What Is Court Broth and How to Use It?
No one has ever called me “refined” or “reserved” and I have a tendency to gravitate toward taste profiles that are just as strong and (sometimes) as controversial as my personality. I love a lot of salt, acid, umami, and those beautiful dark roasted flavors that come from the Maillard reaction, but I’m still quite capable of appreciating simplicity and nuance .
French food embodies both of these qualities, and court broth is one of the easiest ways to add a delicate, nuanced flavor to delicate protein foods. But what is this whimsical-sounding liquid, and is it really fit for royalty?
What is court broth?
This is not a broth, as I first assumed, so exquisite that it is served in the court of a king. “Court” is French for “short” and court broth is simply broth that can be boiled in a short time (about an hour at most).
It is usually made with several vegetables—the iconic trinity of celery, carrots, and onions, but leeks are sometimes added—along with plenty of salt, a little white wine, a bunch of herbs, peppercorns, and sometimes lemon (the acid helps bring out the flavor). from plant matter). The main difference between court broth and “regular” broth is that court broth does not contain meat and animal collagen, because unless you’re working with a pressure cooker, you’re not going to extract much in the “court” amount of time. (Note: These words, spelled “court broth” or “court broth,” refer to a Creole sea fish dish that is delicious but very different from this simple poaching liquid.)
How to make court broth
There are many recipes for this and I don’t feel the need to reinvent this very old and revered wheel. Epicurious has a decent one, as does The Spruce Eats , and you can find hundreds of iterations and variations by flipping through French cookbooks. Scroll through a few and find one that sounds tempting.
Once you have the recipe, all you have to do is chop up the vegetables, tie up a small bunch of herbs, and toss them all together in the pot. Bring the contents of the pot to a boil, reduce heat to a boil, and let simmer for at least 10 minutes or up to an hour. Simmer time varies quite a bit from recipe to recipe, but I like to do it for at least half an hour. (When in doubt, just give the broth a little flavor; you want your broth to be flavorful enough to really flavor your protein).
How to use court broth
Court broth is primarily used to make instant proteins such as fish, shrimp, and eggs, so the broth itself must be made ahead of time (because the shrimp will be ready before the boiling water has had time to extract the flavor from the vegetables). . Once your broth is as flavorful as you like, strain the solids and either use right away or store in the refrigerator (up to a week) or freezer (up to three months).
Small fillets, eggs and shellfish should be dipped into the already hot, simmering broth and boiled until done, according to the protein. Hot broth can also be used to quickly cook thinly sliced pieces of chicken, pork, or beef, as is the case with Asian hot pot.
If you are using stock to cook a large piece of fish, start with cold stock to ensure even cooking. If you are using it to simmer large pieces of poultry or a whole chicken, start with room temperature broth and room temperature chicken, then follow this cooking procedure . (Cooking chicken in court broth will result in a rich court chicken broth that will amaze you.)