Misplaced Pages

Deglazing is a cooking technique for removing and dissolving browned food residue from a pan to flavor sauces, soups, and gravies.

Meat

When a piece of meat is roasted, pan-fried, or prepared in a pan with another form of dry heat, a deposit of browned sugars, carbohydrates, and/or proteins forms on the bottom of the pan, along with any rendered fat. The French culinary term for these deposits is sucs, pronounced [syk] ), from the Latin word succus (sap).

The meat is removed and the majority of the fat is poured off, leaving a small amount with the dried and browned meat juices. The pan is returned to the heat, and a liquid such as vegetable or meat stock, a spirit, wine, or verjuice is added to act as a solvent. Dairy, however, is not recommended for deglazing, as it may curdle when added to high heat. The solvent allows the cook to scrape the dark spots from the bottom of the pan and dissolve them, incorporating the remaining browned material at the bottom of the pan into a basic sauce. The culinary term fond, French for "base" or "foundation", refers to this sauce. (In the United States, fond may also be used interchangeably with sucs.)

The flavour is determined chiefly by the meat, the liquid used for deglazing, and any flavouring or finishing ingredients added, such as aromatics, herbs, or butter.

This method is the cornerstone of many well-known sauces and gravies. The resulting liquid can be seasoned and served on its own (sometimes called a jus), or with the addition of aromatic vegetables, such as onions or shallots, carrots, and celery, or used as the base for a soup. The sauce can also be thickened by whisking in butter, through the addition of a starch, such as flour, cornstarch, or arrowroot, or simply simmered down with a steady heat to form a rich, concentrated reduction.

Vegetables

Deglazing can also be used while cooking vegetables, especially ones that have left sugars at the bottom of a pan. It is commonly used in caramelizing onions. Because vegetables do not produce as much fat, they do not need to be removed from the pan to pour off excess grease. Instead, the liquid can be added directly to the pan and stirred, allowing the fond to meld with the vegetables, rather than creating a separate sauce.

References

1. Minichiello, Tony (November 20, 2007). "It "sucs" to be U-(niligual)". Archived from the original on 2011-07-14. Retrieved 2016-01-10.
2. ^ "Deglazing: What it Is and Why Do It". The Reluctant Gourmet. 14 September 2012. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
3. "How to Make Simple Pan Sauces". The Reluctant Gourmet. 16 September 2012. Retrieved 2022-07-05.
4. "What Are Sucs and Should We Care?". The Kitchn. Retrieved 2022-07-05.
5. "15-Minute Caramelized Onions". www.seriouseats.com. Retrieved 2016-01-19.

External links

• Deglazing: It works like magic, Leslie Brenner - Los Angeles Times

v t e Cooking techniques
List of cooking techniques
Dry	Conduction Dry roasting Hot salt frying Searing Convection Baking Roasting (modern) Smoking Barbecue Radiation Charbroiler Grilling (charbroiling) Roasting (traditional) Rotisserie Toasting
Wet	High heat Blanching Boiling Decoction Parboiling Shocking Reduction Low heat Coddling Creaming Infusion Poaching Simmering Slow cooking Smothering Steeping Stewing Indirect heat Bain-marie (Double boiling) Sous-vide Double steaming Steaming
Fat-based	High heat Basting Blackening Browning Frying Deep frying Pan frying Shallow frying Stir frying Sautéing Low heat Gentle frying Sweating
Mixed medium	Carryover cooking Barbecuing Braising Caramelization Deglazing Flambé Fricassee Indirect grilling/Plank cooking Stir frying (chao)
Device-based	Air frying Microwaving Pressure cooking Pressure frying Slow cooker Thermal cooking
Non-heat	Aging Brining Burying in ground Curing Drying Fermenting Juicing Pickling Purée Salting Souring
See also	List of cooking appliances List of cooking vessels Outdoor cooking Food preparation Food preservation Food safety
Category

• Sauces
• Cooking techniques
• Culinary terminology