Sauce demi-glace recipe

This is fifty per cent brown meat stock and fifty per cent brown sauce reduced by half.

Makes: 1 liter. Cooking time: 1 hour.

Ingredients:
1 liter brown stock
1 liter brown sauce

Method:
(1) Place the brown stock and brown sauce together in a saucepan.
(2) Bring to the boil and continue to boil and reduce until half its original quantity, skimming continuously.
(3) Strain into a clean saucepan.
(4) Place melted butter on top to prevent a skin from forming.
(5) Retain until required standing in a bain-marie.

Note:
To make sauce demi-glace mellow in flavour knobs of butter may be added at the last moment.

Assessment of the completed sauce:
This description also applies to Brown Sauce which forms the basis for this sauce.
(1) The sauce should be a rich reddish brown in colour with a definite sheen or gloss.
(2) The consistency should be that of single cream – a light coating consistency sufficient to mask lightly the back of a spoon.
(3) The sauce should be smooth in texture but not gluey in appearance, and be free from all particles.
(4) There should be no bitterness in the flavor.

Possible problem, causes and solution:
(1) Sauce lacks flavor
— basic brown stock lacks flavor; care must be taken when preparing the stock as this cannot later be rectified.
— sauce under-cooked; continue to cook for the prescribed time.
— roux or colored flour under-cooked; care must be taken when preparing the roux or coloring the flour as this cannot be rectified.
— sauce too thick; dilute with a little more stock and continue to cook.

(2) Sauce is too pale
— roux or colored flour under-cooked; care must be taken when preparing the roux or coloring the flour although the color of the sauce may be adjusted with a little gravy browning.
— brown stock lacks color; care must be taken when preparing the stock although the color of the sauce may be adjusted with a little gravy browning.
— sauce under-cooked; continue to cook for the prescribed time.

(3) Sauce is bitter
— roux or colored lour overcooked; care must be taken when preparing the roux or coloring the flour as this cannot be rectified.
— overcooked stock used; care must be taken when preparing the stock as this cannot be rectified.
— sauce under-cooked; continue to cook for the prescribed time.

(4) Sauce is too dark
— brown stock too dark; care must be taken when preparing the basic brown stock as this cannot be rectified.
— roux or colored flour overcooked or over colored; care must be taken when preparing the roux or coloring the flour as this cannot be rectified.
— vegetables in the brown sauce over-colored; care must be taken when preparing the brown sauce as this cannot be rectified.

(5) Excess fat for grease in the sauce
— roux too soft (i.e. too much fat in proportion to the flour); skim off excess fat.
— insufficient skimming during the cooking process; skim off excess fat continuously whilst cooking.