FOOD NEWS
The One Crucial Step That Will Make Or Break Your Homemade Stew
By Tom Maxwell
'Tis the season to be stewing, and when embarking on your stewing season odyssey, remember to deglaze your stew to maximize its depth of flavor.
The bits of food stuck at the bottom of your stew pot are little caramelized gifts from the cooking gods called fond, and reincorporating them will level up your hearty stew game.
For the uninitiated, deglazing is a simple, vital step between finishing the sautéing process and initiating the braise, which can be accomplished by adding any liquid.
You can use liquids like beer, vinegar, wine, apple cider, and stock, but if you don't have any of these options handy, water will do just fine.
Simply crank the heat to high, grab a long-handled cooking spoon, add a relatively small amount of deglazing liquid, and bring it to a boil.
Once it's bubbling vigorously, use the spoon to scrape up the fond, noticing how the liquid transforms into something thicker and more aromatic.