Consommé Clarification (Lean Meat to Stock)

200g per litre

Lean ground meat (same species as stock) — Beef shin for beef consommé, ground chicken breast for white consommé, ground veal for fond de veau; lean is essential — fat inhibits raft formation

1 large white (about 30g) per litre

Egg whites — Provide additional albumin protein; can be increased to 2 whites per litre for stock that is very cloudy

80g per litre

Mirepoix brunoised fine — Onion, carrot, celery in classic 2:1:1 ratio; tomato (40g per litre) adds acid and red colour that aids clarification

30–40ml per litre

Acid (tomato, wine, or lemon juice) — Accelerates protein denaturation and raft cohesion; crushed tomato is classical and contributes flavour simultaneously

1 litre

Cold defatted stock — Stock must be cold (below 10 °C) when clearmeat is mixed in, or raft forms prematurely and fails

Combine ground meat, egg whites, finely diced mirepoix, and acid in a mixing bowl. Add a ladleful of the cold stock to loosen, then stir the mixture into the full volume of cold stock in a heavy-bottomed pot. Place over medium heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom to prevent scorching, until the mixture reaches approximately 55–60 °C. Stop stirring at this point — the proteins begin to coagulate and must not be disturbed. The raft will rise to the surface and crack naturally. Reduce to the lowest possible simmer and cook without stirring for 45–60 minutes. The liquid beneath the raft should clear progressively. Ladle the finished consommé through the hole in the raft into a fine sieve lined with wet cheesecloth. Do not press or disturb the raft. Season after clarification; never salt before, as salt delays coagulation.

• Temperature discipline during the early heating phase is everything: keep stirring constantly until 55 °C, then stop completely. Stirring after the raft begins to form will break it into fragments that fall and cloud the stock.
• Stock must be cold when the clearmeat is added; protein begins to denature above 40 °C, so a warm stock will cause premature, uneven coagulation before a cohesive raft can form.
• A natural hole or crack will appear in the centre of the raft — this is the ladle point. Never insert a ladle through the raft's body to extract consommé; always work through this opening.
• Season consommé after clarification, not before: salt depresses the coagulation temperature of egg albumin, weakening the raft.
• A small amount of meat in the clearmeat that is the same type as the stock is essential for flavour depth — the clarification step simultaneously enriches the liquid, not merely filters it.

• Double consommé

  Use finished consommé in place of water to make a secondary stock, then clarify again; intensity doubles; used for aspic and classical banquet service

• White consommé (consommé blanc)

  Ground chicken breast + egg whites + leek + celery, no tomato; stock must be pale veal or light chicken to maintain ivory clarity

• Game consommé

  Ground pheasant or venison clearmeat with juniper, thyme, and port in the acid component; classical autumn French tasting-menu opener

• Egg white clarification (cheat method)

  3 egg whites per litre beaten into cold stock, heat to simmer, skim once raft forms; clarifies partially but cannot equal full clearmeat raft in depth of flavour extraction

• Vegetable consommé

  Ground mushroom stems + egg whites + roasted tomato replace meat; requires 1.5× more egg whites (3 per litre) to compensate for lower albumin content

• Classic French stock (fond) ratio

  Consommé begins with a well-made fond; the quality of the underlying stock determines the ceiling of the consommé

• Aspic gelatin ratio

  Consommé clarified from a collagen-rich stock (4–6g gelatin per 100ml) sets to firm aspic without added gelatin; weaker stocks need 2–4g sheet gelatin per litre

• Cantonese clear broth ratio

  The Cantonese clarity-through-temperature approach and the French clearmeat method represent the two major global strategies for achieving brilliantly clear stock

1. 1.Le Guide Culinaire — Auguste Escoffier
2. 2.On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen — Harold McGee
3. 3.The Professional Chef, 9th edition — The Culinary Institute of America
4. 4.Larousse Gastronomique — Prosper Montagné (ed.)

Confidence: high