Beef Consommé Brunoise
Consommé makes a great evening meal on a cool, winter's night. This consommé is made using beef, creating a delicious clear broth with rich flavour.
Servings: 6
Ingredients
For the clarification
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 0.75 cup onions
- 1 small carrot
- 1 branch of celery
- 1 green part of leeks
- 3 egg whites
- 1 cup canned tomatoes
- 8 cups white beef stock or "marmite" cold
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 10 black peppercorns
- 1 bunch parsley stalks
- 6 inches square cheesecloth
Brunoise garnish
- 3 oz carrots peeled and cut into Brunoise
- 3 oz turnips peeled and cut into Brunoise
- 3 oz celery branch washed and cut into Brunoise
- 1.5 oz peas blanched
- 3 oz green beans blanched and sliced thin
Instructions
Prepare the clarification:
- Put the thyme, bay leaves, peppercorn, and parsley together in the cheesecloth to make a spice bag. Peel, wash, and chop or grind the vegetables. Thoroughly mix the beef, eggs whites, vegetables, and tomatoes with half of the cold stock in a thick-bottomed pot. Add the remainder of the cold stock, and the spice bag.
Cook the beef consommé:
- Place the pot over a gentle heat and slowly bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Boil rapidly for about 5 seconds only. Lower the heat so that the consommé simmers very gently. Cook for 1 hour without stirring. Do not break the raft.
Rest the clarification:
- Turn the heat off and let rest for 30 minutes before straining. The consommé will be clearer.
Strain the consommé:
- Strain carefully through double cheesecloth. Remove all the fat using both sides of a square piece of paper towel.
Serve the consommé:
- Bring to a boil and serve with vegetable Brunoise.
Notes
Chef Eric hints and tips: To clarify the stock, egg whites are stirred in along with a mixture of lean meat, fish or vegetables, and aromatic herbs to enrich its flavor. The mixture is brought slowly to a boil and should be stirred constantly during this time to keep the whites from sticking and burning at the bottom of the pan. Simmer. Once the mixture has come to a boil, the egg whites solidify into a soft crust on top of the stock. At this point, the mixture must not be stirred at all, as stirring would make it cloudy. Any fats and solid impurities in the stock attach themselves to the egg whites as the stock filters through, and the stock below is left beautifully transparent.
