Clarifying stock: techniques

[Vicious Wadd]

I've always whipped my egg whites to make a consomme. It promotes the necessary coagulation of protiens to clarify the broth.

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Yet another confirmation of the Morimoto method! Next time, I will be sure to try this.

wallchef: Did you add the whipped egg whites to the broth while it was cold, or did you warm it first?

[Chef BV]

Wow, this question stirred up some good conversation. Thanks for all the info. I'm familiar with the reasoning and method of traditional clarifying of consomme. I had just never seen whipped whites used and now I have my answer. Thanks everyone.

Also, let me get this straight: Whipped egg whites are added to the stock while cold and stirred with the other garnishes and as the stock heats, the whites will float up to the top with the rest of the stuff to form the raft, correct?

[wallchef]

Correct, I whip the egg whites until you can pull the whisk from the whites and have a continuous 'string' of egg whites out of the bowl. Then I add my lean protein, acid, and vegetables into the bowl, then into a pot with cold broth.

Edited January 31, 2008 by wallchef (log)

[Vicious Wadd]

ChefBV: So will you be offering some new consommes at Nobles?

Edited January 31, 2008 by Vicious Wadd (log)

[Chef BV]

Vicious Wadd: Well, quite possibly, but you'd have to come in to find out wouldn't you? Do you guys do some sweet whipped egg white clarified consommes up at Staunton Grocery?

[Vicious Wadd]

Vicious Wadd: Well, quite possibly, but you'd have to come in to find out wouldn't you? Do you guys do some sweet whipped egg white clarified consommes up at Staunton Grocery?

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Hey, next time I'm in Charlotte, I'll be sure to do that! I'm not with Staunton Grocery, but the mention of the name piqued my interest. I just googled them and their menu looks pretty good!

Based on experiences with my game consomme, and a duck consomme I had at Inn at Little Washington last year, it would seem any type of game could work well as consomme. At Inn at LW, they served the duck consomme between courses in a demitasse / espresso-sized mug and it was one of the most memorable parts of the meal. It was one of those really cold March evenings we get in Virginia, and when you tasted the hot consomme, it just fired on all cylinders. I told my wife it would be the perfect comfort food after shoveling snow or skiing.

Looking at your menu, a game/duck consomme could work as an au jus with the grilled leg of lamb or Long Island duck.

You could also do some sort of creative twist on the whole coffee cup thing I mentioned earlier: "Coffee and Donuts," which would consist of a small mug of game/duck consomme with a gougere (or 2) on the side. Maybe even pipe something in the gougere. That would make an interesting appetizer. Heck, I may do that myself!

Best,

- VW

Edited January 31, 2008 by Vicious Wadd (log)

[mhberk]

Is there an "ideal" amount of consomme to make at one time? In Jack's course, he uses 1 Qt. of stock. But what if I have 6 Qts? Would the consomme turn out better in smaller batches or would it not make a difference if I were to make the whole 6 Qts?

[begpie]

this is the future http://www.cookingconcepts.com/ENG/clarimax.html

[rbenash]

Hello:

 

I have a great tasting chicken stock after the relatively long time of simmer without it ever getting to a boil or bubbling too much.

 

ALL ingredients (carrots, onions, chicken, celery, herbs) were enclosed in tied off nut/fruit bags (read nylon mesh equivelent).

 

It's been totally strained through multiple layers of linen cloth.

 

It's gray and in the fridge - about 6 quarts.

 

I'm not so much interested in stock making technique for this discussion, not that it is not interesting - just want to keep focused.

 

So the question is - what are the proven methods to start wtih a cloudy/gray stock - and clarify?

 

Wanting to make some soup for someone today and hoping to fix this stock in the morning and not relent to some shelf stock.

 

Mine is better, just not pretty right now :-)

 

Stir a mess of egg whites while cold, let it sit then warm up till a raft forms and remove?

 

Any other ideas?

Edited August 4, 2015 by rbenash (log)

[Paul Bacino]

You can Raft.. as above!!  But I always add a protein like ground chicken breast.  put in a food processor with you egg whites..  maybe add a touch of herb

.. baste the raft occasionally

 

Don't know about the color change.?

Edited August 4, 2015 by Paul Bacino (log)

[rbenash]

Ahh, so I like that. I'm going to have to work on this shortly or go shelf :-(

 

I like the add of the protein/grind.

 

Thinking outisde the box a bit - has anyone ever tried filtering though say a Brita filter or a Kataydn - used for camping and the micron is easy to clean/dress?

 

I'm probably going to try to sample first using a Brita and the Kataydin - as that's a quick check. Better than a coffee filter for sure. Just thinking that this might

remove falvor as well. We'll see.

 

Will get back.
 

[rbenash]

OK so I'm literally doing this live. First filter through the Brita is freaking great. No flavor loss and clarity picked up nicely as in gray is gone. I'm going to filter twice as it's moving

through pretty quickly.

