Demi-glace

[carnivore]

the GF and I ate at a nice restaurant over New Years, and we both ordered dishes that were served with demi-glaces. The food was excellent, but i had never tried them before so i looked them up and i can already tell that i would have a hard time setting aside a whole day just to make an authentic one!
So i've got a couple questions:

i found some info about making a jus lié instead, and that would be MUCH simpler but i wasn't sure if it would taste as good?

also, the two demi-glaces that were served with our dishes were a balsamic demi-glace and a bourbon one. is it as simple as adding these ingredients during the final stages?
i did find a couple that sound good:

ironchef's
&
Port Wine Demi-Glace:
1 cup port wine

2 cups veal stock
Salt and pepper

could i just use one of these recipes and substitute anything for the port or balsamic vinegar?
would it taste as good as a "real" demi-glace?

 

[ironchef]

these days, terms like "demi glace", or "jus", or "vinaigrette" etc. are used rather loosely since many of the sauces made are not made in the traditional sense, but still resemble those type of sauces. if you were to substitute say, a merlot for the port, then you would have a red wine demi. as far as adding balsamic to the demi, it's not as simple as just adding in the balsamic vinegar to the end. you need to reduce it seperately or your sauce will just be tart. same thing with bourbon. you need to reduce it seperately with say, honey or sugar to make it syrupy, and then add it in. see my recipe for cranberry-balsamic demi for the technique

 

[carnivore]

thanks, ironchef--i JUST noticed your recipe. I think i'll start with that and go from there.

 

[kitchenelf]

Also, there is a company called Gateway that makes little containers of demi-glace, among other things, that one of our grocery chains carries. The little package is not cheap per se but if you really want that flavor then it's not so bad.

I haven't tried them yet because I haven't taken the time lately to cook anything that requires a demi-glace.

 

[AllenOK]

I abhor BUYING cans of broth at the store. I make my own stock, usually in batches of 1 - 2 gallons, then freeze it in ice cube trays and store in the freezer. I make some strong stock. My beef stock will gel at room temp, and my chicken stock usually gels in the fridge. Of course, I reduce my stock down just to make it easier to store the stuff. Usually, when I cook, I add 2 - 3 cubes of frozen stock to the measuring glass, and add enough hot water to make 1 cup.

Usually, when I make a batch of beef stock, I'll reserve about 3 qt of it, and turn that into demi-glace.

Now, if I could just find a source of soup bones with enough cartilage to make a thick, rich, stock. The local meat markets rarely seem to have any.....

 

[Jermosh]

I abhor BUYING cans of broth at the store. I make my own stock, usually in batches of 1 - 2 gallons, then freeze it in ice cube trays and store in the freezer. I make some strong stock. My beef stock will gel at room temp, and my chicken stock usually gels in the fridge. Of course, I reduce my stock down just to make it easier to store the stuff. Usually, when I cook, I add 2 - 3 cubes of frozen stock to the measuring glass, and add enough hot water to make 1 cup.

Usually, when I make a batch of beef stock, I'll reserve about 3 qt of it, and turn that into demi-glace.

Now, if I could just find a source of soup bones with enough cartilage to make a thick, rich, stock. The local meat markets rarely seem to have any.....

Its not the bones you want. Just get something from the leg, like a hoof or shank, those cuts have allot of gelatin and that is what you are looking for to give it that thickly satin texture. One of the big issue of adding those to the stock though. Is they make it very cloudy, you should clarify the stock before you start your reduction. Orrrrrrrr you can do a old pro cheat and just add reconstitued gelatin sheets