How to dilute dry demi-glace sauce. Demi-glace sauce: a recipe from France. Tips from a professional chef

In the original, demi-glace sauce is nothing more than a heavily boiled, mostly beef or veal broth. The name itself literally translates to "semi-glaze" or half-glazed. This is one of the main sauces of French cuisine.

This is a very versatile sauce. It can be prepared once, poured into small containers and frozen. Thaw in batches, reheat before serving. And you can serve it with almost any meat. And an ordinary soup with the addition of a small amount of this miracle will become divine and one can safely say exquisite!

There are many cooking methods demi-glace sauce, every avid cook has their own favorite version.

The common thing is to prepare the broth on pre-baked meat bones, then boil it for a long time and add alcohol, before the third stage of preparation, the final boiling of the already strained broth. Mostly dry red wine or sherry is added. I prefer sherry (some intellectuals call sherry “sherry” :-)), I love its nutty notes. And what I love most is demi-glace based on veal meat bones. Overall it turns out so tender, but at the same time rich.

And if you want to experiment, prepare the most common version of the sauce, using beef bones and adding red wine.

About alcohol: it completely evaporates, because after adding alcohol, you boil for a long time! All that remains is the desired aftertaste.

Properly prepared demi-glace sauce completely solidifies when cooled, like jellied meat.

About 1.3 -1.5 liters of sauce

  • 4 kg veal bones, with pieces of meat on the bone
  • 2 carrots, peeled, coarsely chopped
  • 2 onions, peeled, cut in half
  • 1 bunch herbs of your preference
  • 200 ml sweet sherry (can be replaced with Madeira or Muscat wine)
  • 1 tbsp. salt
Cooking time: 30 hours

1. Preheat the oven to 180ᵒ C.

2. Wash the veal bones and dry with a paper towel. Place in a large heatproof dish. Place in the oven and bake, turning occasionally, until the bones are evenly browned.

3. Remove the bones from the oven, transfer to a large saucepan, I have 10 liters. Fill with cold water so that the water is about 5 cm above the bones. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 24 hours. During the first hour, use a slotted spoon to actively remove foam and floating fat. Add boiling water as needed so that the bones are covered with water at all times. At night, you can add more water than usual, since you won’t have to monitor the broth for 8 hours.

Demi-glace sauce is a basic French sauce from the category of bechamel, French mayonnaise, hollandaise, etc. It is used as an independent dressing (mainly for meat dishes) or as an integral component of another sauce. Demi-glace is sometimes served with vegetable dishes, fish or eggs.

Composition and calorie content of demi-glace sauce

The composition of demi-glace can be completely different; it is selected depending on the dish with which it is served. The constant basis of the sauce is beef bones, or rather bone broth. In addition to bones, the dressing includes:

  • Wine - can be used both red and white;
  • A set of vegetables - bell peppers, shallots or leeks, tomatoes, etc.;
  • Various seasonings - ground parsley root, bay leaf, spices such as tarragon, etc.

The calorie content of demi-glace sauce per 100 g is 51 kcal, of which:

  • Proteins - 1 g;
  • Fats - 3 g;
  • Carbohydrates - 5 g;
  • Dietary fiber - 0 g;
  • Ash - 1.33
  • Water - 90.2 g.

The ratio of proteins, fats and carbohydrates is 1:3:5, respectively.

Most of the sauce is made up of saturated fatty acids and water. 100 g of product contains 158 mg of Sodium (Na), as well as a certain amount of Potassium (K), Calcium (Ca), Magnesium (Mg), Zinc (Zn), Fluorine (F) and other trace elements. Vitamin complex of the product: E, PP, H, B1, B2, B5, B6, B9, B12.

Interesting! To get 1 liter of demi-glace sauce, you need to use 3 liters of water and 1 kg of the ingredients stated in the recipe. It takes the cook about 12 hours to prepare it.

Useful properties of demi-glace sauce

French demi-glace sauce includes a lot of substances that are beneficial to humans. However, it is consumed in limited quantities, so it is difficult to obtain a significant therapeutic effect from it.

