What is a fond: Fond is one of the major components of constructing a successful pan sauce; aromatics, a great stock, layering of seasoning & the introduction of rendered fat from the roast, cream & butter are other essential components that will enhance the flavour profile of your sauce.
By definition, a fond refers to those little browned bits of food that are often stuck to the bottom of the pan, skillet or baking dish, especially after searing meat or poultry. Make use of them by deglazing a pan with a liquid, which will help release the browned bits. As you heat the liquid, you can begin scraping up the bits. The liquid will begin to develop flavour courtesy of the concentrated pan juices.
Flavour Enhancement: The fond is packed with flavour. By deglazing, you can incorporate this flavour into your dish. This will significantly enhance the taste of your sauces, gravies, or braises.
Improved Texture: Deglazing helps to create a smoother sauce or gravy. The liquid used for deglazing dissolves the fond, resulting in a sauce with a more uniform texture.
Efficient Use of Ingredients: Deglazing allows you to make use of all the ingredients you’ve cooked with1. Instead of scrubbing off & discarding the fond, you’re incorporating it back into your dish.
Versatility: You can deglaze with just about any liquid1. Common choices include wine, broth, & vinegar, but you can also use fruit juice or even water1. This allows you to choose a deglazing liquid that complements the other flavours in your dish.
So, deglazing is a simple & effective technique that can elevate the flavour of your dishes, make cleaning easier, & ensure that no tasty bits go to waste
Classic Steak Diane
Ingredients
Pan with fond remaining after searing steaks
900gms beef tenderloin sliced into 225gm portions
3 tbsp canola oil
10 sliced mixed cremini/button mushrooms
2 tbsp unsalted butter
½ peeled & small diced shallot
3 finely minced cloves of garlic
80mls cognac
400mls beef stock
100mls heavy cream
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp finely minced fresh parsley
1½ tsp lemon juice
sea salt & pepper to taste
sliced green onions for garnish
Method:
Season the beef on both sides with salt & pepper. Set aside.
Next, add the oil to a large sauté pan over high heat & heat until it is smoking.
Add in the beef & sear for 2 minutes on 1 side & then flip over & sear for 1 more minute to achieve a rare to medium-rare internal temperature.
Remove the steaks & set aside.
In the same hot pan, add the mushrooms & sauté for 6-8 minutes over high heat until well browned.
Push the mushrooms to one side of the pan, & on the other side of the pan sauté the shallots & garlic in the butter for 1 to 2 minutes or until lightly browned.
Mix everything & then remove the pan from the cooktop & add in the cognac.
Return the pan to the burner over high heat & flambe until all of the alcohol is cooked off.
Pour in the beef stock & cook over medium heat until the amount of liquid is reduced by one-half.
Finish by pouring in the cream, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, parsley, & lemon juice & stir until combined.
Place the beef back in the pan & cook over low to medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes until the beef is warmed.
Serve the sauce with the steak & garnish with sliced fresh chives.
Internal cooked temperature of beef tenderloin
Medium rare is the recommended level of doneness for beef for the juiciest results, & the default doneness for restaurants. Target an internal temperature of 53°C / 127.4°F when taking it out of the oven which will rise to 56-58°C after resting for perfect medium rare.
However, you should cook your beef to the doneness you like! Use the table below.
Doneness
Rare
Medium rare
Medium
Medium well
Well done
Pull Temp out of oven
50°C/122°F
50°C/122°F
56°C/133°F
60°C / 140°F
You’re having a lend of me aren’t you
Target Temp after rest
53°C/127.4°F
56-58°C / 133-136°F
60°C / 140°F
65°C / 149°F
The Target Temp is the final internal temperature for each level of doneness. The Pull Temp is the temperature at which the beef should be removed from the oven. It will rise to the Target Temp after resting.
Resting roast meats prior to slicing is crucial; consider the below facts:
• Moisture Redistribution: As meat cooks, the muscle fibres start to firm up & water is expelled. When you take your roast out of the oven, the moisture still inside needs some time to redistribute back through the meat. If you cut into it right away, the liquid will actually pool out resulting in a dry roast or steak. By letting it rest, the moisture is re-absorbed & your meat will be tender & juicy.
• Carry-Over Cooking: A large piece of meat will actually continue to cook for a few minutes after you take it out of the oven, often referred to as “carry-over cooking”. It is highly recommended that you remove the roast from oven a little before the meat has reached its preferred doneness. As residual heat will continue to cook.
