Meat Glace Makes about 500ml

Ingredients

2 white onions, peeled, roughly chopped 5 carrots, peeled, roughly chopped 2 leeks, whites only, washed, roughly chopped

5 celery sticks, roughly chopped Bulb of garlic, split in half ½ bunch of thyme

½ bunch of rosemary 300ml red wine 100ml port

5 litres meat stock

Method

Fry the vegetables and herbs in oil over a medium heat in a large pan until you get a lovely dark brown colour. There may be a few bits stuck on the bottom of the pan but don’t panic. When you have got good caramelisation of the vegetables, add the red wine and port. This should lift some of the vegetable ‘stick’ from the bottom of the pan. Stir all with a wooden spoon to get the entire colour off the bottom of the pan. Boil down until almost all the alcohol has evaporated. Once you hear the sizzle of the frying vegetables again, add the meat stock. We like to reduce our meat stocks and rely on the gelatine from the bones to thicken it, but thickening agents such as potato starch or cornflour can be used. Mix with a small amount of water to make a paste and add to the hot boiling stock for thickening. Reduce this down on a medium heat, skimming away any foam that forms around the edges of the pan. I reduce this mixture by 80% to form a lovely glossy sauce. Pass the mixture through a fine sieve to remove the vegetables. For the best finish, you can also pass it through muslin to remove all sediment. From this base lots of our sauces can be made. It can also be used to make rillettes and pâté. The glace on its own can be intense as a sauce, so add stock to the glace to make the final sauce.