Pan Sauces for Steak - Cooks Illustrated

Published September 1, 2000.

Can you make a rich, thick, restaurant-style pan sauce for steak using canned broth?

The Problem

Home kitchens rarely have the benefit of the rich beef or veal stocks that restaurant chefs rely upon for a quick, flavorful pan-seared steak sauce. Canned broth is the obvious alternative, but it usually makes sauces that are flat in flavor and watery and thin in consistency.

The Goal

Create restaurant-quality, full-bodied, complex steak sauce recipes accessible to home cooks. A good pan sauce can elevate the average steak dinner to the position of a luxurious, refined meal.

The Solution

To get the best possible sauce base, use a high-quality, heavy pan; reduce the heat to prevent burning; and move the steaks only once. By adding a few extra ingredients to the traditional trio of wine or brandy, stock, and butter, canned stock can be elevated into a luxurious, refined sauce.

list of recipes

America’s Test Kitchen is a 2,500-square-foot kitchen located just outside of Boston. It is the home of Cook’s Country and Cook’s Illustrated magazines and is the workday destination for more than three dozen test cooks, editors, and cookware specialists. Our mission is to test recipes until we understand how and why they work and arrive at the best version. We also test kitchen equipment and supermarket ingredients in search of brands that offer the best value and performance. You can watch us work by tuning in to America’s Test Kitchen (www.americastestkitchen.com) on public television.