Demi-glaces are an excellent addition to your pantries and make hearty stews, soups, and Scottish pies. It also gives a deep, old-fashioned flavor to your chanterelle, truffle, shallot, Alfredo sauce, butter, and red wine dish with duck confit. It is a difference-maker in a variety of dishes, from meat to soup.
Chicken demi-glace is a richly concentrated brown stock that is carefully reduced until it forms a deep meaty flavored glaze. You start by roasting many chicken bones to make a basic brown stock that takes a long time to simmer and reduce. It takes a lot of time and so many additional ingredients to make a chicken demi-glace at home, but when gotten right, you have one of the best and most excellent sauces in the world.
While this sauce mix is gluten-free, contains no artificial flavors, added MSG, or preservatives, it isn’t easy to come by. Because of the rigorous effort, it requires to make at home, you may not have it readily available when you need it most. But there are other close replacements you could use in its stead.
What is Chicken Demi-Glace?
Demi-glace itself is a rich brown sauce that originates in France. According to Wikipedia, ‘The term comes from the French word glace, which, when used about a sauce, means “icing” or “glaze.” It is traditionally made by combining one partEspagnole sauce and one part of the brown stock. The sauce is reduced by half, strained of any leftover impurities, and finished with sherry wine.
Chicken demi-glace is one variety of demi-glace; its preparation is tedious and rigorous, sometimes taking two to three days for the roasted chicken bones liquid to simmer. So many ingredients are needed to make chicken demi-glace, such as chicken bone marrow, tomato paste, onions, carrot, celery, dry red wine, salt and pepper, water, brown rox, bacon fat, ground back pepper, etc. It is one complex recipe, but it more than makes up for the stressful preparation in taste.
Chicken Demi-Glace Uses in Recipes
Chicken demi-glace can be used for all sauces to give it an excellent taste and the finishing touch. The chicken flavor suits many dishes such as stew, soups, risottos, chanterelles, truffles, etc. Let’s take a look at other delicious ideas you could try this sumptuous sauce with.
- Grilled Hanger Steak with Mushrooms
- Pork Chop
- Truffled Steak with Potatoes
- Shallot and red wine sauce
- Blackberry Bare Bones
- Turkey Salisbury Steak
- Braised Chicken Breast
- Soups and Stews
- Vegetable stir-fries
- Baked Chicken Thigh with Orange
- Speedy Chicken Drumettes
- Pan-Roasted Chicken with Cranberries
- Cordon Bleu Chops
- Stuff Chicken Breast
- Chicken Balsamic
Chicken Demi-Glace Substitutes
Should you run out of demi-glace, or it isn’t available in grocery stores at the time of need, or maybe you just want to explore further options. Here’s a list of some close substitutes for chicken demi-glace.
More Than Gourmet Demi-Glace Gold, Gluten-Free, 160 Ounce
This is probably the closest substitute you’ll get. They are both prepared the same way and can also be used to flavor almost any dish. It’s basically the same properties, just that you’re swapping beef for chicken; in that case, the difference will be in the taste, not that it makes one inferior to the other.
However, note that the beef taste in beef demi-glace is slightly more robust than what you would get with chicken demi-glace, so you might want to slightly reduce the quantity ratio by at least a quarter.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Can I use chicken stock instead of demi-glace?
Yes, you can; although it won’t have the same body, texture, and slightly different taste, it would save you several hours of rigor.
Is demi-glace the same as brown gravy?
No. Although they are both versatile and multipurpose, the ingredients and tastes are different.
What is chicken demi-glace used for?
It is used as a foundation for preparing many sauces and gravies and enhancing the taste of soups, stews, and many other dishes.
Conclusion
Chicken demi-glace is a rich brown sauce that is traditionally made from veal stock. It is typically used to serve over braised or roasted meat, especially chicken. Other uses of chicken demi-glace are as a base for soups, stews, or to cook with vegetables and rice to make these bland ingredients more flavorful. However, it isn’t easy to come by, and it takes a rigorous effort to make as it take days for the bones to simmer. This is why we have made a list of other sauces you can use in your favorite dishes.