Consommé aux Paillettes d’Or

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •3-quart (3 L) stainless-steel saucepan
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Double cheesecloth or an unbleached coffee filter
• •Sharp dry kitchen scissors and parchment paper
• •Warm 2-quart (2 L) soup tureen or eight 1-cup (240 ml) consommé cups

Instructions

1. 1

   Inspect the consommé

   Begin with the consommé completely cold. Lift away every patch of set fat, then pour it through a fine sieve lined with damp double cheesecloth or an unbleached coffee filter. Let gravity do the work and never press the cloth, because pressing forces captured fat and sediment back into the broth. Hold a spoonful against the light. It should be deep amber, transparent, and free of floating droplets; if it is, proceed directly to the gold.

2. 2

   Clarify any haze

   If the consommé is cloudy, whisk the egg whites only until fluid and stir them into the cold broth in a clean saucepan. Heat very slowly, stirring gently, until the whites gather the haze and rise into a raft. Once that cap forms, stop stirring and hold the liquid at the faintest tremble for 10 minutes. Open a small hole in the raft, ladle the clear broth from beneath it, and strain through fresh damp cheesecloth without pressing. If the raft tears, take the pan off the heat and leave it undisturbed for 5 minutes so the solids settle, then ladle carefully from the top. Ça se rattrape.

   Use this rescue only when the broth needs it. Clarification removes haze beautifully, but it can also soften some flavor, which is why the best consommé arrives already clear.
3. 3

   Cut the gold

   Work on a dry, draft-free surface. Place each gold leaf between two sheets of dry parchment and cut through the packet with sharp kitchen scissors, making irregular paillettes from pinhead size to about ¼ inch (6 mm). Keep them enclosed until the last moment. Gold leaf clings to damp skin and disappears at the smallest breath; if several pieces gather together, close the parchment and tap them apart with the dry tip of a knife.

4. 4

   Warm without boiling

   Pour the clear consommé into a clean 3-quart (3 L) saucepan and warm it uncovered over medium-low heat to about 185°F (85°C), when the surface begins to quiver but no rolling bubbles appear. Boiling can emulsify a trace of remaining fat and spoil the clarity you protected. If that happens, remove the pan from the heat, let it settle for 5 minutes, then strain it once more through fresh damp cloth. Fill the serving cups or tureen with hot water while the broth warms, then empty and dry them thoroughly.

5. 5

   Add the final luxury

   Remove the consommé from the heat and stir in the measured liqueur brandy. Open the parchment packets, slide in all the gold paillettes, and turn the broth once with the ladle, gently enough to distribute the flecks without breaking them into dust. Ladle 1 cup (240 ml) into each warmed serving cup, giving every guest a fair scatter of gold. Serve at once, while the brandy's fine aroma still rises from the clear amber broth. À table!

Chef Tips

• •The word superior does real work. The finished consommé should taste deeply of chicken, feel lightly gelatinous when cold, and leave no grease on the lips. Ordinary boxed broth lacks the concentration and clarity this dish exposes.
• •Use only genuine edible gold leaf labeled 23 or 24 karat. Craft leaf, imitation leaf, and gold-colored dust may contain copper or other metals and do not belong in food.
• •Choose a fine, dry liqueur brandy such as Cognac, not a sweetened or flavored brandy drink. Measure it. Too little disappears, while too much turns the first course into a glass with a spoon in it.
• •The gold is visual and deliberately tasteless. Serve the consommé in warmed cups without herbs, croutons, or another garnish competing for attention. Cooking well is not cooking fancy.

Advance Preparation

• •Prepare and clarify the chicken consommé up to 3 days ahead. Chill it promptly, covered, then lift away the firm cap of fat before reheating.
• •The gold may be cut up to 30 minutes before service if it remains sealed between dry parchment sheets in a draft-free place.
• •Measure the brandy ahead, but add neither brandy nor gold until the consommé leaves the heat. Holding or reheating the finished soup sacrifices the brandy's most delicate aroma.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 240g)