Recipe: Veal Stock, Demi-Glace, Glace de Viande and Consommé

It took me a while to realize just how much better home made stock is than store bought. For years I only cooked with store bought stock- it makes sense because it isn’t all that expensive and is one heck of a lot easier to buy it than to make it. I knew to look for low or no sodium options and figured that the more expensive the box of stock was, the better it would be. I have to say that recently I’ve become a true convert to making homemade stock. It is truly remarkable how much better and more complex the flavor profiles can be with a well made stock. Check out the difference below between my home made veal stock on the right and the most expensive, organic store bought version on the left. Crazy- right?

The stock on the left is a premium brand, organic beef stock. Not sure what that sediment is. The stock on the right is from this recipe. Photo by Scott Groth

Okay, so homemade stock can make your food taste better and certainly looks better than store bought stock. One of the issues with making stock at home is simply storing it. Stock takes up a lot of room and is only good for three to five days in the fridge. Unless you have a stand alone freezer that is relatively empty, freezing isn’t a much better option either. Instead, we can reduce the stock down 75% which will result in what is known as a Demi-Glace. This is simply concentrated stock. It takes up much less room and saves time when you are cooking because the stock is already partially reduced. If we chose to do so, we could reduce the stock about 90% and we would be left with what is called Glace de Viande. This is literally translated as “meat glaze” or “meat icing” which I think is awesome. This super concentrated stock can add some serious flavor to any red meat dish. It is truly an incredible item to have in the kitchen.

So how does consommé fit into this equation? Well, consommé is simply a clarified stock and I made some recently so thought it would be a great place to discuss. Consommé is really not all that hard to make and, when done correctly, is a delicious dish. I paired up my consommé with some sauteed birch and enoki mushrooms. All the dish needed was a tiny pinch of salt and that’s it. It was the perfect dish to start a seven course meal- light and full of flavor.

Here’s a quick note: if you are going to make this stock, make a lot of it. It’s not all that time consuming to prep the stock, but it should simmer for 40 to 48 hours. With that kind of time commitment, I figure that it is better to make as much as possible so I don’t run out anytime soon. I have a huge soup / canning pot that I use for this recipe.

Made both chicken stock (left pot) and veal stock (right pot). You can see how much bigger the veal pot is. Photo by Scott Groth

Recipe for Veal Stock- ingredients primarily from the recipe by Chef Tom Johnson, changed slightly by me.

7 pounds of veal bones, cut by the butcher for roasting

3 pounds of chicken necks and backs (get these from the butcher as well)

1 turkey neck, broken down into thirds

1 cup dry white vermouth

3 large onions, peeled and quartered

5 large carrots, sliced into 4 pieces

6 stalks of celery, cleaned and chopped into 4 pieces

1 large turnip, washed and quartered

4 medium to small leeks, white and green parts, washed very carefully and chopped

1 large or 2 small heads of garlic, sliced

1 28 ounce can whole, peeled tomatoes- drain the puree for some other recipe

Tie these next ingredients into a bundle of cheesecloth:

12 parsley stems

6 dried allspice berries

1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns

1 teaspoon dried thyme

2 bay leaves

2 whole cloves

One hard and fast rule about making stock- do not add salt or salt anything going into the stock.

Turn the oven onto 375. We need to roast the bones, backs and necks. I need 2 baking sheets to accomplish this task at my house. Put the cut bones on one and the chicken / turkey parts on the other, making sure that there is space on both sheets for air to circulate. I put the necks and backs on the middle rack and the bones on the bottom rack. Roast the bones for about 15 minutes and flip over in the pan. Flip the necks and back after about 20 minutes. Remove the bones after they have cooked for 30 minutes or are starting to brown nicely- be sure NOT to burn the bones- this is very important as it will result in a non-usable stock. Remove the necks and backs after about forty minutes- they should be browned up pretty well.

Put all the roasted parts into the stock pot. Pour off the grease from both baking sheets. Place the sheets, one at a time, on your stove. Turn on the heat to medium. As soon as you see the liquid on the sheet start to bubble or make noise, pour the vermouth onto the sheet to deglaze. Scrape all the browned bits off the bottom with a wooden spoon. Move this tray to the side- leave the liquid in it. Put the next tray on the burners- when the tray is hot, pour the liquid from the first tray into the second and deglaze that tray, scraping off the browned bits with a wooden spoon. Pour the liquid into the stock pot with all the browned bits.

