Bones_ Recipes, History, and Lore - Jennifer McLagan [28]
6 cups (1.51) unsalted Pork Stock (page 58) Kosher salt
The reduced stock will become syrupy and turn a deep golden color.
Court Bouillon
I use this flavored liquid to cook hocks (page 80), pig’s feet (page 82), and tails (page 86). After you have cooked them, you will be left with a tasty liquid very high in gelatin—don’t throw it away. Strain the court bouillon through a sieve and refrigerate it overnight so that you can lift off the chilled fat and discard it. I often use this instead of stock in soups and sauces for pork. It adds a velvety texture to sauce because of the gelatin, but it can be salty, so season carefully. The bouillon can also be clarified like stock (see page 61) and then used as a savory aspic.
¼ cup (60 ml) white wine vinegar
2 carrots, diced 2 onions, diced
2 leeks, trimmed and sliced
2 celery stalks, sliced
5 flat-leaf parsley stems
3 bay leaves
2 thyme sprigs
10 black peppercorns
6 allspice berries
2 cloves
1. Place the vinegar, carrots, onions, leeks, celery, parsley, bay leaves, and thyme sprigs in a large Dutch oven or deep saucepan, depending on what you will be cooking in it. Add 8 cups (2 1) water and bring to a boil. Skim off any scum, then add the peppercorns, allspice berries, and cloves. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
2. The court bouillon is now ready to use.
Clarified Bouillon
I don’t like the idea of pork consommé. What I do is clarify court bouillon after cooking pig’s feet; they add enough natural gelatin to set the liquid. I get a kick out of making aspic without any commercial gelatin, but I admit that the use for aspic in most home kitchens today is pretty well nonexistent. If, however, the urge strikes you to make an egg set in jelly or coat a pâté with a layer of aspic, you’ll be ready.
6 cups (1.51) Court Bouillon, (page 60), used to cook pig’s feet (page 82)
1 small leek, trimmed and diced
1 small carrot, peeled and diced
3 flat-leaf parsley stems
2 egg whites
Kosher salt
1. Place the bouillon in a large saucepan and heat it just until it liquefies. Remove the saucepan from the heat.
2. Place the leek, carrot, and parsley in a food processor and process until finely chopped. Add the egg whites and 2 tablespoons water and blend until well mixed. Stir this mixture into the bouillon and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly with a spatula or wooden spoon and scraping the bottom of the pan to prevent the egg white from sticking. As the liquid approaches the boil, it will appear to curdle; don’t panic, this is what you want. As soon as the stock begins to boil, stop stirring, and remove the saucepan from the heat. The whites will form a congealed mass on the surface, which will puff up and then crack as the steam escapes.
3. Reduce the heat to very low and return the saucepan to the heat, making a larger hole in the egg white mass with the spoon to allow the steam to escape. Simmer very gently—you want to see the small bubbles of steam break through the hole in the egg white mass—for 45 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let it stand for 5 minutes.
4. Line a sieve with a double thickness of damp cheesecloth or a dampened thin cotton tea towel, and place over a bowl. Using a skimmer or large slotted spoon, carefully lift off as much of the egg white mass as you can and set aside in another bowl. Ladle the clarified liquid into the sieve and allow it to drip slowly through the cloth. As you get closer to the bottom of the saucepan, you might notice that the clear liquid is being muddied by bits of egg white. Don’t worry, just add this to the sieve. Check the bowl with the egg white debris and pour any liquid that has escaped from it into the sieve. Allow all the liquid to drip slowly through the sieve; don’t be tempted to press on the egg whites, as that would cloud the liquid. You will have about 5 cups (1.25 l) clear bouillon in the bowl and a mess of congealed egg white to discard. Season the