French Onion Soup
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Making Consommé from Ground Beef Broth
When you make consommé from ground beef, you need to clarify it. This means that you remove all the cloudiness to get a nice, clear consommé. This is done by making something called a "raft" which is a combination of egg white, ground meat, and finely chopped vegetables. The egg white sets, holding the other ingredients together. Something acidic like tomatoes, lemon, vinegar, or white wine is also important, to keep the raft in one piece.
You will need to make a two or three inch slit in the raft, unless it develops one naturally, and all the sediment and particles from the broth will rise up and stick to it, leaving the consommé clear, which is just what you want for making your French onion soup recipe.soup.
This ground beef broth consommé is flavored with cilantro, star anise, and cinnamon for a spicy and unusual, yet very subtle, flavor. You can use any leftovers of this ground beef broth consommé to make Asian dishes. Consommé is called for in a lot of onion soup recipes and homemade consommé is so much tastier than anything store bought.
Spiced Ground Beef Broth Consommé
Ingredients -
1 carrot, chopped
1 onion, quartered
1 rib celery, chopped
3 egg whites
˝ lb lean ground beef
1 teaspoon salt
Water
1 tomato, peeled, deseeded and diced
1 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
ź cup cilantro
3 lbs beef bones
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and put the beef bones, onion, carrot, and celery on a baking sheet. Roast for 45 minutes.
Put the beef, onion, carrot, and celery in a stockpot with the cinnamon, cilantro, salt, star anise, and enough water to cover it. Simmer this mixture for 4 hours, and then strain it through a sieve into a bowl.
Keep the vegetables but discard everything else.
Cover the broth in plastic wrap and chill it in the refrigerator, so the fat congeals on top.
Lift off the hardened lump of fat with tongs.
Chop the vegetables and mix them with the tomato, egg whites ground beef.
Put this mixture in the stockpot and pour the reserved broth over the top.
Whisk the mixture and bring it to a simmer, stirring now and then.
Let it cook for about an hour.
The particles will rise up and cling to the ground beef mixture and a thick foamy layer will form on top as the broth clarifies underneath.
When the consommé is clear, tip the pot to shift the foam to one side and ladle the consommé through a sieve into a bowl.
(Makes Approx 10 Cups)
How to Add Flavor to Beef Broth
If you are making beef broth as the base for another recipe, like French onion soup, you have a choice about what to add to the recipe. Depending on the flavors you like, you can make a traditional style beef broth with garlic and a bay leaf or two, or perhaps you want to make a slightly spiced broth with cinnamon, star anise, and cilantro. The caramelized onions in the French onion soup will give the broth plenty of flavor, as will the other ingredients in the French onion soup recipe.
Alternatives to Beef Broth
Maybe you do not like the flavor of beef or perhaps you fancy a change. Veal broth is a popular alternative to beef broth and it is also good for recipes like onion soup. Beef broth is a lot more intense than veal broth, which has a lighter flavor. Chicken broth is another option for use in your French onion soup recipe and, if you like the taste of chicken and a lighter tasting soup, this might be a good one to choose. Vegetable broth is the only option for vegetarians and fish broth would be rather unusual with an onion soup recipe but the flavors would not clash.
What is Star Anise?
Some French onion soup recipes, such as spiced ground beef broth consommé, feature unusual flavorings like star anise. Star anise is the seedpod of an evergreen tree found in Japan and China. It is star shaped and tastes like liquorice. Star anise is a member of the magnolia family. It is a digestive aid and is sometimes used to treat colic in babies. An extract from star anise is also used to make influenza medicines. Star anise is usually used whole in recipes like beef broth, then discarded before serving. You can get star anise from Asian supermarkets and it keeps for several months if you store it in an airtight jar, in a dark, cool place. Star anise gives a rich, smoky flavor to French onion soup recipes.