Demi-glace

Demi-glace is the brown sauce of French cuisine that is used alone or as a base for other sauces. The French word glace refers to the formation of ice or glaze. It has traditionally been made by combining equal parts beef broth and espagnole sauce, the latter being one of the five mother sauces of classic French cuisine. The mixture is cooked over low heat, then reduced by half. Common variants of demi-glace use a 1:1 mixture of beef or chicken broth and espagnole sauce. These are known as "beef demi-glace" (demi-glace au boeuf) or "chicken demi-glace" (demi-glace au poulet). The term "demi-glace" by itself implies that it is made with traditional beef broth.

Features

The demi-glace sauce is a dark brown sauce made up of beef stock mixed with 1/4 part wine. It is a mother sauce (generally reduced over low heat until it reaches 2/3 of its volume), from which other meat sauces are derived. It is the basis of all French cuisine.

Preparation

The basic recipe for demi-glace was provided by French cook Auguste Escoffier, who is often considered to have established the method of French cooking, as well as the compilation of many of the recipes of traditional French cooking. Although many demi-glace recipes begin with the preparation, first making beef stock, then adding 1/4 of the red wine to create a brown sauce. Once finished, leave it on low heat to keep it warm. The demi-glace sauce keeps very well. About six months in the refrigerator or frozen indefinitely.

Jobs

It is used for beef. Although of course, it could be mixed with other types of meat, such as game and duck. It is even accompanied with vegetables. It is used to make sauces derived from demi-glace. It is a basic sauce for the preparation of dishes in French cuisine.