This is my technique for veal demi-glace, and there’s not
much to it. I’m going for a pure veal stock reduction, fortified with nothing
more than mirepoix and tomato. I don’t do the classic roux-based “espagnole”
sauce, which is traditionally mixed with veal stock and reduced by half.
Modern versions like this forgo the flour, and simply reduce
the stock until the natural gelatin from the bones thickens things up. You get
a much more intensely flavored sauce, with a wonderfully luxurious mouthfeel. I
also usually make a pure version of the stock without the traditional “bouquet
garni,” which is a very classic bundle of herbs and spices, usually wrapped and
tied in a piece of leek.
It looks pretty, but I can add any or all of those flavors
anytime I want, and we’re also always going to use this as a base for other
sauces and applications, all of which bring their own herb and spice blends. Basically,
like to keep my options open.
Stay tuned for part two, where I’ll show you what to do with
this life-changing liquid, as well as how to portion and store it for many
months of brown sauce nirvana. I hope you call your butcher and order some veal
bones soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 3-4 quarts of Demi-Glace:
10 lbs veal bones, joints and marrow bones
1 tbsp vegetable oil
4 carrots, cut in 2-inch pieces
3 onions, cut in eighths (I did without thinking, but you
don’t have to peel the onions)
4 ribs celery, cut in 2-inch pieces
1 (6-oz) can tomato paste
*10 quarts water
*While the stock simmers very, very gently for 18 hours, the
level will drop a few inches in the pot, which is fine, but if it seems like
the liquid level is getting low, add a few cups of water in.
62 comments:
Ok that looks so freaking good! I'm going to run out and buy veal bones as soon as I see part 2!
Can you use a pressure cooker to reduce the time to cook and then reduce afterwards?
When I reduce a stock I use a tiny fan to blow air across the top. This allows you to turn up the heat to super high and evaporate as fast as possible without boiling it :)
Could you achieve close to the same thing with just beef bones or would it be too totally different to call it demi-glace?
How much are we missing out on, if we forego the veal for beef? I don't do veal because I'm not a monster of a human being. ;-)
Chef, you're awesome. I can't wait to use the term "slappin' that glace" in the kitchen...
Mmm, luxardo cherries.
The bones of any animal will work similarly, but veal has significantly more collagen, which makes it work much, much better! I can't comment on whether it's worth doing with other bones or not, since that's a subjective opinion!
Sorry I'm not a pressure cooker guy, so I have no idea, although you couldn't make very much!
Hello Chef: when do you expect to post part 2? Can't wait.
Good luck finding a pressure cooker that can handle 10 lbs. of veal bones. I'm just sayin'.
Can't wait for part 2. Thanks Chef!
I've totally gotten yelled at by a large chef for not deglazing the roasting pan..
At exactly what age of the cow does one go from a monster to a regular consumer, when consuming its parts?
Furthermore, does consuming veal of a humanely raised, healthy animal affect monster status?
Man, if the scene of you slapping that block of demi glace in the end isnt considered food p0rn then i dont want to know what is...
Your "preview" of Part 2 showcases the gelatinized Demi-glacé. How is it different from an aspic?
The end there was like "50 Shades of Demi-Glace". You should have put a blind-fold around it.
Already ordered the veal bones!!!! I hope part two comes quickly enough hehehehe
"... but I'm saving the ice cubes for my Manhattans."Yeah, I saw the Luxardo Cherries in the fridge there :-)
I guess my question is what liquor do you use for your Manhattans?
I have already decreed at my house (with the permission of my wife, of course) that this will be a yearly spring tradition!...
We'll make Demi-Glace every spring to last us through the summer and fall... Spring because you can open the windows and air the kitchen and grilling/BBQ season is about to start which is when our meat consumption goes high!
Thanks Chef John!!!! awesome as always
New to your website, awesome, hooked already, lookin' for part 2 demi-glace, and I love your piano playing background music..do you play? great sense of humor and I will 'enjoy' your stuff!
Can i use Ox tails?
Would making a half recipe require a significant change in timing or the treatment of the demi-glace? I don't have a large enough stock pot for the 10 pounds of veal bones. I truly enjoy watching your videos and eagerly awaiting each new episode.
Other than keeping an eye on your liquid level, the size of the pot does not change the technique at all. Enjoy!
How much should I expect to pay for veal bones?
I usually pay about $4 per pound.
Too pricey for my budget, unfortunately. Will chicken bones cause they broth to congeal in the same fashion?
And, do the bones have to be fresh, or will it work fine if I freeze them as I collect them over time?
