Some culinary terms only need to be mentioned to conjure up images of of a restaurant with fine white linens and servers with formal attire. Demi-glaze, also known as demi-glace, is one of those terms. A demi-glaze can be served as a sauce, or it can be a base for sauces such as sauce Bordelaise or sauce Chausser. You can buy a demi-glaze base at your local grocery store, or, if you have the time, you can make one at home. The typical ingredients for a demi-glaze are butter, bacon, carrots, mushrooms, tomatoes, onions and herbs and spices.
Step 1
Melt the butter over medium heat in the saucepan.
Step 2
Whisk in the flour, then add the bacon, garlic cloves, carrot, mushrooms and onions. Stir to coat the ingredients with the flour and butter. Turn the heat down to medium-low and cook slowly, stirring occasionally, until the ingredients begin to brown.
Step 3
Add 3 cups of the beef or veal stock to the saucepan and stir, scraping the bottom of the pan to incorporate any bacon or vegetables that may have stuck to the pan.
Step 4
Add the tomatoes, parsley, thyme, marjoram, lemon zest, bay leaf, allspice berries, salt and pepper. Add the red pepper flakes, if you are using them. Allow the ingredients to cook for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally.
Step 5
Strain the sauce through a fine mesh sieve. Press the ingredients to squeeze out the broth. Return the broth to the saucepan.
Step 6
Heat the sauce over medium heat until it begins to bubble. Add the sherry.
Step 7
Add 2 more cups of the beef or veal stock and simmer the sauce, uncovered, until it reduces by half. Use this demi-glaze as a sauce, or add other ingredients to make other sauces.
Tips and Warnings
- Add 1/2 cup minced onion, 1/4 cup chopped tomato and 1 cup dry white wine to the demi-glaze and simmer for an hour, then strain the broth to make sauce Chausser. Add 1 cup dry red wine, 1/2 cup shallots and 2 oz. bone marrow, simmer for one hour and strain to make sauce Bordelaise.
Things You'll Need
- 2 oz. butter
- 2 oz. white flour
- 1 strip lean bacon, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 small carrot, peeled and chopped
- 2 oz. mushrooms, chopped
- 5 oz. chopped onions
- 5 cups beef or veal stock, divided
- 6 oz. fresh tomatoes, chopped
- 1 tsp. parsley
- 1 tsp. thyme
- 1 tsp. marjoram
- 1 tsp. lemon zest
- 1 bay leaf
- 5 allspice berries
- Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
- 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes, optional
- 1/3 cup dry sherry
- 1/2 cup minced onion for sauce Chausser, optional
- 1/4 cup chopped tomato for sauce Chausser, optional
- 1 cup dry white wine for sauce Chausser, optional
- 1 cup dry red wine for sauce Bordelaise, optional
- 1/2 cup shallots for sauce Bordelaise, optional
- 2 oz. bone marrow for sauce Bordelaise, optional
- Saucepan
- Slotted spoon
- Fine mesh sieve
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