Memo, About Soups

This is the classic raft method for turning a cloudy stock into consomm text, compressed into three sentences. The technique is unchanged; only the detail needs filling in.

• The hinge: never let it boilA rolling boil breaks up the coagulated raft and drives the trapped particles back into the liquid, leaving the soup cloudier than when you started. Hold it at a bare shiver, around 185 text190F, where a few lazy bubbles rise at the edge.
• Start cold and degreasedModern practice is to add the egg white when the stock is cold or barely warm, so the protein disperses before it sets; note that Lady Clark's memo does the opposite, putting the soup on to simmer before the whites go in. Either way, lift off the solid fat first: fat clings to the raft and muddies the strain.
• "A handful of chopped raw beef"Two whites suggests a pot of roughly two quarts, though the memo does not say; on that assumption, 4 to 6 oz of very lean beef, shin or skirt, chopped or coarsely minced, is about right. Lean is the point: the meat contributes albumin and flavour, and any fat works against the clarification.
• Stir, then stopStir only until the mixture is evenly distributed and the liquid begins to cloud and thicken. Once the raft starts to form and rise, leave it alone text further stirring tears it apart.
• Ten minutes is optimisticAllow 20 to 30 minutes at a simmer for a full-sized pot. The soup is ready when the raft is set and grey and the liquid visible at the edge runs clear.
• Why uncoveredA lid returns condensation to the surface and encourages the liquid to climb into a boil unnoticed. Open, you can watch the temperature by eye.
• StrainingLadle carefully through a sieve lined with two layers of damp muslin or a coffee filter, taking the liquid from beneath the raft rather than pouring the pot out. Do not press the solids.
• Season afterwardsSalt before clarifying and the reduction will leave it sharp. Cool the strained consomm text, lift any remaining fat from the surface, then adjust.