Yes frozen bones work fine once thawed.
I don't usually leave comments but I have to express how much I love your videos and recipes. I want to thank you for introducing new food to my life. I cooked things I've never heard of before and fell in love with them! I'm never satisfied with common homemade comfort food recipes any more. And I also like that you teach some food science in the videos, which help me adjust the recipe as I like. Please post more!! Thanks!
I did this in the turkey fryer pot. It was big enough and when it came time to boil for reduction the hot as hell gas fire on the fryer worked much better than my wimpy electric stove.
Could you add wine to the water to get it an even richer flavor? I will do that over easter!
This post was the best and the worst thing that has ever happened to me. I've been sifting through the miasma of confusing demi glacé techniques online, and then this appears. Best thing ever! BUT: apparently in this tiny burg (~500k population) veal bones are a figment of my imagination. Nothing but the stink-eye when I ask for them. Chef John: can I make this out of Brontosaurus bones? Apparently those are easier to come by here...
Here is my first attempt at making demi glace. I was inspired by Chef John after he published a couple YouTube videos with instructions. Check them out at https://youtu.be/aFaqxBXIM3E and https://youtu.be/EZe8WvC7gDo. It was quite the three day adventure but the result was amazingly good. I captioned each picture describing what I was doing. H/T to Chef John for the idea to "slappa, slappa" the demi glace. :)
Ah, I forgot the link to my photo/video album! Here it is for anybody interested... http://goo.gl/qQ1YEX
looks perfect!
Here in Northern Virginia it is incredibly difficult to find veal bones -- even from butchers.
The local grocery stores carry beef neck & marrow bones for $1.99 so I'm thinking of going with that. After all, what is beef but older veal?
After seeing your comment above about the collagen being greater in veal, I'll compensate by adding 2-3 more pounds of beef bones. Any hints as to the ratio of neck to marrow bones?
Internet searches say neck may have more collagen than marrow bones, so maybe 60% neck and 40% marrow?
What do you think?
Hi. Sorry, but Chef John is on vacation this week.
Chef John, is a Demi glacé the same thing as a meat glacé or glacé de viande?
Also, James Peterson says in his book Sauces that a Demi glacé can be made by reducing an already made stock; therefore, was what you made a stock? Or was it a stock up until you past 8-10 hours of simmering and went into an 18-24 hour simmer?
Chef John, I have followed you technique assiduously. 10# of veal bones from the best butcher in 6 counties and I have 2 quarts of fat and 6 (or more) quarts of essences. It all simmered for 24 hours, so I will let it set overnight. It probably did not have enough heat under it, so this is 0.90, Thanks for being inspiritorial.
I made demi glace from your recipe this past weekend. Very easy. I can send pics of the old slappa-slappa if you want proof!
In order to control/maintain the level of liquid, couldn't one just leave a lid on the pot, then take it off when it's time to reduce?
Also, I don't have room for a 20+ qt pot, only about a 12. Can I still use the same quantities and just reduce the amount of water, or should I portion everything down to accommodate for the smaller pot?
Leave the lid off. - you want the evaporation. Besides, using a lid will increase the internal temperature, making a simmer difficult to maintain.
Divide the ingredients in half and use 2 pots. Doing this doubles the surface evaporation area so you MAY need to add water periodically to maintain a water level above the bones.
- Rodney
Chef John, my demi glade did not gel up. Do you have any advice or tips? thank you. My butcher cut an entire beef bone into 2in piece. so there were only 2 joints. So is it possible there was not enough joints to provide more collagen?
Yes, that was the problem. You need lots of joints.
I used regular beef bones, no joints. Not to worry; after studying this recipe I realised it wasn't much more than beef jell-o so I added two packets of gelatin. It firmed up nicely. For those who don't have a giant pot to simmer in; relax: just put all the bones in your biggest pot, then add the water until it's full, you'll have to determine the "full" point. Simmer and concentrate your demi, when the water gets low, add more water until you've added all of Chef John's required liquid. The main thing is: simmer, reduce and add water until all the water has been added, then when you're at the lovely 8 quart point, add your two packets of gelatin and reap the rewards.
I gave this a try yesterday and it came out damn near perfect. Had no choice but to use beef bones but made sure most were joint parts. It produced a lot more fat than I expected but that was easy to scrape off after it had coagulated. It had a deep red color and a nice firm body that jiggled when I gave it the old slappa slappa.
Now I just need a great recipe to use it with. Not going to use this stuff on hamburgers, thats to much time and effort to waste on something simple. Any suggestions?
