Demi-Glace de Viande – Glace de Viande

Traditionally, a demi-glace de viande is a combination of half veal stock and half Espagnole Sauce, reduced by half. An Espagnole sauce is a brown veal stock, thickened with a brown roux. It’ an excellent process, that requires extra steps, and the addition of a roux made of gluten flour.

Glace-de-viande is a dark brown, syrupy, gelatinous, substance obtained by boiling down an unthickened stock of meat or more rarely game stock, or even fish. Thanks to its high viscosity and flavor concentration give it unusually long shelf life. 

In the following video, I am skipping the roux, and this is a contemporary version of Demi-Glace and Glace de Viande.

Glace is a highly reduced stock or remouillage.

The meaning of the words:

• Demi: half
• Glace: ice
• Viande: meat

Some of the strained stock might be reduced to make demi-glace de viande or glace de viande. If you reduce your Veal Stock by half, you will have what French Chefs call, a Half Glaze (demi-glace). If you reduce your half glace by half again, you will have a glace de viande.

Step by step process

• Remove all fat from a brown stock. Make it as clear as possible.
• Boil it down by half.
• Strain through a muslin cloth.
• Boil it down again and strain.
• Continue on until it will coat the back of a spoon. Make sure to keep an eye on it and reduce heat as the glaze becomes more concentrated.

As a result of continued reduction, the stock will acquire a thick syrupy consistency with a highly concentrated flavor.

When to use Brown Veal Stock, Demi-Glace de Viande or Glace de Viande?

Well, it depends on the restaurant, on how many staff members there are in the kitchen, the type of restaurants, the chef, and the menu. If sauces are made in advance before the customers arrive, then usually chefs will use veal stock and simmer the sauces for hours. If the sauces are made on order, then the chef will use concentrated stock like demi-glace or glace de viande – to make the sauce and speed up the process.

Tip:

If you’re not using the entire batch immediately, a good way to manage it is by freezing it in ice cube trays.