Sauces to Die For: Making Demi-Glace

Demi-glace is one of France's -- and the world's -- great sauces, which many chefs call “liquid gold”. It’s the basis for many other sauces but is great as is. Its deep, intense flavor is even more amazing because it has very little fat. It takes time to make, but it’s not hard and it’s worth it. You should use a stock pot that holds at least 10 or 12 qts. and it should be tall and narrow. I don’t recommend scaling down the ingredients to try to make a smaller amount. About 10 lbs. of veal bones yield only about 2 cups of demi. Demi is made from veal bones because they have the gelatin to give the sauce its body and sheen. Other types of bones, like beef bones, will not yield the same results. In the restaurant industry, it’s becoming more common to buy premade demi but here you will make it from scratch. We’ll make it in two steps and I have designed this lesson for 3 days, so you don’t have to cook overnight, which I don’t like to do. On Days 1 and 2 we’ll make the veal stock. On Day 3 we’ll finish the veal stock and use it to make the demi. -- John Hornick
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Preparation time: about 16-20 hours over 2.5 days
Ingredients:
About 10 lbs. veal bones
About 3 cups onions, chopped
About 2 cups carrots, chopped
About 1 cup celery, chopped
Vegetable trimmings (optional)
Bouquet garni (several fresh thyme sprigs, a small bunch of fresh parsley or parsley stems, about 2 Tb. black peppercorns, 1-2 bay leaves)
1 head of garlic, halved horizontally
6 oz. tomato paste
Olive oil
Sources: Veal bones (rossottiranch.com)