However, there are several main beneficial properties of demi-glace sauce:

  1. Quickly restores after hard physical or mental work - with beef broth, a person receives a large amount of iron, which takes part in the work of absolutely all human organs. People often feel weak and lose their appetite precisely because of a lack of iron in the body. Therefore, to get rid of overwork, doctors recommend including beef broth or dishes that contain this ingredient in your diet.
  2. Improves digestion - demi-glace sauce again owes this property to vegetables and beef bone broth, because these products are rich in easily digestible and healthy minerals and vitamins. In addition, bone broth contains a large amount of gelatin, which stimulates the stomach to produce gastric juices. The more of these juices are produced, the faster food is digested.
  3. Strengthens joints - bone broth is popularly considered a real panacea for diseases of the musculoskeletal system. Traditional medicine also recognizes that the product can strengthen a person’s joints and make his ligaments more elastic.

Contraindications and harms of demi-glace sauce

There is no consensus on the harmfulness of this product, because people use it as an addition to the main dish, that is, in small quantities.

But some experts name several negative characteristics of demi-glace:

  • A large amount of purines, harmful to people suffering from gout and arthritis;
  • The presence of heavy metals that may be present in the sauce due to bones - animals that graze near large factories and industrial enterprises accumulate them from the environment in the bones.

Some companies produce demi-glace sauce in the form of a semi-finished product, a dry bulk mixture, sorted into bags. Thanks to this product, any consumer can prepare the sauce in a matter of minutes - to do this, just dilute the mixture in water or simmer it a little.

On this matter, all experts are of the same opinion - dry powder for making sauce can contain a lot of chemicals. Therefore, when buying a dry mixture for making sauce, carefully read its composition. Some manufacturers add unnatural components to the mixtures: flavor enhancers, dyes, thickeners, etc. Such a semi-natural product can harm your health!

How to make demi-glace sauce?

If you decide to make your own demi-glace sauce, choose the highest quality products - the taste of the future dish will depend on this. Use only fresh beef bones and green, not dried, spices.

Analyzing the demi-glace recipe, you will understand that it will take almost the whole day to prepare it. This is true; in cookbooks this liquid seasoning is given a difficulty score of 5 out of 5. However, do not be afraid of difficulties, because most of the cooking time is spent on cooking the ingredients and the sauce itself.

Step-by-step recipe for demi-glace sauce:

  1. Chop 1 kg fresh beef bones into as small pieces as possible.
  2. Cut into small cubes and lightly fry 150 g of carrots, 150 g of onions and 100 g of celery. While frying, add a few drops of vegetable oil to the pan. The vegetables will be ready when they soften and acquire a golden hue.
  3. Add 100 g of fresh diced tomatoes to the prepared vegetables.
  4. Simmer the resulting mixture over low heat for 15 minutes.
  5. Now you can work on the bones that you have already chopped into pieces. Place them in the oven for 40 minutes.
  6. Mix the prepared vegetables and bones and place in a deep saucepan.
  7. Pour 0.5 liters of white wine into the resulting mixture and simmer over moderate heat for 3 minutes. This stage of preparation allows the ingredients to borrow the unusual taste and aroma from the wine.
  8. Add 50 ml of purified water, 1-2 bay leaves, 1 g of black peppercorns to the bone mixture. If you have other favorite seasonings in mind, feel free to add them to the dish at this stage of cooking.
  9. Simmer the resulting mass for 7-8 hours. Remember that bones can quickly burn to the bottom of the pan, so be sure to stir them constantly.
  10. Strain the sauce through a sieve and return to the stove for 4 hours. During this time, the broth should become thicker and acquire the consistency of a real French sauce.
  11. Demi-glace is ready for further use!

Tips from a professional chef:

  • If you are not sure about the quality of the purchased bones, soak them in cold water for several hours before preparing the sauce.
  • Be sure to add spices to the gravy at the final stage of its preparation, otherwise, due to boiling of the constituent components, you may over-salt or pepper the sauce.

Recipes with demi-glace sauce

French sauce will make any dish a real masterpiece, because it is considered part of haute cuisine. Haute cuisine is the cuisine of respectable restaurants, the most expensive hotels and other respected establishments.

