On Fri, 10 Aug 2007 01:54:26 GMT, "Paul M. Cook"
> wrote:

>> One of my weirdest cookbooks is: : "Bones: Recipes, History, & Lore"
>> by Jennifer McLagan. The first link is a review of the book and
>> second is a scanned page of her consomme recipe. The eggs whites are
>> the key. Not sure where Paul got the eggSHELL thing.
>
>
>The "eggshell thing" has always involved eggwhites.

You just said shells so I guess I was confused.

>It's been a clarifying
>technique for a couple of centuries. They even use it to clarify wine. You
>take a couple of egg whites and the shells and you crush the shells into
>small pieces and whip into the whites them you dump the mixture into the
>stock, stir gently till coagulated and then scoop the whole mess out in one
>piece.

That's a bit different than the method in the recipe I posted. Maybe
you're trying to rush it too much?
>
>It just never really works for me. I get cloudy stock with many little bits
>that just never gets clear.

I've done it but it didn't seem worth the effort. Most of the stock I
make is chicken. I pass the stock through a fine sieve, rinse the
sieve and line it with 4 layers of cheese cloth and pass the stock
through again. For me it's clear enough at that point. But I wonder
if after the cheese cloth thing maybe the egg thing would be more
effective? I dunno. I'll have to try it next time I make stock.

Lou