Deglazing a Pan Question

[larry_stewart]

I was just watching one of those short instructional cooking videos that make their way on the internet and I have a question about it.

First they fried up a few chicken cutlets in a pan.
the chicken was then removed and in the same pan, they then dumped in heavy cream and then chicken stock and a bunch of herbs/ spices.

My question is ( and being a vegetarian, Ill never make this dish anyway), would the chicken stock be the better liquid to initially add after removing the chicken to deglaze the pan? or would he really not make much of a difference? My only thought is that the cream, being thicker and more 'burnable' may not be as affective ( effective (didn't do well enough in English to determine when to use which one)) in deglazing the pan, and may even stick or burn more easily.

Just curious,

larry

 

[tenspeed]

I deglaze first with stock or wine, and then add cream. This allows the pan to cool a bit before adding the cream.

 

[Steve Kroll]

I agree with Tenspeed. I wouldn't use dairy to deglaze a pan. Wine, broth, or even water would be a better choice.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Affective vs. effective - Grammarist

 

[larry_stewart]

I deglaze first with stock or wine, and then add cream. This allows the pan to cool a bit before adding the cream.

Thats basically what I thought,and the way I would do it. Just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something

 

[larry_stewart]

Affective vs. effective - Grammarist

Thanks for the English lesson.
Lets see if it will finally stick this time around.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Thanks for the English lesson.
Lets see if it will finally stick this time around.

I never had a problem until I learned the word "affect" in psychology class, then I got them mixed up.

 

[RPCookin]

Agree with the consensus that wine, stock, or even plain water is a better deglazing liquid than cream or milk. I will often deglaze a stainless pan with water even if I'm not making a sauce, just so it's easier to clean.

 

[medtran49]

I find the easiest way to remember affect/effect is:

Affect = Influence

Effect = Result

Then remember A before E, I before R. To know which is correct use, just substitute influence or result.

 

[larry_stewart]

Where were you guys 30 years ago, when I nearly flunked English

 

[medtran49]

Where were you guys 30 years ago, when I nearly flunked English

All the little tips I've learned have been since school. English sentence structure and diagramming made me cringe.... As far as spelling, I've decided you are either a good speller from the get go or you're not. I know too many smart, intelligent people who can't spell worth a *#%@. but speak and/or write well otherwise (either that or they've just gotten lazy with spell check).

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Where were you guys 30 years ago, when I nearly flunked English

I was 25 and working in a record/video store...

 

[Kaneohegirlinaz]

Agree with the consensus that wine, stock, or even plain water is a better deglazing liquid than cream or milk. I will often deglaze a stainless pan with water even if I'm not making a sauce, just so it's easier to clean.

+1 Rick!
I don't like to fight with stuck on bits; it's so much easier to pour some water in the pan, leave it on the stove, off heat and then wash it out after dinner.

 

[dragnlaw]

Like many things on the internet - the posters are probably not professionals. Maybe experienced but not really trained in the basics. I'm not saying you can't "deglaze" with cream... but ... I believe your first thoughts were correct.

 

[Kaneohegirlinaz]

... just thinking out-loud, but if you were to deglaze with cream or milk,
wouldn't it break and curdle in that hot pan?

 

[medtran49]

... just thinking out-loud, but if you were to deglaze with cream or milk,
wouldn't it break and curdle in that hot pan?

Cream has so much fat it's nearly impossible for it to curdle. You can actually boil cream by itself, at least for a short while (have never let it go for more than a few minutes), and it will not curdle. Other milk products, not so much.

As a deglazing liquid, not so sure about it. I don't know if it is liquidy enough to dissolve the fond as part of deglazing is "steaming" the particles off the bottom of the pan.

 

[medtran49]

As it so happens, I ended up last night using about a half-n-half mixture of heavy cream and chicken broth last night to deglaze a pan and make a pan sauce. Worked like a charm and I even boiled the liquid down to make a pan sauce. No curdling.