Demi-glace

Just a tablespoon or two of demi-glace will give a lot of flavor and depth to several different dishes, mixing it in soups, stews, or various sauces. Demi-glace is an ingredient that everyone should have at home. It lifts your dish to a whole different level!

Demi-glace is the base for a good sauce! My son Patrick wanted to learn how to make a good wine sauce – that was the beginning of making demi-glace for me. You can buy ready-made demi-glace – but then you have to be prepared to pay quite a lot. Sure, it takes time to do this, but it’s worth the effort, I promise.

It is excellent to freeze and stays in the freezer for an incredibly long time. This batch gave 1.7 liters of finished demi-glace – I poured it into silicone muffin tins and froze it to pack then individually, really practical!

I am making this for the second time in a month. Last time I combined veal bones with chicken wings. The result was above expectations. I used it for wine sauce which was something out of the ordinary, I must say. 

Veal and bones that I use in demi-glace can sometimes be quite expensive or difficult to obtain. If it is difficult to get hold of veal meat and bones, it is possible to “cheat” a little. Then you can take meat and bones from beef and combine them with chicken wings. What you are looking for is collagen.

Ingredients

Dem-glace with veal and bones Cheat demi-glace with beef shank and chicken wings
It gives approx 3 – 4 liters It gives approx 2 liters
5-kilo veal meat and bone 2,5 kilos chicken wings
3 – 4 carrots 1,5 – 2 beef shank
3 yellow onion 3 yellow onion
5 – 6 celery stalks (or more) 3 – 4 carrots
150 – 170 g tomato paste 5 – 6 celery stalks (or more)
8 liters of water 3 Tbsp tomato paste
Oil to fry vegetables 5 liters of water
1 big leek (optional) 1 big leek (optional)
2 – 3 bay leaf 2 – 3 bay leaf
10 whole pepper-corns 6 whole pepper-corns
Oil to fry vegetables

You can also add fresh herbs, for example, Rosemary, Thyme, etc.

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 392° (F). 
  2. Wash and peel the vegetables. Cut it into smaller pieces and set aside. For example, divide each onion into four parts – it does not have to be too small!
  3. Add meat with bones and possibly—chicken wings in a greased baking dish. Let everything fry in the oven for about 45 minutes or until everything caramelizes – turn the pieces after half the time. Turn them after half the time!
  4. Fry all vegetables in a large saucepan over high heat for about 10-15 minutes.
  5. Add the oven-roasted meat and bones and possibly—the chicken wings if you are making the “cheat” version.
  6. Pour a lot of water that covers everything.
  7. Bring to the boil, lower the heat and then simmer for 18 – 24 hours. I let it simmer overnight. Check it a little now and then – add more water if needed.
  8. Strain and pour the liquid back into the pot and let it simmer for 3 hours.
  9. Let it cool slightly before pouring it into a suitable container and storing it in the fridge.
  10. The next day, remove the fat that has formed on the surface. The liquid should have gelled – otherwise, you have to boil it again and reduce it further.
  11. Let everything cool and portion it out into a suitable container and freeze it. For example, I portioned it in 1.25 dl muffin tins, put them in the freezer – when they had frozen, I packed these individually and put them in a bag.

Ready to use!

Enjoy!

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