Glace de Viande

Glace de viande is a flavor-packed super-reduction of aromatics, rendered meat drippings and melted connective tissues (collagen) - the perfect embodiment of rich, carmelized, roasted-meaty goodness. To visualize the concept, imagine meat stock reduced to a point where all the moisture is gone, leaving a gelatinous, richly-browned glob of savoriness that can be preserved and added to any dish as a flavor enhancer. Championed by Escoffier, Child and Pepin, glace de viande is most commonly associated with beef, but can be made from any meat - pork, veal, venison; even poultry or fish, if desired.

We've had some incredibly rotten weather up here in New England the past couple days, and it looks like it will continue for a couple more - a perfect time to make some glace de viande. Making this is very easy - it is time-comsuming, but so much worth it; you should plan on a 2- to 3-day process. To make beef glace de viande, you will want this, at the very least:

5 to 6 pounds of beef bones (leg, shoulder, shin, shank, knuckle or similar), with any meat left on them, cut into manageable sections.

olive oil, as needed
1 to 2 onions, cut in halves or quarters
2 to 3 stalks of celery, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 to 3 carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces


Some optional ingredients:

2 to 3 meaty, flavorful tomatoes, halved or quartered
3 to 4 bay leaves
Peppercorns, to taste (start with a teaspoon)
A couple of cups of wine
Bouquet garni
Sachet d'epices

Here's how easy it is. I have 6 pounds of soup bones - brushed with olive oil - in the oven at 375°F as we speak...



I'll be coming back on a regular basis to update my progress.

Here's the veggies after about 45 minutes...

Sorry to hear about the skimming hassles, but you fixed it easily enough~ just remember to use a slotted spoon and skin the scum and film from the top all day long. For convenience throughout the day, you might want to get a tall-ish bowl (that will hold a slotted cooking spoon without tipping over) and use it throughout the day to dump the foam, skin and scum into while keeping the spoon handy.

Textbook perfect...Jacques Pepin would be proud of you! Real nice looking caramelization on the vegetables, that's going to give you tons of goodness in the broth. Looks like you have the skimming down pat, and you'll see that as the day winds down, you'll be getting less and less to skim and by tomorrow's boiling you'll just need a teacup for the stuff, and mainly to hold the spoon in.

OK...after the all-day simmering, I will once again put the mixture to bed for the night.

Reducing nicely now...should be ready to strain through a sieve and/or cheesecloth and put in a sauce pan for the final reduction soon.

Tasty. Okay, for the to do list ...

Congratulations Ron!...I can hardly wait to hear your report the first time you melt a block of the glace into a mushroom sauce or wine based sauce. The kick it gives it is incredible. You'll find a lot of uses for it I'm sure...one of my favorites is to melt a block of glace and mix it into my meatloaf mixture.