Demi-Glace : The Art of cooking a Great Sauce?

Assalamualaikum and Salam Sejahtera to all?

This time I will be sharing one of big secret in cooking?s world, making a great sauce well known as Demi-glace.

Demi-glace, pronoun Demi-Glas is French words for a Refined Brown Sauce which is made from same quantity of Brown Stock and Brown Sauce and reduced by half. For example, 1 liter of Brown Stock and 1 liter of Brown Sauce brings to boiled and reduced (simmer) by half, but that is way too traditional old method, what I m gonna share here is way too modern-ish and artistic, it?s a long boiling cooking method and definitely a way to The Art of Cooking.

Demi-glace is one of essential sauce in many kitchen, also called as ?mother sauce?, usually served with beef, lamb, veal or any red meat sometimes white meat. The basic ingredient is Brown Sauce and Brown Stock. To get a better result for making this sauce is using fresh ingredients.

First, you got to make Brown Stock, remember home made always taste better as nowadays we can just get brown stock in supermarket either in cube or packets.

Some of ingredient I used for stocking? leeks, carrots, garlic, shallots, fennels, onions, red onions, celery and mushrooms.

Cut veggies ?maripoix? and wash in colander thru running water except for onions, red onions, garlic, shallots and mushrooms. After washed, let it dry.

Arrange beef bones, onions, red onions, garlics and shallots in an inset and marinate with herbs, I use tarragon, oregano, thyme, black pepper corn and bay leaves. Add sticks of cinnamon for extra flavor (depend to your quantity of water used) but not too much as it would over taste other ingredients, as traditional Demi-Glace never use cinnamon stick, its just for additional unique flavoring. Using dried herbs suggested as it is easy to find, also using fresh herbs is expensive but mind you, the result would be better if you used fresh herbs. Do not season your stock with salt and pepper.

Roast in oven at 250?C for about 45 minute, that should be enough time for colouring, it should be brown. You can use traditional way, that is sauté the bone to caramelize for colour but with this method you should stir it frequently or else the beef wouldn?t colour properly. Using roasting method could save your time.

Marinated ingredients with herbs ready to be roasted?

After 45 minute roasting? and ready to go into a big pot?

While waiting for the bones to be brown, heat a giant size pot, if you have one (make sure you can sleep in it? haha) but if not a little one is the right one? heat up on high fire until hot enough, pour corn oil in, it will be smokey, if not your pot is not hot enough, then sauté all veggies until brown colour, it wouldn?t take long if your pot is really hot to color the veggies to brown colour.

This is one big pot, can fit about 200 liter of water and three medium sized people? haha, kidding?

Tips: I don?t usually sauté the veggies in the pot for colour but also roasted them in the oven. (this is one lazy but smart method? haha).

When veggies and bones browned, then combined them in the pot, pour water adequate to your ingredients.

Let the stock boiled and once boiled, simmer for as long as it takes but not drained. I usually leave them for at least 12 hours and most is 48 hours. Remember, I am stocking in a big pot as, home cooking should simmer up to 24 hours as stock is better produced the longer it is cooked ? applied to meat stock only.

Tips: adequate amount of water at the first time would give a better result, as adding more water after hours cooking could reduce taste.

Standard water quantity per kg. meat: 1kg meat/bone equivalent to 4litre water.

Tips: Stocking is very important process to a good sauce, therefore you need to check it every now and then or if you have confident set on a low fire simmering and get a timer running. Skim fats that float.

Strained stock thru a strainer (doesn?t have to be fined strainer) and keep it aside.

Now that you have Brown Stock, its time to make a Brown Sauce.

Using the same ingredients and methods as stock but less bone as your brown stock already have meat?s flavor, roast bones and veggies to brown, heat pot sauté with tomato puree to light brown colour. Do not burn and add stock in once colour changed.

This is how Brown Stock looks like in early stage?

Tips: in traditional Brown Sauce ingredient, flour is also added but I never used flour as tomato puree would thicken my sauce.

And few hours later?

Fats will surface and you got to skim it out, once ready strain thru fine strainer.

Final stage is you got to reduce the strained Brown Sauce to make it a Demi-Glace. Pour the sauce in a pot, bring to boiled and simmer, at this stage it will change colour to dark brown and thicken. Skim fat frequently. I never add salt in Demi-glace as it will salted by itself.

Reduced, skimming fat and in few more minute, Demi-Glace is ready to use.

Can you imagin, the amount from first stage to the finish? It is like having 20 litre reduced to become 1 litre.

Demi-Glace is a mother sauce, you can use your imagination to make sauce from this sauce for eg: Mushroom sauce, Black Pepper ? this is way to typical, try this?

?Pear Demi-Glace? ? made from caramelized pears fined blended.

?Olive Jus? ? fined blended black olive.

?Kembayau Jus? ? made from Kembayau (one of Bruneian seasonal fruit, like olives but taste better)

?Minted Demi-Glace? with mint sauce.

?Caramelized Onion Demi-Glace? ? great for side dishes or salad.

?Spicy Jus? ? with chilies, one of my favourite.

Tips: you can add few tbsp of Demi-Glace in your cooking for extra flavor. As I always do, I will add some in my pasta cooking.

This is one healthy sauce as no artificial flavoring and colouring added and definitely NO SALT added? As in most kitchen everywhere, chefs don?t practice this long cooking method anymore, as they would say ?wasting time?, they rather just buy the ready made ones but I have to throw one question? ?is it healthy?? remember my friend, you are what you eat and believe me, what you eat influenced your daily life and so obviously your health. Health food for healthy living? ;)

So, I hope you enjoy reading and practice it in your kitchen and as this is for big amout of Demi-Glace, for home cooking, if you?re not sure about the ingredient, please mail me at obcces@live.com

The finish on the plate?

Marinated Lamb Chop with grilled asperagus, polenta cake and Lamb Jus

?Lamb Jus? plated? Sapa dapat guess tangan sapa nie, kana bagi hadiah Lamb Rack mainan? haha..

And as usual, bonus features?

Human Garbage...

Have you ever seen human in garbage bag? Hahaha? this is volunteer garbage and needed to be thrown as garbage in garbage disposal, not to recycle?as in malay we would say them as ?sampah masyarakat?? kidding guys?
We had a game in one of our restaurant?s outing day n played few games like ?walking in a garbage bag? but they actually look like rubbish, so, can we just throw them or recycle?

Whatta heck!!!

Spaghettini?s Gorgeous Model?

Read this? Crab Cake a.k.a Keketam...

Regards, Chef Nash and the three dots?