Bones_ Recipes, History, and Lore - Jennifer McLagan [63]
Concentrated Poultry Stock
If your freezer space is tight, reduce your stock following the method for Concentrated Brown Stock (page 14).
6 cups (1.51) unsalted Poultry Stock (page 130)
Kosher salt
The reduced stock will become syrupy and turn the color of tea.
Poultry Consommé
Poultry consommé is perfect without any additions, but if you wish to dress up this golden broth, there are several suggestions at the end of the recipe. Using this recipe, you can also make duck or a game bird consommé, which will be richer and darker. Make these consommés from Brown Poultry Stock (page 131). Poultry consommé is equally good served cold. When chilled it forms a light jelly, which is refreshing on a hot summer night.
6 cups (1.51) Poultry Stock (page 130)
1 small leek, trimmed and chopped
1 small carrot, chopped
3 flat-leaf parsley stems
6 ounces (175 g) diced or ground poultry meat
2 egg whites Kosher salt
1. Place the cold stock 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 meat, egg whites, and 2 tablespoons water and blend again until well mixed. Stir this mixture into the stock and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly with a spatula or wooden spoon, scraping the bottom of the saucepan to prevent the egg white from sticking. As the liquid approaches a boil, it will appear to curdle; don’t panic, that is what you want. As soon as it begins to boil, stop stirring, and remove the saucepan from the heat. The whites will form a congealed mass, 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 a spoon to allow the steam to escape. Simmer very gently—you want to see small bubbles of steam break the egg white mass—for 45 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let stand for 5 minutes.
4. Line a sieve with a double thickness of damp cheesecloth or a dampened thin cotton tea towel and place it 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 consommé 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 consommé is being muddied by bits of egg white. Don’t worry, just add it 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 consommé.
5. You will have about 5 cups (1.251) clear consommé in the bowl and a mess of congealed egg white to discard. Season the consommé with about ¼ teaspoon salt. Serve hot or allow it to cool, then chill and serve cold. If you serve the consommé cold, you will probably need to boost the seasoning, as cold dulls the flavor.
Consommé Garnishes
ο Finely shredded savory crepes, chopped herbs, or finely diced cooked chicken
ο Finely blanched and diced vegetables
ο Wonton wrappers filled with chicken liver puree (page 209)
Roasted Bird Broth
This recipe is an excellent way to use that leftover turkey carcass that lurks menacingly in the back of your post-Thanksgiving refrigerator. You can, of course, use the carcass of any leftover roasted bird, but if it is chicken, use a couple or halve the recipe. You can combine the carcasses of different birds, but use only cooked poultry bones—don’t mix fresh and cooked bones.
The result will be a light basic stock that can be used for Post-Thanksgiving Soup (page 136) or in any sauce or dish containing turkey or