The Only Formula You Need For Perfect Steak Pan Sauce

For all the pomp, circumstance, and considerably precise preparation methods ensconcing steak, it actually makes for a pretty quick and easy weeknight dinner. Flavorful cuts can be had fairly affordably, it requires virtually no prep time, and it goes with almost everything. Steak is also one of those double-duty items that we love, creating a sauce right in the pan from whence it turns from slab of raw beef into dinner. And you don't even really need a recipe to riff on the more-or-less readymade condiment, time after time.

When making a steak, you should already be working with aromatics like garlic, onions, shallots, or some combination of all three. You'll want to reserve a little extra for the sauce. The same goes for additional fat in case you need to supplement what's already been rendered in the pan. And, of course, a pan sauce's required pièce de résistance, its means to exist: a little extra liquid for deglazing, sometimes acidic, sometimes not. So, together with the meat's own magic, those barely there additions make a delicious pan sauce for a restaurant-quality dish. And it's almost all as easy as opening a bottle of A1.

We bet you can toss this all together with your eyes closed (please do not; cooking with your eyes closed is an unspoken food safety mistake), but there's a rough order of things to stick to. First, you have to, you know, make the steak. This may sound like a dispatch from captain obvious, but a pan sauce absent deglazed steak fond, those little caramelized bits at the bottom of the pan, is literally not the same thing.

Once the steak's been removed to a plate, introduce additional alliums to the pan to soften. We like to chop about 50% more garlic, onions, and shallots than we're going to cook with the steak for this very purpose. Let the latter two get translucent before adding the garlic so it doesn't burn. Heat a couple tablespoons of butter or olive oil along with them if extra fat is needed. Then, whisk in about a half cup of a drinkable dry red wine. Stock is fine as well, and some folks even like to combine them. You'll probably want to add in some salt and pepper to taste, but be mindful of how much you've already shaken over the steak itself. And be sure to let it simmer and reduce to really transform this stuff from liquid to sauce. If you want to get fancy you can toss in the herbs of your desire, or even thicken it all up with a dash of cornstarch, but otherwise just enjoy this unlikely bit of elegant simplicity destined to dress your steak.