Demi-Glace rarely appears on restaurant plates in its pure form. However, numerous French sauces are derived from it. Here's how to use it at home.
Behold, the French saucier at work.
Of all the aspects of French cookery, the mysterious alchemy of sauce-making has always fascinated me most... maybe that's because the only sauce in my childhood home was Worcestershire Sauce. As a young twenty-something in the restaurant business I was suddenly in a new and unfamiliar world, and loving every minute of it. I used to bus tables and then go home, hit the cookbooks, and attempt to replicate every sauce on the menu, from Hollandaise to Velouté, from Mornay to Meunière, and from Beurre Blanc to Sauce au Raifort. What I DIDN'T try to make back in those days was the DEMI-GLACE we discussed a few essays ago... that would've been way beyond the capacity of both my cooking sensibilities at that time and the small kitchen I shared with four housemates.
But, as I eventually came to learn, Demi-Glace is a vital component of many Classic French sauces (and, BTW, every chef I ever saw had his own unique way of making it.) Demi-Glace even survived the culinary modernization associated with Nouvelle Cuisine by simply eliminating the flour and thickening primarily by reduction.
Here are a few of the best-known Demi-Glace-based Classical French Sauces that neither you nor I will likely EVER make at home--
Sauce Bordelaise
No official recipe, and yet they are all one form or another of red wine brown sauce.
PURPOSE:
To enhance grilled or roasted beef or other meats AND use up leftover red wine.
ORIGIN:
France's Bordeaux wine region.
ESSENTIAL INGREDIENTS:
Red wine, shallots, beef stock, demi-glace, beef marrow.
BASICALLY:
Sauté the shallots, add wine, reduce. Add beef stock and Demi-Glace, then reduce. Optionally thicken with roux or cornstarch. Finish with bone marrow.
WHY WE'LL NEVER MAKE IT:
Bone marrow... seriously?
Sauce Périgueux
"Official" recipes vary widely. Most call for Madeira (see Cooking with Wine & Booze) while others use white wine with the addition of French brandy such as Cognac and Armagnac. Some use beef or veal stock, while some require duck stock. ALL versions, however, call for black truffles.
PURPOSE:
An especially rich & luxurious sauce for beef tenderloin or veal.
ORIGIN:
Southwest France-- the land of Armagnac, foie gras, and black truffles.
ESSENTIAL INGREDIENTS:
For the Madeira & Beef Stock version (the most common) you'll need those two items plus shallots, demi-glace, and black truffles.
BASICALLY:
Cook shallots; add Madeira and cook some more; add stock and demi-glace, then gently simmer. Meanwhile, simmer chopped truffles in Madeira, then add to the sauce.
WHY WE'LL NEVER MAKE THIS:
Black truffles.
Sauce Périgourdine
Essentially Sauce Périgueux with the addition of a dab of foie gras.
WHY WE'LL NEVER MAKE THIS:
Black truffles and foie gras.
For further reading about such sauces, go ahead and google recipes for the classic versions of the sauces Chasseur, Robert, and Grand Veneur. They are fun to read about, even if you'll never make them.
Meanwhile, here are some more realistic French-style sauces (pretty much derived from the list above) that you might well consider making... so long as you are willing to first make yourself a batch of genuine Demi-Glace.
Basic Brown Sauce
In lieu of traditional gravy, for beef dishes I combine a little of my Demi-Glace and my Faux Jus along with pan juices, stock, and/or red wine. Yes, can thicken with roux, but cornstarch is the right choice if one is avoiding gluten. You can easily develop your own go-to home version with beef stock (the less salty the better), browned veggies (carrots, onion, celery), and, optionally, Demi-Glace if you care to make a batch.
Basic Red Wine Sauce
Basic Brown Sauce easily becomes Basic Red Wine Sauce by replacing some or all of the stock with a LOT of reduced (red) wine-- at least half a bottle simmered with cooked shallots down to a quarter of its original volume. Think of this as Bordelaise sauce without the freaking bone marrow, which is easily replaced with a finishing swirl of unsalted European-style butter that beautifully counteracts the concentrated acidity of the wine.
No excuses... Even WALMART sells this.
Mushroom Sauce
You can elevate the aforementioned Basic Red Wine Sauce (OR the sauces below) with the addition of mushrooms. Pro-Tips: Use FRESH mushrooms, never canned; mix in at least a portion of GOOD mushrooms-- good mushrooms have names, like shiitake, crimini, portobello, etc. and cost more than plain white mushrooms; and most importantly, sautée your mushrooms in butter before adding to the sauce... do NOT add them raw.
Madeira Sauce, Marsala Sauce
Madeira and Marsala are two brown-colored fortified wines that add delicious depth and complexity to brown sauces. (Again, see "Cooking with Wine & Booze.") What's more, they also share an inherently nutty flavor that plays beautifully with shiitake, crimini, and/or portobello mushrooms. Madeira Sauce has broader appear than Marsala Sauce, which is more or less Italian-specific.
And finally, the main event... the apex... the superstar of unapologetically rich sauces that one can make at home without turning the civilian kitchen into Chernobyl--
Brandy Mushroom Cream Sauce
Although you'll almost certainly never make a full-blown Sauce Périgourdine at home, you can achieve a respectable facsimile of such decadent richness with far more affordable ingredients. You'll need brandy-- not the sweet crap sold in pocket-friendly shapes and sizes, but rather the good stuff-- Cognac, Armagnac, or a quality imitation thereof. In a saucepan, sauté well some finely diced shallots and sliced mushrooms in butter, then add a good splash of brandy and ignite it to help cook off the alcohol. Add a similar amounts of stock and heavy cream and perhaps a pinch of thyme. Add a spoonful of Demi-Glace and stir until reduced to the proper, spoon-coating thickness. Add salt & pepper to taste, and optionally finish with a swirl of butter to balance any tartness.
This sauce is not only fabulously rich and delicious, it is also versatile, pairing nicely with chicken breasts, veal cutlets, pork tenderloin, filet mignon, or even pasta. (Back when people still ate Veal Sweetbreads, this was an especially perfect sauce.) The common denominator is tender and subtly-flavored meat that allows this sauce the top billing it deserves.
Dear Reader, always remember that good sauce can never rescue poorly-cooked food. But master just a few delicious sauces like those above made with the Demi-Glace you've taken the time and effort to make, pair it with food that wears it beautifully, and yours will be the most prized dinner invitation in town.