Glace de Viande

This dark, thick, flavorful reduction adds an inimitable richness to meat stews and braises (one or two cubes is sufficient for boosting the flavor). In classic French cooking, demi glace is made by combining brown veal stock with sauce es pagnol (a veal stock thickened with roux), which is then reduced by half. Because demi glace is rather laborious to make (and a bit heavy for modern palates), so many chefs use this straight reduction of stock (without the espagnol) instead. (Julia Child called it a “semi-demi glace.”) This simplified method results in a lighter-bodied sauce, or glaze. To make glace de poulet, substitute veal stock with brown chicken stock.