Transform Sheet Pan Drippings Into A Delicious Sauce

Nothing beats a sheet pan roast for a simple, restaurant-quality meal at home. Sheet pan tricks like roasting bread with your sheet pan chicken or preheating your sheet pan to upgrade your roasted veggies will dial up the flavor when it comes out of the oven. But you should do one more step after the fact: Scrape up the drippings and deglaze the pan for an incredibly delicious, easy sauce.

The leftover juices and crispy, chewy browned bits stuck to the pan (aka the fond) are incredibly flavorful. So, why let them go to waste? Once your meal is cooked, remove the protein and veggies from the sheet pan, then scrape up the fond (with a cookware-safe utensil that won't scratch the pan). Pour in a flavorful deglazing liquid, and then just mix until the sauce is thickened to a rich consistency. If you need more heat to thicken the sauce, you can put the sheet pan on the stove or back in the oven for a few minutes to reduce. Just make sure the dish is safe for stovetop use.

You can deglaze your pan with broth, alcohol, milk or cream, vinegar, or just some water. To get really creative, try deglazing with Coke and red wine vinegar. Add salt and pepper, herbs, spices, sliced mushrooms, or minced aromatics to make it even better. Best of all, this trick should work with all your favorite recipes, whether you use poultry, beef, sausages, or even just roasted vegetables.

How to improve your simple sheet pan sauce

Your deglazing technique might vary slightly depending on the exact ingredients you use. If you're deglazing with wine, you may want to follow some basic pairing rules — use white wine for poultry or fish and red wine for red meats. When cooking with booze, make sure the alcohol has cooked off and the aroma turns sweet, or you could end up with a tart, pungent flavor. If you want to avoid this, heating up your sauce for a bit is a good idea.

If you're not into wine sauces, try freshly-squeezed juices for a great acidic addition. Just make sure your sauce doesn't end up too sweet if you use, say, orange juice. When adding herbs and spices, use ones that complement the flavors you already have, but don't overpower them. And be careful not to overcook herbs like rosemary, thyme, and basil to the point that they burn. It's safest to mix them in as a final step.

You can also modify your sheet pan recipe to make an even heartier sauce. Try adding whole, peeled garlic cloves or diced onions to the pan (or inside the poultry cavity) before roasting. These will caramelize beautifully, and can then be mashed with a fork and mixed into the sauce. Never toss out those sheet pan drippings and show the fond some love. Your main course and sides will thank you.