This may be made of all beef or all veal, but an equal quantity of each
is the best. Cut up two knuckles of veal and a leg of beef with the
bones, the whole being about sixteen pounds; rub a quarter of a pound of
butter over the bottom of a large stewpan, into which put the meat, with
one pound of lean ham, four onions, four turnips, two middling-sized
carrots, six cloves, one blade of mace, and a pint of water; set it over
a brisk fire, stirring it round occasionally until the bottom is
covered with a clear light glaze, then fill it up with four gallons of
light broth (No. 133), or water; when boiling place it at the corner of
the stove, skim it well, add a good bunch of parsley, three sprigs of
thyme, and two bay-leaves, a quarter of a pound of salt, two leeks, and
two heads of celery; let it simmer three hours, skim off all the fat,
then pass it through a cloth into a basin, give it the colour of light
brown sherry with some brown gravy (No. 135), if sufficiently clear,
which it will be if properly attended to. Some soups require to be
lighter and some browner than others, which is easily regulated by
adding more or less of the gravy. But by placing the stewpan over a slow
fire when the stock is drawn down to a glaze, and allowing it to remain
a short time, the glaze will become brownish, (but be careful not to let
it burn,) then fill it up and your consommé will be sufficiently
coloured.
_But should it require clarifying_, put it into a stewpan and when
boiling have the whites of eight eggs with their shells in another
stewpan, whisk them half a minute, then add a quart of cold stock, whisk
all well together, then whisk the boiling consommé and pour in the
whites of eggs; still continue whisking it over a clear fire until it
simmers and the eggs separate from the consommé, which will be then
quite clear; then pass it through a thin but very fine cloth into a
basin and it is ready for use. This is a new mode of clarifying and
cannot fail.
For the proportions for smaller quantities of consommé, to four pounds
of veal put a quarter of a pound of ham, one ounce of butter, two
onions, half a carrot, a turnip, half a leek, half a head of celery, a
sprig of parsley, one of thyme, a bay-leaf, three cloves, six
peppercorns, an ounce and a half of salt and four quarts of water; it
will require an hour and three quarters boiling. Or if you have to
prepare it from beef, veal, and the trimmings of other meats, and
require a larger quantity, take ten pounds of meat, to which add three
onions, half a pound of ham, a carrot, two turnips, a leek, head of
celery, two sprigs of parsley, thyme, and two bay-leaves, six cloves,
six peppercorns, two ounces and a half of salt, a blade of mace, and ten
quarts of water; it will require two hours and a half boiling; trimmings
of rabbit, poultry, or even game, may be added, but not too much game,
especially if at all high. You will here perceive that by increasing the
quantity of stock there is a diminution in the quantity of seasonings
and vegetables, for the larger quantity requiring a longer ebullition,
extracts more flavour from the spices and vegetables; a stock for
consommé by gently simmering will lose a pint and a half to every four
quarts; I must here also observe that by again filling up a stock with
cold water and boiling it the same time over again, you will have an
excellent second stock, a little of which may be added to the first, if
it should have suffered from over reduction, for vegetable soups are not
so palatable when made too strong; the second stock is also very useful
to fill up a first stock, whereby some of the meat otherwise required
can be saved, and if not required for that it may be converted into
glaze by mixing it with other stock and proceeding as directed (No.
132).