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)

[@felicecaccamo68]

This clip shows all the exact stages for making a great demi-Glace and it's also very informative and full of tips. I don't understand why it has such few likes!

[@shadvan9494]

I work in several high end restaurants while putting myself throw school. I had an old school chef from Croatia the taught me how o make Demi. Your method is very close to his. The only 3 changes. First don’t chop the carrots celery and half the onions. And roast them with the bones on a sheet pan. Second deglaze with sherry wire. And finally instead of water use Remouillage. Or second stock as it is most commonly know. Save the veal bones, and all the big bits after the first stock is make, add more carrots celery and onion and bring to a boil and then simmer just like the first stock. Any leftover flavor from the bones will incorporated in to the second stock. Which is much milder in flavor, but has much more flavor than water. Then use the second stock instead of water in you next batch of Demi. Rinse and repeat.each batch of second stock will get stronger in flavor and each batch of Demi will get better and better. And you will get a better yield when reducing to a demi glacé.

[@vonsweety]

You are not afraid that the onions burn in the ofen?

[@shadvan9494]

@@vonsweety I never had any problems with the onions burning. I was roasting at 400 degrees F. we used the second stock method for beef and chicken stocks as well. i was surprised at how much flavor you can add using that method.

[@ChefsApprenticeJohnHornick]

I like it! I may do a Demi 2 lesson using this method. 😀

[@mistrrhappy]

Was garlic a common addition for demi in your experience?

[@ireneskulmoski5764]

Perhaps you would like to do video about what you are talking about. I would be very interested to see that 😊

[@serafingarciajr9650]

Great lesson. I used ox tails and marrow bones which was the most available where I'm at. Being that I didn't want to leave the gas stove running overnight I did everything in 2 crock pots. Browned the bones and the vegetables per the video divided everything into 2 crock pots. Put the crock pots on high till I got the boil then low setting for 12 hours, then warm setting overnight. It worked real well.

[@ChefsApprenticeJohnHornick]

Thanks. Yes, finding veal bones can be a challenge. You need to be able to find them locally for it to make economic sense. I found some online but the shipping cost as much or more than the bones! 😝

[@margitschendel1605]

What a great lesson, chef! Thank you so much. 🎉🎉🎉

[@IDontTalkToCops]

Very well made video. Best I’ve seen on this topic. Liked and subbed 😊

[@debragibson3489]

Thanx! Learned some more.

[@YasminWu]

Looks amazing 😘 fab premier looks yummy

[@ReeceDee]

This is definitely a labour of love but every chef I watch says this is a game changer in your sauces or meals.

[@ChefsApprenticeJohnHornick]

Yes, it is a game changer. It not only provides great flavor but does so without fat. Back when French food was more popular in the US, using Demi was common and it made everything better. Today, it’s almost like a secret ingredient. I call it liquid gold.

[@alkifxns]

Great lesson

[@engc4953]

Great techniques Chef, Demi glacé is a game changer for so many sauces, steaks, chops, stews and soups like French onion. Thank you just subscribed.

[@ChefsApprenticeJohnHornick]

Thanks for the comment and thanks for subscribing.

[@jeremiahglass8262]

Excellent video….questions I didn’t even have--were answered…

[@mydinu1991]

Great method

[@mr.butterfly2496]

Great sos

[@ThomasDautzenberg19]

Excellent video, could you make video's where you make other sauces using demi-glace? Bordelaise video was also really good. I subscribed. Thank you

[@ChefsApprenticeJohnHornick]

There are other Demi-based sauces coming. Thanks for subscribing.

[@ChefsApprenticeJohnHornick]

A great example is GyuDemi, which I posted 10/26/22.

[@AByteAtTech]

I have made a adjustment to this recipe, instead of cooking it 12 hours you can cook it about 3-4 hours in a pressure cooker and the same for the reducing part, where you can cook it 1 hour every time to reduce it until you have it as you want it :-) Worked for me great and saved me a lot of time!

[@kylejanezic4454]

Question - it seems the tomato paste burned on the bones during my second hour. Any tips?

