I want to make the absolute perfect demiglace, with no compromises. I don't care how long it takes or how expensive the ingredients are.
1. I have seen some cookbooks mention (in passing) that some chefs roast their flour before making the roux. But the books don't tell you how to go about doing this, or what modifications need to be made (if any) to the browning of the roux if you do this.
Can someone explain the purpose of doing this, and how exactly one does it? Does it allow you to produce a darker brown sauce, and therefore a darker final product? (demiglace) I would like to darken my demiglace, if only for aesthetic reasons. Are there any other advantages?
I have more or less the same question with respect to oiling the bones before browning. Does oiling the bones contribute to browning and make a deeper colour for the final product?
2. I've read that some chefs will use leeks in place of onions for the mirepoix. Are leeks superior to onions? Which part of the leek do you use, the green stalk or the white stem, or both? Do you use the exact same quantity?
3. What about bones? Up until now, I have been using big beef marrow soup bones, rib bones, and pretty much whatever they happen to have at the supermarket. Are there any specific bone types that are favoured above all others? Should I be seeking out some specific types?
4. What about salting? My natural instinct is to put very little (if any) salt in the stock / brown sauce / demiglace, and assume that 100% of the salting will take place at the final small sauce stage. But a chef friend of mine suggested that the salt helps bring out the flavor in the bones, and that the stock should be salted. Is there any truth to this? What is optimal for 6 litres of water?
1. I have seen some cookbooks mention (in passing) that some chefs roast their flour before making the roux. But the books don't tell you how to go about doing this, or what modifications need to be made (if any) to the browning of the roux if you do this.
Can someone explain the purpose of doing this, and how exactly one does it? Does it allow you to produce a darker brown sauce, and therefore a darker final product? (demiglace) I would like to darken my demiglace, if only for aesthetic reasons. Are there any other advantages?
I have more or less the same question with respect to oiling the bones before browning. Does oiling the bones contribute to browning and make a deeper colour for the final product?
2. I've read that some chefs will use leeks in place of onions for the mirepoix. Are leeks superior to onions? Which part of the leek do you use, the green stalk or the white stem, or both? Do you use the exact same quantity?
3. What about bones? Up until now, I have been using big beef marrow soup bones, rib bones, and pretty much whatever they happen to have at the supermarket. Are there any specific bone types that are favoured above all others? Should I be seeking out some specific types?
4. What about salting? My natural instinct is to put very little (if any) salt in the stock / brown sauce / demiglace, and assume that 100% of the salting will take place at the final small sauce stage. But a chef friend of mine suggested that the salt helps bring out the flavor in the bones, and that the stock should be salted. Is there any truth to this? What is optimal for 6 litres of water?