ironchef
Executive Chef
I love making sauces. I think sauce making is a skill that really seperates certain cooks from others. One of the dishes on our menu is Roasted Shelton Farms Free-Range Chicken. We debone the chicken, make a roulade out of the meat, then sear, baste, and roast it. The sauce is a chicken demi made from the bones and carcasses of the chicken. I usually have the task of making the sauce so here's how it goes. The bones are roasted in the oven until a dark golden brown, then the roasting pan gets deglazed with water. Meanwhile, onion, leeks, carrots, and celery and sauteed until golden brown. Tomato paste is added and cooked for a few minutes to deepen the flavor and to remove the acid. Cognac and water is added to deglaze the mire poix. The bones and the deglazing liquid from the roasting pan are then added to the pot, along with thyme, bay leaves, garlic, peppercorns, and mushroom scraps. More water is added to just below the level of the bones:
After simmering for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, the sauce is strained, skimmed, then strained again, then seasoned. What's left is a beautiful, rich demi glace with a deep chicken flavor, and the base for our sauce:
After simmering for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, the sauce is strained, skimmed, then strained again, then seasoned. What's left is a beautiful, rich demi glace with a deep chicken flavor, and the base for our sauce: