Consommé Cyrano

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •3-quart heavy saucepan for the duck fumet
• •4-quart heavy saucepan for clarification
• •Small saucepan for the chicken glaze
• •Food processor
• •Fine-mesh sieve and cheesecloth or a clean lint-free towel
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Small shallow broiler-safe earthen pan or ceramic gratin dish
• •Soup tureen

Instructions

1. 1

   Draw the duck fumet

   Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the duck pieces and brown them patiently on every side until the bones and clinging meat are deep bronze, adjusting the heat if the butter threatens to scorch. Add the coarsely chopped onion, carrot, and celery, then cook for 5 minutes until glossy and lightly colored. Pour in the cold water, scraping every bit of fond from the pan, and add the thyme and bay. Bring only to a bare simmer, skim the surface, and cook uncovered for 45 minutes. Strain without pressing, discard the solids, and reduce the fumet to 2 cups (480 ml / 480 g).

2. 2

   Reduce the chicken glaze

   While the fumet simmers, put the reserved 3/4 cup (180 ml / 180 g) chicken stock in the smallest saucepan you own. Reduce it gently until only 1 tablespoon (15 ml / about 20 g) remains and it coats a spoon with a mahogany gloss. Watch closely once it turns syrupy, because the final spoonful moves quickly. If it sets too firmly as it waits, loosen it with a few drops of water; the chicken glaze should brush, not bounce.

3. 3

   Build the clarification

   Cool the duck fumet completely, using a bowl set over ice water if needed. In a clean heavy pot, combine the ground chicken, finely chopped onion, carrot, celery, and 3 egg whites. Stir in 2 cups (480 ml / 480 g) cold duck fumet and the remaining 5 1/4 cups (1.26 liters / 1.26 kg) cold chicken stock until the mixture is evenly dispersed. Everything must begin cold, because the proteins need time to gather the fine particles before they set.

4. 4

   Clarify at a tremble

   Set the pot over medium-low heat and stir slowly across the bottom until the mixture approaches a simmer and the solids begin rising into a raft. Stop stirring as soon as that raft forms. Open a small chimney in its center with a spoon, then hold the consommé between 180°F and 190°F (82°C and 88°C) for 40 minutes, ladling a little broth through the chimney now and then. Never boil it. Ladle the clear liquid through a damp cheesecloth-lined sieve without breaking or pressing the raft. If a boil clouds the broth, cool it, skim away the fat, whisk the 2 optional egg whites with 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g) cold water, stir them into the cold broth, and repeat the gentle heating and straining. Ça se rattrape.

5. 5

   Finish the consommé

   Return the strained consommé to a spotless saucepan. Lift any remaining beads of fat from the surface with the edge of a clean paper towel, then simmer gently until exactly 4 cups (960 ml / 960 g) remain. Season with up to 1 teaspoon salt, tasting after each addition. The finished consommé should be full-flavored, amber-gold, and perfectly limpid. Keep it covered below a simmer while you finish the quenelles.

6. 6

   Make the duck forcemeat

   Chill the food processor bowl and blade. Process the diced duck breast with the 3/4 teaspoon salt, white pepper, and nutmeg until very fine, scraping down the bowl as needed. Add the egg white and process until the paste turns sticky and cohesive. With the motor running, drizzle in all but 1 tablespoon of the cold cream, stopping as soon as the forcemeat becomes smooth and glossy. Press it through a fine sieve into a bowl set over ice, cover, and chill for 20 minutes. If the mixture starts looking oily or separated, stop processing and chill it thoroughly before pulsing again. Warm forcemeat breaks; cold brings the emulsion back together.

7. 7

   Shape and poach

   Bring the poaching water and its 2 teaspoons salt to a quiet 180°F to 185°F (82°C to 85°C). Poach a teaspoon of forcemeat first. It should hold cleanly and remain tender; if it feathers at the edges, chill the mixture another 15 minutes, and if it feels firm, beat in the reserved tablespoon of cream. Using two wet dessert spoons, form 12 small flat ovals about 2 1/2 inches long, 1 1/4 inches wide, and 1/2 inch thick (6 cm by 3 cm by 1.25 cm). Lower them into the water in two batches and poach without boiling, turning once, until they feel lightly springy and reach 165°F (74°C) at the center, about 7 to 9 minutes. Drain them carefully on a clean towel.

8. 8

   Glaze the quenelles

   Heat the broiler with a rack about 6 inches (15 cm) from the element. Arrange the drained quenelles in one layer in a small, shallow, broiler-safe earthen pan or ceramic gratin dish. Sprinkle them evenly with the Parmesan, then dot their tops with a few drops of chicken glaze, about 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 7 g) altogether. Broil for 2 to 4 minutes, rotating the pan if necessary, until the Parmesan has bronzed in small patches and the glaze shines at the edges. This brief glazing is the salamander's honest home equivalent; stay beside it.

9. 9

   Serve the two vessels

   Warm a soup tureen and four bowls with hot water, then dry them. Pour the consommé into the tureen and bring it to the table beside the earthen pan of glazed quenelles. Ladle 1 cup of consommé into each bowl and pass the pan so each diner takes three quenelles alongside. Do not tip the gratin into the tureen: the separation protects both the clear broth and the browned Parmesan surface. One broth, one little pan, and no unnecessary theater. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Ask the butcher for duck necks or wings and one boneless breast. If you begin with a whole duck, use the neck, wing tips, and chopped carcass for the fumet, reserve one breast for the forcemeat, and keep the remaining meat for another dinner.
• •Choose unsalted chicken stock with real body and a restrained aromatic profile. The broth will be clarified and reduced hard, so heavy salt, garlic, or dried herbs only become louder. Good frozen stock is preferable to an aggressively seasoned carton.
• •Temperature decides the quenelles. Duck, processor bowl, egg white, and cream must all be cold enough to keep the forcemeat emulsified. If the processor bowl feels warm beneath your hand, stop and chill it.
• •Keep the quenelles flat and oval. Their broad surface is what catches the Parmesan and those few drops of chicken glaze, while the shallow shape warms through before the broiler can toughen it.
• •A dry Champagne or a restrained white Burgundy suits the clear, savory broth. Serve small pours, since this consommé opens a dinner rather than trying to dominate it.

Advance Preparation

• •The duck fumet and chicken glaze can be prepared up to three days ahead and chilled separately. Remove any set duck fat from the fumet before clarification.
• •The consommé can be clarified and reduced two days ahead. Chill it quickly, cover, and reheat without boiling so its clarity remains intact.
• •The quenelles may be shaped and poached one day ahead. Chill them in a covered container, then let them lose the deepest refrigerator chill before adding Parmesan and chicken glaze. Broil only when the tureen is ready for the table.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 330g)