Demi-Glace, the Key to No-Clump Gravy
Like flashcards that have sound and moving images and loads of information, our video series “Smart Cookie” will help you build a brilliant culinary vocabulary by defining difficult food terms.
Today: demi-glace. Legendary 19th-century chef Georges Auguste Escoffier’s reduced homemade beef or veal stock, which he called demi-glace, also involved sauce Espagnole and a bouquet garni. And there we have two more terms. Sauce Espagnole is a mixture of sautéed onions, carrots, and celery (mirepoix! another!) that are mixed and reduced with tomato purée, bacon, stock, roux, and seasoning. A bouquet garni is a happy little bunchlet of herbs tied together to flavor soups, stews, and broths. The point is: There are many layers to making demi-glace, layers that many of us don’t have time to execute. We’re not 19th-century chefs.
So buy it! These days, you can find the rich, savory goop pre-made in specialty grocery stores and Whole Foods nationwide. Once it’s in your kitchen, make gravy from it—and avoid having to use flour or pan drippings. Well, use pan drippings if you have them, but demi-glace-based gravy means you can have gravy even if you haven’t roasted a bird. And we know you crave gravy for more meals than Thanksgiving…
Watch the video above for instructions.
