How To Make Gravy

INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

~---------RIDE THE GRAVY TRAIN--------------------------------------
chicken or a light wine sauce to nap a seared steak, the basis for
easy and wonderful enrichments for sauteed, fried or roasted dishes  is
what's left sticking to the bottom of the pan. The process of  turning
a messy-looking skillet into an ethereal, richly flavored  liquid in a
matter of minutes is called deglazing. That's because the  brown bits
are caramelized meat juices that escaped while the food  was cooking.
They will meld with the liquid, and can then be  augmented with
anything from salt and pepper to fresh herbs and lemon  zest. It not
only makes a great sauce, it also renders the pan  virtually clean. The
only caveat is to brown the food without burning  the juices. Even if
you start with high heat to sear a piece of meat,  reduce the heat to
medium high so that the juices don't burn. This is  especially
important if you are cooking food in batches. The first  round of beef
cubes might be fine at high heat, but keeping the heat  there will burn
the brown bits as quickly as the tropical sun will  scorch a
fair-skinned person. The first step to deglazing is to  degrease the
pan. If you were pan- frying, pour the grease into a  measuring cup,
and see if any meat juices sink to the bottom. If  there is a layer,
carefully pour off the grease, reserving the liquid  at the bottom to
add to the sauce later. If the food was sauteed,  there won't be enough
juice to worry about, so just dispose of the  fat. You now have a
choice to make. Do you want to saute a chopped  onion, a few shallots,
or a clove or two of garlic as part of your  sauce? If so, add some
fresh butter or oil to the skillet and saute  the vegetables over
medium heat, stirring frequently. The moisture in  the vegetables will
start to coax the brown bits off the bottom of  the pan. Then add
whatever liquid you are using, with the pan over  medium high heat.
Your liquid can be stock, wine, fruit juice, water,  cream or some
combination. The basic amount for a deglazing sauce is  1/2-to-2/3 cup
for a 10- or 12-inch skillet. Raise the heat to high  and stir the
liquid, scraping it all across the bottom of the pan to  dislodge the
brown bits. You want to boil the liquid down rapidly  until it has
reduced in volume by 1/2. It should have an almost  syrupy consistency.
When it has a syrupy consistency, lower the heat  to low and taste the
sauce for seasoning. You can stir in some fresh  or dried herbs, a bit
of salt, if needed, or a few grinds of pepper.  From Gemini's MASSIVE
MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini

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