Preparing the meaty recipes demands some practice, and you have to use various ingredients. Even more, if you are fond of cooking, you can also create your own recipes, but some people just like to follow the recipes. Two such recipes are beef stock vs. beef consommé – these two are pretty complicated and confusing recipes, and we are sharing more information with this article!
Beef Stock vs Beef Consomme
Beef Stock
Beef stock is the liquid made by simmering bones, meat, herbs, and seasonings for up to two hours. However, the traditional recipes only use bones and meat, but additional ingredients can be added to improve the flavor. The preparation is pretty simple because you only have to combine all the ingredients, add water, and let everything boil on its own. When it comes down to the herbs and seasonings, they completely depend on your taste preferences, and you can even delete these additional ingredients if you want.
When preparing beef stock, only some specific vegetables can be used, such as carrots, onions, celery, and parsley. This is because these vegetables complement the meaty flavors and improve the nutritional profile. Moreover, beef stock is available in canned form and is made from different ingredients, with vegetables, and without vegetables, to match your requirements. The best thing about beef stock is that canned beef stock is convenient to use. However, we do want to add that homemade beef stock will have a more delicious aroma and be loaded with flavors.
Beef stock can be used in various ways, depending on your preference. Generally, it is used to make beef stews because they are packed with flavors. In addition, it can be used as a base for the grain recipes, such as pilaf and risotto. What we love about beef stock is that it can be added to gravies and sauces to improve the flavor as it complements other flavors pretty well. In addition to adding beef stock to other recipes, you can also drink beef stock on its own to fight flu, cough, and cold. We suggest that you make the beef stock an important part of your diet because it’s good for development and growth.
Beef Consommé
Beef consommé has been around since medieval Europe, and it was termed as a cooking technique rather than a recipe. However, over years, it has become a rather fancy dish that’s only consumed by the elite people. Beef consommé is used in the culinary world for purified broth. To illustrate, it is a clear liquid in amber color which is made by simmering the cloudy stock. With multiple purification cycles, it retains the flavor but takes out the leftover particles and fats. Beef consommé has a thick and rich texture.
On top of everything, beef consommé is made from the broth that has minced meat and egg whites to add a unique flavor. To illustrate, beef consommé is a beef broth that’s been filtered, has fewer impurities, and has more flavor. As far as making beef consommé is concerned, it can be challenging if you are making it for the first time because many people don’t like egg whites that are added to the broth. However, with a bit of patient and practice, you will be able to make perfect beef consommé. That’s because you might need time to clarify the broth multiple times, but it’s worth it.
Beef consommé is made with a combination of ground beef or minced beef, egg whites, vegetables, and seasonings. Some people also add carrots, minced onions, and tomatoes to improve the flavor (or make it different from beef stock). As far as purification is concerned, it’s an optional step, and you can use it as it is. If you make soup from beef consommé, it will have a jam-packed flavor, and the appearance will become a bit cloudy and slightly translucent.
The Bottom Line
The bottom line is that both beef stock and beef consommé are delicious, but what sets them apart is the consistency. That’s because beef consommé is more concentrated and thicker as compared to beef stock. Also, beef consommé has a more significant beefy flavor while the beef stock has a savory taste profile. So, which is your preferred recipe, then?