 

Will follow. I figure I'll filter 3 times.

 

I know this is not the best/first way to do this. I will correct my method of creating stock. I think I already know the causative factor that got me into this "trouble".

[KennethT]

What do you think caused the problem? Did you use an aluminum pot?

[rotuts]

its interesting that the brits helped out.

 

Im guessing that it would clog up toot-sweet, but maybe not.

 

Id toss the filter after you are done as the organic material in there might become a nice breeding ground for stuff that

 

would make you sick 

 

[rbenash]

Of course we'll toss the Brit filter :-) It didn't clog, just kept the stock a little higher than room temp is all.

 

Tried a couple short passes with the coffee filters and stopped. Didn't change or improve anything and they clog so much faster.

 

The Brit is what I'll go to next time for a filter than the paper cones for similar purpose.

 

9 whites now in the room temp/plus  in the 4 quarts. I think that might improve things a tad more, then I'm done.

 

So what I did wrong was tried to save too much liquid.

 

Instead of pulling the bags of solids out first I should have ladeled down to them and stopped.

 

Toss whatever is left. Don't try to save it all.

 

It was good until I got to that point, nice and yellow and not cloudy or discolered.

 

My bad.

Edited August 4, 2015 by rbenash (log)

[rbenash]

Now after the raft with the 9 whites to the 4 quarts, all good.

 

I have another 50 some oz. I'm going to clean up same way.

 

The finish was really nice. Especially for soup. Not 4 star restaurant quality clear but near excellent.

 

Somewhat cloudy but yellow, no gray.

 

Hope this helps someone.

 

Next time same plan. Bag the solids, no rough boil etc as I did - BUT just ladle down to the solids and toss.

Don't try to use the last 3 inches or so where the solids are sitting and don't disturb them.

 

It's all been said here on the cooking 101 stuff - but go figure. I thought with the bags I would be good to

use that last 3 inches or so and pick up another quart or so. VERY WRONG.

 

Bad move :-) Not to be repeated :-)

 

We'll have some nice Creme Brulee with the yolks though so not so terrible in the end.

Edited August 4, 2015 by rbenash (log)

[FeChef]

Ever since i got my electric pressure cooker, all my chicken stocks have come out perfectly clear white (after removing the fat) Best piece of cooking equipment i bought since my sous vide.

[thatchairlady]

Part of my brain REALLY wants to know what this stock will be used for in the end?  If it something that ABSOLUTELY has to be clear?  If no, WHY bother with this stuff?

[rbenash]

thatchairlady:

 

Chicken rice soup for my Son who has just had a flare up with his Chrones. Several months of getting him striaghtened out.

 

Didn't want to bring over gray/blackish stock in this case.

 

Sure I could have just dumped in some tomatoes and made it red but it would still have been blackish.

 

The effort was worth it in the end.

 

The lesson is make the stock right in the first place as up thread.

 

Now I have a dozen yolks I'll turn in to custard/brulee that will fit with his diet.

 

No way I needed it totally clear of course, just not black/gray. I think I alluded to that up thread.

 

The process might seem complicated but I had 6 quarts of stock really. And now its all good.

 

Didin't take all that much in the end to clean it up for the purpose and now I also have some for another batch. I now have

tools in the pocket if this should happen again.

 

It's just an exercise in a quick correction and remediation, not anything recommended for repetition. Simple, quick

troubleshooting in the end.

Edited August 5, 2015 by rbenash (log)

[rbenash]

FeChef - intrigued by the pressure cooker idea for long term. Have one, it's smallish capacity though. I know I would have had clear stock if I just followed good practice when pulling from the pot. My bad.

Edited August 5, 2015 by rbenash (log)

[FeChef]

FeChef - intrigued by the pressure cooker idea for long term. Have one, it's smallish capacity though. I know I would have had clear stock if I just followed good practice when pulling from the pot. My bad.

I have a 6 quart pressure cooker. Before the pressure cooker i would make stock in a 20 quart stock pot. But till i cooked it down i would end up with maybe 8 quarts and flavor wise doesnt come close to the 6 quarts i end up with using the pressure cooker and in only 2 hours. Not too mention less work skimming.

[FeChef]

FeChef - intrigued by the pressure cooker idea for long term. Have one, it's smallish capacity though. I know I would have had clear stock if I just followed good practice when pulling from the pot. My bad.

I have a 6 quart pressure cooker. Before the pressure cooker i would make stock in a 20 quart stock pot. But till i cooked it down i would end up with maybe 8 quarts and flavor wise doesnt come close to the 6 quarts i end up with using the pressure cooker and in only 2 hours. Not too mention less work skimming.

[rotuts]

FeChef :  which PC do you use ?

[Tri2Cook]

I'm still a fan of syneresis filtering but it does require planning ahead for it. Not as much when using agar as with gelatin but still not a last minute technique.

[FeChef]

FeChef :  which PC do you use ?

instant pot ip-duo60