Ordinary or White Consommé

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Tall 8-quart heavy stockpot
• •Fine shallow skimmer
• •Kitchen twine
• •Long tongs
• •Very fine mesh sieve
• •Cheesecloth or fine muslin
• •Wide metal bowl
• •Larger bowl or clean sink for an ice bath

Instructions

1. 1

   Build the cold pot

   Tie loose pieces of shin together with one loop of kitchen twine and do the same with the lean beef; if either is already a single compact piece, leave it alone. This is simply to keep the pot orderly, not to bind the meat tightly. Put the beef and chicken carcass into a tall 8-quart stockpot, pour in the 10 cups of very cold water, and add the grey salt. Set the uncovered pot over medium-low heat. Turn the meat gently once or twice from the bottom as the water warms, then stop disturbing it as soon as foam begins to gather. Allow 45 to 60 minutes for the water to approach a simmer.

2. 2

   Skim before boiling

   Keep ½ cup of the additional cold water untouched for the finish. As grey foam and coagulated protein rise, remove them patiently with a fine skimmer, passing over the surface without stirring below it. Whenever the liquid threatens to boil before the scum is exhausted, add 1 or 2 tablespoons of the remaining cold water around the edge; the brief cooling gives more protein time to rise. If the pot breaks into a boil and the scum disperses, don't throw it away. Ça se rattrape: pull the pot off the burner, add the remaining pre-boil water, let it settle for 5 minutes, then return it over gentler heat and skim again. The broth may be less brilliant, but a second careful straining will still give you a sound stock.

   Use a shallow skimmer rather than a deep ladle. You want to lift the foam while sacrificing as little broth as possible.
3. 3

   Add the roots

   When the heavy meat scum has nearly stopped rising, stick the clove into the onion and add it with the carrots, turnip, leeks, celery, and parsnip. Let the heat rise only until the surface begins to tremble, skimming the lighter foam released by the vegetables as it appears. Carefully wipe the inside of the pot above the liquid line with a clean damp cloth held in tongs; the brown deposit on that rim must not wash back into the consommé.

4. 4

   Hold a bare tremble

   Move the pot to the smallest burner and adjust the heat until an occasional lazy bubble appears at the edge, with only a slight movement across the surface. This is the home equivalent of the old corner of the fire. Cook uncovered for 4 hours, or as long as 5, without stirring. Halving the quantity does not halve the extraction time; the shin still needs patience to surrender its gelatin, and active boiling would emulsify the fat back into the broth and cloud it.

5. 5

   Rest and degrease

   Take the pot completely off the heat and pour the reserved ½ cup of cold water gently down the inside edge. Leave it undisturbed for 10 minutes. The cooling quiets the liquid and encourages the fat to gather at the surface, where you can remove it with the skimmer or a broad spoon. Don't chase every tiny bead and disturb the sediment; any remaining fat will lift cleanly after chilling.

6. 6

   Strain without pressing

   Set a very fine sieve lined with rinsed, damp cheesecloth over a clean, wide metal bowl. Lift out the largest solids, then ladle the consommé through the sieve, working gently so sediment stays at the bottom of the stockpot. Stop before the final cloudy spoonful and never press the meat or vegetables against the cloth. Pressing may recover more liquid, but it also pushes spent particles into the broth, trading clarity for a few mean spoonfuls.

7. 7

   Cool it quickly

   Set the bowl into a larger bowl or sink filled with ice water and stir the strained consommé gently until it is cool, about 20 to 30 minutes. The original draught is replaced by an ice bath because controlled, rapid cooling is both safer and more dependable. Refrigerate promptly and cover once cold. If a firm cap of fat forms, lift it away in one piece. The finished consommé should be clear, pale gold, and lightly gelatinous when chilled, ready to support the sauces, soups, and braises built upon it.

Chef Tips

• •Ask the butcher for raw beef shin and a raw chicken carcass. A roasted Sunday carcass makes a good brown household stock, but it changes both the colour and the intent here; blanc means the ingredients enter the pot unbrowned.
• •Choose a tall, fairly narrow stockpot rather than a broad casserole. It keeps this generous quantity of meat submerged while exposing less surface to evaporation, which is exactly what a home stove needs during the long simmer.
• •No bouquet garni, peppercorns, garlic, or wine belongs in this formula. They aren't forgotten. Its flavouring is precisely beef, fowl, roots, celery, onion, clove, and salt, leaving the finished stock adaptable.
• •The measured salt is deliberately restrained because this is a foundation that may later be reduced. Season the preparation made from it, not the whole stockpot in anticipation.

Advance Preparation

• •Tie the meat and prepare the vegetables up to one day ahead, keeping the raw meat and vegetables covered in separate containers in the refrigerator.
• •For the cleanest degreasing, make the consommé a day before you need it. Chill it fully, then lift away the hardened fat cap without disturbing the clear broth beneath.
• •Keep the finished consommé refrigerated for up to 4 days, or freeze it for up to 3 months in 1-cup or 2-cup portions. Leave room for expansion in rigid containers and label the quantity clearly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 240g)