How to Make Classic Demi-Glace Sauce

Votes: 36

Time: 50 min.
Complexity: easily
Servings: 8

Nutritional value per serving:

Calories 43, total fat 1 G., saturated fats 0 G., proteins 2 G., carbohydrates 6 G., fiber 1 G., cholesterol 1 mg, sodium 409 mg, sugar - G.

Demi-glace is a rich, dark sauce traditional in French cuisine. It's made with espagnole sauce, a basic French sauce, and beef or chicken broth with spices. The entire preparation process is simple, but time-consuming, so be prepared to spend a long time at the stove, simmering, and reducing. To make things easier, you can make the broth and espagnole sauce ahead of time. You'll easily recognize a finished demi-glace by its deep color, aroma, consistency, and glossy finish. Classic demi-glace is often used as a base for other sauces. When serving, pour it over meat and vegetables.

The recipes use measuring containers with the following volumes:
1 glass (st.) - 250 ml.
3/4 cup (st.) - 180 ml.
2/3 cup (st.) - 160 ml.
1/2 cup (st.) - 125 ml.
1/3 cup (st.) - 80 ml.
1/4 cup (st.) - 60 ml.
1 tablespoon (tbsp) - 15 ml.
1 teaspoon (tsp) - 5 ml.
1/5 teaspoon (tsp) - 1 ml.

Ingredients for the recipe:

0.5 tsp dried thyme
3-4 fresh parsley stalks
7-8 black peppercorns
2 cups brown sauce (espagnole sauce)
2 cups beef broth
1 bay leaf

Ingredient Substitution Suggestions

We recommend

Recipes with similar ingredients: bouillon, black pepper, bay leaf, bouquet garni, thyme

Cooking the dish according to the recipe:

Wrap the thyme, parsley stems, and peppercorns in a piece of cheesecloth. Tie it with kitchen string to form a small bag. Leave about 12 inches of string so you can tie the other end to one of the pan handles for easy removal.
In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine brown sauce and beef broth. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat and simmer.

Add the spice bag, tying a string to the pan handle, and simmer for 45 minutes, or until the liquid has reduced by half. Remove the pan from the heat and remove the bag.
Carefully strain the demi-glace through a metal sieve lined with a piece of cheesecloth.

Season with salt to taste and serve or use in other dishes.

Culinary advice

You can make demi-glace with chicken broth instead of beef. In fact, the original demi-glace, called demi-espagnole, was made using white broth (veal or chicken) instead of brown..