How to Make Brown Stock, Demi-Glace, and Meat Glaze at Home
A good brown stock is one of the quiet foundations of serious home cooking. It is not a quick pan sauce, a creamy dinner sauce, or a shortcut gravy. It is a deeply flavored base made from roasted bones, aromatics, water, and time, then reduced into something even more intense when you want demi-glace or meat glaze.
Ingrédients
- 4 1/2 pounds veal bones lamb bones, or chicken bones
- 2 medium onions halved
- 2 medium carrots roughly chopped
- 2 celery stalks roughly chopped
- 2 medium tomatoes roughly chopped
- 8 ounces mushrooms halved
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 sprigs thyme
- 1 small sprig rosemary only for lamb stock
- 4 to 5 quarts cold water or enough to cover
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F.
- Roast the bones for 45 minutes. Turn them and roast 30 to 45 minutes more until deeply browned.
- Char the onions cut side down in a dry skillet until very dark.
- Transfer bones to a large stockpot. Add onions, carrots, celery, tomatoes, mushrooms, bay leaves, thyme, and rosemary if using lamb.
- Cover with 4 to 5 quarts cold water, or enough to cover by about 1 inch.
- Deglaze the roasting pans with a little water, scrape up the browned bits, and add that liquid to the pot.
- Bring slowly to a bare simmer. Skim the surface as needed. Do not boil hard.
- Simmer gently for about 5 hours.
- Strain once through a colander, then again through a fine sieve lined with cheesecloth.
- For brown stock, chill and store as is.
- For demi-glace, return to the pot and reduce gently until lightly syrupy.
- For meat glaze, reduce further until thick, glossy, and highly concentrated.
- Cool quickly, transfer to containers, label, and refrigerate or freeze.