What is consommé?

Making consommé involves clarifying a flavourful, cloudy stock using a "raft" — a mixture of egg whites, lean ground meat, and mirepoix (carrots, celery, onions) — that traps impurities while simmering, leaving behind a crystal-clear, intensely flavoured broth.

https://youtube.com/shorts/BuGC451zyjA?si=eoQ6wlLcTQEg4AsG

💡 The two golden rules: Never boil (it clouds the stock), and never rush (the raft needs time to do its work).

The Two Stages

Consommé is a two-stage process:

1. Stock — extract all the flavour and collagen from the bones over several hours
2. Clarification — use the raft to strip out every particle and produce a crystal-clear liquid

Ingredients (serves 6)

For the stock:

• 3 chicken carcasses (roasted or raw)
• 3 litres cold water
• 1 onion, halved and charred
• 2 carrots, roughly chopped
• 3 celery stalks, roughly chopped
• 1 leek, roughly chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed