Cooks may be familiar with the five French mother sauces — béchamel, velouté, espagnole, hollandaise, and tomato — but demi-glace is another delicious, rich sauce that's vital to many French dishes. This brown gravy-like sauce can be time-consuming, but it doesn't have to be too difficult if you follow these two straightforward methods.

The traditional route to demi-glace starts with espagnole, one of the five mother sauces we mentioned earlier. This basic brown jus or gravy is made with roux, a mixture of flour and fat, plus finely diced vegetables, tomato puree. Add a dark meat stock and thyme, parsley, bay leaf, and peppercorn, and you have a demi-glace base.

Reduce the espagnole mixture by half, giving it a rich, thick texture, and your demi-glace is finished. For an alternative method, you can start with meat stock — ideally homemade — but for boxed stock, you should doctor it up by simmering it for 20-30 minutes and adding diced vegetables, herbs, wine, and tomato paste.

Once your broth has simmered, keep cooking it over low heat for five to six hours, then strain and simmer the remaining liquid uncovered until reduced. This demi-glace method is more time-consuming, but also more hands-off, and both methods produce a sauce worthy of your roasted meat, mashed potatoes, stews, and more.