How to cook beef broth. Proper beef broth

There are a few hard rules to follow. Beef broth is best cooked in enamel or ceramic dishes. If necessary, the broth is added only with boiling water, since cold water significantly worsens its taste.

A good beef broth directly depends on the quality of the meat. The most important condition for its quality is freshness. Do not buy meat that has lain on the counter for more than two days. Purchased meat is washed under running, cold water.

To obtain a strong fat, chopped meat is dipped in cold water. In this case, the meat juice will be easier to stand out from the meat. In the case when beef is cooked for main courses, and the broth will later be used to cook something else, the pieces of meat are dipped into boiling water. The meat boiled in this way will be juicy inside.

When beef broth is cooked, the amount of meat will have an important influence on the taste of the planned dish, since the concentration of meat juice and fat in the broth depends on it. On a five-liter pan, you can take from 2 to 4 kg of meat. If you have little meat, in extreme cases, you can add a little. They will give the missing fat. When calculating the amount of water needed, it should be borne in mind that during the cooking process, the broth is boiled down by almost half.

From beef, so that it is tasty, and the meat is tender and soft. Cooks advise cooking meat for 3 to 4 hours. At the beginning of cooking, put the pot with meat on a strong fire so that the broth boils faster. The pot should be covered with a lid, just make sure that the water does not “run away” from the pan. After the water boils strongly, the fire is slightly reduced. The best broth is the one that was cooked on low heat.

During cooking, an unpleasant-looking foam will constantly form on the surface of the broth, which must be constantly removed with a spoon or slotted spoon. Some people do not remove this foam, believing that it is in it that the real taste of the broth lies. To collect foam or not - depends on your preferences. The best option in this case is to collect the foam in a separate container, into which 0.5 liters of broth are added. After a while, the broth will infuse and then you need to strain it and add it to the main pan.

Depending on what dish you intend to cook on the basis of this broth, you can add ingredients such as roots (carrots, parsley, celery, swede), vegetables (onions), mushrooms and other products to it.

The recipe of which is intended for and soups is prepared as follows: salt, peeled roots (2 carrots, 1 parsley, half celery), a whole onion are added to the boiling broth. All vegetables are boiled for 3 hours, after which they are removed from the broth and continue cooking the dish further.

After the meat is ready (it can be easily pierced with a knife or fork), a little cold water (20-30 ml) is added to the broth, the meat is removed and allowed to stand for 20-30 minutes. The fat formed on the surface is carefully collected separately, and the broth itself is filtered through a fine sieve. The pre-collected fat is added to the strained broth and everything is brought to a boil again. Such a broth can be used both as a base for other dishes, and as an independent dish. In this case, it is served in portioned plates or broth cups, after sprinkling with herbs.

Salt is added to the broth to taste, as it often differs in concentration. It is better to add salt to the broth gradually, but if you still oversalt the broth, place a handful of rice wrapped in cheesecloth into it. Rice tends to absorb a lot of salt, so you can remedy the situation.

If you cook beef broth according to all the rules and on the basis of good meat, it will turn out to be deliciously fragrant and nutritious. Various additives will help to improve the taste of the soup base: roots, spices, vegetables. But it is especially well complemented by lavrushka and a variety of ground peppers.

Broth cooked on a good piece of beef can be called universal. It is well suited as the basis of a variety of soups. Most often, housewives choose it for cooking borscht and cabbage soup. In these dishes, you should add a few pieces of beef fillet or use ribs with a lot of meat on the surface.

A very budgetary dish will be mashed potato soup with beef broth. If you want to make it more creamy, you should add processed cheese to the treat. Or pour 1/3 tbsp. fat cream.

Beef broth is also good for the following soups:

oxalic;
any mushroom;
bean;
dietary with cauliflower and peas;
lung with vermicelli and carrots.

How and how much to cook classic beef broth

To prepare the broth according to the classic recipe, meat is taken on the bones without fat. You can separately send a piece of fillet to the liquid.

Ingredients per kilo of ribs or other meat:

celery root, onion and leek, carrots - 170 - 200 g each;
lavrushka - 2 dry leaves;
filtered water - up to 4 l;
regular salt, peppercorns.

Cooking:

There are many variations on how to brew beef broth, but the classic one is the most popular among them. For him, the first step is to pour the meat with cold water and leave for 30 minutes.
At this time, you need to chop all the vegetables coarsely, and chop the celery into small cubes.
Fry all chopped vegetables in oil until softened.
Pour meat with fresh water. Bring to a boil, remove foam. Only then add the contents of the pan.
You can salt the broth after the next boil.

Boil the base for the soup for about two hours over low heat under a tightly closed lid.