Set up an expensive restaurant at home by preparing one of the following dishes using demi-glace:

  1. Duck rillette. To prepare this dish, you will need a glass jar and an air fryer. Cut 2 duck legs, add salt and fry until golden brown (you will need a small amount of vegetable oil for this). Meanwhile, take care of the vegetables: cut into small pieces, add salt and season with demi-glace sauce (30 g) 1 peeled carrot and 1 stalk of celery. Add 50 ml of water and a few black peppercorns to the resulting mass. Combine the already roasted duck with the prepared vegetables and pour 30 ml of orange juice over them. Wrap the ingredients in foil and bake in the oven for 90 minutes. Separate the finished meat from the bone and place it in a jar, pour the resulting broth on top. Close the jar with a lid and place in the air fryer for 20 minutes. After this, the dish will be ready to eat!
  2. Beef steak. Cut a large piece of beef into steaks. Each piece should be no more than 3 cm thick. Sprinkle allspice and salt on the resulting pieces of meat. Heat the frying pan - cast iron or steel utensils are suitable for frying steak, as long as they are not coated with Teflon. Add a little butter and vegetable oil to the pan. Grill steaks for 5 minutes over medium-high heat. Watch the meat carefully, no juice should be released from it, and if this happens, immediately increase the frying temperature. The steaks must be fried on both sides, but there is one culinary secret here. The fact is that until a golden crust has formed on it, it will not move from the pan. Therefore, do not rush to turn the meat over ahead of time - it will be simply impossible to tear it off the vessel. Place the finished meat in a plate, cover with foil and make several cuts to allow steam to escape. Leave the steaks in this position for 7 minutes, before serving, heat everything in the oven with the same foil for 10 minutes and pour over the demi-glace sauce.
  3. Duck with pear and demi-glace sauce. Cut 1 pear in half and cut out the seed box. Place a cinnamon stick and a little granulated sugar in the resulting cavity. Seal the two halves of the pear together by wrapping them in parchment. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, fry a small amount of chanterelles and Brussels sprouts in a mixture of butter and vegetable oil. Salt the contents of the pan and pour some water into it. Now start preparing the demi-glace sauce. To do this, fry 20 g of pine nuts in vegetable oil and butter. Combine the nuts with demi-glace in a saucepan, adding 70 ml of red wine, 5 g of tomato paste and 2 tsp. Sahara. Warm the sauce over low heat. Take 1 duck breast and remove the skin. Place the skin on the foil, and the beaten and salted meat on it. Stuff the breast with 70 g of mozzarella cheese, already prepared mushrooms and cabbage, add a little grated horseradish. Wrap the meat in a roll and foil. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Serve the finished meat with pear and sauce. The dish can be decorated with basil and, for example, arugula.
  4. Pork tenderloin. Place foil on a baking sheet. Place 360 ​​g of green beans on it, cut into oblong halves. Sprinkle the beans with chopped shallots and rosemary leaves (1 sprig is enough). Sprinkle green ingredients with a little salt and pepper and 1 tsp. olive oil. Roast vegetables for 5 minutes. While the vegetables are in the oven, make the pork tenderloin. Fry it in a small amount of oil on both sides until golden brown. Do not overcook the meat in the pan, because it will be finished cooking in the oven. Spread the tenderloin with a crispy crust with a mixture of mustard (30 g) and honey (15 g) and place on a baking sheet with the vegetables. Bake for 9 minutes. Pour demi-glace sauce over the finished meat.

On a note! A teaspoon holds 10 g of sauce, and a tablespoon holds 20 g.

The classic demi-glace recipe was developed back in medieval times by Antonin Careme, when French chefs were obsessed with the desire to write their name into world culinary history by experimenting with sauces. At that time, almost every new sauce from a French chef received worldwide recognition.

The name "demi-glace" translated from French means "half ice".

In the modern world, every self-respecting chef should know how to prepare demi-glace, because this particular sauce is included in the list of 8 “mother sauces” of France.

For reference! “Mother” is usually called the classic culinary masterpieces, on the basis of which many new types of modern sauces were made.

How to make demi-glace sauce - watch the video:

Beef demi-glace is a real culinary masterpiece that requires patience and certain professional skills from the cook. Therefore, if you managed to prepare this dressing at home, you can rightfully be proud of yourself! This sauce will decorate any dish of meat, eggs or fish.

