Lamb Pan Sauce

There is nothing more delicious than this easy lamb sauce to serve with your leg of lamb or another lamb roast at Easter or anytime of the year. It makes the most of what the French call the fond, a charming name for the browned bits of food in a roasting pan. The pan is deglazed with red wine to incorporate those flavor-packed bits of fond, then you add chicken stock, bring it to a simmer, and cook gently to reduce the liquid. Strain and serve with that delicious lamb for a special main dish.

Did we mention that this classic technique means nothing goes to waste (those pan drippings!)? And no new pan is needed—we're all for less to clean up.

What Is Deglazing?

This lamb sauce is a pan sauce. It gets its flavor fast from the pan drippings in the roasting pan and the technique used is called deglazing. A liquid—red wine in this recipe—is added to the pan to deglaze it. As it is stirred and heated, the drippings are incorporated. Many pan sauces stop there, but we add chicken stock for additional richness and volume and cook the sauce until it has thickened and reduced slightly. It's strained before serving to make sure that all the pan drippings have cooked into the sauce and prevent any bits making the sauce texture less than smooth.