Sauces
Citrus-Kissed Chimichurri
Hand-chopped parsley and oregano, garlic softened in red wine vinegar, and just enough lemon to brighten it. Good enough for a ribeye, gentle enough for fish.
40 min · Easy
Sauces · · By Ashley
The 5-Star French Restaurant Demi-Glace
In a 5-star French kitchen, a true demi-glace is the holy grail of the saucier station. It is not simply a reduced stock.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 27 hr 35 min
- Total
- 36 hr
- Serves
- About 2½ cups
- Level
- A project
Where the time goes
36 hr, mostly waiting
- Hands-on
- Hands-off
- 01Hands-onDay 1: chop the vegetables and tie the bouquet garni20 min
- 02Hands-offRoast the bones1 hr
- 03Hands-onDeglaze the roasting pan5 min
- 04Hands-offBring the stock to a boil30 min
- 05Hands-offBare simmer, uncovered24 hr
- 06Hands-onStrain15 min
- 07Hands-offCool and chill overnight8 hr
- 08Hands-onDay 2: lift off the fat5 min
- 09Hands-onDark roux10 min
- 10Hands-onSimmer the Espagnole · skimming30 min
- 11Hands-offReduce by half with the Madeira · until it passes the spoon test45 min to 1 hr
The story
A true demi-glace is a masterwork of classical technique that spans two days. This one follows the traditional French Espagnole method: roasted veal or beef marrow bones for maximum gelatin, simmered for 24 hours into a fond de veau (brown stock), combined with a deeply browned roux and a shallot and Madeira reduction, then reduced until it turns into a mirror-like, dark mahogany glaze that coats a spoon like liquid velvet.
It is the secret in my “Bourdain Refined” Beef Bourguignon. The bones make far more stock than the demi-glace needs, and the rest is perfect for boiling my Bone-Stock Sifted Potato Purée.
Ingredients
Serves About 2½ cups
Tap an ingredient to check it off.
Day 1: the brown bone stock (fond de veau)
Day 2: the Espagnole and final reduction
If you haven't got it
- dry Madeira — a high-end sherry
Method
Tap a step number to mark it done.
Day 1: the 24-hour stock
The intense roast
Heat the oven to 450°F / 232°C. Spread the bones, meat trimmings, onions, carrots and celery in a heavy copper or stainless roasting pan and roast for 45 minutes, until the bones are sizzling and dark gold. Brush the tomato paste evenly over the bones and roast for another 15 minutes to caramelize its sugars.
Deglaze the fond
Move the bones and vegetables to a 12-quart stockpot. Pour 2 cups of the red wine into the hot, empty roasting pan, set it over burners on medium-high, and scrape hard with a wooden spatula to lift every caramelized brown bit. Pour that dark liquid into the stockpot.
The bare simmer
Pour the rest of the wine into the stockpot, cover the bones with cold water by at least 3 inches and add the bouquet garni. Bring to a boil, then immediately turn the heat to its lowest setting and simmer, uncovered, for 24 hours.
A bare simmer means one or two bubbles breaking the surface now and then, no more. The wine’s acidity helps break down the collagen in the bones over the long simmer.
The double strain
Strain the hot stock through a fine-mesh conical strainer (chinois) lined with cheesecloth into a clean pot, and throw away the solids. Cool it to room temperature, then refrigerate overnight.
Day 2: the demi-glace
Defat
In the morning, lift away and discard the solid white disc of fat on top. Underneath is a solid, jelly-like, clear mahogany bone stock.
The dark roux
In a wide, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and whisk in the flour. Stir constantly for 8 to 10 minutes as it darkens from blond to a rich, nutty, penny brown.
Build the Espagnole
Slowly whisk 5 cups of the jellied stock into the roux, working out any lumps, and bring it to a simmer. It thickens into a smooth, glossy sauce. Simmer on low for 30 minutes, skimming off anything that floats up.
Keep the leftover stock in the fridge for the bone-stock potato purée.
The Madeira reduction
In a separate wide skillet, sauté the shallots until translucent. Pour in the Madeira and boil it down hard to a syrupy glaze, about 3 to 4 tablespoons of liquid.
The grand finale
Pour the Espagnole through a clean chinois straight into the Madeira reduction, lower the heat to a gentle simmer, and let it reduce for 45 to 60 minutes.
The spoon test
It is done when it turns into a concentrated, glass-like syrup, about 2½ cups. Dip a spoon in: the glaze should coat the back perfectly and hold a clean line when you run a finger through it.
Things worth knowing
- Pour the hot demi-glace into silicone ice cube trays and freeze, then pop the cubes into a vacuum-seal bag. A single cube is packed with flavor: drop one straight into a bourguignon, a pan sauce or a steak baste for an instant 5-star finish.
Ingredients · 36 hr · Serves About 2½ cups
Day 1: the brown bone stock (fond de veau)
- 7 lbsveal bones or beef marrow and knuckle bones
- 1 lbbeef shank or stew trimmings
- 3 mediumyellow onions
- 3 largecarrots
- 3 stalkscelery
- ¼ cuptomato paste
- 1 bottle (750 ml)dry, full-bodied French red wine
- 1bouquet garni
Day 2: the Espagnole and final reduction
- 4 tbspunsalted butter
- ¼ cupall-purpose flour
- 2 mediumshallots
- 1 cupdry Madeira
Keep cooking
More sauces- Dessert
The Signature High-Rise Cream Puff
Tall, hollow choux puffs baked on a silicone mat and packed with an extra-vanilla crème légère made with my own Grand Teton bourbon vanilla.
2 hr 55 min · Medium
- Dinner
The “Bourdain Refined” Beef Bourguignon
Anthony Bourdain’s rustic Les Halles bourguignon with my upgrades: beef seared in bacon fat, my own roasted beef bone demi-glace, sweet jammy shallots and a cold-butter finish.
3 hr 20 min · Medium
Made this one?
I send a new recipe most weeks, plus whatever went sideways in the kitchen that week.