The process by which food particles from sauteed foods are removed from the surface of the pan via the addition of liquid and heating with the goal of flavoring/making a sauce or gravy. According to Michelin, the technique can be traced back to the 17th century and is primarily used for non-opaque sauces. The technique itself “descends” from sauce espagnole.

Now, if you’re wondering why you would bother with doing this, there are two excellent reasons to do so. First, and foremost, is that it can really enhance the flavor of a dish, especially dishes that benefit from long times to develop flavors such as roasts. The second reason is that it can help remove some of the food that gets stuck to the pan, meaning an easier clean up after you’re done cooking.

Now, a little more terminology:

• Sucs: Coming from the French term for sugar, refers to the caramelized pieces of food that are stuck to the bottom of a pan and or pot. Item being deglazed.
• Fond: Sometimes used interchangeably with sucs, also refers to the browned proteins left in the pan after the cooking process. If used in the French sense, then the term refers to the sauce formed from deglazing a pan; this is often used as the foundation for different gravies and pan sauces.

Prior to deglazing a pot or pan, make sure to remove any burnt/charcoal pieces of food. This is not to say that you cannot deglaze these pieces. You can, but you will end up with a burnt, acrid, bitter flavor. If that’s what you want, go nuts.

When deglazing a pan, any cool liquid will work. Most commonly used liquids for this purpose are different wines, vinegar, stocks, and beer. You can use water, but this will not add any additional flavor from the liquid. The only increase in flavor will come from the sucs, but that will be watered down.