SNS 018| How to Make Consomme (Classic Clarified Stock)

Consommé...the old school Frenchy soup with crystal clarity and robust flavors that dwells in the nightmares of culinary school students around the world. 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.

But before we get into the consommé making process, we first need a little perspective.

Flavor, Stocks, & Broths

As 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. Without gelatin you’ll have a tough time making a full pan reduction sauce or glazing braised meat.

This is why traditional stocks are made with collagen rich bones like knuckles, necks and backs. When moisture and heat are applied, the collagen breaks down, yielding the gelatin needed for so many professional level applications.

However, while bones contain a lot of collagen, they’re short on flavor. This usually isn't an issue since most stocks are reduced and reinforced before final use, to add flavor and increase gelatin concentration. Yet for a truly flavorful stock, you need meat, and lots of it.

Enter 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.

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. 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.

Now say that ten times fast.

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. 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. Hell, call it a “meat nectar extraction” for all I care, as long as you promise not to make a bland consommé.

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). Strain the stock, and then make a new stock, with another whole chicken, using the first stock instead of water. 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).

I prefer to still use bones in this double stock, because the gelatin extracted is an important component for overall mouth feel.

Once you have a solid double stock, you can then make a good consommé.

Basic Consommé Ratio

• 1 qt Stock
• 2 Egg Whites, whisked until frothy
• 1/2 # Meat, Ground
• 5.5 ounces Mirepoix (Carrots, Celery, Onions), ground or cut into a fine julienne.

This ratio expressed in the Baker’s Percentage is:

• 100% Stock
• 50% Meat, Ground
• 5% Egg Whites
• 15% Mirepoix, Ground or Julienned
• Herbs and Spices to Taste

The exact recipe used in this video:

• 4 qt. Chicken Stock
• 2#s Chicken Meat
• 1 Celery Stick, (78g)
• 1 Carrot (167g)
• 1 Onion (293g)
• 1 Leek, White Only (96g)
• 1/2 bn. Tarragon (6g)
• 1/2 bn. Chervil (4g)
• 8 Egg Whites (~200g)
• 2 Cloves (the spice, not garlic)
• 16 Peppercorns

Understanding The Consommé Raft

It’s important to understand the clarification of a consommé is actually done by egg whites. As the stock is slowly heated, the egg whites start to coagulate, forming a fine mesh screen which works like a built in strainer. 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.

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 the stock gently simmers and percolates up through the clarification raft, particulate matter which would otherwise cloud the consommé is captured, along with flavor a gelatin molecules. Since the meat and aromatic’s main purpose is to add flavor, feel free to swap any ingredients you desire to customize the taste of your finished consommé. The only caveat is, don’t use starchy vegetables like potatoes, which will yield a cloudy end product.

The meat and mirepoix are ground because more surface area equals better flavor extraction, and it makes them easier to suspended in the clarification raft.

The Consommé Process

• Whisk egg whites until they begin to froth (about 30 seconds).
• Mix in ground meat and mirepoix by hand, along with any other herbs & spices.
• Place mixture in the bottom of a sauce pot and cover with cold stock.
• Heat stock over high flame, stirring constantly until it reaches 120°F/49°, at which point the raft will begin to float.
• Poke a whole in the center of the raft big enough to fit the head of a two ounce ladle.
• Bring consommé to a simmer, being careful not to allow it reach to a rolling boil, which will break apart the clarification raft, ruining your consommé.
• Once a simmer is achieved, turn heat down to low, and continue to simmer for 60 minutes, while pulling liquid through the center “percolation” hole with a ladle, using it to baste the raft. This will help filter the consommé while keeping the topside of the raft from drying out.
• Once the consommé is clear (about 60 minutes), remove from heat.
• Gently press down on raft with the bottom of a large ladle, filling it with the clarified liquid, and pass it through a chinois lined with a cheese cloth.
• For added clarity, allow consommé to sit in the refrigerator overnight after it’s been strained, which will cause the fat to rise to the top and solidify. The next day, skim off all the fat.

Serve as desired, either chilled or hot, with various garnishes including brunoise and blanched vegetables, dumplings, sausage, meat balls...really anything you like. Don’t forget to season with salt.

In fine dining restaurants, it’s common to compose the garnishes in a wide bowl, and then pour the consommé table side so the guests can appreciate it’s clarity. This same serving technique is demonstrated in our “Composed Cauliflower Soup” video.