Maximize Pan Drippings: Tips And Tricks For Succulent Meals

Pan drippings are the seasoned but unthickened juices extracted from roasted meat. They are full of flavour and can be used to make gravy, sauce, salad dressing, or even popcorn topping! To get the most out of your pan drippings, you can separate the fat from the juices by transferring the drippings to a measuring cup and letting it sit for 15 minutes. The fat will rise to the top and can be skimmed off with a spoon. You can then use the juices to make gravy, adding a thickening agent such as flour or cornstarch.

Use a roasting pan to save time and dishes

Roasting pans are large, oven-safe pans designed for roasting. They are versatile and can be used for cooking meat and vegetables, as well as casseroles and cakes. They are also excellent for one-pot meals.

A roasting pan is a great tool to help you save time and reduce the number of dishes you need to clean. Here's how:

Large Cooking Surface

Roasting pans have a wide surface area, allowing you to cook large quantities of food at once. You can roast a whole chicken or turkey, and even fit two chickens in a 16-inch pan, making it perfect for meal prep or cooking for a large group.

Rack for Even Heating

Roasting pans typically come with a rack that keeps the meat elevated above the vegetables. This design ensures even heating and allows the pan drippings to fall through the rack, infusing your dish with flavour.

High Walls to Trap Heat

The tall, straight walls of a roasting pan trap heat inside, ensuring your food cooks evenly and maintains moisture. This feature also provides ample space to store pan liquids, which is handy when basting.

Stovetop and Oven Compatible

Some roasting pans can be used on both the stovetop and in the oven. This means you can sear or sauté your food on the stovetop and then finish cooking it in the oven, all in the same dish.

Easy Cleanup

The removable rack in a roasting pan makes cleaning easier. You can also use a roasting pan to cook an entire meal, reducing the number of dishes you need to clean afterward.

Make Pan Sauce

You can use a roasting pan to make a delicious pan sauce or gravy using the drippings from your roast. Simply add broth, wine, or water to the pan drippings, scrape up the browned bits, and simmer. You can also add aromatics, butter, flour, or cornstarch to thicken the sauce.

So, if you're looking to save time and dishes in the kitchen, a roasting pan is a great investment. It's a versatile tool that can handle everything from roasting meats and vegetables to making one-pot meals and sauces.

Scrape up the browned bits (fond) for extra flavour

Getting the most pan drippings involves making the most of the browned bits, or fond, that cling to the pan after cooking meat or vegetables. Fond is the result of the Maillard reaction, a process where heat breaks down proteins and sugars, causing them to regroup into browned, flavorful bits.

To make the most of the fond, follow these steps:

Choose the Right Pan

Avoid using a non-stick pan as fond needs a surface to cling to. Instead, opt for stainless steel, cast iron, or enameled cast iron (like a Dutch oven).

Control the Heat

Be careful not to overheat the pan, as this can burn the fond, resulting in blackened bits with a bitter taste. Adjust the heat as needed and turn off the heat as soon as you start removing the meat or vegetables from the pan.

Deglaze the Pan

As soon as you finish cooking, remove the meat or vegetables from the pan and add a liquid such as wine, broth, stock, juice, or even water to the hot pan. Scrape the bottom of the pan firmly with a wooden spoon or spatula to loosen and lift the browned bits.

Make a Sauce or Gravy

You can now use the fond as a base for a sauce or gravy to accompany your meal. Simply add a thickener like cornstarch or flour and butter, along with any desired seasonings and aromatics. Whisk continuously to create a smooth and flavorful sauce.

Remember, the fond is a concentrated source of flavor, so be sure to scrape up as much of it as possible to enhance your dish.

Use a thickener like flour or cornstarch

Using a thickening agent like flour or cornstarch is a great way to get the most out of your pan drippings.

Flour

Flour is a popular choice for thickening pan drippings and creating a gravy with a silky texture and rich flavour. It also reheats better than cornstarch. To use flour as a thickening agent, you'll need two tablespoons of flour mixed with 1/4 cup of cold water for each cup of medium-thick sauce. Make sure to thoroughly mix the water and flour to prevent lumps. Once combined, stir the mixture into your sauce and cook over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Finally, heat for one more minute to cook the flour thoroughly.

