✔ Updated · realistic times, fixed ratios + how to use it
This chicken demi glace recipe turns a few pounds of chicken wings, everyday vegetables and a cup of white wine into a deeply savory, glossy sauce base. It’s my rainy-Sunday project, and the whole house smells incredible all afternoon.
At a glance
The one tip that matters: Keep the stock at a lazy simmer, never a boil, and skim the foam often. A gentle simmer gives a clear, clean-tasting demi glace instead of a cloudy, greasy one.
The wings and vegetables are browned with a spoonful of tomato paste, deglazed with wine, simmered gently for 4 to 5 hours, then strained and reduced to about 1 cup of concentrated demi glace. It takes time but very little effort, and a single frozen cube turns a pan sauce, gravy or soup into something restaurant-worthy.
Why You'll Love This Chicken Demi Glace
- Deep, roasted chicken flavor, concentrated into a glossy sauce base that sets like jelly.
- Mostly hands-off: brown, deglaze, then let the pot simmer while you do other things.
- Freezer gold: frozen cubes upgrade pan sauces, gravies, soups and risotto for months.
What Is Chicken Demi Glace?
Demi-glace means half-glaze in French. In classic French kitchens it is made by combining a brown veal stock with a brown sauce and reducing it until it is glossy and rich. Chicken demi glace is the home-cook-friendly version: browned chicken bones and vegetables are simmered into a stock, then reduced until the natural gelatin makes it thick enough to coat a spoon. Chicken feet are one of the richest sources of that gelatin, and our chicken feet recipe shows how to clean and braise them.
Strictly speaking, this style is closer to a reduced chicken glace than a traditional demi-glace, but the result is used the same way: a spoonful adds a deep, roasted, savory backbone to sauces, gravies and soups.
Chicken Demi Glace vs. Chicken Stock vs. Bone Broth
| Chicken stock | Bone broth | Chicken demi glace | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Made from | Bones, vegetables and water | Bones simmered longer, often seasoned | Browned bones and vegetables, wine, then reduced |
| Texture | Thin and liquid | Light body, may gel when cold | Thick and syrupy; sets to a firm jelly |
| Flavor | Mild | Savory, seasoned to sip | Very concentrated and roasted |
| How it is used | Soups, cooking grains | Sipping, soups | A spoonful to finish sauces, gravies and braises |
Step-by-Step Photos
Here's how it comes together. Exact amounts, times and temperatures are in the recipe card below.
Tips for Success
- Use wings, backs or necks. These bony, collagen-rich parts are what make the reduced demi glace set to a firm jelly. Lean breast meat gives flavor but almost no body.
- Get real color when browning. Deep golden wings, browned vegetables and toasted tomato paste are where the rich color and roasted flavor come from. Pale browning means a pale, flat sauce.
- Simmer, never boil. A hard boil emulsifies the fat into the stock and makes it cloudy and greasy. Keep just a few lazy bubbles breaking the surface. I turn my burner to its lowest setting and check the pot every half hour.
- Salt at the very end. The stock reduces by about 90 percent, so any salt added early becomes far too strong. Taste only after reducing. My first batch was so salty I had to start over.
- Watch the last 15 minutes. As the demi glace thickens it can catch and scorch quickly. Lower the heat and stir often once it starts to look syrupy.
- Cool it fast. Set the pan in an ice bath and stir until it is cool, then refrigerate within 2 hours. Freezing it in an ice cube tray gives handy 2-tablespoon portions.
Homemade Chicken Demi Glace
16
servings15
minutes6
hours20
kcal6
hours15
minutesA rich, homemade chicken demi glace: chicken wings and vegetables browned with tomato paste, deglazed with white wine, simmered gently for hours, then strained and reduced to about 1 cup of glossy, concentrated sauce base that sets to a firm jelly when chilled.
