Pan Sauces and Butters
Cooking Skills: Beef and Steak 1
Chapter 3 · Pan Sauces and Butters
Skill goal
Turn the browned bits in the steak pan into a sauce.
Shopping list for this chapter
The basics
The browned bits stuck to the pan after you fry a steak (called the fond) are concentrated beefy flavour. Pour in a liquid and scrape them loose (this is deglazing), simmer it down and you have a sauce in minutes. A flavoured butter is even simpler: it melts on the hot meat into its own sauce. This chapter uses stock, mustard, cream, butter and mushrooms, and no alcohol.
The method
- Don't wash the pan after the steak: the brown bits are the flavour.
- Lower the heat before adding shallots or garlic so they don't burn, then deglaze with stock.
- Scrape well with a wooden spoon, so all the bits dissolve.
- Reduce until it coats the back of a spoon: wait for it, don't thicken with flour.
- Season last, because the sauce gets saltier as it reduces.
| Sauce | Base | Finish | Good with |
|---|---|---|---|
| Garlic and herb butter | Softened butter | Sliced onto hot meat | Steak, burgers |
| Peppercorn cream | Stock and cream | Mustard, simmered | Steak, roast beef |
| Stock and mustard | Stock reduced | Cold butter swirled in | Steak, roast beef |
| Mushroom sauce | Browned mushrooms and stock | Lemon juice, optional cream | Steak, burgers, pies |
Hot pan, hot cream and salt
Hot pan: the pan is still very hot when you pour the stock in, so it will hiss and send up steam. Pour it in from a safe distance, keep your face back, and use a long spoon.Hot cream and sauces: a simmering sauce is hotter than it looks and spits when it bubbles. Keep the heat low once the cream goes in, stir with a long spoon, and pour with care.
Salt: a sauce gets saltier as it reduces, because the water goes and the salt stays. Use a low-salt or unsalted stock, don't salt the sauce until the end, and taste before you add any. If it is too salty, stir in a little unsalted stock or cream, or serve it with something plain.
Try it
Level 1 · Start here
Garlic and herb butter
The easiest sauce of all needs no pan: soft butter beaten with garlic and herbs, rolled into a log and sliced onto a hot steak, where it melts into a sauce. Make it ahead and keep it in the fridge.
Ingredients (8 portions)
- 100 g butter, softened
- 1 garlic clove, crushed or very finely grated
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 pinch flaked sea salt
- Beat the butter with a fork until creamy, then mix in the garlic, parsley, lemon juice and salt.
- Spoon the butter onto a piece of baking parchment, roll it into a log about 3 cm across and twist the ends to seal. Chill for at least 1 hour.
- Slice off a coin and lay it on a freshly cooked, rested steak so it melts over the top.
Raw garlic, keeping and allergens
Keeping flavoured butter: keep it wrapped in the fridge for up to about a week, or freeze it in slices for about a month (general guidance). Make sure the herbs and garlic are fresh and well dried, and don't use garlic in oil left at room temperature.Allergens: beef itself is not a common allergen, but stock cubes and gravy granules often contain celery, gluten or soy, and sauces may contain milk (butter, cream) and mustard. Check every label, and swap in plant butter or gluten-free flour where needed.
Level 2 · Cream
Peppercorn cream sauce
The famous steak-house sauce, made without alcohol. Crushed peppercorns give the heat, stock gives the depth and cream turns it silky.
Ingredients (2 portions)
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp black peppercorns, roughly crushed
- 150 ml beef stock (low-salt)
- 100 ml double cream
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 15 g butter
- After frying and resting your steaks, lower the heat under the same pan and add the butter and shallot. Cook for 2 minutes, scraping up the browned bits, then add the peppercorns for 30 seconds.
- Pour in the stock and simmer until reduced by about half (about 4 minutes). Stir in the cream and mustard and simmer for 2 minutes more, until it lightly coats the back of a spoon.
- Taste, season carefully, and spoon over the steaks, with any resting juices stirred in.
Hot pan, hot cream and salt
Hot pan: the pan is still very hot when you pour the stock in, so it will hiss and send up steam. Pour it in from a safe distance, keep your face back, and use a long spoon.Hot cream and sauces: a simmering sauce is hotter than it looks and spits when it bubbles. Keep the heat low once the cream goes in, stir with a long spoon, and pour with care.
Salt: a sauce gets saltier as it reduces, because the water goes and the salt stays. Use a low-salt or unsalted stock, don't salt the sauce until the end, and taste before you add any. If it is too salty, stir in a little unsalted stock or cream, or serve it with something plain.
Stock: use a good beef stock (fresh, a pot or a cube made up with boiling water). Check the label, because stock cubes and pots often contain celery, gluten and soy.
Level 2 · No cream
Stock and mustard pan sauce
A lighter sauce with no cream: stock, a little tomato purée and mustard reduced until glossy, then swirled with cold butter for shine. Good with steak and with roast beef.
Ingredients (2 portions)
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 200 ml beef stock (low-salt)
- 1 tsp tomato purée
- 1 tsp wholegrain mustard
- 1 tsp balsamic or cider vinegar
- 15 g cold butter, diced
- In the steak pan, cook the shallot for 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato purée and cook for 30 seconds, then add the stock and vinegar, scraping the base.