Cornstarch

Cornstarch is a great gluten-free alternative to flour and has twice the thickening power, so you'll need less to achieve the same thickness as flour. To use cornstarch, mix one tablespoon of cornstarch with one tablespoon of cold water (also known as a cornstarch slurry) for each cup of medium-thick sauce. Again, make sure to thoroughly mix the cornstarch and water to combine. Once mixed, pour the slurry into your sauce and cook over medium heat, stirring continuously, until thickened and bubbly. Finally, heat for two more minutes to fully cook the cornstarch.

Tips for Using Flour or Cornstarch

• Be careful not to overcook cornstarch-thickened sauces, as they can break down when cooked for too long.
• When using flour, it's best to cook it with fat to make a roux, which adds richness and flavour to your sauce.
• Cornstarch works best when made into a cold slurry, which creates a shiny, silky texture without added richness or flavour.
• If you plan on reheating your sauce, a flour/butter roux is a better option, as cornstarch-thickened sauces can break down more easily upon reheating.
• If you're substituting cornstarch for flour in a recipe, use two tablespoons of flour for every one tablespoon of cornstarch.
• If substituting flour for cornstarch, use two tablespoons of cornstarch for every one tablespoon of flour.

Deglaze the pan with wine or stock

Deglazing is a technique used to create a base for a sauce or gravy, using the browned bits in the bottom of a pan, known as fond. This process involves adding liquid to a hot pan to remove the fond, which is packed with flavour.

To deglaze a pan with wine or stock, first sauté or roast meat, then remove it from the pan, leaving the browned bits. Pour off any excess fat, leaving just a tablespoon or so. Return the pan to the heat and add a quarter of a cup of wine or stock. Boil the liquid in the pan and stir vigorously with a wooden or silicone spoon or spatula as the liquid comes to a boil. Continue to stir until you've released all the tasty browned bits from the pan. If you are deglazing with wine or alcohol, be sure to continue cooking until the alcohol has cooked off—you can tell this has happened when the liquid becomes syrupy, and the alcohol smell has disappeared.

If you are making a sauce for steak, red wine is a good option. For fish, add a squeeze of lemon, and perhaps some parsley or capers. For a pork dish, honey mustard is a particularly delicious choice.

Add aromatics like garlic or herbs

Aromatics are combinations of vegetables and herbs that are cooked in fat, such as butter, oil, or coconut milk, to release their aroma and add flavour to a dish. They are commonly used in sauces, braises, curries, rice dishes, stir-fries, soups, stews, and stocks.

When making pan gravy, you can add aromatics like garlic, wine, or fresh herbs to enhance the flavour. Here are some tips for adding aromatics to your pan gravy:

• If you plan on removing the aromatics before serving, such as in a stock, you don't need to chop them finely. Halving an onion or cutting a carrot into a few large pieces will work. You can also add whole sprigs of herbs, such as thyme, and remove the stems before serving.
• If you plan on keeping the aromatics in the final dish, finely dice or chop them to increase the surface area. This will allow them to release more flavour and melt into the texture of the dish.
• When cooking aromatics, heat them in fat, such as butter or oil, to help release their essential flavours and create the first layer of flavour in the dish.
• Feel free to experiment with different types and amounts of aromatics to suit your taste preferences. For example, if you love garlic, add more to your dish.
• Common aromatics used in pan gravy include garlic, leeks, onions, carrots, celery, fennel, ginger, scallions, chillies, bay leaves, thyme, parsley, and peppercorns.
• When making a French-inspired dish, a common combination of aromatics is mirepoix, which includes onions, carrots, and celery. You can also add herbs like parsley, thyme, or bay leaves.
• For an Asian-inspired dish, try using the Asian trinity of ginger, garlic, and scallions as your aromatics.
• If you're making a Latin American or Spanish dish, sofrito is a common aromatic combination that includes onions, garlic, and tomatoes.

Frequently asked questions