Poultry Glaze

Glace de volaille (poultry glaze) teaches the pure grammar of reduction: water leaves, gelatin and flavor remain. The one true thing to know before touching the pan is that the fire must grow gentler as the stock grows stronger. A hard boil near the end can carry a pale, supple glaze from clear to scorched while you reach for a spoon.

The original recipe assumed a saucier on staff, Poultry Stock (No. 10) never far from the fire, an open hearth, and a procession of smaller stew pans with muslin at every transfer. At home, two saucepans and a fine-mesh sieve do the same work. We begin with two quarts and finish with about one cup because the brigade quantity and repeated pan changes are scaffolding; the careful straining, steadily waning heat, and spoon-veiling finish are the dish, and they stay. One cook, one stove, one evening.

Done properly, the glaze is lighter in color and gentler in flavor than Meat Glaze (No. 15), but it is not thin. It should lie over a spoon in an even translucent coat and set to a firm jelly in the cold. Watch the final reduction closely. That slow finish decides everything, and if you take it only a little too far, ça se rattrape.