STOCKS AND CONSOMMÉS
A similar stock can be made with cooked bones,
the carcasses and giblets, etc., of poultry and game,
to which the well-scraped rind of a few slices of
bacon may be added, and this, if clarified, is by no
means to be despised as a homely form of clear soup,
though of course it lacks the delicacy of the true
consommé.
For this homelier form of clear soup you will
require 6lb. to 8lb. of beef and veal bones for
three quarts of water. Of the used bones take a
somewhat larger proportion for the same quantity
of liquid.
After making either of the consommés described
above, some very decent second stock can be made
by putting into a pan the bones already used,
together with the meat used in clarifying it (see that
this has been well rinsed from any egg shell, etc.),
together with some fresh vegetables, herbs, etc., and
repeating the above process. It is worth the thrifty
housewife's while to remember that mutton bones,
especially the shank bones, etc., will make a very fair
and colourless stock, which may serve as a basis for
white stock, as it has but little flavour of its own,
and readily assimilates that of the poultry or game
used to flavour it, or “perfume” it, as the French
chefs say. Of course, for the best white stock equal
quantities of veal and chicken, or rabbit bones or
carcases, should be used, say 3lb. or 4lb. of each,
together with the vegetables, the whole naturally
not being previously fried. Game soup would be
made in the same manner, the meat used in clarify
ing being raw chicken or rabbit and raw game
respectively. An economical form of either may be
made by taking 3lb. or 4lb. of poultry or game
bones, either roast or raw, and breaking these up;
proceed precisely as before, but instead of using
water use second stock, either of veal or mutton if
white stock is desired, or of beef and veal if brown
game soup is wanted. In the latter case the bones,
vegetables, etc., should be lightly fried first to
deepen the colour, which for game should of course
be a rich, dark brown. For this latter soup mush
rooms are a great addition to the flavour. This
will explain the various methods of making meat
stock.
Fish stock is made practically in the same way.
For every quart of water allow a full pound of fish
and fish trimmings, such as the heads, tails, bones,
etc., of any firm-fleshed white fish, such as cod,
haddock, halibut, etc.; to these may be added the
shells, etc., of lobsters, the heads and tails of
shrimps, prawns, etc., together with a carrot and one
or two onions sliced, a dessert spoonful of lemon
juice (this must, of course, vary to taste), and a good
bouquet. For this take a bunch of parsley, and on
this lay a strip of the yellow peel of a lemon, two
cloves, a bay leaf, a spray of thyme, two or three
young spring onions, and, if liked, a small blade of
mace. Turn the parsley down over this, and tie it
up firmly with a little cotton. Put a few pepper
corns to the rest, then cover it with water, just as
for any other consommé; bring it all just to the
boil, skim well till no more scum rises, then draw it
to the side of the stove, and let it all simmer
together steadily for one to one and a half hours.
This stock must be allowed to cool, be freed from
fat, and finally be clarified with egg whites and
shells and raw fish, precisely like meat stock. This
gives a clear and colourless stock. If you wish for
a brown fish stock, you must fry the bones, herbs,
vegetables, etc., in a little oil or butter for twelve to
fifteen minutes, being careful to dry the fish trim
mings well before putting them in to fry. The
original stock, unclarified, forms an excellent basis
for all fish soups, or bisques, as the purées of shell
fish are called. Only firm-fleshed white fish can be
used as a basis for fish stock; such fish as salmon,
mackerel, herring, etc., would make it unusably rich
and oily.
For vegetable stock allow a full pound of mixed
vegetables to the quart of liquid; take carrots,
turnips, leeks, onions, and celery, putting into the
pan 6oz. of carrots to 4oz. of turnips, 2½oz. each of
leeks and onions, and 1oz. of celery; mince down all
the vegetables, and fry the onions and leeks in a
little butter till slightly coloured, then lay in the
rest of the vegetables, a dust of sugar, a pinch of
salt, and a little pepper; fry these all for a few
minutes, then moisten them all with two or three
spoonfuls of water, cover down the pan and let it
all fry together till the contents are nicely browned at
the bottom of the pan, then put in the water and
finish off as before. If a teaspoonful of brown
sugar be fried with the rest of the ingredients, it
enhances the colour and the flavour to all, save the
more delicate palate of the gourmet.
have not become a mash, and then strain off. This
stock may be clarified just like the others.
Another form of vegetable stock is made thus:
Take 10oz. of dried peas, 3oz. carrots, 2½oz. onions,
½oz. celery or celery seed, and a nice bunch of herbs
for each quart of water; season to taste, and fry or
not, according to the colour you wish your soup to
be, and finish off precisely as before. This is not as
delicate as the first one, which makes a really first
rate vegetable consommé. The water in which
vegetables have been boiled, beans especially, forms
an excellent vegetable second stock, always granting
that no soda has been allowed to cook with them.
Before concluding this chapter on stocks, one may
as well make the following observations. In houses
where soup is liked, all meat trimmings, bones,
carcases, giblets, etc., of poultry and game, strip
pings of vegetables, etc., all liquid in which meat or
vegetables have been cooked (or, indeed, fish when
fish stock is in question), always premising that no
soda has been used in boiling the vegetables, must
be carefully saved. All these, properly trimmed and
rinsed, come in handy for the stock pot, and
economise in the matter of stock meat—frequently
a cause of disagreement between mistress and maid.
At the same time the cook must understand that
her stock pot, if she have one, or the saucepan which
does duty in that capacity, is not a kind of culinary
dustbin, into which any waste substances can be
promiscuously shot. It is to inattention to this
rule that the stock pot has frequently received con
tumely. No fat, no bread or toast, neither cabbage