Want to make dinners with those fancy sauces for your weeknight dinner, but don’t have time? Or what if you love Chicken Marsala or Chicken Piccata, but the rest of the family doesn’t? I have struggled with both of these things for years and have found a solution.
I was cruising through a website for a local fish market and noticed they sell Scampi Sauce and Lemon Caper Sauce frozen for you to take home. This got me thinking…
Why can’t I make sauces ahead and freeze in ice cube trays?
As I am the only one in the house that likes Piccata or Marsala anything, it always seems like such a waste to make a whole sauce for just me. But…if I made the sauce ahead… I could make plain chicken cutlets for Mr. Picky, and then take out a cube or two of the sauce for my cutlet. One main recipe, two main entrees. He loves cutlets with marinara and mozzarella. I would rather have Marsala or Piccata.
You could do the same with scampi, peppercorn sauce or port wine reduction for steaks, the possibilities are endless.Â
Then I started thinking of the onion sauce made in my Salisbury Steak and how fantastic it would be on a burger. It would just have to be made a little thicker than for the Salisbury steak. The flavors in that sauce are over the top!
And my made from scratch barbecue sauce! 
By making these sauces ahead and freezing into convenient little ice cubes, I store in a zipper top bag, and take as many as you need out of the freezer.
These pan sauces are easy to make, but take time. Something most cooks don’t have on weeknights.
You can make all kinds of sauces in the same fashion:
Marsala sauce (great for chicken or steak)
Port Wine sauce (great for steaks or burgers)
White Wine Mushroom sauce (great for steak, chicken or burgers)
Barbecue sauce (great for burgers, chicken or ribs)
Marinara sauce (great for making a couple cutlets)
Scampi sauce (great for chicken, fish or pasta)
Stir Fry sauce (great if you’re making a small amount of veggies for a side dish)
Creamy Peppercorn sauce (great for steaks and burgers)
Pesto sauce (great for a side dish of pasta and chicken)
Keep in mind, sauces made with cream may break when thawed. Just whisk together when reheating and they should be fine.
Frozen sauces last approx. 6 months in your freezer. That’s not usually a problem for me as I use them up well before that!
Try this next time you are planning to make sauces. Make extra and freeze in little ice cubes! 
As a side note: I would use silicone ice cube trays. The regular ice cube trays don’t work as the cubes don’t freeze as hard as water does so they don’t “pop” out. With the silicone you can push from the bottom to get them out of the trays.
Make Ahead Piccata Sauce
Ingredients
1 c. white wine
1/4 c. capers, rinsed and drained
1 c. chicken stock
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (use half at first and add more if necessary)
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
1 Tbsp dried or fresh parsley
Lemon slices (could also use the ones from squeezed juice)
Instructions
This is best when made in the same pan you make chicken cutlets in.
Add the wine and cook down to about a third, about 5 minutes.
Add the stock and cook for 5 minutes, or until reduced by half.
Add half of the lemon juice, parsley and capers.
Whisk in the cubes of butter without allowing the sauce to boil. Adjust the seasoning, adding more lemon juice if necessary. Add lemon slices that have been cut into quarters.
Let mixture completely cool and put in a silicone ice cube tray. Make sure and put a lemon slice in each cube. Freeze.
Pop out of tray when frozen and put into zipper top bags.
2 Comments
Nic
April 6, 2024 at 2:30 pmAny suggestions for the wine? I don’t use/drink much…so I would be interested in a inexpensive cooking wine. Thanks
Afoodieaffair
April 13, 2024 at 6:07 pmSauvignon Blanc is an excellent white wine for Piccata. Its best to use actual wine that you drink and not “Cooking wine”. It is sold in various price ranges , but you do not need an expensive wine for cooking.