Brown Sauces:
Sauce Espagnole, Demi-Glace & Jus Lié
“This is the Espagnole
sauce, having reached
the limit of perfection...”-
Escoffier, (referring to
demi-glace)
Sauce Espagnole
Generally not used directly but refined into a demi-glace
or other sauce
Developed from a French brown sauce by adding Spanish
tomatoes…the early 1600’s
Brown Sauce, made by reducing brown stock with a dark
roux and tomato product
Tomatoes are optional but do deepen the stock’s color
Making Sauce Espagnole
Make a 1# of Brown Roux
Caramelize 2# Mirepoix or Pinçage (Roasted or Sautéed
Mirepoix)
Roast the ½# Tomato Product
Add the Roux, Mirepoix, Tomato & Bouquet Garni to
5-Qts. Veal/Beef Stock in a Stockpot and Simmer 1-2 hrs
Skim Frequently
Reduce to Sauce Consistency
Strain
Mirepoix vs. Pinçage
Mirepoix Pinçage
2x Onion, 1x Carrot & 1x Mirepoix plus…
Celery Tomato product
Sweetness from onion and Caramelized by roasting
carrot or sauté
Herbaceous notes from More assertive flavors
celery Used in brown sauces and
Light and vegetal stocks
Luke Vader
Demi-Glace
50% Sauce Espagnole + 50% Brown Stock, Reduced by 50%
May be used as a finishing sauce or (more commonly) as a base for
other sauces
Alternate Liaisons
Arrowroot
Cornstarch
Potato Starch
A “natural” demi-glace or glace de viande is thickened by reduction
only (no roux)
Natural Demi-Glace reduced by 80%
Glace de Viande reduced 90-95%
Reduction vs. Thickening with a Liaison
Reduction is usually preferred for taste and consistency
Reduction equals a lower yield thus higher cost
A roux or other liaison increases yield
Liaisons may adversely affect flavor, texture or add
additional calories and fat.
Sauce Consistency
Thin Consistency Sauce or Nappé Consistency
Making Demi-Glace (Classic)
Combine 1 quart of Espagnole with 1 quart Brown Stock
Simmer, Skim and Reduce by 50% -90%
Mushroom Stems may be added during simmering
Finish with a splash of Madeira, Port or Sherry (optional)
Making Demi-Glace (Modern v.1)
Roast Veal Breast (Ribs) with Mirepoix
Dégraisser, Deglaze and add all to stock pot
Cover with cold water
Simmer 5-12 hours. Depouillage.
Reduce, season and strain
Making Demi-Glace (Modern v.2)
Reduce Brown (Veal) Stock by ¾ or sauce consistency
Requires a stock with abundant gelatin
aka., Glace de Veau, Glace de Viande
Jus Lié, Fond Lié or Jus de Veau Lié
Alternative to a Demi-Glace…lighter and easier
Commonly Used in Restaurants as “Demi”
Brown Stock Reduced with a Pinçage (Caramelized Mirepoix and
Tomato Product)
Sometimes thickened with cornstarch or arrowroot
Or, thickened by reduction only…requires an abundance of gelatin
“What’s Gravy?”
Starch-thickened and de-fatted natural juice from a
roast…aka, “jus lié”
In England, just a jus, not thickened
In New England, a thick tomato sauce as in “Sunday Gravy”
Some Types:
“Red-Eye” gravy, made from ham drippings and deglazed with
coffee (Southern)
“Sawmill” gravy, a white gravy…essentially a béchamel seasoned
by the meat in the frying process…as in chicken-fried steak or a
sausage gravy (Southern)
Onion Gravy
Giblet Gravy, …the only reason to eat turkey!
Sauce Tomate:
Tomato Concassée & Tomato Coulis
French Tomato Sauces are usually a secondary component
Classic Italian or Spanish Tomato Sauce are base sauces flavored
around a mirepoix or soffrito
Tomato Concassée
Concasser: “to crush, break, or grind”
Peeled and Seeded and Chopped
Raw or Barely Cooked
Best for In-Season-Ripe Tomatoes
Cooked
Slowly simmered for 5-10 minutes THEN…strain to remove excess liquid (As opposed to cooking
all the down and destroying texture and delicacy.)
Tomato Coulis
Smooth purée strained of seeds and peel
Raw or Cooked
Tomato Sauces
French Italian
Classically thickened with No Roux
a roux Simmered with few
Uses a white stock, veal or ingredients
chicken Oregano & Basil are
Uses pork bones or other commonly added
pork products
Improving the Flavor of Tomato Sauces
Use the best, ripest, fresh tomatoes.
Or a good canned tomato…ie, San Marzano
Avoid overcooking the tomatoes
The better the tomato the less need for other ingredients
Herbs, meats, stock, etc.
Use roasting as a means to concentrate tomato flavor and
add caramelization flavors
Balance both sweetness and acidity with sugar and
vinegar or add a gastrique
Gastrique: caramelized sugar deglazed with vinegar; used to
flavor tomato or savory sauces
Canned Tomato Products
Tomato Puree
Briefly cooked tomatoes and strained resulting in a thick liquid
Tomato Sauce
Thinner than puree and may have seasonings and flavorings
Tomato Paste (Tomato Concentrate)
Tomatoes that have been cooked several hours, strained and
reduced to thick concentrate. Generally fairly sweet.
Whole or Diced
Peeled, seeded and whole or diced. Uncooked.
Crushed
Unregulated description…may have seeds or peels and varying
percentages of tomato
Canned Tomato Products con’t.
Sweetness (ripeness) varies
Salt is added to bring out the sweetness
Citric Acid
Preserves and corrects acidity
Calcium Chloride
Maintains a firm texture
too much equals metallic taste and "rubbery" texture
Color is NOT necessarily a good indicator of tomato taste.
Taste is.
Quick Cooking vs. Slow Cooking
Tomato Sauces
Marinara* Ragu
Quick (20 Minutes) Long Cooking (Hours)
Fresh Tomato Taste Complex Flavors
Lacks Complexity Usually Includes Meat and
a Soffritto
*Originally, a slow-
simmered tomato sauce
from Naples. Italian-
American Marinara is
generally a quick, fresh
tomato sauce or, salsa al
pomodoro
Making a Basic Tomato Sauce
Finely Dice Onion and Émincé Garlic
Making a Basic Tomato Sauce
Puree and Tomatoes through a Food Mill or
Passatutto (Removes skin & seeds.)
Making a Basic Tomato Sauce
Sweat Onions and then Garlic
Making a Basic Tomato Sauce
Add the Tomato Paste and Sauté (Turns a
shade darker)
Making a Basic Tomato Sauce
Add the Tomato Puree and Season
Making a Basic Tomato Sauce
Simmer 30-45 minutes. Finish with fresh basil
and splash of olive oil. Check seasoning for
sugar, salt, acid & pepper.
Next Week’s Midterm: (Discuss)
Cauliflower Soup
Each student makes 1 quart using only:
cauliflower, WATER, butter, onion, shallot, garlic, thyme, bay leaf and cream.
Chicken Soup with Matzo Balls and Vegetables
Each student makes 1 quart
From week one’s recipes
Clam Chowder
Each student makes 1 quart
Use a clam broth to make a clam veloute
Ingredients are limited to clams, clam juice, potatoes, butter, cream. Salt
and pepper.
Today’s Lab:
Espagnole (for Demi Glace)
½ gal per 2 students
Demi Glace
1 quart per 2 students
Demi Glace (Modern)
Instructor Demo
Sauce Tomate (French)
1 quart per 4 students