Basic Red Wine Pan Sauce
By America's Test KitchenPublished on August 7, 2013
Time
20 minutes
Yield
Serves 4 (Makes enough sauce for 4 steaks)
Ingredients
Before You Begin
Use low-sodium broth and unsalted butter in this recipe or the reduced sauce may be too salty. See related content for a Cooking Lesson on pan-searing steak.
Instructions
- COOK AROMATICS Once steaks are cooked, transfer them to platter, tent with foil, and pour off excess fat from skillet. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in empty skillet over medium-low heat. Cook shallot until softened, about 2 minutes.
- REDUCE LIQUIDS Add wine and sugar to skillet and simmer over medium heat, scraping up any browned bits, until reduced to about 1 tablespoon, about 3 minutes. Add broth and any juices on plate with resting steaks and simmer until liquid is reduced to 1/3 cup, about 3 minutes.
- ADD FLAVORINGS Off heat, whisk in thyme and remaining 3 tablespoons butter. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon sauce over steaks.
Time
20 minutesYield
Serves 4 (Makes enough sauce for 4 steaks)Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
The first step was to pour off the fat from the steaks before building the sauce; otherwise it would be greasy. To draw out the flavors of red wine in our Basic Red Wine Pan Sauce we reduced it with a scant amount of sugar before adding the other ingredients. To finish off the sauce we added butter and some minced fresh thyme. It was important to add the butter to the sauce at the very last minute and whisk it constantly until incorporated; otherwise it would “break" and the butter floated to the top of the sauce.
Before You Begin
Use low-sodium broth and unsalted butter in this recipe or the reduced sauce may be too salty. See related content for a Cooking Lesson on pan-searing steak.
Instructions
- COOK AROMATICS Once steaks are cooked, transfer them to platter, tent with foil, and pour off excess fat from skillet. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in empty skillet over medium-low heat. Cook shallot until softened, about 2 minutes.
- REDUCE LIQUIDS Add wine and sugar to skillet and simmer over medium heat, scraping up any browned bits, until reduced to about 1 tablespoon, about 3 minutes. Add broth and any juices on plate with resting steaks and simmer until liquid is reduced to 1/3 cup, about 3 minutes.
- ADD FLAVORINGS Off heat, whisk in thyme and remaining 3 tablespoons butter. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon sauce over steaks.
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