Ranging from broths to consommé, the culinary industry has a wide range of ingredients to bring out the right flavor. Similarly, beef consommé is used for bringing rich and strong flavor to the recipes. It has a clear appearance which is an important part of French cuisines. However, if you don’t have beef consommé, we have outlined the beef consommé substitute in this article!
Beef Consommé – What Is It?
Beef consommé is the rich broth which is an important part of French cuisine. It is made of roasted bones, which delivers the thickness and flavor to the consommé. Majorly, beef consommé is the broth with much better thickness and richness. For this purpose, minced meat and egg whites are used to turn the broth into consommé.
The beef consommé has much fewer impurities and a higher flavor profile. Beef consommé is extremely easy to make, but it demands practice and patience. There are various recipes for making beef consommé, but all of them will include ground or minced beef, egg white, vegetables, and seasonings according to the taste. Now that we are clear about what beef consommé is, let’s check out the substitutes of beef consommé!
Beef Consommé Substitute
1) Beef Stock
Beef stock is the best replacement for beef consommé when you run out of it. The beef stock is that you can purchase from the supermarket and is available in the packet form. However, we want to say that beef stock made at home will have better flavor and richer taste. For making beef stock, one has to roast around two pounds of beef bones for at least thirty minutes.
After roasting the beef bones, the users need to add carrots, onions, celery, and herbs along with water. The bones must be simmered for around eight to ten hours as it ensures that beef stock has a gelatinous texture and rich flavor.
2) Beef Broth
Generally, beef stock and beef broth are considered to be the same things. However, it’s not the right approach because the beef broth is a different recipe. That being said, beef broth is the perfect replacement for beef consommé. The prime difference between beef stock and beef broth is that beef broth has much lesser cooking time.
The beef broth will have a meaty flavor, but the intensity might be lesser. It’s better that you simmer the broth for up to thirty minutes at the low heat temperature. That being said, beef broth’s flavor comes out by simmering the bones, meat, and vegetables. Generally, vegetables are only added to enhance the flavor (the original beef broth recipe doesn’t have veggies).
As far as the vegetables are concerned, beef broth uses carrots, onions, and celery. However, people also add peppers and parsley. All in all, the beef broth is available in canned and packet form, but the aroma will be much better if you make it at home. The beef broth can be used for every recipe that demands beef consommé and is incredibly easy to make.
3) Mushroom Consommé
In case you cannot manage beef stock or beef broth, mushroom consommé is the right choice. This is because the mushrooms have the similar umami as it does with meat. This is actually a great alternative for people who want a plant-based or vegetarian substitute.
The best thing about mushroom consommé is that it’s incredibly easy to make (you can make it at home). Lastly, the mushroom consommé is made with a combination of porcini mushrooms and fresh white mushrooms since they improve the flavor.
4) Vegetable Broth
This substitute is for vegetarians, and it’s widely used as the substitute for beef consommé by vegetarians. The vegetable broth will add a promising flavor. Similarly, vegetable broth can replace beef consommé in the majority of cases. The vegetable broth can be made by adding onions, carrots, garlic, and mushroom.
On the contrary, the users can also make vegetable broth by adding several seasonings, such as rosemary, thyme, and bay leaves. Some people also pepper to enhance the taste. The vegetable broth is made the same way beef broth is made (without meat, of course). All in all, it goes perfectly with casseroles, sauces, and soups.
5) Bouillon Cubes
Don’t worry, it’s nothing fancy because you might know bouillon cube as broth cube or stock cube. However, the bouillon cubes aren’t suitable for vegetarians because it has fats and meat stock, along with seasonings, vegetables, and salt. On the contrary, vegetarian options are available with bouillon cubes as well.
The bouillon is made into small cubes, which makes it suitable for soups, stews, sauces, gravies, and casseroles. The bouillon cubes are readily available in the supermarkets (the seasonings aisle, to be exact). It’s important to outline that organic shops will have a wider variety of bouillon cubes. For using it as a replacement, it’s best to dissolve the cube in water and add it to the recipe.
6) Mushroom Broth
If you cannot find beef consommé, you can opt for mushroom broth. Truth be told, the mushroom broth is an easy alternative. The mushroom broth is made by adding mushroom, fried onions, carrot, parsley sprig, thyme, bay leaf, salt, peppercorns, and water. This combination is simmered and boiled to make mushroom broth.
The users can use the button mushrooms or assorted mushrooms. All in all, when the vegetables soften up, the broth will be ready, so you can replace beef consommé. It’s best to prepare the broth for at least an hour so the flavor is improved. In addition, we suggest that you add soy sauce, red wine, or miso paste to bring out the flavor.
7) Liquid Aminos
If you are a vegetarian who is still trying to find a substitute for beef consommé, liquid aminos is the right choice. The liquid aminos will deliver the umami flavor to the recipes and dishes. Generally, people add liquid aminos to mushroom broth or vegetable broth for delivering the right flavor. However, it can be added individually and goes fine with casseroles, stews, and sauces.
There are multiple health benefits of liquid aminos since it has the higher amino acid count. As far as the availability is concerned, it might be a bit difficult to find, but you should check the organic shops for this purpose.