Consommé

[UnCulinary]

So I have been cooking a lot of chicken and as a by product of that, making a lot of stock. From my last batch of stock this weekend I made some (chicken) consommé. And its good. Really good. But I want to figure out some things to do with it other than serve it straight. So what does everyone else like to use consommé for? Any great soups, sauces, or other things you can recommend to try?

As an additional question, I used the freeze clarification method to clarify my stock. Should I be using that left over gelatin for anything?

[weinoo]

Tortellini in brodo.

[piracer]

Do a sort of fine cabbage roll, served with a little mash and consomme as the 'sauce' - just reduced, and salsa verde.

[Keith_W]

You could add gelatin back to it and make an aspic.

[thayes1c]

Sounds like it's time to bust out Escoffier! There are dozens and dozens of consommé recipes in there. It's also availible free from archive.org.

[David A. Goldfarb]

I use it in all kinds of sauces, braised dishes, and such. Freeze it flat in Ziploc bags and then you can partially defrost it in the microwave and break off pieces as needed. You can also shelve bags of different stocks, consommes, and sauces like this on end like books in the freezer.

[UnCulinary]

Sounds like it's time to bust out Escoffier! There are dozens and dozens of consommé recipes in there. It's also availible free from archive.org.

I actually just bought a copy for myself finally and it arrived yesterday! I've been looking through the consommé stuff but the entire book is pretty overwhelming. You have any favorites?

I use it in all kinds of sauces, braised dishes, and such. Freeze it flat in Ziploc bags and then you can partially defrost it in the microwave and break off pieces as needed. You can also shelve bags of different stocks, consommes, and sauces like this on end like books in the freezer.

What sauces do you specifically like to use it in?

[David A. Goldfarb]

Chicken consomme? Well, you could start with a basic veloute by adding a roux, and that is useful on various poultry dishes or vegetables or in casseroles. Add mushrooms and you have another variation. Reduce it to 10% its original volume to make a glaze that adds richness to braised poultry dishes, stews, and soups. Saute root vegetables in a small amount of stock and reduce to a glaze for glazed carrots, turnips, parsnips, etc. Use the consomme as a base for any creamed vegetable soup or chowder. Of course any clear soup can use chicken stock. Use it as part of the liquid with clam juice in a white clam sauce. Think of any savory dish where you might use water and ask whether it might be made more interesting with the addition of stock. For instance you can make rice with half water/half consomme, or you could use it in a tomato sauce for a poultry dish. I just regard stock as a staple ingredient like salt or flour.