquid, turn down the heat   Deglazing Liquids Almost any liquid can be used for deglazing, although you should stay away from dairy. There is a good chance that dairy products can curdle when boiling, so stick with clear liquids. Here’s a good list to start: • Red or white wine • Beer • Stock—fish, chicken, beef, vegetable, etc. • Broth • Coffee and tea • Cola drinks • Fruit juice • Vinegar Of course, you can also use water to deglaze, but why would you when there are so many other flavorful liquids that you can use instead?