I think the last time I made consommé was in college. So this past weekend was the perfect opportunity to refresh my memory and make up a new recipe to post. This recipe is a little more technical but a great tool to add to your collection if you are a veteran cook who wants a refresher, or an at home cook who would just like to learn. The two recipes we’ll be going over is the duck consommé and the gin salt cure.
Duck Consommé Yields: 1 1/2 Qts

• 2 lb Duck Bones
• 8 Qt. Cold Water
• 4 Carrots (peeled)
• 3 Celery stalks
• 1 Large Onion (whole)
• 4 Sprigs Rosemary
• 4 Sprigs Thyme
• 3 Egg Whites
• 1 Duck Breast
• Salt

To start we’ll need to make duck stock. Place the bones in a large stock pot and add 8 qt of COLD water (this will help us get a clearer stock). Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Skim and remove any fat or foam that floats to the top with a ladle. Simmer the bones for about 3 hours, add in your vegetables and herbs and continue to simmer for an additional hour. Remove from heat and cover top with plastic wrap, this will trap in all that steam and flavor. When the plastic wraps dome collapses the stock is ready to strain. Carefully strain stock through fine mesh strainer, REMOVE AND SAVE THE VEGETABLES, season with salt and set in ice bath to quickly reduce the temperature. Store in fridge overnight.

The next day the fat will have settled on top of the stock. Use a spoon and carefully remove the fat from the top and throw away. Now that we have our stock we can make our consommé. A consommé is a rich reduced stock that has been clarified with egg whites. We will use the egg “raft” to remove the fine particles, clear up the stock, and add a final push of flavor. To make the raft we will be using the leftover vegetables from the stock, egg whites, and the duck breast. Take the vegetables and cut them into a small dice, take the duck breast, remove the skin (SAVE!) and small dice the breast. In a bowl whisk your egg whites til foamy, add in the diced vegetables, duck, and mix by hand until well mixed.

Place the cold stock in a large pot and stir in the duck and egg mix. Turn on heat and bring to a light simmer. You will notice that the raft of egg whites has formed and floated to the top. Continue to simmer on low just enough to see small bubbles for an hour and a half. During this time the stock will continue to reduce and add all that extra flavor from the meat and vegetables, the egg whites will also pull all of the impurities out of the stock making it crystal clear. Remove the consommé by carefully pushing the raft down with a ladle, remove the liquid without disrupting the raft. Use the ladle and scoop the stock out until all is removed, throw the raft away.

Finally we will check the consommé to make sure it is seasoned properly, add a little more salt if needed. Then strain the consommé one final time through a coffee filter to remove the last of the impurities. And that’s it! You’ve made consommé! You can use this technique on any stock so try it out on others like chicken, beef, or vegetable stock!

Gin Salt Cure: Yields: 3/4 C

• 1/2 C Salt
• 1/4 C Sugar
• 1 Tbsp Black Peppercorns
• 2 Sprigs Thyme
• 2 Sprigs Rosemary
• 2 Tbsp MALFY GIN CON LIMONE
• Duck Breast Skin ( Yup! The one we saved)

To make the cure mix together the salt, sugar, peppercorns, rosemary, thyme, and MALFY gin. Trim the duck legs and set in a container. Place salt cure on skin side and pat down. Set the duck in the fridge and let cure for 4 hours. Take the duck skin and set in a pan on low heat to render the fat, we are going to save the fat and use it to sous vide the legs. Remove duck leg and rinse off the salt cure with cold water. Pat dry and place in a vacuum seal bag with 1 Tbsp of the rendered fat.

Vac seal the bags and place in a water bath at 76ºC (168ºF) for 12 hours. If saving for later place in an ice bath and store in fridge until ready for use. To serve place pan on range and turn on medium high. When hot add 1 tbsp of oil to pan and sear skin side down, you can press it a little to get an even crispy skin. Sear until golden brown and heated up. Serve with consommé, some vegetables and enjoy! If you don’t want to sous vide you don’t have to either! After removing from cure and rinsing just pat dry and sear in a pan to order!