Published March 3, 2025. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
This homemade Glace de Viande transforms everyday dishes into gourmet meals with ease. As a profoundly flavorful and versatile reduction, just one spoonful elevates sauces, soups, gravies, and braised dishes with rich, concentrated depth.
My Glace de viande recipe is an intensely concentrated reduction made by simmering roasted bones, vegetables, herbs, and aromatics until it transforms into a flavorful, syrupy meat glaze. It’s a game-changer I like to have in my kitchen at all times because it adds so much depth and complexity to recipes like my boeuf bourguignon or my classic vegetable beef soup.
What is Glace de Viande?
Glace de viande (pronounced glahs deh vee-AHND), which translates to “meat glaze,” is a staple in French cooking. Although it’s a labor of love, the finished glaze is a testament to how slow, meticulous cooking results in incredible depth and richness (something the French are known for).
To make it, I start by slowly roasting veal bones to develop deep flavor through the Maillard reaction. Then, I simmer them in a red wine-infused stock to extract their natural gelatin. The result is a glossy, syrupy reduction that thickens into a rich, gelatinous texture once cooled.
As I mentioned earlier, this sauce is a staple in my kitchen. When I make an extra batch, I always freeze it so I can easily add it to my meals for an instant flavor boost. It’s especially great when I’m cooking for friends, it takes any dish to the next level, trust me!
Glace de Viande vs Demi-Glace
While glace de viande and demi-glace are both reductions, they’re different. Demi-glace reduces a blend of beef or veal stock and Espagnole sauce into a thin, silky sauce, while glace de viande skips the sauce and reduces the stock by roughly 80% to 90% to give it a thick and syrupy consistency.
Both sauces are irreplaceable in many dishes; however, glace de viande’s bold, concentrated flavor is unmatched.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Veal Bones – Veal bones are the gold standard in this meat glaze recipe because of their high collagen content. You could substitute other bones with plenty of connective tissue, such as beef knuckles, marrow bones, or even chicken feet.
- Mirepoix — I use a trio of onions, celery, and carrots – they add a nice, savory depth to the glaze. You can substitute leeks for onions, fennel for celery, or parsnips for carrots.
- Tomato Paste – It gives the glaze a rich umami flavor, a hint of sweetness, and contributes to its deep rust color.
- Red Wine – The acidity from dry red wine—Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Pinot Noir are all great options—balances the richness of the bones and veggies.
- Aromatics — I love using fresh thyme, parsley, peppercorns, and garlic cloves to infuse the glaze with deep, aromatic flavors. If I want to switch things up, I experiment with bay leaves, star anise, whole cloves, fresh ginger, scallions, basil, a parmesan rind, or even a splash of soy sauce for extra depth.
How to Make Glace De Viande
Arrange: I place the veal bones in a single layer on a roasting pan, making sure they have enough space to brown evenly.
Roast: I roast the bones in the oven for 90 minutes.
Transfer and Cover: I move the roasted bones to an extra-large stockpot. I pour in cold water until the bones are fully submerged, ensuring a rich, well-extracted stock.
Simmer: I let the bones simmer over low to medium heat, allowing the flavors to slowly develop and the gelatin to release.
Sauté: I use the rendered fat in the roasting pan to sauté the mirepoix vegetables over medium heat, stirring frequently until they’re caramelized.
Stir: I mix the tomato paste into the sautéed vegetables, letting it cook for a few minutes to deepen the flavors. Once it’s rich and fragrant, I transfer the mixture to the pot with the veal bones.
Deglaze: I pour the red wine into the roasting pan, scraping up all the flavorful bits stuck to the bottom. I let it simmer until the liquid reduces by half, then pour it into the pot with the bones and vegetables.
Simmer: I add the bouquet garni to the pot and let it simmer gently for 6 to 8 hours. Every hour, I check on the pot, skimming off and discarding any impurities and excess fat that rise to the surface.
Strain: Once the stock is finished simmering, I carefully strain it into a large pot, removing the bones and aromatics to leave behind a smooth liquid.
Reduce: I place the pot with the strained stock back on the burner and let it gently simmer over low to low-medium heat. I let it reduce slowly until about 80% of the liquid has evaporated, leaving me with around 6 cups of rich, concentrated glaze.
