Quantities for making, Four Quarts.
3 Ibs. of shin of beef. 3/4 lb. of leeks and i stick of celery.
3 Ibs. of lean beef. 1/4 lb. of parsnips.
1 1/2 Ibs. of fowls carcases. 1 medium-sized onion with a 1 lb. of carrots. clove stuck in it. 1/2 lb. of turnips.
Preparation. - Put the meat into a stock-pot of suitable dimensions, after having previously strung it together; add poultry carcase, five quarts of water, and one-half oz. of grey salt. Place the stock-pot on a moderate fire in such a manner that it may not boil too quickly, and remember to stir the meat from time to time. Under the influence of the heat: the water gradually reaches the interior of the meat, where after having dissolved the liquid portions, it duly combines with them. These liquid portions contain a large proportion of albumen, and as the temperature of the water rises this substance has a tendency to coagulate. It also increases in volume, and, by virtue of its lightness, escapes from the water and accumulates on the surface in the form of scum. Carefully remove this scum as it forms, and occasionally add a little cold water before the boil is reached in order that, the latter being retarded, a complete expulsion of the scum may be effected. The clearness of the consomme largely depends upon the manner in which this skimming has been carried out. Then the vegetable garnishing is added. The scum from these is removed as in the previous case, and the edge of the stock-pot should be carefully wiped to the level of the fluid, so as to free it from the deposit which has been formed there. The stock-pot is then moved to a corner of the fire where it may continue cooking slowly for four or five hours. At the end of this time it should be taken right away from the fire, after half a pint of cold water has been added to its contents, it should be left to rest a few minutes with a view to allowing the grease to accumulate on the surface of the liquid, whence it must be carefully removed before the consomme is strained. This last operation is effected by means of a very fine strainer, placed on the top of a white tureen (clean and wide), which should then be placed in a draught to hasten the cooling of the consomme. The tureen should not on any account be covered, and this more particularly in summer, when rapid cooling is a precautionary measure against fermentation
REMARKS UPON THE DIFFERENT CAUSES WHICH COMBINE TO INFLUENCE THE QUALITY OF A CONSOMMe
It will be seen that I have not made any mention in the above formula of the meat and the vegetables which have helped to make the consomme, my reason being that it is preferable to remove them from the stock-pot only after the broth has been strained.
so as not to run the risk of disturbing the latter. The quality of the meat goes a long way towards settling the quality of the consomme. In order that the latter be perfect, it is essential that the meat used should be that of comparatively old animals whose flesh is well set and rich in flavour. This is a sine qua non, and the lack of meat coming from old animals in England accounts for the difficulty attaching to the making of a good consomme and savoury sauces in this country. Cattle in England are killed at an age varying from three to four years at the most; the meat thus obtained has no equal for the purpose of roasts and grills, and anything approaching it is rarely met with on the Continent. But when this same meat is used for boiling or braising, it does not contain enough juice or flavour to yield a satisfactory result. This shortcoming is furthermore aggravated by a fault that many commit who are employed in the making of consommes and stock. The fault in question consists in cooking the bones simultaneously with the meat. Now to extract that gelatinous element from bone which produces the mellowness characteristic of all good consommes, it is necessary that the gelatigenous bodies should be cooked for twelve hours at least, and even after that time has elapsed they are still not entirely spent. On the Continent the quality of the meat easily compensates for this technical error, but such is certainly not the case in England, where five hours stewing only results in a flat and insipid consomme. I therefore believe that, in the case of either consomme or stock, the formulae of which I shall give later, it would be advisable for the bones to stew at least twelve hours, and this only after they have been well broken up, while the quantity of water used should be so calculated as to suffice exactly for immersion of the meat that must follow. The contents of this first stock-pot should include half of the vegetables mentioned, and the consomme thus obtained, after having been strained and cooled, will take the place of the water in the recipe, in accordance with the directions I have given above.
White consomme is used in the preparation of clarified consommes, in which case it undergoes a process of clarifying, the directions for which will be given later. It also serves as the liquor for thick soups, poached fowls, &c. It must be limpid, as colourless as possible, and very slightly salted, for, whatever the use may be for which it is intended, it has to undergo a process of concentration.
Quantities for making four quarts - Five quarts of ordinary consomme, one and one-half lbs. of very lean beef, the white of an egg, one fowls carcase (roasted if possible). First, mince the beef and pound it in a mortar with the fowls carcase, the white of egg, adding a little cold white consomme. Put the whole into a tall, narrow, and thick-bottomed stewpan; then gradually add the cold, white broth, from which all grease has been removed, that the whole may be well mixed. Then the stewpan may be put on the fire, and its contents thoroughly stirred, for fear of their burning at the bottom. When boiling-point is reached, move the stewpan to a corner of the fire, so that the soup may only simmer, for anything approaching the boil would disturb the contents. A good hour should be enough to properly finish the consomme, and any longer time on the fire would be rather prejudicial than the reverse, as it would probably impair the flavour of the preparation. Now carefully remove what little grease may have collected on the surface of the consomme, and strain the latter through muslin into another clean stewpan. It is now ready for the addition of the garnishes that are to form part of it, which I shall enumerate in due course.
For clarified consommes, even more than for the ordinary kind, it is eminently advisable that the meat should be that of old animals. Indeed, it is safe to say that one lb. of meat from an animal of eight years will yield much better than two lbs. would, coming from a fattened animal of about three or four years. The consomme will be stronger, mellower, and certainly more tasty, as the flesh of younger animals has absolutely no richness of flavour. It will be seen that I do not refer to any vegetable for the clarification. If the white consomme has been well carried out, it should be able to dispense with all supplementary flavouring and, the customary error of cooks being rather to overdo the quantity of vegetables, even to the extent of disguising the natural aroma of the consomme I preferred to entirely abandon
the idea of vegetable garnishes in clarifications, and thus avoid a common stumbling-block.