The basis for soup in a slow cooker

Such a "kitchen assistant" will greatly facilitate the task of the hostess. Using a slow cooker, the cook does not have to monitor the broth. You can just go about your business and wait for the appropriate signal.

Ingredients:

beef ribs - half a kilo;
carrot, parsley root, onion - 1 pc.;
lavrushka - 2 leaves;
salt, pepper, water.

Cooking:

To cook beef broth according to this recipe, the first step is to thoroughly rinse the meat parts. There should be enough meat left on the ribs.
Peel vegetables and roots, chop coarsely.
Put the meat and ingredients from the second step into the "kitchen helper" bowl.
To fill with water. About 2 liters of liquid will be enough.
Cook the broth in the mode intended for soup, 120 - 140 minutes.

After the indicated time has elapsed, it remains to throw away the vegetables and cut the finished meat from the bones. If desired, the resulting broth can be filtered.

Beef broth on the bone

In order to save money, it is permissible to cook the broth exclusively on the bone. As a result, any first dish based on it will turn out to be no less rich and tasty.

Ingredients per pound of bones:

bulbs - 80 - 100 g;
oil - 30 - 40 g;
water, selected seasonings and ordinary medium-sized salt.

Cooking:

To start cooking beef broth on the bone, you need to fry the meat component. To do this, heat the butter in a frying pan and fry the bones on it.
Transfer the contents of the skillet to a saucepan. To fill with water. Add whole onion.
After boiling the liquid, carefully remove the foam from its surface, add salt and spices.
Boil for about an hour over low heat, then strain the resulting broth.

It is delicious to cook not only soups, but also aspic and all kinds of sauces.

How to clarify beef broth

There are several ways to make the broth clear:

Strain through several layers of gauze or the finest sieve. This method will remove foam, small pieces of bones and meat from the liquid.
Protein lightening. A raw egg must be divided into components and the protein thoroughly beat with a large spoonful of ice water. Pour the mass into the broth on the stove and mix well. Let the broth boil for 3-4 minutes, then strain it from pieces of coagulated protein.
Brightening vegetables. Cut a raw large carrot in half and dry it in a frying pan without oil. Then send the vegetable pieces to the broth a few minutes before it is ready.
If the hostess didn’t have any sieve, eggs, or carrots at hand, it’s worth looking in the kitchen cabinet for rice zhmenka - it can also be used to clarify beef broth. To do this, the cereal is tied in a linen bag and lowered into a boiling broth for 6-7 minutes.

How to properly store beef broth

The main condition for the proper storage of the broth is the cleanliness of the dishes. You can pour it into a glass jar or a suitable size pan. The first three days, beef broth is considered freshly prepared. After re-boiling, you can store it for the same amount. Of course, all this time the liquid should be in the refrigerator.

The optimum storage temperature is 4 to 8 degrees.

If you freeze the broth, then its "lifetime" will increase to six months. In this case, you will need to cool the freshly cooked soup base, pour it into a suitable container and send it to the freezer.

To make the broth tasty and transparent, the housewives advise:

Cook it over low heat so that the boiling of the liquid is barely noticeable.
In the process, constantly remove the foam from the surface of the future soup base with a slotted spoon with small holes.
Do not use tap water, but filtered or mineral water without gas.

The quality of the meat used will definitely affect the result. Beef should be taken fresh, without large inclusions of fat and without veins.

Making beef broth is an easy task. Even a novice hostess will be able to cope with it. You just need to know the basic principles of its preparation and the secrets of experienced chefs.

Nutritionists consider beef one of the best sources of animal protein. It contains all the amino acids that are necessary for the normal functioning of the human body. It can be used to prepare broths, first and second courses, pastries, salads and snacks. The product turns out to be satisfying and nutritious, but easily digestible, and, subject to proper preparation, soft and juicy. Beef is indispensable in children's and dietary nutrition, for people suffering from anemia. It is important to know how much beef needs to be cooked to make it tasty and tender.

How to prepare beef for cooking

The process of preparing beef for cooking is of great importance. If you cook frozen meat, it will turn out dry and tough. First you need to defrost it properly:

You need to thaw it in whole large pieces.
Slow defrosting is recommended so that the juice released when the ice melts can be reabsorbed into the fibers.
The best option is to thaw on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator throughout the day. Such beef practically does not differ from fresh.
For quick defrosting, you can leave it at room temperature for 3-5 hours, depending on the size of the piece.
A microwave with a defrost function is quite suitable for preparation. You need to put the beef in it for 30-60 minutes.
Another option for quick defrosting is a container with warm water, which should be no higher than 27 degrees.