Use or Store: I either use the meat glaze immediately to enhance a dish or let it cool before storing it for later use.
Chef Tip + Notes
I highly recommend checking if the Glace de Viande is properly reduced by dipping a spoon into it. The glaze should coat the back of the spoon evenly without running off too quickly.
- Roasting: I always roast the bones at 450°F to build a deep, rich flavor base. Giving them the full 90 minutes ensures they caramelize properly.
- Simmering: I never let the stock boil because it can turn cloudy and affect the final texture. Keeping it at a low simmer helps develop a thick, glossy glaze.
- Skimming: I skim the stock every hour to remove impurities and excess fat. A ladle or fine-mesh skimmer makes this step quick and easy.
- Straining: I always strain the stock through a fine-mesh strainer, chinois, or cheesecloth for a smooth, refined finish. This removes any leftover solids and gives the glaze a perfect consistency.
- Storage: I store my glace de viande in small portions so I can easily use just what I need. It freezes well, making it easy to have on hand for future dishes.
Serving Suggestions
All it really takes is a spoonful of glace de viande to enhance various sauces, gravies, or braised meat dishes. I love using it in lamb shanks, where it enhances the slow-cooked tenderness with the concentrated glaze. It’s also perfect for beef short ribs.
When making my osso buco, a touch of glace de viande brings out the savory richness of the veal. And for a comforting classic pot roast, stirring it into the gravy takes the dish to another level.
For a glossy, flavorful finish, you could also brush a little over roasted or seared meats, such as my filet mignon or my delicious beef tenderloin. As for the leftover pan juices, whisk 1 to 2 teaspoons of the glace de viande into the pan to make a quick reduction sauce for the meat.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: If you’re serving it as part of a dish, the glace de viande can be kept warm on the stove over very low heat for a few hours. Stir it occasionally and avoid boiling it, as this can affect its smooth consistency.
How to Store: Once cooled to room temperature, transfer the glaze to an airtight container and store it in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Alternatively, freeze it in small freezer-safe containers or ice cube trays for up to 6 months. When ready, let the individual portions thaw overnight in the fridge.
How to Reheat: The gelatin extracted from the bones makes this glaze gelatinous when chilled. This is completely normal and a sign of a well-made glace de viande! When reheated over low heat, it will return to its smooth, syrupy consistency. If it’s too thick, stir in a splash of water or stock to loosen it up.
More reduction and sauce recipes
Glace De Viande
Ingredients
- 8 pounds veal bones
- 2 roughly chopped yellow onions, weighing a total of 1 pound
- 2 roughly chopped ribs of celery, weighing a total of 8 ounces
- 2 peeled or unpeeled roughly chopped carrots, weight a total of 8 ounces
- 6 ounces tomato paste
- 1.5 cups dry red wine
- 2 to 3 sprigs of thyme
- 2 to 3 parsley stems
- 8 to 10 peppercorns
- 2 to 3 garlic cloves
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°.
- Add the bones to a large roasting pan and place it in the oven in a middle rack and cook for 90 minutes.
- Remove the bones and add them to an extra-large stock pot. I used a 5 gallon pot.
- Cover the bones with about 1 1/2 gallons of cold water. The bones should be completely submerged under the water by about 2 inches. Simmer it over low to medium heat.
- Add the vegetables to the roasting pan and sauté in the rendered fat for 25 to 30 minutes over medium heat while frequently stirring with a spoon or until well caramelized. It’s ok to use two burners. Feel free to also place the pan on a middle rack in the oven at 450° for 25 to 30 minutes.
- Next, stir in the tomato paste and cook for 8 to 10 minutes to deepen the flavor and becomes a rust like color. Deglaze with the wine and cook for an additional 5 to 6 minutes or until it is reduced by one half.
- Pour everything into the stock pot along with the thyme, parsley, peppercorns, and garlic
- Simmer the stock over low to medium heat for 6 to 8 hours and be sure to come back every hour to skim and discard any impurities or fat that collects at the top.
- Strain the stock completely through a chinois, fine mesh strainer, or cheesecloth into a large pot.
- Return it to the burner and cook over low-to-low-medium heat until it is reduced by 80 percent. There should only be about 6 cups remaining.
- Store or use it.
Glace De Viande