Serious question: is it better to fix a messed up sauce or just start over?

Last Friday I was running a private dinner for 8 people at a small spot in Portland. I was making a red wine reduction and I accidentally dumped in way too much black pepper. Like a full tablespoon instead of a teaspoon. I stood there staring at it for a solid minute thinking should I try to balance it with cream or sugar or just dump the whole thing and start fresh. I ended up tossing in some heavy cream and honey and it actually came out okay but it wasn't what I planned. Now I'm wondering what other chefs do when they screw up a sauce like that. Do you guys try to fix it or just scrap it and redo? Has anyone ever served a fix that bombed worse than just starting over?

2 comments

2 Comments

ben4865d ago

Have you noticed how most screw-ups in life, not just cooking, come down to knowing when to fix versus when to start fresh? I've found that if the base is still good, a tweak or two can save it, but once you've fundamentally ruined the flavor profile you're better off just tossing it.

torres.leo4d ago

Whoa, slow down there ben486. I get what you're saying, but isn't this a little dramatic? Like, if I burn the toast, I'm not having some deep life crisis about whether to scrape the black off or just bag the whole breakfast. Most screw-ups are just annoying, not some grand metaphor. I mean, I've definitely added too much salt to a soup and just thrown in more potatoes, and guess what? It was fine. Not everything needs to be this whole "start fresh vs. fix it" philosophical thing, especially about flavor profiles. Sometimes it's just toast, man.