Creating A Consommé With A Raft Food

CREATING A CONSOMMé WITH A RAFT

Steps:

• 1. Chef's Note: The ingredients chosen for the raft will add flavor to the stock. For example, the choice of chicken thighs over white meat, will deepen the flavors in the stock, but will also create a darker consommé, which may not be desirable.
• 2. Chef's Note: You will need about 2.5 quarts of good, fresh chicken stock for this recipe. I usually make the chicken stock the day before, let cool in the refrigerator, and then build the raft the following day. My Hearty Chicken Stock recipe would be excellent for this consommé.
• 3. Combine the ground chicken and egg whites in a food processor, fitted with an S-blade, and mix until thoroughly incorporated. Chef's Note: A food processor is not a must have... An alternate would be to use a large mixing bowl, and beat away.
• 4. Add the chopped tomato, a good pinch of salt, and continue to beat away. Chef's Note: Why all the Beating? The agitation, plus the salt, and the acid in the tomato will denature the proteins, and that's essential to making the raft work properly.
• 5. Add the chopped onion, leek, celery, parsley stems, bay leaf, thyme sprigs, garlic, and peppercorns. Continue to beat until fully combined. The resulting mixture should resemble a big gloppy mess. Chef's Note: If you're using a mixing bowl, you'll want to beat for another 2 minutes... If you're using a food processor, about 30 seconds.
• 6. In a large pot, stir the mixture into the cold chicken stock, and then bring to a boil over high heat, stirring frequently. Chef's Note: This is your first test. If you don't keep the mixture active, it will stick to the bottom on the pot and burn... After it begins to boil, the mixture will float off the bottom of the pot, and you'll be safe.
• 7. When the mixture begins to boil, stop stirring, or you'll break the raft. Move the pot slightly off center of your burner, so that it's only boiling on one side. Allow it to boil over the raft, pushing it to the far side of the pot. This leaves an area of the boiling liquid exposed to that you can see the progress of the clarification.
• 8. Turn the heat to low, and keep the stock simmering. Chef's Note: During this time, you should taste and season. Salting at the end just makes it taste salty, salting while it's simmering makes is taste seasoned.
• 9. Continue to simmer for forty-five minutes to an hour and a half, or until the stock is perfectly clear.
• 10. Remove from the burner, and then strain the stock. Chef's Note: This is your second and last test... How to remove the clear liquid from the raft without breaking it. If you break it, will have to throw it away and begin the process all over.
• 11. Chef's Note: Straining Method # 1: Take the pot off the heat and wait about 15 minutes. As the liquid cools, the raft will quietly settle to the bottom. You can then carefully ladle the consommé through a fine-mesh sieve, lined with cheesecloth.
• 12. Chef's Note: Straining Method #2: Use the bowl of a ladle to carefully push the raft to the bottom, and then strain the golden liquid, as suggested in Method #1.
• 13. Plate/Present A good consommé in a nice clean white bowl with a few veggies makes for an excellent starter, at any meal.
• 14. Final Thoughts: A good four hours to make the stock, and another two hours to make the consommé... that's a lot of time, and effort. And let's not forget all the ingredients. Since the process takes so much time (but it's worth it), I usually increase the recipe to make a gallon, and freeze what I don't use. I use these ziplock containers, and it keeps for 4 months.

BEEF CONSOMME RECIPE AND INSTRUCTIONS

Steps:

• Start with a strong stock or broth. It must have great flavor and must be cold. Weak stock should be simmered down until becomes strong and richly flavored, then cooled down. Any fat should be skimmed off.
• Combine the beef, mirepoix, egg whites, tomatoes, herbs, and spices in a stockpot. Mix vigorously with a wooden paddle or a whip.Professional kitchens use tall, heavy stockpots or soup pots a spigot at the bottom to make consomme. This allows them to drain off clarified stock without disturbing the raft: the layer on top of the stock consisting of vegetables, coagulated proteins and other. If you have one, use it.
• Slowly stir in the cold stock while making sure that the stock is well mixed with the other ingredients.
• Bring to a simmer very slowly, over a medium low heat, stirring occasionally.
• When the simmering point is approaching, stop stirring. The clearmeat will rise to the surface at this point and form a raft.
• Turn the heat down to low and simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Do not cover the pot and do not let it boil as boiling will break up the raft and cloud the consomme. Do not stir or disturb the raft at any point.
• Strain the consomme through several layers of cheesecloth. If you are not using a stockpot with a spigot, you can siphon the consomme using a food grade tube of the appropriate length or ladle the consomme out carefully without breaking up the raft.Mine came out with quite a bit of grease on top due to meat not being lean enough I suppose. That's OK as the consomme will be degreased in the next step.
• Remove all traces of fat from the surface very thoroughly. Strips of clean brown paper moved across the surface are effective in absorbing every last speck of fat without absorbing much consomme.
• Adjust the seasonings. Kosher salt is preferred to regular table salt because it has no additives.
• Refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

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.

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.