Integral Versus Stock-Based Brown Sauces

The brown sauces presented in this chapter are based on stocks and are prepared independently of a specific dish such as roasted, braised, or sautéed meat. In modern kitchens, integral sauces made from the juices released during the cooking of meats are often enhanced with the addition of a savory element such as glace de viande. In a professional kitchen, the saucier will combine methods, using both stock-based brown sauce and integral sauce techniques. For example, the chef may sauté a steak and deglaze the pan with a premade sauce bordelaise base, or the drippings from a roast chicken may be incorporated into a tarragon sauce. Whenever stocks and glazes are used in integral sauce making, they are used to reinforce, not determine, the sauce’s identity (see Chapter 9, “Integral Meat Sauces”).