U didn't use a Bouquette Garni , and that sounds strange for me
That looks amazing! Can I add red wine to it? I love red in almost all my sauces.
One suggestion to improve this that adds even more time... In the video the stock is reduced at a boil after the solids are removed. The fat is still present, and boiling will emulsify the fat into the liquid. Some will later rise to the top when you let the reduction cool, as shown in the next video, but some of the fat is permanently in the demi glace.
An improvement is to take the stock and cool it after straining. Once cool, put in the fridge for several hours or overnite. The fat will rise to the top, but now you can remove it before any gets emulsified into the demi. Then proceed to boil and reduce.
Chef,
This is buried at the bottom but you never mentioned any recipes for this sauce, other than add it to another sauce. So I hope you don't mind if
I share a recipe centered around this that worked - very, very well.
I took some chicken thighs and seared them with some garlic, and then cut into pieces. I removed chicken and put in 4 cloves of garlic, careful not to overcook, and then 5 ice cubes of your demi glaze. After a few minutes it got that lovely sheen, Some salt, and I let it go low for 10 minutes. To finish, I added 1/4 cup heavy cream & 1/4 cup red wine vinegar.
Really, really, good.
Hey Chef, I made some more demi-glace but this time, added some red wine to the process. Sorta did a southern french/Mediterranean thing by adding red wine, garlic, thyme and rosemary to my mirepois. You gotta try it if you haven't already. Love your videos man. So inspiring.
Hello, thank you for your recepie. I have been looking online for this kind of recepie and have seen many versions of it. I have two questions:
1. In your recepie you do not use red wine like others. what is the reason?
2. Do you have to oil the bones before they get into the over?
Thank you so much for your answer
Effie
I simmered the bones for 12-15 hours
Later I realized that they still had marrow on them
And my stock tasted very weak and had no texture
Did I not simmer long enough or not hot enough ?
I roasted the bones in advance
Would appreciate some guidance so I get it right next time
Hi Chef John,
Watching this two part video on Demi-Glace has inspired me to make it at home. Got everything I need but the bloody bones and attempting to find them after calling 5 butcher departments in Marin is proving to be a bit frustrating...
Would you mind sharing the name of your butcher in SF? I'm happy to drive down and pay him a visit. Thanks so much for all of your amazing cooking videos.
Hi Chef John,
I want to make Demi-Glace, but as you addressed later, veal bones are hard to find. As a Bay Area resident as well, could you tell me where to buy veal bones? Also, how much do they typically cost?
Looks so amazing I decided to try it, but sure hope it turns out great because 10 Lbs of veal bones was $50!!! Here is my question, I don't have a big enough stock pot, so would it be ok to use a "canner" or is would that pot be too thin for this long cooking time?
Hi Chef,
Just curious why you wouldn't blanch the veal bones prior to roasting?
Chef John, I followed your directions, however, my demi glace never firmed up after cooling. I ended up putting the demi glace in ice trays and freezing. The demi glace is marvelous, but I would like to know what I may have done wrong.
Hi Chef John, I live in San Francisco too. Where do you get your veal bones from?
Please watch your glace... I had two large batches that turned out nice and jiggly, but I then wanted to reduce the two separate gallons down to one beautiful dark condensed gallon. I got distracted by some chores and burnt the entire batch that had taken the whole weekend to get to this point. Frustrated.
I just wanted to help the community that is asking about veal bone in SF Bay Area. I have acquired what I consider good quality veal bone suitable for this sauce (seems to be marrow, joint bones) for $3.69/lbs from Guerra Quality Meats in San Francisco in the Sunsetish area. Seemed like good people, good quality at reasonable prices. I'm happy so far, and about to attempt my first demi-glace based on this recipe and instruction, adding garlic and red wine in addition to the mirapoix.
If you decide to get them from Guerra, just make sure to call first, as they don't always have em. I bought 3lbs and that is everything they had for at least a few days. Maybe they can be ordered, I'm not sure. I just searched for butchers and starting calling around and asking if they had any, and the price per lbs until I found one that was around $4 per lbs as chef explained here in the comments to make sure I didn't get royally ripped off. There is a butcher in Cal Mart in Laurel Village near Pacific Heights that wanted $6 per lbs...nearly double. I can't imagine their bone being that much better than the stuff I got at Guerra...
And to be clear, I have no connection to Guerra, just sharing the info as I would be appreciative if someone else shared back when I didn't know where to get veal bone.
Thank you chef for sharing your instructions. Best I have seen for ease of following along and explanations on why you do some of the steps.
Wonderful! Love it! Thank you so much for this <3
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