Clarifying Stock/Making Consomme'

Refrigerate it and skim off fat etc.

You ladel through the hole, then ladel out as much fat as you can, then degrease with paper towels. It's a PitA.

Don't you people have access to high-speed centrifuges?

Ice-gelatin filtration... so much easier than the raft method.

When you clarify there should be a hole through which the broth bubbles. Use a small ladle and take the liquid out through the hole. The raft will break a little, but try to break it as little as possible. Ladle it through cheesecloth. I've never needed to defat with a ladle after clarifying. You should defat completely before clarifying. Just use a paper towel after.


Ice-gelatin, or frozen agar or whatever gives a completely different result. It works fine for a vegetable consomme, but for meat you lose all of the mouthfeel. Also, I find raft easier, and a hell of a lot quicker.

interesting. i've always used a spider to lift off most of the raft, then ladled the rest of the consomme through a fine strainer. live and learn. but never have had any complaints about that techniqiue.

I am afraid I have become rather obsessive about the clarity of my consomme'. The standard I was taught was that it should be perfectly clear and completely fat free. You should be able to read the date on a dime at the bottom of a gallon of the liquid (though I doubt that Chef D or any other instructor at the Culinary would have ever have countenanced our dropping a much-handled and germ-ridden coin into our product). But that was certainly the standard at the CIA...though I should note that we were also taught that clarity is only one aspect of a fine consomme'. Richness of flavor, body and aroma are essential as well. A good consomme' is light but also intense; clean on the palate but full in taste. By the way, clear is not the same thing as pale. Consomme' can be a deep amber or golden brown.

A couple of observations and suggestions that have not been noted in the posts above. The clarification ingredients should really be of the best quality, chopped very fine or ground, and refrigerated before use. This is not a place for left over veggies that would otherwise go into the garbage. Remember it is the clarification ingredients that will give the consomme' its exceptionally full and rich taste -- without their flavor and aroma you will simple have clear stock. The stock should be very good to begin with but it is just a starting point. I make my stock without salt, pepper or strong seasonings inasmuch as stock is an ingredient in other preparations where specific seasonings will be used so I season my consomme' as it cooks though not too late in the process or it will simply taste salty rather than well-seasoned. Finely dicing or grinding the other clarification ingredients helps them release their flavors quickly and makes it easier for them to adhere to the raft. The albumen in the egg whites (and perhaps egg shells) used in the clarifying process doesn't impart flavor. In fact, I believe just as it draws impurities out it can actually withdraw flavor so be careful not to overdo the quantity of egg whites in relationship to the other ingredients. As you bring the liquid to a simmer, you need to be stirring constantly so that the egg whites don't congeal in lumps and the other ingredients don't stick to the pot. It's okay if the stock becomes cloudy at this point and you see white foam gathering. That's the beginnings of the raft. But once the raft begins to form, stop stirring immediately (and don't stir again!). Keep the heat up just high enough to bring a few bubbles (and impurities) to the surface. Any higher and the resulting movement will keep recycling the impurties back under the surface and might actually break the raft. At the same time, you want to make sure that the heat is not so low that bubbles aren't coming up. It's the bubbles that are lifting the impurties out of the soup and into the raft. I should also note that the raft can break if it becomes too dry, so one should baste it rather frequently, ladling up some liquid through the hole that naturally occurs (or you create) in the center of the raft. As others have noted above, I too generally ladle out the clear consomme' through that hole when the soup is done (you can tell by taste but another indication is that the raft will begin to sink -- it generally takes about an hour or so), strain through a coffee filter, and then blot with a paper towel. Another method not yet referenced is to turn off the heat and wait ten minutes, allowing the raft to sink and then ladling the consomme' out without disturbing the raft and then letting the liquid strain through a fine mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth or a coffee filter.

As for garnishing, here's where Manton gets to practice his brunoise...but one little tip is to have one of the soup spoons with which this consomme' will be eaten as part of your mise en place so that you can see exactly how the consomme' and garnish will look to the diner with each spoonful and to make sure your garnished vegetables/meat are of the perfect size and proportion.

When I was at Cyrus, we always had such a shitty time doing the oxtail consomme and making sure that it came out clearly. Then, I realized that we had stockpots with spigots on the bottom so you could drain them from the bottom. Use that kind of pot to make your consomme and you never have to worry about the raft breaking while you're ladling. It might not make sense to buy a pot just for this, but damn was it a useful piece of equipment to use.

No, you season the finished product.

I season very lightly when I start. I think it makes for a nicer stock.

I put in peppercorns but never salt. That's been drilled into me from books since the beginning of time, then reinforced at school. No salt until the end.

I know, but it makes no sense to me. I think salt helps things marry better (with no justification) so I add just a touch. Maybe it makes me feel like a rebel.