- Simmer for 5 to 6 minutes until reduced by about half and a little syrupy. Stir in the mustard.
- Take off the heat and swirl in the cold butter a piece at a time until glossy. Don't boil it again. Taste and season.
Hot pan, reducing and salt
Hot pan: the pan is still very hot when you pour the stock in, so it will hiss and send up steam. Pour it in from a safe distance, keep your face back, and use a long spoon.Salt: a sauce gets saltier as it reduces, because the water goes and the salt stays. Use a low-salt or unsalted stock, don't salt the sauce until the end, and taste before you add any. If it is too salty, stir in a little unsalted stock or cream, or serve it with something plain.
Stock: use a good beef stock (fresh, a pot or a cube made up with boiling water). Check the label, because stock cubes and pots often contain celery, gluten and soy.
Level 3 · Build it
Mushroom sauce
Mushrooms hold a lot of water, so they must be browned hard first, or the sauce is grey and watery. Browned mushrooms and a reduced stock make a rich sauce that is good with steak, burgers and roast beef.
Ingredients (4 portions)
- 200 g mushrooms, sliced
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp sunflower or rapeseed oil
- 15 g butter
- 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
- 150 ml beef stock (low-salt)
- 75 ml double cream (optional)
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- Heat the oil in a wide pan over a high heat and fry the mushrooms in one layer (in batches if you need to) for 5 to 6 minutes, without stirring too much, until golden. Add the butter, shallot and thyme and cook for 2 minutes.
- Pour in the stock, scrape the pan and simmer for 5 minutes until reduced by a third. Stir in the cream if you are using it and simmer for 2 minutes.
- Add the lemon juice, taste and season. Serve hot over steak.
Wild mushrooms, hot pan and salt
Mushrooms: use only mushrooms you have bought from a shop or trusted supplier, and never eat wild mushrooms unless an expert has identified them.Hot pan: the pan is still very hot when you pour the stock in, so it will hiss and send up steam. Pour it in from a safe distance, keep your face back, and use a long spoon.
Salt: a sauce gets saltier as it reduces, because the water goes and the salt stays. Use a low-salt or unsalted stock, don't salt the sauce until the end, and taste before you add any. If it is too salty, stir in a little unsalted stock or cream, or serve it with something plain.
Experiments
Experiment
Stock or water
Deglaze two ways.
- Fry two steaks in separate pans and deglaze one with stock and one with plain water, reducing both by half.
Look for: The stock sauce is rich and savoury; the water sauce is thin and weak. Stock adds body as well as flavour.
Experiment
How far to reduce
A third, a half and two thirds.
- Reduce three small amounts of the same stock sauce by different amounts and taste each.
Look for: The more it reduces, the thicker and more intense it is, and the saltier. Stop when it coats a spoon and tastes balanced.
Experiment
Cold butter at the end
With and without.
- Split a stock sauce in two, swirl cold butter into one and leave the other plain.
Look for: The buttered sauce is glossier and rounder; the plain one is sharper. Add the butter off the heat, or it can split.
Experiment
Cream or no cream
Peppercorn sauce both ways.
- Make a peppercorn sauce with cream, and another with extra stock in place of the cream.
Look for: The cream sauce is soft, rich and mild; the stock sauce is sharper and more peppery. Both are good: it depends on the meal.
Tasting notes
| What I tried | Method or amount | What I saw | What I thought | Will I do it again? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garlic and herb butter | ||||
| Peppercorn cream sauce | ||||
| Stock and mustard sauce | ||||
| Mushroom sauce | ||||
| Stock or water | ||||
| How far to reduce | ||||
| Cold butter at the end | ||||
| Cream or no cream |
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Sauce is thin | Not reduced enough | Simmer longer; it thickens as it reduces |
| Sauce is too salty | Salty stock, reduced too far | Add unsalted stock or cream; use low-salt stock next time |
| Sauce tastes bitter | Burnt bits in the pan | Lower the heat before adding the shallots; don't deglaze a black pan |
| Sauce has split | Boiled after butter or cream | Take off the heat and whisk in a spoonful of cold cream or water |
| Mushroom sauce is grey and watery | Pan was crowded | Fry in batches over a high heat until golden |
| Garlic butter tastes harsh | Too much raw garlic | Use a smaller clove, or cook the garlic for 30 seconds first |
Hot sauce, hot pan and allergens
Hot pan: the pan is still very hot when you pour the stock in, so it will hiss and send up steam. Pour it in from a safe distance, keep your face back, and use a long spoon.Hot cream and sauces: a simmering sauce is hotter than it looks and spits when it bubbles. Keep the heat low once the cream goes in, stir with a long spoon, and pour with care.
Allergens: beef itself is not a common allergen, but stock cubes and gravy granules often contain celery, gluten or soy, and sauces may contain milk (butter, cream) and mustard. Check every label, and swap in plant butter or gluten-free flour where needed.
Checkpoint: can you do this now?
- I can deglaze a pan and scrape up the browned bits.
- I can reduce a sauce until it coats a spoon.
- I can make a flavoured butter and keep it safely.
- I season a sauce at the end, because it gets saltier as it reduces.
- I can make a sauce with and without cream.
Next chapter
Cooking Skills: Beef and Steak 1, chapter 4 is Roast Beef: timing, resting and carving a joint.