A pan sauce is a type of sauce that is often made to accompany sauteed meats.
Generally speaking, a pan sauce is made by sauteing a meat at high temperature in a skillet, removing the meat, pouring off any excess fat, deglazing the pan with a liquid such as stock or wine, and incorporating the remaining browned material at the bottom of the pan, known as a fond, or more properly sucs, into a basic sauce.
The flavour of the pan sauce is determined chiefly by the meat, the liquid used for deglazing, and any flavouring or finishing ingredients added, such as aromatics, herbs, or butter.