Demi-glace sauce is a legendary masterpiece of French cuisine. Its thickness prevents it from turning into a piece of ice when frozen, so this jelly-like broth was called "demi-glace", which in French sounds like demi-glace.

In addition, the sauce is called “red”, since the technology of its preparation involves boiling not raw, but baked meat.

It takes a long time to prepare, but the advantage is that you can prepare several liters of sauce at once, freeze it in portions and use it within 2 months.

On sale you can find dry demi-glace, which is a powder and is used in cooking as a seasoning. But simpler does not mean better, so try to be like the French chefs and make demi-glace at home.

To make it tastier:

  • The original recipe uses beef for the sauce, but you can use any meat - pork, chicken, etc. At the same time, there is no need to strive to take the best pieces; on the contrary, use bones, leftover meat, and trimmings. Veal shanks that have not previously been frozen are considered ideal.
  • To get a golden brown crust that creates the most delicious sauce, when baking meat, use the trick of chef Heston Blumenthal - roll the meat fragments in dry milk before baking.
  • The cooking technology provides for a proportion of 1:3, i.e. For 1 kg of meat (bones) you need to add 3 liters of water. This will ensure that it evaporates during the long cooking process without the need to add new water, which can ruin the taste of the sauce.
  • After boiling, the broth should simmer over low heat and not boil.
  • It is not advisable to exclude components, including wine, from the composition.
  • It is necessary to add salt and season the demi-glace with spices only at the end of cooking, since the volume of the broth at this time will more than halve.
  • The finished sauce is eaten cold: first it is cooled by pouring it into a glass container, after cooling it is placed in the refrigerator for a couple of hours and only then served.

Sauce preparation algorithm

Knowing the main stages of preparation, you can prepare your own, original demi-glace. This is a simplified technology, but it fully reflects the essence of cooking.

  1. We select the meat, bones, weigh it, wash it, chop large pieces and bake in the oven until golden brown.
  2. Place the finished meat and the juice released on the baking sheet into a large saucepan.
  3. We prepare the vegetables you love - onions, carrots, sweet peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, etc. We chop them, fry them (separately) and transfer them to the meat.
  4. Add the required amount of water, bring the broth to a boil and simmer over low heat for at least 12 hours.

However, if you like to use only ready-made recipes and do not want to experiment, then use the ones presented below.

Classic demi-glace

The presented recipe reflects the process of preparing the sauce using French technology, which will take you about 30 hours. But you won’t need to continuously stand over the stove, and the result will be above all praise.

Prepare:

  • bones and meat (usually beef) - 2 kg
  • water – 6 liters
  • red wine (can be homemade) – 1 bottle (700-750 ml)
  • onion – 250 gr.
  • carrots – 250 gr.
  • bell pepper – 250 gr.
  • celery (root and stems) – 150 gr.
  • zucchini (zucchini) – 100 gr.
  • eggplant – 100 gr.
  • tomato sauce – 100 ml
  • vegetable oil (for frying) – 1-2 tbsp.
  • cloves – 1-2 buds
  • bay leaf – 1 leaf
  • black and allspice pepper – 3 peas each
  • sugar, salt, parsley, dill, garlic, thyme, rosemary - to taste.

You need to prepare it like this:

  1. Separate the meat and bones and wash. Cut the meat.
  2. Place the bones on a baking sheet and bake in the oven at 200 degrees for about an hour.
  3. Remove the bones from the oven and place the meat in a bowl. After 15 minutes, take it out and pour the juice into a cup. We will need it further. Place the meat in the refrigerator.
  4. Wash, peel and coarsely chop the vegetables.
  5. Separately fry the carrots and onions.
  6. Pour the meat juice from a cup into another frying pan and soak the pieces of zucchini, eggplant and celery in it.
  7. Place the baked bones in a high baking sheet, place vegetables from both frying pans on top of them, pour in half the wine and put in the oven for half an hour, then transfer everything from the baking sheet, including the liquid, into a large saucepan.
  8. The pan (covered with a lid) is initially placed on low heat and continues to remain there for a whole day.
  9. After 24 hours, remove the pan from the heat, remove the bones and strain the remaining broth into a clean pan.
  10. The meat, put in the refrigerator, needs to be fried and put into the broth along with spices. Continue simmering the demi-glace for about 2 more hours.
  11. Pour the wine mixed with the tomato sauce into the pan and remove the bay leaf. Add salt, sugar and simmer for another 2.5 hours. The finished demi-glace should resemble olive oil in thickness.

