Cold Chicken Velouté for Suppers

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy 4-quart saucepan
• •Small saucepan for the replenishing consommé
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Food-safe cheesecloth
• •Large heatproof metal bowl
• •Larger bowl for the ice bath
• •Shallow skimming ladle
• •Whisk and flexible spatula
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •8 to 10 small soup cups

Instructions

1. 1

   Degrease and divide

   Chill the finished chicken consommé until every trace of fat has set on its surface, then lift that fat away completely. Measure 6 cups (1.4 L) for moistening the roux, place 3 cups (710 ml) in a small saucepan to keep hot for replenishing, and reserve the remaining 1 cup (240 ml) in the refrigerator. Cold reveals grease without mercy, so begin with consommé that looks clear rather than merely skimmed.

   Drag the corner of a clean paper towel lightly across any lingering fat beads. Let the paper touch the surface, then lift it straight away without stirring the fat back into the consommé.
2. 2

   Cook the roux

   Melt the butter in a heavy 4-quart saucepan over gentle heat without letting it colour. Add the flour and stir constantly for 3 minutes to make a roux blanc (white roux). It should become smooth and faintly sandy, with the raw flour smell gone but no golden colour at all; browning would cloud the velouté and change its quiet flavour.

3. 3

   Moisten it smoothly

   Warm the 6 cups of consommé until just below a simmer. Take the roux blanc off the heat for a minute, then whisk in the first cup of consommé a small ladleful at a time, smoothing each addition before the next. Once the mixture is fluid, whisk in the remainder in a steady stream. Return it to the heat and bring it to a full boil. If lumps appear, don't pour it out. Ça se rattrape: take the pan off the heat, whisk vigorously or use an immersion blender briefly, pass the liquid through a fine-mesh sieve, and return it to the clean pan.

4. 4

   Skim with patience

   Lower the heat to a steady uncovered simmer and begin the dépouillement, the long removal of foam, flour impurities, and rising fat. Skim the surface with a shallow ladle every few minutes for 1 hour 30 minutes. As the liquid reduces, add the 3 cups of hot consommé gradually, about 1/2 cup (120 ml) at a time, keeping the level near its starting point. Avoid a violent boil, which churns the impurities back through the soup. If the surface becomes cloudy, lower the heat, leave it untouched for two minutes, and skim again once the foam gathers. The long dépouillement is the dish, not brigade ceremony, and it must stay.

5. 5

   Strain and cream

   Dampen two layers of cheesecloth with cold water, wring them well, and use them to line a fine-mesh sieve over a large heatproof metal bowl. Pour the velouté through without pressing or scraping. This replaces the silk sieve of the grand kitchen honestly. Stir in the fresh light cream until the colour is even and the surface carries a quiet ivory sheen.

6. 6

   Cool while stirring

   Set the bowl into a larger bowl filled generously with ice and cold water. Stir slowly but continuously with a flexible spatula, sweeping the bottom and sides, until the velouté is fully cold, ideally 40°F (4°C), refreshing the ice as needed. Continuous stirring prevents a skin, keeps the roux and cream evenly suspended, and cools the soup safely. If a skin begins to form, lift it away, whisk the surface gently, and keep stirring; the second straining will catch what remains.

7. 7

   Strain and adjust

   Pass the cold velouté through a freshly rinsed, cheesecloth-lined sieve a second time. Test it from a cold spoon: it should pour in a clean ribbon and leave only a sheer film, with the body of thickened consommé rather than cream soup. If it coats the tongue or pastes the mouth, stir in the reserved cold consommé 1 tablespoon (15 ml) at a time, testing after each addition. You may not need all of it. This cold adjustment is the one step that decides the dish.

8. 8

   Serve in cups

   Cover and refrigerate the finished velouté for at least 2 hours. Chill the serving cups for 20 minutes, stir the soup slowly without beating in air, and pour 3/4 to 1 cup (180 to 240 ml) into each. Serve it cold and without garnish, as the velouté stands. Its pleasure is the clean chicken depth, the restrained touch of cream, and a texture that leaves the palate ready for supper. À table!

Chef Tips

• •The consommé is the foundation, and it must taste almost too strong when hot because cold and cream soften its voice. A merely pleasant carton broth won't carry this preparation; begin with a properly clarified, gelatin-rich chicken consommé.
• •Degrease the consommé while it is thoroughly chilled. Liquid fat hides in a warm stock and announces itself as an unpleasant film in a cold cup, where there is nowhere for it to go.
• •Use fresh light or table cream rather than heavy cream. The source calls for thin cream because richness must round the consommé without making it cling; more fat is not more skill.
• •The velouté is usually served plain. For a variation faithful to the formula, add only one delicate accent: tomato or capsicum essence, or a small amount of crayfish, shrimp, or game cream. It should be sensed after the chicken, never before it.
• •Serve with a very dry Champagne and keep the cups modest. This is a poised beginning to supper, not the whole meal wearing a silk hat.

Advance Preparation

• •Prepare the chicken consommé up to 3 days ahead and refrigerate it undisturbed. The cold will set the fat into a solid cap that can be removed cleanly before the velouté is made.
• •The completed velouté may be strained, adjusted, covered, and refrigerated for up to 24 hours. Hold it at or below 40°F (4°C), stir slowly before serving, and recheck the consistency from a cold spoon.
• •Do not freeze the finished velouté. Freezing can separate the cream and leave the roux grainy, two faults a second straining cannot entirely correct.
• •Place the serving cups in the refrigerator 20 to 30 minutes before supper. Cold cups preserve the intended texture from the first serving to the last.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 240g)