Easy Everyday – Quick Sauces for Meat

It’s time for dinner and you open the fridge and pull out a boneless chicken breast and wonder what you were thinking of doing with it when you bought it.  Does this sound familiar?  It actually happens quite often at my house.  Often I will find myself staring at a piece of meat and wondering what I should do with it to make it interesting other than just pan searing it with salt and pepper….how boring.  If you find yourself in this dilemma and are looking for some quick ideas to turn your once boring steak, chicken or fish into an exciting entrée in a matter of minutes then you’ve come to the right place.

By following a very simple formula, you’ll never have to face that boring dinner again. You can prepare terrific, almost instant dinner that taste very gourmet using a variety of meats and sauces. Here’s how:

It all starts with pan searing. Several types of meat can be pan seared in the exact same way producing a golden crust outside while remaining juicy and succulent on the inside. Boneless pork chops, beef tenderloin, fish fillets, chicken breasts, veal cutlets and even turkey cutlets will all perform in the same way. It is important that the piece of meat or cutlet you select be uniform in thickness. For chicken breasts, remove the tenderloin and cook it separately; for pork, try to select medallions that are about 1 to 1-1/4" thick. You can also buy bone in chops and remove the bone.

Be sure to choose the right size skillet. The pieces of meat should not be crowded, but should also not have too much space between them and the sides of the pan. A 12" heavy skillet is perfect to cook four chicken breasts or cutlets.

Chicken breasts and cutlets can be dredged in gluten-free flour. It is not necessary, but we’ve found that flouring adds to the fried flavor and protects the meat from getting leathery from high heat.

The Formula:

• Prepare a sauce made from liquids and flavorings that mixed together equals 1/2 to 2/3 cup. 
• Flour and pan sear the meat. 
• Remove the meat from the pan and keep warm. 
• Add the sauce and reduce to half. 
• Add enrichment. 
• Serve. 

To prepare meat, salt and pepper both sides and dredge with gf flour.

To prepare the skillet, set over medium-low heat and add a mix of 1 Tablespoon olive oil and 2 Tablespoons butter. When ready to cook, increase heat to medium-high. When pan is hot, add meat.

Cook the meat until golden brown, about 3-5 minutes per side, turning once. Transfer meat to a plate and cover to keep warm.

To prepare sauce, mix liquids and flavorings together. Total liquid mixture should measure 1/2 to 2/3 cup. Add to hot pan, scraping up browned bits. Reduce liquid to half.

Add enrichment, blend in and pour finished sauce over meat. Serve immediately.

*Almost any sauce can be enhanced by adding the extra step of pan searing, 1 minced garlic clove and/or 1 Tablespoon minced shallots into the skillet immediately after the meat has been removed. Pan sear for 1 minute, then add sauce and continue as directed.

Flavor combinations: (Measurements are for four chicken breasts or cutlets)

Research was gathered from the following source: 
Taunton's Fine Cooking Magazine, March, 2001 article by Pam Anderson

- Chef Jessica

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