[@ChefsApprenticeJohnHornick]

If it’s only a little burning, it probably won’t matter. But you could get burning depending on the true oven temp, the size of the bones 🦴, and kitchen gremlins. Just watch and check them during the second hour or lower your temp. Good luck.

[@andreasreiner8889]

What do you call this fantastic tool you use to skim the fat off the refrigerated stock? Great video!

[@ChefsApprenticeJohnHornick]

It’s a skimmer but unfortunately I don’t know where I got it.

[@ihsanrachid1766]

It looked like a potato masher

[@andreasreiner8889]

That‘s it - Thank You! @@ihsanrachid1766

[@ChefsApprenticeJohnHornick]

Hmmm. You may be right. It may be a potato masher.😀😀

[@robm6755]

How big is your big stock pot you are using?

[@ChefsApprenticeJohnHornick]

I think that one is about 5 gallons.

[@dancorn3422]

Why not use the strainer to scoop out solids instead of pouring ?

[@ChefsApprenticeJohnHornick]

I think pouring is easier and doesn’t miss anything but it’s a personal preference. No reason you can’t scoop.😊😊

[@dancorn3422]

@@ChefsApprenticeJohnHornick I really enjoyed your video though!

[@berndfachinger6000]

I've made 3 charges so far in the last 2 years. The 4th is just roasting in the oven. On one of them I did not pay attention, and the onions burnt (also on a plate in the oven). I used it anyway, and that was a big mistake. DON'T DO THAT!!! Better buy new ones and do a better job, even if it takes you one day more or two! Nevertheless, the 1st one I made was the best one, and I have no idea why... It's magic.

[@ChefsApprenticeJohnHornick]

Yes, if anything burns during the roasting step, the resulting sauce can be bitter.

[@BlueJazzBoyNZ]

Demi-Glace is essential and why you never throw a bone in the trash

[@rudolfkalman4832]

Great to see people enjoing some shit:)

[@MrBorderlands666]

Love the video, but the bouquet garni shouldn't be cooked for longer than around one hour, because then all the nice aroma is destroyed.

[@georgewashington938]

"Sauces to Die For: Making Demi-Glace" that clinches it, I am going to kill someone before the end of the day!

[@joeykyle492]

This isn’t really a traditional Demi glaze though. Traditionally it is 1 part sauce espagnole, and 1 part brown stock

[@ChefsApprenticeJohnHornick]

Thanks for your comment. You are right and that is the way I was taught to make it in cooking school many moons ago, but my Chef later started teaching the method I used in my video. It’s slightly easier and I doubt many people could tell the difference in a blind tasting. In today’s fast-paced world, any Demi made from scratch is better than things like Demi base, don’t you think?

[@tanyamiller6275]

The fat is very useful for cooking

[@mitchcumstein9808]

Soon as you said “my carbon footprint”. I was out

[@ChefsApprenticeJohnHornick]

I don’t like to be wasteful. 😀

[@tanyamiller6275]

Don't understand why you threw the grease away you could have cooked your mere poi

[@ChefsApprenticeJohnHornick]

Good idea! 😊I wouldn’t use very much though. Demi is almost fat free.

[@mitchcumstein9808]

And your pan wasn’t even ready to cook. Did you work in a restaurant or are you an academic type. Lol

[@ghorpestad]

Nice to watsh 5 min of you stirring the vegetables

[@ghorpestad]

What you say about beef bones at totally wrong. If you use oxtail and marrow bone, you will get the best demi-glace ever

[@ChefsApprenticeJohnHornick]

I was taught to make Demi with veal bones because they have more gelatin than older beef. But I checked several classical sources, which seem to be split between using only veal bones or both veal and beef bones. Oxtail can be either beef or veal. If you use only beef bones, it may taste great but may not technically by Demi. But I’m not sure and different sources may say different things. In any event, great, deep, intense flavor in a glistening and essentially fat free sauce is the goal, so if you have all that, wonderful! 😀😀😀

[@masteren75]

Thank you for a great video! Personaly I would cook the stock for an hour or two befare adding the bouquet garni. It wil makes it easyer to skim it of. Thanks again!

[@chrisstabile3243]

Marrow is useless for stock and you just end up straining it all out when it converts to fat.