Consommé

[thelastsupper]

Call me perverse, but I'm going to attempt to make consommé tomorrow. I've read numerous texts on it and it seems sorta easy-- though I've heard that it can be difficult from actual people.

I have a squab stock. Does anyone have any tips on making a good consommé? Anything to avoid doing? What do y'all use in your raft?

Thanks in advance!

[Oreganought]

Make sure you add the raft to a cold stock and bring just to a simmer.A 20 minute simmer is plenty,do not move the pot,just turn off the heat.Make a crack in the raft and ladle into cheesecloth....is the short answer.

Use whatever flavourings please you.I generally will add extra protien and

egg white to my raft.

I would imagine you made the stock with a consomme in mind ?

[NeroW]

If your squab stock is well-made and tasty, there's no reason why the consomme would be a perverse thing to attempt.

What I do is Robocoupe the clearmeat (raft) ingredients together--the mirepoix, the lean meat, the egg whites, the tomato product, and the lemon juice.

I add the clearmeat to the cold stock. I season with parsley stems, thyme, bay leaf, clove (careful) and peppercorns. Kosher salt at the end.

Simmer sloooooooooow. I also make a small hole in the raft with my ladle, and strain through a china cap lined with wet cheesecloth.

Avoid boiling or too-vigorous simmering, obviously, you want to avoid agitating the raft. Avoid breaking the raft when you are straining the consomme.

Here are basic proportions, if you need them:

8 oz. mirepoix

1 1/2 to 2 lbs. lean ground meat

5-7 egg whites

6 oz tomato concasse

1/2 oz fresh lemon juice

4 parsley stems

pinch thyme

1/2 bay leaf

1 clove

6 peppercorns

2 1/2 quarts cold stock

kosher salt to taste

That's a basic idea. I would agree with Oreganought that if you did not prepare the stock with consomme in mind, it may be better to hold off until you are sure you have a good, rich stock. There's nothing worse than spending the time to make a consomme and the stock was bad to start with. Believe me.

I think consomme is pretty served with a brunoise of vegetables--carrot, red pepper, what-have-you.

With what will you serve it?

Good luck!

[jackal10]

I'm doing an EGCI lesson on Consomme (including Royales and Quenelles) next Friday....

[Fat Guy]

Isn't it this Friday?

[thelastsupper]

Yes, I made the stock extra rich with this in mind. It has good flavor. I was going to garnish with a brunoise of nectarine. We'll see. It sounds tasty to me.

So, when ladling the consommé through the hole in your raft, does one just forget about the bit of stock towards the end? Or strain it and use as normal stock for another day?

Thanks for the suggestions so far!

[jackal10]

The raft acts like a big sponge, so tip the lot into culendar or sieve over a basin, trying not too break up the raft too much - you want to minimise the bits of raft coming through. Let it drain, then filter the resulting liquid through a coffee filter, double kitchen towel, muslin or whatever.

[Jon Tseng]

How about sticking the pot just on the side of the hob, so one edge is over the flame - so any simmering just bubbles up to one side, pushing the raft and other bitz to the other side

Also allows for lower heat

Good luck. Its wonderful when you pull the raft to one side for the first side and see the damn thing has actually worked!

cheerio

J

[Busboy]

Maybe I should save this question for the lesson, but while we're on the subject....

I find that sometimes when I go to reheat leftover consume the next day, little specks of eggwhite (?) have somehow appeared in what was the day before a perfectly transparent liquid. Is this common? Is something I might (not) done? You can't taste them, but the specks are numerous enough to make it look a little nasty -- it looks like someone shook a dustmop over the soup pot.

[Jon Tseng]

Is that before or after you reheat it?

If before, perhaps its droplets of fat still in the liquid which have solidified

cheerio

J

[Busboy]

They're noticable before -- I don't think they're fat, because they tend to remain suspended in the liquid, rather than floating to the top.

[jackal10]

Doesn't happen to me.

Might it be mould, if you have not coold it quickly enough and kept it cold? Consomme is a pretty ideal growth medium for bugs.

Alternatively, if it has not been covered, it could be a jelly skin forming on the surface, where it has got a bit dehydrated, but that is usually colourless, or a slightly darker than the consomme.

[Oreganought]

jackal10 I wouldn't recommend that the pot be tipped into a colander,this could undo the hours it takes just to get to the stage where the extra care

of ladeling out the stock helps ensure a clear consomme.This method will

not allow all the stock to be used, leaving a few cups for the chef

to drink. So it's a win-win situation.

[jackal10]

You are right.

However for small home quantities this amount can be significant,

What I meant was only the remaining crust, after you had ladled out everything you can.

Treat the result seperately, and if its clear enough combine he two.

[Oreganought]

You are right.

However for small home quantities this amount can be significant,

What I meant was only the remaining crust, after you had ladled out everything you can.

Treat the result seperately, and if its clear enough combine he two.

I should read before I type jackal...you were refering to the amount left over after ladling.