Demi-glace sauce (instant)

What can replace real demi-glace? Of course, a simplified version of it! If your family doesn’t have gourmets who regularly visit restaurants in France, they won’t be able to tell the difference between an original sauce and a “fake” one, and you’ll save a lot of time.

Simplified recipe for demi-glace sauce

Prepare:

  • broth (usually beef) - 1.6 liters
  • red wine (can be homemade) – 100 ml
  • onions, carrots, celery (stem) - 100 grams each
  • butter – 100 gr.
  • vegetable oil – 50 gr.
  • tomato sauce – 50 ml
  • premium flour – 100 gr.
  • salt, sugar, herbs and spices - to taste.

You need to prepare it like this:

  1. Divide the finished broth (strong) into 2 parts.
  2. Peel the vegetables, chop finely and fry.
  3. Add tomato sauce to the vegetable mixture and simmer everything for about 5 minutes.
  4. Place the vegetables in a saucepan and pour in some of the broth, add spices, herbs and seasonings tied in a piece of gauze and cook for half an hour over low heat.
  5. Take out the gauze bag with spices and cook for another half hour.
  6. Strain the resulting broth.
  7. Fry the flour in melted butter and dilute the mixture with the second part of the broth. Mash and heat the sauce until thickened.
  8. Transfer it to a saucepan with strained broth. Add wine to this and place the pan on the fire. The sauce must be stirred and boiled to the desired thickness.
  9. At the end of cooking, sugar and salt are added, and at the end of cooking, the sauce is cooled as much as possible.

Chicken demi-glace sauce

This demi-glace is the simplest version of the sauce. It is far from the original, but very tasty!

Prepare:

  • chicken wings, backs or necks - 1 kg.
  • carrots and onions – 3 pcs.
  • powdered milk – 1 glass
  • salt, spices and herbs - to taste
  • water – 3 liters

You need to prepare it like this:

  1. Wings (necks or backs) need to be washed and rolled in powdered milk.
  2. Chop carrots and onions (in large pieces).
  3. Place the wings (in 1 layer) and vegetables next to them on a baking sheet and place in the oven for 1 hour. At the end, it’s good to keep the ingredients under the grill.
  4. Place the wings and vegetables in a large saucepan and add water. It should cover all the components.
  5. After boiling, the broth is simmered under the lid for 4 hours on low heat.
  6. Next, remove the bones from the broth and strain it.
  7. After this, the pure broth is evaporated until its volume is 0.7 or 0.5 liters and cooled.

How much does demi-glace sauce cost (average price per 1 kg)?

Moscow and Moscow region.

Demi-glace sauce belongs to the national dishes of France and is rightfully considered a classic of world gastronomy. It is no coincidence that demi-glace or demi-glace is called a legendary sauce. French chefs began experimenting with sauce recipes back in the Middle Ages. Since then, almost every sauce in French cuisine has become not just popular, but has been ranked among the masterpieces of world cuisine. Take, for example, the famous bechamel, velouté or espagnole sauces, which are considered the basis of all French cooking. This list can safely include demi-glace sauce, the original name of which sounds like demi-glace, which literally means “half ice.”

Demi glace sauce is classified as a meat type, this is due, first of all, to the composition of the product. Demi-glace sauce is based on a steep meat broth, which is cooked from beef bones. Demi-glace sauce began to be considered a classic sauce thanks to the famous 19th century chef and gourmet Antonin Careme. It was in the 19th century that they began to remember and revive forgotten traditions and, because For almost two centuries, European cooks preferred previously unseen Asian spices and herbs. However, after experimenting with exotic flavors, the chefs decided to go back to the roots.

The 19th century gave a lot to world gastronomy, because... At this time, the famous sauces of French, Italian, English and German cuisine received a second life, and the taste and aroma of some of them even sounded new. Mr. Karem ranked demi-glace among the eight so-called “mother” sauces, on the basis of which others are made. However, demi glace sauce is itself a derivative and traces its history back to the classic meat brown sauce espagnole. We can say that the basis of demi-glace is Espanol sauce, the recipe and method of preparation of which have been slightly changed.