• Easier Slicing: Resting meat also makes it easier to slice, as it helps the meat hold its shape better.
The amount of resting time for a particular cut of meat or cooking technique will vary, though it’s usually between 10 & 20 minutes.
Green Peppercorn Pan Sauce
The T-Bone steak offers a unique two-in-one experience as it consists of the tenderloin fillet on one side of the bone & a juicy sirloin on the other. This gives diners the best of both worlds when it comes to enjoying two cuts of meat at once.
Ingredients:
Green Peppercorn Pan Sauce
pan with fond remaining after searing steaks
1 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp finely chopped shallots
1 cup beef stock
½ cup heavy cream
¼ cup brandy
2 tbsp red wine
2 tbsp green peppercorns in brine, drained
½ teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
30gms unsalted butter
Kosher salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Method:
Green Peppercorn Pan Sauce
After removing steaks from pan, turn heat to high, add olive oil & heat until shimmering. Add shallots & cook until softened & aromatic.
Add in beef stock & bring to a boil to deglaze the fond, lower heat to a simmer & reduced stock to one third of original volume.
Add in heavy cream, brandy, red wine, thyme & green peppercorns & cook until slightly thickened. Add the butter to finish & season to taste; serve immediately with the mother of all T-Bone steaks.
Roast Beef Tenderloin w/ Mushroom Pan Sauce
Ingredients
Pan with fond remaining after searing steaks
Beef Tenderloin:
1 – 1.25kgs beef tenderloin (eye fillet)
1 ½ tsp kosher salt
½ tsp black pepper
1 tbsp vegetable oil
Garlic Thyme Butter Coating:
5 tbsp unsalted butter , softened
1 tsp garlic , finely grated or very finely minced
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves , finely chopped
¼ tsp cooking/kosher salt
¼ tsp black pepper
Mushroom Pan Sauce:
150ms mixed cremini/white mushrooms, sliced
½ tsp garlic , finely minced
1 thyme sprig
200mls marsala
125mls chicken stock , low sodium
200mls thickened cream (heavy cream)
¼ tsp cracked black peppercorns
Method:
Mushroom Pan Sauce:
As noted earlier, beef tenderloin does not create as much pan drippings as larger roasts with more fat. So we’re going to add a couple of extra steps & ingredients to make a beautiful sauce worthy of tenderloin without wasting a drop of flavour in the skillet!
What I do is use the butter / little amount of beef fat in the skillet to sauté the mushrooms, then all the meat juices as part of the stock for the sauce. The result? A dreamy mushroom sauce that’s worthy of any high-end steakhouse!
Roasting juices – Pour all the juices in skillet into a bowl, scraping out all the little bits of garlic.
Spoon off butter – Spoon or pour off ¼ cup of the fat that rises to the top of the juices & pour it back into the skillet. Keep the rest of the juices/fat – we will add it into the sauce later.
Cook mushrooms – Turn the stove onto high. Once the butter is hot, add mushrooms & cook until they start to sweat. Continue to cook until the mushrooms have release all water contents & completely
evaporates, (this process may take 10 minutes; however, any moisture released by the mushrooms is flavourless & will result in an inferior quality sauce. Add the thyme & garlic, & cook for a further 2 minutes or until the mushrooms & herbs are fragrant.
Sauce – Add the chicken stoc & marsala & reduce by half. Incorporate the cream, pepper & all the remaining reserved roasting juices.
Simmer on low to medium heat for 5 minutes or until you achieve a sauce reduction of ½ its original volume & the consistency of the sauce naps the backs of a spoon.
Transfer into a bowl with a spoon to serve with the beef!
The water content in mushrooms varies depending on the type of mushroom, but it is generally high, ranging from 92.5% to 92.8% However, water itself has no flavour, so the water content in mushrooms does not contribute to their flavour.
The flavour of mushrooms comes from compounds that are present in their cells, such as sugars, amino acids, organic acids, & volatile compounds. Water is a tasteless & odourless substance that does not interact with the taste or smell receptors in our sensory organs. The flavour of mushrooms is determined
by other substances that can stimulate these receptors & create a perception of taste & smell. Cooking the mushrooms separately to extract all moisture will enhance your dish tremendously.