Clear, Pale Gravy Soup or Consommé

Modern cookery for private families · Acton, Eliza · 1845

Source: Modern cookery for private families
Status: success · extracted 13 days ago
Not a recipe: No

Ingredients (28)

Soup Base

three quarters of a pound of ham freed entirely from fat, skin, and rust ↝ Ham [Cold cuts and cured meats]
four pounds of leg or neck of veal ↝ Frog legs, raw [Finfish and Shellfish Products]
the same weight of lean beef ↝ Beef, ground, 93% lean meat / 7% fat, raw [Beef Products]
the bones ↝ Pork, bones [Pork]
four quarts of boiling water ↝ Water, tap [Tap water]
a pint of cold water ↝ Water, tap [Tap water]
two ounces of salt ↝ Salt, table, iodized [Spices and Herbs]
two onions ↝ Onions, raw [Vegetables and Vegetable Products]
two large carrots ↝ Carrots, raw [Vegetables and Vegetable Products]
two turnips ↝ Turnips, raw [Vegetables and Vegetable Products]
one head of celery ↝ Celery, raw [Vegetables and Vegetable Products]
a faggot of savoury herbs
a dozen cloves ↝ Garlic, raw [Vegetables and Vegetable Products]
half a teaspoonful of whole white pepper ↝ Spices, pepper, white [Spices and Herbs]
two large blades of mace ↝ Spices, mace, ground [Spices and Herbs]

Seasoning for Serving

salt to it if needed ↝ Salt, table, iodized [Spices and Herbs]
a few drops of chili or of cayenne vinegar

Optional Additions for Serving

pale sippets of fried bread ↝ Bread, dough, fried [Yeast breads]
sippets à la reine
dice, or sippets as they are called, of delicately toasted bread ↝ Bread, vegetable [Yeast breads]
some Italian paste
nicely prepared vegetable ↝ Raw vegetable, NFS [Other vegetables and combinations]
Rice ↝ Rice, cooked, NFS [Rice]
macaroni in lengths or in rings ↝ Pasta, dry, unenriched [Cereal Grains and Pasta]
vermicelli ↝ Vermicelli, made from soy [Legumes and Legume Products]
nouilles
young vegetables ↝ Raw vegetable, NFS [Other vegetables and combinations]
asparagus ↝ Asparagus, raw [Vegetables and Vegetable Products]

Instructions (19)

Rub a deep stewpan or soup-pot with butter.
Lay into it the ham, veal, and beef, all cut into thick slices.
Set it over a clear and rather brisk fire, until the meat is of a fine amber-colour.
Move the meat often, and watch closely, that it may not stick to the pan, nor burn.
When it is equally browned, lay the bones upon it.
Pour in gradually four quarts of boiling water.
Take off the scum carefully as it rises.
Throw in a pint of cold water at intervals to bring it quickly to the surface.
When no more scum appears, add the salt, onions, carrots, turnips, celery, savoury herbs, cloves, white pepper, and mace.
Let the soup boil gently from five hours and a half to six hours and a half.
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.
In taking out the soup, leave the sediment untouched.
Heat in a clean pan the quantity required for table.
Add salt to it if needed, and a few drops of chili or of cayenne vinegar.
Serve the soup.
Accompany with pale sippets of fried bread, or sippets à la reine.
If using Italian paste, nicely prepared vegetable, rice, macaroni, vermicelli, or nouilles, boil them apart until tender in broth or water, drain well, and then slip them into the soup.
If adding young vegetables, especially asparagus, cook them separately and add to the soup to convert it into superior spring-soup.

Original Text

CLEAR, PALE GRAVY SOUP OR CONSOMMÉ.

Rub a deep stewpan 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, and 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 faggot 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 required 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.

Notes

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