A simple pan sauce turned into a two-hour mess last night

I was making a pan sauce from some chicken drippings, just a basic wine and stock reduction. It just would not thicken, no matter how long I simmered it. I realized after an hour that the stock I grabbed from the walk-in was a new, low-sodium brand from our supplier, and it had almost no gelatin content. I had to start over with a fortified stock reduction, which took another full hour. Has anyone else had a sauce fail because of a change in a basic ingredient like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

riley5817d ago

Grab a new brand without checking the label and it all goes sideways. I had a bechamel turn into soup once because the butter was some weird low-fat spread my roommate bought. You just assume the basics will work. That low-sodium stock is a total trap, looks the same but it's just colored water. Ruins your whole night.

parker_patel6016d ago

Ugh, riley58, that is the worst feeling! I totally get that trust in the basics, like you grab the butter and just start cooking. Then your whole dish is ruined because someone messed with the simple stuff. That low-sodium stock thing is so real, it looks right in the box but has zero flavor power. It makes you want to check every single label forever, which is just exhausting. Solidarity on the ruined dinner, that's a special kind of frustration.