Sauce Base for Steak Diane—Demi-glace
By America's Test KitchenPublished on April 20, 2011
Time
1¼ hours
Yield
Serves 4 to 6 (Makes 1 1/4 cups)
Ingredients
Before You Begin
This recipe yields a sauce base that is an excellent facsimile of a demi-glace, a very labor-intensive and time-consuming classic French sauce base. Because the sauce base is very concentrated, make sure to use low-sodium chicken and beef broths; otherwise, the base may be unpalatably salty. The sauce base can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to three days.
Instructions
- Heat oil and tomato paste in Dutch oven over medium-high heat; cook, stirring constantly, until paste begins to brown, about 3 minutes. Add onions, carrot, and garlic; cook, stirring frequently, until mixture is reddish brown, about 2 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons water and continue to cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is well browned, about 3 minutes, adding remaining water when needed to prevent scorching. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Add wine and, using a heatproof rubber spatula, scrape up browned bits on bottom and sides of pot; bring to boil, stirring occasionally (mixture will thicken slightly). Add beef and chicken broths, peppercorns, thyme, and bay; bring to boil and cook, uncovered, occasionally scraping bottom and sides of pot with spatula, until reduced to 2 1/2 cups, 35 to 40 minutes.
- Strain mixture through fine-mesh strainer, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible; you should have about 1 1/4 cups.
- After straining the sauce base, portion the sauce into plastic ice cube trays and freeze. When the sauce has frozen, empty the trays into a zipper-lock bag for easy storage. Use these cubes to create a quick sauce for grilled, broiled, or pan-seared steaks or chops.
- To make a very potent sauce for two people, melt two demi-glace cubes in a small skillet and finish by whisking in 1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter. For a less rich sauce that can serve four, melt two demi-glace cubes with 2 tablespoons water and then finish with 1/2 tablespoon butter. Either way, the sauce base already has highly concentrated flavors, so you will probably not need to season this quick sauce with salt and pepper.
to freeze for another use
variations
Time
1¼ hoursYield
Serves 4 to 6 (Makes 1 1/4 cups)Ingredients
Ingredients
Ingredients
Why This Recipe Works
We wanted a streamlined Steak Diane recipe with the best cut of steak, a foolproof method for cooking it, a quicker stock, and a leaner sauce. We chose flavorful strip steaks and pounded them to a ½-inch thickness for even browning; made a veal stock substitute using tomato paste, vegetables, red wine, and canned broth; and used this faux veal stock to make the sauce right in the pan in which we cooked the steak, adding cognac and just 2 tablespoons of butter. With these modifications, we were able to get our new Steak Diane recipe on the table in less than an hour.
Before You Begin
This recipe yields a sauce base that is an excellent facsimile of a demi-glace, a very labor-intensive and time-consuming classic French sauce base. Because the sauce base is very concentrated, make sure to use low-sodium chicken and beef broths; otherwise, the base may be unpalatably salty. The sauce base can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to three days.
Instructions
- Heat oil and tomato paste in Dutch oven over medium-high heat; cook, stirring constantly, until paste begins to brown, about 3 minutes. Add onions, carrot, and garlic; cook, stirring frequently, until mixture is reddish brown, about 2 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons water and continue to cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is well browned, about 3 minutes, adding remaining water when needed to prevent scorching. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Add wine and, using a heatproof rubber spatula, scrape up browned bits on bottom and sides of pot; bring to boil, stirring occasionally (mixture will thicken slightly). Add beef and chicken broths, peppercorns, thyme, and bay; bring to boil and cook, uncovered, occasionally scraping bottom and sides of pot with spatula, until reduced to 2 1/2 cups, 35 to 40 minutes.
- Strain mixture through fine-mesh strainer, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible; you should have about 1 1/4 cups.
- After straining the sauce base, portion the sauce into plastic ice cube trays and freeze. When the sauce has frozen, empty the trays into a zipper-lock bag for easy storage. Use these cubes to create a quick sauce for grilled, broiled, or pan-seared steaks or chops.
- To make a very potent sauce for two people, melt two demi-glace cubes in a small skillet and finish by whisking in 1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter. For a less rich sauce that can serve four, melt two demi-glace cubes with 2 tablespoons water and then finish with 1/2 tablespoon butter. Either way, the sauce base already has highly concentrated flavors, so you will probably not need to season this quick sauce with salt and pepper.
to freeze for another use
variations
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