While the large protein aggregates formed by the ground meat do aid in the clarification process, their true purpose, along with all the other ingredients besides the egg whites, is to reinforce the flavor lost during clarification. As long as you use 5% egg whites in ratio to your stock, and heat it properly, you’ll end up with a clear consommé. As the stock is slowly heated, the egg whites start to coagulate, forming a fine mesh screen which works like a built in strainer. It’s important to understand the clarification of a consommé is actually done by egg whites. This ratio expressed in the Baker’s Percentage is: 5.5 ounces Mirepoix (Carrots, Celery, Onions), ground or cut into a fine julienne.Once you have a solid double stock, you can then make a good consommé. I prefer to still use bones in this double stock, because the gelatin extracted is an important component for overall mouth feel. This is a process I also commonly refer to as “reinforcement,” since the flavor is compounded by new meat an aromatics (vegetables, herbs, and spices). Strain the stock, and then make a new stock, with another whole chicken, using the first stock instead of water. If you really want a full flavored consommé, you need to do what’s called a “double stock.” My preferred method is to cut up a whole chicken, bones and all, and make either a white or roasted chicken stock, depending on your desired outcome (this, of course, assumes we're making a chicken consommé). Hell, call it a “meat nectar extraction” for all I care, as long as you promise not to make a bland consommé. This means, you need a stock made with a good amount of meat, and if it makes you feel any better, you can even call it a broth. The real point is, you need to have an extremely flavorful stock when making consommé because the clarification process will extract both gelatin and flavor. With consommé, you start with a stock, turn it into a broth by adding a raft, which then becomes a stock again once it's strained, and will then magically turn into a broth once garnished, unless it’s left ungarnished, in which case it remains a stock. In reality, broth is a stock that hasn’t been strained before serving, while a stock is strained broth used for a secondary purpose like reduction sauces, braising, or.to make a broth. Yet for a truly flavorful stock, you need meat, and lots of it.Įnter our quick aside concerning stocks and broths wars of biblical proportions have been waged on internet forums between people discussing the difference between stock and broth, with the commonly accepted dogma being stock is made from bones, and broth is made from meat. This usually isn't an issue since most stocks are reduced and reinforced before final use, to add flavor and increase gelatin concentration. However, while bones contain a lot of collagen, they’re short on flavor. When moisture and heat are applied, the collagen breaks down, yielding the gelatin needed for so many professional level applications. This is why traditional stocks are made with collagen rich bones like knuckles, necks and backs. Without gelatin you’ll have a tough time making a full pan reduction sauce or glazing braised meat. Flavor, Stocks, & BrothsĪs I discussed extensively in the comment section of my braised beef short rib video, making stock at home is important for specific cooking applications due to the gelatin content extracted from bones something most commercially available stocks lack. While feared and loathed for it’s finicky nature by young cooks, consommé really isn’t scary once you understand the basic concepts behind making it, and how a clarification raft works.īut before we get into the consommé making process, we first need a little perspective. Consommé.the old school Frenchy soup with crystal clarity and robust flavors that dwells in the nightmares of culinary school students around the world.
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