Demi-glace sauce is made from, to which vegetables, as well as spices and herbs are added. Typically, demi-glace sauce is made with onions, celery, carrots, parsley and tomatoes. Brown, rich meat broth plays first fiddle in the demi-glace sauce recipe. That is why it is important to carefully select meat for demi-glace sauce. Usually beef or veal shanks are used; the thicker the meat broth, the more refined and brighter the taste of the demi-glace sauce. One liter of demi-glace broth is obtained from three liters of water and a kilogram of starting ingredients.

To prepare demi-glace sauce, you must first prepare the meat ingredients. We wash the meat and separate the pulp from the bones. The bones should be chopped and tinted in the oven. It is better to cut vegetables and herbs into large pieces and fry them with the addition of spices and herbs. Do not rush to wash the bones on which the meat bones were baked; using a glass of water, you can collect valuable meat juice, which should be mixed with the vegetable mass. Pieces of meat also need to be baked in the oven and the resulting fat and meat juice must be collected in a separate container. At the final stage, all ingredients are mixed together and boiled.

The process of preparing demi-glace sauce takes about 12 hours. This is a painstaking and diligent process that true connoisseurs or professionals can do. Nowadays, you can buy ready-made demi-glace sauce, produced industrially. This product tastes good, but can never compare with fresh homemade and just prepared classic French meat sauce demi-glace.

Calorie content of demi-glace sauce 51 kcal

Energy value of demi-glace sauce (Ratio of proteins, fats, carbohydrates - bju).

Veloute and Hollandaise. They can be used as a base for preparing more complex sauces or a proven dressing for a dish. Demi-glace goes especially well with meat dishes. In French restaurants it is served by default with most meat plates. But the use of sauce is not limited to juicy steaks. It also “works” organically when paired with fish, vegetables or eggs. The chef can vary the composition of the demi-glace or choose special food processing techniques. It all depends on the characteristics of the dish, its components, the imagination of the cook or the personal wishes of the client.

General characteristics of the product

Demi-glace is one of the basic sauces of French cuisine. It is prepared using beef bones, seasonings and vegetables. All products except beef bones are subject to variation. A chef or an ordinary consumer may prefer red or white wine, bell peppers or tomatoes, root or tarragon. The set of products for a traditional demi-glace looks like this: red wine, allspice and, parsley root, onions of 3 varieties (, and), beef bones. For authentic taste, we recommend going to high-quality French restaurants, but you can come up with new bright variations in your own kitchen.

Preparing demi-glace can take a whole day, provided that you strictly follow the recipe and want to bring the sauce to the desired taste and consistency. To make life easier for the average consumer, large industrial companies began to produce packaged dry demi-glace mixtures, which simply need to be diluted with liquid or lightly stewed. If you decide to purchase such a sauce substitute, then carefully read the composition. It should not contain unnecessary ingredients, flavor enhancers and other achievements of the gastronomic industry. Agree, going to a French restaurant will cost less than treating the gastrointestinal tract after poor-quality food.

The final taste of the sauce directly depends on the quality of the selected products. Don't skimp on fresh beef bones and, whenever possible, use fresh herbs and spices instead of dry ones. This will give the demi-glace a special charm and an unimaginable palette of shades.

Historical reference

It is no coincidence that demi-glace has gained the status of a “legendary sauce” in the gastronomic world. The unique recipe appeared in the Middle Ages. Chefs of that time tried to experiment with familiar tastes and make their name in culinary history. Sauces have become a real battleground for gastronomic titans. Almost every French sauce quickly gained popularity and quickly became a world heritage item.

Brief etymological note: translated from French, demi-glace sounds like “half ice.”

The sauce gained popularity thanks to the 19th century cook and gourmet Antonin Careme. It was he who decided to revive authentic French cuisine and slightly update traditional sauce recipes. For almost two centuries, all of Europe used Asian spices and herbs. Karem decided to distort the situation and called on all chefs to go back to their roots. On this wave of popularity, demi-glace rose, capturing not only France, but the whole world.

The sauce was included in the list of 8 mother sauces, received a new interpretation and still does not give up its leading position.