Bright and delicious vegetables ready for the stock pot. Photo by Scott Groth

Toss all the vegetables and the spice packet into the stock pot. Cover the whole deal with cold water until it is about 1″ from the top of the pot. Cover the pot and place on the stove over high heat. As it is coming to a boil, scrape off any foam, scum or fat that you see rising to the top. Boil the stock for 5 minutes being careful that it is not at a rolling (rapid) boil. After it has come to a boil, reduce the heat to low (or simmer if you have that setting), cover partially and cook for another 48 hours. It should only be simmering, not boiling! Every four or five hours, I give mine a skim and a stir.

Skim off the foam and any other gunk as it forms. Photo by Scott Groth

When the stock has cooked for what seems like forever, turn off the heat. Take out a good, sturdy sieve and line it with a folded over piece of cheesecloth. You are going to want to use the cheese cloth so that your super cooked vegetables don’t get mashed through the sieve. Using a ladle, start ladling the stock through the cheesecloth lined sieve into a holding vessel. When you have most of the stock out, start hunting through the solids in the pot to remove the bones- toss these out. Then start to put the solids into the cheesecloth lined sieve and pressing on them with the backside of a sturdy wooden spoon. We are extracting some good flavor here! If your cheesecloth becomes too soiled to allow liquid to pass, remove it and rinse under running water.

After the stock has been completely strained, allow it to cool before putting in the fridge. Refrigerate overnight or for several hours. The next day, remove the fat that has risen to the top and discard. Congratulations- you have just made an incredible stock. You can either use what you have for whatever (including consommé), freeze what you have or make some demi-glace or glace de viande. Let’s check em out.

Making the Demi Glace and Glace de Viande:

After removing the fat (this is very important to do before reducing the stock) put the stock you want to reduce into a large sauce pan. Turn the heat to medium and begin to reduce. Stir every once and a while until the stock has reduced about 50%. At this point, you want to stir more frequently. When the reducing stock will lightly coat the back of a spoon, you’re just about done. Remove from the heat. Because this is concentrated, I pour mine into ice cube trays which I then cover with plastic wrap and freeze. Whenever I need a cube of pure flavor, I grab one of these and toss it into the recipe. Simple and easy. The demi-glace will last about a month or so in the fridge or probably a year in the freezer. Around my house, I tend to use them all up just about every month or so.

Demi-glace ready to freeze. Photo by Scott Groth

To make the Glace de Viande, continue to reduce beyond when the stock will lightly coat the back of a spoon. We are looking for a very dark and thick consistency without burning the stock. The best approach is to take it slow, over moderate heat. It is hard to have patience for this, but the outcome is worth the wait. When the mixture thickly coats the back of a spoon (and looks like a thick syrup), remove from the heat and pour into a ramekin or other holding vessel. Refrigerate. It will look kind of like a shoe polish- shiny and dark. Add sparingly to any pan sauce, chili or other meat dish for instant flavor. I think that this will keep in the fridge for a good, long time.

Recipe for Consommé

Ok- so to make the consomme, you have to have some stock ready to go- this recipe should work to clarify just about any home made stock. Here’s what we need to get started:

Ingredients for Consomme- serves eight

8 cups home made stock

2 carrots, peeled and diced fine

2 celery stalks, washed and diced fine

1/2 small onion, peeled and diced fine

4 egg whites

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Take out a pan large enough to fit the stock and other ingredients. This should be a high sided pan. Pour in the stock and turn on the heat to medium. While the stock is warming, whisk the egg whites until they are frothy. Add in the diced vegetables and lemon juice. When the stock is warm, pour the egg mixture into the stock and turn the heat to high. Bring to a boil and whisk until a crust forms on the top. This may take a couple minutes to happen. After the crust has formed, turn the heat to low and make a small hole where the stock can simmer through. Leave to simmer on the stove for an hour or more, without stirring.

These are frothed egg whites. Photo by Scott Groth

The egg white crust has formed and the consommé is now simmering. Photo by Scott Groth

After it has cooked for an hour or more, remove from the heat. Line a fine mesh sieve with a couple layers of cheesecloth or two layers of damp paper towels. Begin to ladle the clarified stock through the lined sieve into a holding vessel. Discard the solids that remain. If the consommé looks like it needs to be sieved again, use fresh paper towels and run it through again.

Ladle through a cheesecloth or damp paper towel filter to catch the solids. Photo by Scott Groth

To serve, warm the consommé in a clean pan. I sauteed some birch and enoki mushrooms which I piled in the bottom of the bowl and then ladled the consommé into the dish. Add a pinch of salt if desired. For a clarified stock, this has some serious flavor.

So, that’s about it for this one. We made some stock, some demi-glace, a little glace de viande and consommé. Enjoy and happy cooking!

Veal consommé with wild mushrooms. Photo by Scott Groth