Consommé

Consommé is a traditional British recipe (adapted from a French original), based on Eliza Acton's recipe of 1845, for a classic clear soup base of fried beef, veal and ham with beef bones that are slowly stewed in water with vegetables, herbs and spices that can be served as a soup or a base for other dishes. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Consommé.

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

60 minutes

Total Time:

80 minutes

Serves:

Rating:

Tags : Spice Recipes Herb Recipes Pork Recipes Beef Recipes Vegetable Recipes British Recipes

This is a traditional British recipe redacted from Eliza Acton's 1845 volume Modern Cookery, the first classic Victorian cookbook.

Original Recipe

CLEAR, PALE GRAVY SOUP OR CONSOMMé

Rub a deep stew pan or soup-pot with butter, and lay into it three quarters of a pound of ham freed entirely from fat, skin,
and rust, four pounds of leg or neck of veal, an the same weight of lean beef, all cut into thick slices; set it over a clear and rather brisk fire, until the meat is of a fine amber-colour ; it must be often moved, and closely watched, that it may not stick to the pan, nor burn. When it is equally browned, lay the bones upon it, and
pour in gradually four quarts of boiling water. Take off the scum
carefully as it rises, and throw in a pint of cold water at intervals
to bring it quickly to the surface. When no more appears, add
two ounces of salt, two onions, two large carrots, two turnips, one head of celery, a fagot of savoury herbs, a dozen cloves, half a teaspoonful of whole white pepper, and two large blades of mace. Let the soup boil gently from five hours and a half to six hours and
a half; then strain it through a very clean fine cloth, laid in a
hair sieve. When it is perfectly cold, remove every particle of fat
from the top; and, in taking out the soup, leave the sediment untouched; heat in a clean pan the quantity for table, add salt
to it if needed, and a few drops of chili or of cayenne vinegar. Harvey's sauce, or very fine mushroom catsup, may be substituted for
these. When thus prepared the soup is ready to serve : it should be accompanied by pale sippets of fried bread, or sippets à la reine. (At
tables where English modes of service entirely prevailed, clear gravy-soup, until very recently, was always accompanied by dice or sippets as they are called, of delicately toasted bread. These are now
seldom seen, but some Italian paste, or nicely prepared vegetable, is served in the soup instead). Rice, macaroni in lengths or in rings, vermicelli, or nouilles, may in turn be used to vary it; but they must always be boiled apart, till tender, in broth or water, and well drained
before they are slipped into it. The addition of young vegetables,
too, and especially of asparagus, will convert it into superior spring-soup; but they, likewise, must be separately cooked.

Modern Redaction

Ingredients:

340g ham, all fat and skin trimmed and cut into thick slices
butter for greasing
1.35kg leg of veal or neck of veal, cut into thick slices
1.35kg lean beef, cut into thick slices
2kg beef bones, cut into 5cm lengths
4l boiling water
600ml cold water
60g salt
2 onions
2 large carrots
2 turnips
1 head of celery
1 bunch of savoury herbs, securely tied together
12 cloves
1/2 tsp white peppercorns
2 blades of mace
a few drops of chilli vinegar (or substitute Harvey's sauce or mushroom ketchup)
sippets à la Reine, to accompany

Method:

Grease a stewing pan with plenty of butter then add the ham, veal and beef slices. Heat gently, moving the pieces occasionally until the meat is nicely and evenly browned all over (take care that the meat does not burn, or this will darken the stock).

Arrange the bones on top of the meat then carefully pour over the boiling water. Bring the mixture to a boil, taking care to skim off all the scum as it rises to the surface. Once it has come to a boil, add a little of the cold water every now and then, as this will help solidify the scum.

Continue boiling until no more scum appears, then add the salt, onions, carrots, turnips, celery, savoury herbs, cloves, white peppercorns and mace. Reduce to a gentle rolling boil, cover the pan and continue cooking for between five and six hours. At this point, strain the stock through a fine-meshed sieve lined with a double layer of muslin into a bowl.

Set aside to cool, and when completely cold skim and blot every piece of fat from the surface of the stock. Now carefully take the soup stock and gently pour into a clean saucepan (if there is any sediment, be careful to leave this behind). Season to taste and add a few drops of chilli vinegar (or a tablespoon of Harvey's sauce or mushroom ketchup) to flavour.

Allow the soup to heat through and serve accompanied by sippets of fried Breads. If desired, cooked rice, macaroni, vermicelli, nouilles and any spring vegetables may be added to the soup to give it body. These should be cooked first and added to the soup as it is being warmed through.

Find more Eliza Acton Recipes Here and more Traditional Victorian Recipes Here.