# demi glace recipes???



## iconoclast (Aug 8, 2007)

anyone here have an outstanding knock your socks off demi glace recipe???

secondly i recently purchased '_Gourmet's Basic French Cookbook_', however it hasnt arrived yet. i am curious if anyone here could recommend a good book on the 'mother sauces' and the basics??? thanks.


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

There are two styles of demi-glace. One is "classic," and the other is "modern."

The classic demi-glace is always _espagnole_ mixed in equal proportions with veal, beef or chicken stock and reduced by 50%. The veal stock version is called _demi-glace, _the chicken version is called _chicken demi-glace, _and the beef version is called _regular, normal _or_ brown demi-glace. _As you can imagine the terminology differences between veal and beef are honored more in the breach than in actuality. They are used more or less interchangeably.

To make an _espagnole_, saute some mirepoix in butter until it just begins to show color. Add some flour and cook it slowly until it forms a brown roux. Push it to one side, and put a little tomato paste on the bottom of the pan. Cook the paste until it darkens and the "raw" is fully cooked off. Mix the roux and the paste to form a _pincage_. Add some veal stock and reduce by 25%. The final reduction should be _nappe_ consistency. An _espagnole_, on it's own does not taste very good.

Modernly, _demi glace_ is often made as a simple reduction of veal or beef stock, skipping the _espagnole_ entirely. Julia Child famously called this method a "semi-demi glace." The reduction factor is about 2/3 and should be undertaken fairly slowly.

I learned most of what I know about classic sauces from "Modern French Culinary Art" which is aka "The Great Book of French Cooking" by Henri Pellaprat. It was originally written in the thirties, and is still in print. I recommend buying the edition from the seventies. It is the most complete and the best illustrated.

There's pretty much a consensus that the best sauce books -- textbooks really -- are, "Sauces: Classical and Contemporary Sauce Making" by Peterson, and "The Sauce Bible: Guide to the Saucier's Craft" by Larousse. If you have to choose one, choose Peterson.

BDL


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## iconoclast (Aug 8, 2007)

thank you for the heads up, i appreciate the info... im going to practice with those and once i receive the books try out some of the others as well... i was looking to use recipes which are both practical and of course still in use bc they work the best under time constraints and cost and of course taste... as opposed to just randomly fishing off a recipe from google.


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

You know, I just reread what you wrote when you asked about books and realized you were looking for something that covered the basics. It's still hard to beat "_Mastering the Art of French Cooking_" for the basics. It may not be the best book ever written when it comes to ... Wait a minute. Yes it is.

BDL


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## iconoclast (Aug 8, 2007)

lol; thanks... im on amazon perusing books as we speak.


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## foodpump (Oct 10, 2005)

Peterson's "sauces" gives a lot of detail and insight into the making--great book.


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## iconoclast (Aug 8, 2007)

thank you, i will look into that as well.

Amazon Online Reader : Sauces: Classical and Contemporary Sauce Making (2nd Edition)


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## teamfat (Nov 5, 2007)

They say confession is good for the soul. Or is that fillet of sole? I have never owned a copy of this classic masterpiece. I need to remedy that situation ASAP.

mjb.


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