Cold water for deglazing was a game changer for me

I always used hot stock or wine to deglaze pans, but last Tuesday I ran out and used cold tap water on a pork chop pan. The fond came up way cleaner with less scorching, and the sauce had a brighter flavor than usual. Has anyone else tried this or am I late to the party?

2 comments

2 Comments

james53319d ago

...but see, I think you might be giving cold water too much credit here. I've tried it a few times after seeing some chefs talk about it, and honestly I found it made my sauces thinner and less flavorful compared to hot stock or wine. The fond came up fine, but the brightness you're describing just tasted like...water to me, you know? I'd rather deal with a tiny bit of scorching and get that deep, concentrated flavor from hot liquid that actually adds something to the pan. Maybe it depends on the pan material or what you're cooking though, stainless vs cast iron might behave totally different.

susan_ward19d ago

You know I was totally team hot liquid but reading this actually made me reconsider everything.