Chemical composition of the product

Use of the component in cooking

Demi-glace is classified as a “meat sauce,” although this statement is very vague. The component really goes harmoniously with all types of meat, regardless of the degree of fat content and flavor palette, but also works well paired with vegetable stews, grain or legume dishes. Moreover, demi-glace is an excellent base for other, more complex sauces.

Forget about bias, taste the true taste of demi-glace and determine your own ideal combinations. Some will be delighted with the French sauce and pumpkin puree, while others are ready to indulge in demi-glace all day long. It's just a matter of taste, and there's no arguing about tastes. To experience French cuisine, you need to develop that same taste - to distinguish between basic combinations, to understand the concept of interaction of certain components. The main thing is to understand the system and learn to perceive taste not only as a whole, but also as a large-scale gastronomic mechanism.

Demi-glace sauce recipe

The traditional demi-glace recipe requires titanic efforts and a colossal amount of time. If you are a culinary beginner, then practice making less complex French sauces, for example, bechamel, vinaigrette or veloute with chicken broth. Cooking demi-glace will take 12 hours of your life, and all cookbooks indicate the degree of difficulty of cooking as 5/5.

We will need:

  • beef bones – 1 kg;
  • white wine – 500 ml;
  • vegetable oil – 200 ml;
  • onion – 150 g;
  • carrots – 150 g;
  • celery root – 150 g;
  • celery stalk – 100 g;
  • garlic – 100 g;
  • fresh tomatoes – 100 g;
  • leek – 100 g;
  • filtered water – 50 ml;
  • tomato paste (you can simply puree the peeled tomatoes in a blender) – 30 g;
  • bay leaf – 2 g;
  • allspice – 2 g;
  • black peppercorns – 1 g.

Preparation

Chop the beef bones into small pieces. Chop carrots, onions into small cubes, then fry in a frying pan (with a drop of vegetable oil for frying) for 5 minutes. The vegetables should become soft and have a light golden hue. Chop the tomatoes into small cubes and add to the pan. After adding the tomatoes, leave the mixture to simmer for 10-15 minutes.

While the vegetable mixture is preparing, take care of the beef bones. Preheat the oven to 180°C and place the bones there for 30-40 minutes. As soon as the product changes color from gray to golden, remove from the oven. Prepared beef bones should be immediately mixed with processed vegetables.

Place the mixture of bones and vegetables in a deep saucepan or saucepan, then pour in white wine, place over medium heat and simmer lightly for 1-3 minutes. During this time, the alcohol should evaporate, and all components of the dish will be saturated with flavor and aroma. Pour in a small amount of filtered liquid, add bay leaf, pepper, favorite spices and leave the saucepan to simmer over low heat for about 6-8 hours. It is important that the bones do not burn to the bottom, so stir the contents periodically. After the required period has passed, remove the saucepan from the heat and strain the sauce through a sieve into a clean pan. Place the filtered sauce back on low heat and cook for another 3-4 hours. As soon as the mass thickens and acquires a dense consistency, remove the pan from the heat and serve the desired demi-glace to the table.

Why traditional recipes can and should be changed

The age of demi-glace has already exceeded several hundred years. During this time, the gastronomic industry has significantly modernized, eating habits have changed dramatically, and the population is increasingly thinking about their own health rather than about tastes and combinations.

Of course, authentic dishes and recipes have a place in the modern gastronomic industry, but they are not in wide demand and are aimed at a specific limited audience.

Cooking, like other areas of life, must be generational. We can no longer afford overly fatty beef broths and vegetables fried in vegetable oil. Moreover, few people would agree to spend 12 hours at the stove to prepare an exquisite French sauce.

We ourselves have put everything on the conveyor belt (including the pace of life), so we can be distracted extremely rarely and on special occasions.

Don't forget that experiments are almost always good. Find your true identity in cooking. Once you realize that you are dusting off old recipe tomes, you will notice that you are losing touch with the present. Feel free to swap frying for braising, beef bones for vegetable or fish broth, and create your own sauce. Perhaps it will turn out like in the movies - when a young hooligan chef takes up experiments, thereby attracting a new audience and writing an absolutely amazing gastronomic story that can conquer the world.

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