How do I deglaze a pan?

After sauteeing or roasting food (usually meat), you “deglaze” the pan by adding a liquid, like water, wine, broth, or even lemon juice, turning up the heat to bring the liquid to a boil, and scraping up the sticky browned bits stuck to the pan. The liquid reduces to a more concentrated, flavorful sauce. (If a lot of oil or fat is left in the pan after sauteing, most recipes recommend pouring off the fat before adding the liquid.)

The deglazed liquid can be used as a kind of simple gravy for the meat, or it can be souped up with herbs, spices, flour, butter, and more to make a pan sauce. You can also deglaze bigger roasting pans -- after roasting a whole chicken, for example -- to make a big quantity of gravy or sauce.

The next time you saute chicken breasts, try my easy recipe for a lemon-caper pan sauce below.

Lemon-caper Chicken

For the best sauce, pound the chicken cutlets to an even thickness and dredge each breast in heavily salt-and-pepper-seasoned flour.

Ingredients
2 Tbl. butter
2 Tbl. olive oil
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1/4 cup dry white wine (or vermouth)
1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 lemon, sliced in thin rounds and seeded
2 Tbl. capers, drained
2 Tbl. unsalted butter
Chopped parsley to garnish

Directions
Heat 2 Tbl. butter and 2 Tbl. olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed skillet until shimmering. Add the chicken to the skillet and brown on both sides, about 1-2 minutes per side. Remove chicken from skillet to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.

After sauteing chicken, pour off the fat in the skillet. Add the white wine and, over a medium flame, deglaze the pan, scraping up any browned bits with a heat-proof spatula or wooden spoon. Add chicken broth and cook until the consistency of the liquid slightly thickens (think: cough syrup). Add one lemon slice and capers to the skillet and cook for 2 minutes.

Remove the skillet from the heat. Swirl in the butter and sprinkle the parsley in the sauce. Return the chicken breasts to the skillet and reheat in the pan, 1-2 minutes. Plate the chicken and drizzle with sauce. Serve immediately.

-- Colleen Rush

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