Chicken Stock For Consomme Food

CHICKEN STOCK

Steps:

• Place the chicken in a large pot over high heat. Add water to cover and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 1 hour.
• Remove chicken from pot. Leave water in pot. Cool chicken. Remove skin and bones from meat. Return bones and skin to pot. Add onions, carrots, celery, bay leaf, ginger, and salt. Continue simmering for 3 to 4 hours.
• Strain and cool the stock, uncovered.
• Use the meat for soups, salads, sandwiches, or other dishes where cooked chicken is needed. After stock has been defatted, use or freeze immediately. I freeze the stock in one-cup amounts and use instead of water for cooking rice or vegetables or making gravy.

BEEF CONSOMME

Steps:

• Whip egg whites until frothy.
• Combine egg whites, beef, mirepoix, and tomatoes in a stockpot.
• Add COLD beef broth, mix well.
• Put spices, except salt, in cheesecloth, tie to seal, and put in broth.
• Add salt to taste to broth.
• Bring mixture to a simmer (DO NOT BOIL) you should see a little steam over the surface of the broth, but no bubbling, or as few bubbles rising to the surface as possible.
• Stirring occasionally.
• The beef and vegetable mixture will eventually harden and rise to the top.
• Do not stir after this has happened.
• Break a hole in the beef mixture to allow broth to bubble through.
• Simmer approximately 90 minutes.
• Strain through cheesecloth, degrease.
• Adjust seasoning.

CHICKEN CONSOMME

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, combine chicken, egg whites, carrot, and celery. Stir to combine. Add 2 cups stock; stir to combine. Add remaining 6 cups stock. Place over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until mixture comes to a boil and a solid mass has formed on top. There should be liquid and foam bubbling up around the edges. Do not stir once liquid has come to a boil. Reduce to a low simmer, and cook for 45 minutes.
• Remove from heat. Ladle only the clear liquid into a damp cheesecloth-lined sieve. Do not press down on solids; just allow the liquid to drip. If any particles remain in broth, strain again in the same manner. The consomme may be chilled until any remaining fat solidifies on the surface. Remove fat, and discard. The consomme will keep refrigerated in an airtight container for 3 days and frozen for up to 3 months.

BASIC CHICKEN STOCK

Steps:

• Quarter onion. Chop scrubbed celery and carrot into 1 inch chunks. Place chicken pieces, onion, celery, carrot, salt, and cloves in large soup pot or Dutch oven. Add 6 cups water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 1 hour.
• Remove chicken and vegetables. Strain stock. Skim fat off the surface.
• To clarify stock for clear soup, removing solid flecks that are too small to be strained out with cheesecloth, follow this method. Separate the egg white from the egg yolk, and reserve the shell. In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup cold water, egg white, and crushed eggshell. Add to strained stock, and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, and let stand 5 minutes. Strain again through a sieve lined with cheesecloth.

CHICKEN CONSOMME: BASIC CLARIFICATION

Steps:

• In the bowl of a food processor, combine the ground meat with the onions, leeks, celery, carrots, thyme, tarragon, parsley, garlic, and black pepper. Puree on high speed.
• In a bowl, combine the egg whites with the pureed meat mixture. Stir well to blend.
• Place the stock in a large pot and add the "raft" (the pureed meat-egg white mixture). Bring to a boil, stirring constantly to prevent the raft from sticking to the bottom and sides of the pot. (Once the stock has come to a boil, do not stir again.) Reduce to a simmer and puncture a hole in the center of the raft for the stock to circulate through and clarify. Simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat. Gently poke a hole in the raft large enough to fit a ladle. With a ladle, gently scoop out the consomme into a clean pot or bowl. Strain through a layer of cheesecloth to finish clarifying.
• Serve hot with desired garnish. Alternatively, transfer consomme to a shallow bowl or roasting pan and cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, covering with plastic wrap only when the consomme is cool enough that no condensation forms on the plastic. When the consomme is completely cooled, cut it into 1/2-inch cubes and divide between consomme cups. Garnish with sour cream, chopped chives, and a lemon slice and serve with toast points.

CLASSIC CHICKEN CONSOMMé

Steps:

• Simmer at a gentle boil for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. If the water starts to boil away, add more because the ingredients must be covered in water.
• Taste the stock after the allotted cooking time. It should have a good flavor of chicken and a background hint of the vegetables and herbs. If not, cook a while longer.
• Return the clear liquid to the pan and reheat to hot but not boiling. Season with salt and pepper, as desired. This soup is best served warm to hot (not boiling) as it intensifies the flavor. Cold consommés are not as tasty.

