ChefSteps is having a freezer cleaning party!

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The kitchen is winding down on filming for the sous vide 201 class, so we're thinking now is the perfect time to go through the product in our freezer. In the next couple of days we will be using it to make all sorts of sauces and quick infusions—look out for updates on the forum.

Nicholas_Gavin_68199

I've been playing around with sauces this week. Here’s an outline I developed while working on Lamb Demi-Glace (recipe follows). As I discuss below, it’s important to determine what viscosity you’re looking to create before you start cooking, in order to make sure you have the right ingredients. Read on for more on that.

 

· You can buy proteins and vegetables specifically to make sauce, or just pull out what you’ve got in the fridge or freezer. (Frozen stuff will have to be thawed, of course.) Bones are your friend here.

· Slice meats and vegetables into smaller portions for more surface area. This reduces the cooking time and will help develop more flavor during the roasting phase.

· Roast in an oven heated to a temperature between 375 °F and 450 °F. The higher the temperature, the more frequently you should stir. Stirring helps develop even coloring on the bones and helps prevent the fond (carbohydrates, browned sugars, and/or proteins formed on the bottom of the pan) from burning. Once the meats and vegetables have developed a deep-brown color, add tomato paste and stir to coat the product. Tomato paste will help elevate the umami levels in your sauce as well as deepen the flavor through caramelization. (Skip this step if you are making a blond glaze.)

Transfer the roasting meat/bones/vegetables to a pot. Deglaze the roasting pan with water or desired cooking wine. Transfer this liquid back into the pot with the meat/bones. 

· Cover meat/bones with water and cook on a low simmer for anywhere from one to 24 hours. The larger the bones are, the more collagen you’ll need to convert to gelatin, and the more time you’ll need to extract all of the flavor. Fish and vegetable can take anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour. 

· Skim your stock many times throughout the process to help remove fats and impurities that will cloud it.

· Strain the stock through a sieve then something even finer if possible—cheesecloth or a fryer filter will work well.

· Simmer stock to begin reducing—ultimately you’ll want to reduce by 80%. (Pro tip: Placing one side of the pot slightly off the burner will allow the fat and impurities to pool in one corner, making the next step easier.)

· Skim! Using a ladle or a large spoon, carefully remove the layer of fat and impurities that have pooled in the corner. This step is crucial for yielding a clear-looking glaze.

· Strain stock through a fine mesh sieve.

·  Some notes on texture: You can have 10 gallons of stock, but if there wasn’t enough gelatin in it from the bones and tendons it will reduce to next to nothing. There are a few ways around that. Some cooks throw a couple trotters in with their stock. Some add gelatin or even glucose just at the end, when they have developed the flavor they are looking for. But the question to keep in mind—before you even start making sauce—is: what viscosity I am looking for? If it’s a light jus, 0.1-0.05% xanthan will do the trick. If you are looking for a smooth, silky texture add glucose; if you want a light, sticky texture, add 3 to 5% gelatin (170 bloom).

· Congratulations, you’ve got sauce. If it’s rich in gelatin, you can cool and cut the stock into cubes and will last up to a year in your freezer or a month or so in the refrigerator. When you warm the sauce, lightly whisk in butter. Butter fat aids in the formation of an emulsion, which will give your sauced a thicker longer-lasting flavor release. But if you’re looking for your sauce to have a beautiful sheen, it’s important to avoid using too much fat. Also try blending you sauce, the aeration rapidly releases aroma compounds, for an amazing sensory experience.

 

 

I used the above step to create the recipe here—a tasty Lamb Demi-Glace. We found an abundance of lamb leg in the freezer (originally purchased for sous vide trials), and decided that it would be fun to try a demi-glace—a sauce whose name translates to “half glaze” and was traditionally made by combining equal parts veal stock and Espagnole sauce. Espagnole is one of Auguste Escoffier’s five mother sauces. Escoffier called for three of these—Béchamel, Velouté and Espagnole—to be made using a roux, but nowadays we have a bunch of different options we can choose in order to incorporate flavor and alter the viscosity of a sauce. 

 

Lamb Demi-Glace

 Lamb scraps - 4,600 g

Sweet onion, quartered - 800 g

Garlic, crushed - 80 g

Tomato paste - 300 gRed wine - 1 LWater - 4 LGelatin (160 bloom) - 100 gSalt - 15 g

MSG (optional) - 6 g

Black pepper - A/N Rosemary - A/NThyme - A/N 

After I made the sauce using the first six ingredients, I reduced it, added gelatin, and seasoned it with salt and MSG (the latter is always optional). I then transferred the sauce to a French press containing black peppercorns and aromatics, and allowed it to infuse for four minutes before serving

Some of the key takes aways during my Lamb Demi-glace

Starting to develop color.

Finished roasting with tomato paste.

Skimming

Before final strain.

Hope this information was useful. Does anyone have questions or extra tips to add? Other styles of sauces are in the works. Any in particular that anyone has questions on or really hopes to learn about in the near future?