How to Make a Basic Pan Reduction Sauce for Chicken

Add a pan reduction sauce to a whole cooked chicken.

Making a pan reduction sauce uses a cooking technique that concentrates the flavors of a liquid. The most common ingredients for a chicken sauce are stocks and wines. Reduction involves boiling a liquid, allowing evaporation to shrink the sauce to the desired amount. Using a pan reduction sauce on chicken will not only make the meat juicy, but will also add more intense flavor.

Things You'll Need

• Frying pan
• 4 tbsp. chicken drippings
• 1 tbsp. minced onion
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup stock
• Salt
• Pepper

Instructions

1. Add 4 tbsp. of chicken drippings to a frying pan, or if you sauteed your chicken, use the same pan to make the sauce.

2. Add 1 tablespoon of minced onion and 1/2 cup of dry white wine.

3. Scrape up all the flavor bits from the bottom of the pan. Turn the heat to medium-high and continue cooking until most of the wine has evaporated.

4. Add 1/2 cup of chicken stock to the wine mixture.

5. Cook until the mixture has reduced to about a 1/2 cup of liquid.

6. Add salt and pepper, plus any other spices you like.

7. Drizzle the sauce over your chicken.

References

• Reluctant Gourmet: Making Incredible Pan Sauces at Home