Ingredients
- For the Stock
3 pounds chicken wings (or backs and necks), cut at the joints
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup onion, chopped
1 cup carrots, chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1/2 cup leeks, white and light green parts, sliced and rinsed
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup dry white wine
3 quarts cold water
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon whole white peppercorns (or black)
- To Finish
1 pinch salt, only if needed, after reducing
Directions
- Brown and Deglaze
- Heat the oil in a large, heavy stockpot (at least 8 quarts) over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken wings in two batches, turning occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes per batch, until deep golden. Move them to a bowl.
- Lower the heat to medium. Add the onion, carrots, celery and leeks and cook, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pot, for 8 to 10 minutes, until soft and browned at the edges. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until it darkens to a brick red.
- Pour in the white wine and scrape up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, until reduced by about half, then return the wings and any juices to the pot.
- Simmer
- Add the cold water, bay leaf and peppercorns. Bring slowly to a bare simmer over medium heat, skimming off the foam that rises. Turn the heat to low and keep it at a lazy simmer, uncovered, for 4 to 5 hours, skimming now and then. Never let it boil hard, or the stock turns cloudy and greasy.
- Strain the stock through a fine-mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth into a large bowl, pressing the solids lightly, and discard the solids. Spoon off as much fat from the surface as you can. You should have about 2 quarts.
- Reduce
- Pour the strained stock into a clean, wide saucepan and simmer over medium heat for 60 to 90 minutes, until it has reduced to about 1 cup and is thick and glossy enough to coat the back of a spoon. Turn the heat down as it thickens so it does not scorch. Taste and add a pinch of salt only if needed.
- Cool the demi glace quickly in a bowl set over ice water, then refrigerate within 2 hours. It sets to a firm jelly. Keep it in the fridge for up to 1 week, or freeze it in an ice cube tray, then bag the cubes and freeze for up to 6 months.
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How to Use Chicken Demi Glace
- Pan sauce: after searing chicken or pork, pour off the fat, add a splash of wine or broth, whisk in 1 to 2 tablespoons of demi glace and finish with a knob of butter. It is great with our stuffed chicken breasts and other chicken breast recipes.
- Gravy: whisk a cube into turkey, chicken or roast pork gravy for deeper color and flavor.
- Soups and stews: add a cube or two to chicken soup, stews or braises in the last few minutes of cooking.
- Risotto and grains: melt a tablespoon into the hot broth for a richer risotto, pilaf or rice.
- Quick shortcut: in a pinch, a good store-bought demi-glace concentrate works, but homemade has a cleaner flavor and no added thickeners.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is chicken demi glace?
Chicken demi glace is a rich, concentrated sauce base made by simmering browned chicken bones and vegetables into a stock, then reducing it until it is thick and glossy. Classic French demi-glace is made from veal stock and brown sauce. This home-style chicken version is closer to a reduced chicken glace, but it is used the same way.
How long does it take to make chicken demi glace?
Plan on about 6 hours in total: around 30 minutes of browning and deglazing, 4 to 5 hours of gentle simmering and 60 to 90 minutes of reducing. Almost all of that time is hands-off.
How do you use chicken demi glace?
Stir a tablespoon or two into a pan sauce after searing chicken, pork or steak, whisk it into gravy, or add a cube to soups, stews, risotto or braises for a deeper, more savory flavor. It is very concentrated, so it is used as a flavor booster rather than eaten on its own.
Can I make chicken demi glace in a slow cooker or pressure cooker?
Yes. Brown the wings and vegetables and deglaze on the stove, then simmer in a slow cooker on Low for 8 to 10 hours, or in a pressure cooker for about 90 minutes at high pressure with a natural release. Strain and reduce on the stove as written.
Why didn't my demi glace thicken?
Mine has done this too. It usually needs more reducing, or the bones did not have enough collagen. Keep simmering until it coats the back of a spoon, and use wings, backs or necks rather than meaty pieces. It will also set much firmer once it is chilled.
How long does chicken demi glace keep?
Refrigerate it in an airtight container for up to 1 week, or freeze it in an ice cube tray, then transfer the cubes to a freezer bag for up to 6 months. Add frozen cubes straight to a hot pan or sauce.