CHICKEN CONSOMME WITH SNIPPED HERBS

Steps:

• Put the stock in a large saucepan.
• Stir together the leek, carrot, and parsley in bowl of a food processor. Add the ground chicken, egg whites, and 2 tablespoons water. Pulse to mix well. Stir this mixture into the stock in a saucepot.
• Bring the stock very slowly to the boil, stirring constantly. The egg mixture will congeal and form a "raft" on the top of the stock, collecting all the impurities from the stock. As soon as it begins to boil, stop stirring and turn the heat down to low. A hole will have formed on the top of the "raft". Make it slightly larger with a spoon, and then simmer the stock very gently for 45 minutes. Remove the saucepot from the heat and let stand 5 minutes.
• Line a sieve with a double layer of cheesecloth. Using a skimmer, lift off as much egg white from the top of the consomme as you can, and discard. Ladle the consomme into the lined strainer and let it drip through in its own good time. Don't be tempted to press it or you'll make it cloudy.
• When it has all dripped through, season and taste the consomme. Season the consomme with salt, if needed. Serve hot or cold with the garnish of your choice.

CHICKEN STOCK FOR CONSOMME

Steps:

• In a large stockpot, combine all ingredients. Add enough water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook, for 3 hours.
• Prepare an ice bath. Strain stock through a fine sieve into a large bowl set in the ice bath. Let stand, stirring occasionally, until room temperature. Transfer to airtight containers. Will keep, refrigerated, for up to 3 days, frozen, for up to 3 months.

BEEF CONSOMMé

Steps:

• Prepare clarification mixture Pulse chopped onion, carrot, and celery in a food processor or mini-chopper until finely chopped. Whisk egg whites until frothy, then add ground beef and chopped vegetables and mix well with your hands. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour (or overnight).
• Make onion brûlé Sear the remaining onion wedge in a small cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat on both cut sides until blackened, then coarsely chop.
• Clarify stock Pour stock into a stockpot. Remove the clarification mixture from the refrigerator and add the browned onion and the tomato, then add this mixture to the pot. Set over medium-high heat and whisk briskly until thoroughly incorporated with the stock. Use a wooden spoon to stir at a slower speed until the solids rise to the top, then stop stirring. Continue cooking until frothy bubbles start to form around the sides of the raft. Reduce heat to medium-low and use a spoon or a ladle to make a hole in the raft so the consommé can bubble freely, and you can see the color and clarity of the broth. At this point the broth should be clear; further simmering is to develop more flavor.
• Remove raft and strain consommé Cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until the raft starts to sink a bit. Ladle the consommé from the pot through the hole in the raft (or you can crack it at this point, since it has solidified) into a cheesecloth-lined sieve set over a heatproof container. Discard the raft. Then strain broth again, this time through a coffee filter. Remove fat by sweeping a paper towel across top of consommé several times. Reheat if necessary. Season with salt and garnish as desired. If not serving immediately, allow consommé to cool and then refrigerate overnight in an airtight container. Before using, remove and discard solidified fat that has accumulated at the top and reheat consommé over gentle heat, just until hot.
• Follow the directions above for beef consommé, substituting ground chicken and chicken stock for the ground beef and beef stock.
• Use only coarse salt to season consommé; iodized (table) salt will cause it to turn cloudy.
• The clarification mixture should be kept as cold as possible until needed (always add tomato, or other acidic ingredient, just before using, since it will cause the egg whites to coagulate too soon).
• Monitor the temperature of the consommé as it cooks to make sure it is at a gentle simmer.

EGG RAFT FOR CLARIFYING CLOUDY STOCK

Steps:

• Filter your stock as much as possible. There should be no solid residues in it. Like small pieces of meat, spices, skin, etc. Warm the stock slowly in a thick bottomed saucepan.
• Beat the egg whites with water and the acid.
• Crush the eggshells and whisk them into the egg mixture.
• Mix the egg whites into the stock, turn up the heat and bring it all to a boil.
• Turn down the heat when it boils and let it simmer for 5 minutes.
• Take the stock of the heat and let it cool for about fifteen minutes.
• There should now be a raft of stiffened egg whites on top of the stock and the stock should be more clear.
• Sieve the stock gently through a sieve lined with damp cheesecloth. If possible, use a sauce ladle to scoop it carefully into the sieve instead of pouring it. Avoid getting egg white with over the edge of the sieve.
• Author's Notes:.
• The easiest way to get a clear stock is to avoid it being unclear to begin with.
• Use raw pieces of meat. Unfortunately that is impossible when you make a dark stock so --
• Don't crack the bones.
• Never let the stock boil. Only weak bubbles and simmering. Boiling emulsifies the fat from the meat and binds it to the water.
• Only boil the vegetables along for the last hour. When the vegetables are soft, they begin to fall apart. This also makes the stock unclear.
• [This is the real difference when you clarify stock. no film tricks here -- ].