Next, the beef must be rinsed well with cold running water to get rid of contaminants. Place clean meat on wire racks or paper towels to dry. After that, the product is cut, large bones (optional), tendons and films are removed. The meat is cut into small, medium or large pieces, depending on the preferences and recipe of the dish.

How to cook beef in a pot

To make the meat tender and juicy, and the broth transparent and rich, you need to know all the nuances of boiling it in a saucepan, and take into account how much beef is cooked. Cooking process:

Rinse under running water, remove wires, film. If the piece is large, then cut it into several pieces.
Water is poured into a pan of a suitable volume: for 1 kg of the product - 1.5 liters of water. Bring it to a boil.
Add spices - bay leaf, peppercorns, salt and roots - onions, carrots, to taste.
Then add the prepared meat.
It is important to remove the foam in time, because. Otherwise, the broth will turn out dark and cloudy.
As soon as the broth boils again, reduce the heat to a minimum, cook for 1.5-2.5 hours, covered.
If water evaporates during cooking, then it is necessary to add it to the required level.
The readiness of the beef is checked with a knife - the thickest piece is pierced. If the pulp is hard or red juice is released at the puncture site, then the cooking process is continued until tender.
Ready meat should be left in the broth for 15-20 minutes on the switched off stove.

How long to cook beef

The process of boiling cow meat is long, because. this kind of meat is tough. To make it soft and tender, it needs a long heat treatment - both for first courses and for an independent product in the diet. The cooking time of beef depends on the age of the animal, the size of the piece. A young tenderloin can take up to an hour to cook, while older meat can take up to three. See below for how to quickly cook beef.

In a slow cooker

A kitchen device that replaces a stove, oven, double boiler and much more - a slow cooker. With it, you can boil the meat both whole and in small pieces. The process is practically the same as cooking in a saucepan:

The meat is washed, dried, the veins and film are removed.
It is placed in the multicooker bowl. Pour in hot water to completely cover the piece. Close the lid.
They include the necessary program - "Soup", "Cooking", "Stew".
It is important to remove the foam from the broth in time - it rises just before boiling.
After spices and roots are added to taste.
Salt is added 10 minutes before cooking.
Cooking takes 1-2 hours.

For a couple

Steamed, it is considered dietary, it is perfect for feeding young children and people on a therapeutic diet. During cooking, you need to monitor the presence of water in the equipment tank, you may have to top it up. For this purpose, you can use a slow cooker, because. it has a special stand for steamed products and the “Steam” program. Here are two ways to cook beef:

Cut the prepared meat into portions, put in a double boiler in one layer, salt and pepper to taste, turn it on for 1 hour. Then turn the pieces over and cook for another 30 minutes.
Salt a whole piece of beef, rub with spices to taste, wrap in a plastic bag for cooking. Place in a steamer bowl, cook for 1-2 hours.

in the microwave

You can use a microwave oven for cooking beef if the meat is young. The process is:

Cut the prepared product into portions.
To speed up cooking, it is recommended to beat the meat with a hammer.
Grate with salt and spices.
Put in a baking bag, tie. Place it in a deep microwaveable bowl.
Poke a couple of times with a knife.
Send to oven. Cook at medium power for 20-30 minutes.
Leave for 10 minutes and check readiness.
If necessary, cook for another 10-20 minutes.

How much beef is cooked for soup

If beef is cooked on the bone, then the soup broth will turn out to be more rich. It is recommended to pour as much water into the pan as you need for the dish. You can add a little more so that there is a margin for evaporation. Ready beef broth is not recommended to be diluted with water. Soup cooking process.

It is hard to imagine home cooking without mouth-watering and golden meat broth. It is good as an independent dish and is the basis for the preparation of soups, jelly, cereals, meat and vegetable stews, gravy and sauces. Traditionally, chicken broth is used to treat a protracted cough, and in order for children to take this “medicine” with pleasure, the broth must be appetizing and rich. Delicious meat broth is not so difficult to cook if you know some tricks and do not save on meat.

How to cook meat broth: what kind of meat to choose

For beef, always choose the meat of bulls, whose age does not exceed three years. Veal cooks quickly and is ideal for broth because it is healthy, soft, juicy, lean, and high in collagen, which releases gelatin when cooked. The best pork for broth is lean and tender bacon pig meat with a very thin layer of lard, and lamb should be fresh and tender. Chicken broth is made from fresh farm chickens raised without hormones and antibiotics and not frozen. This is especially important if the broth is intended for baby food or to maintain strength during an illness. Rabbit, poultry and its offal, offal, meat bones and smoked meats are perfect for broth. The use of meat of different varieties makes the broth more tasty and rich.

The Best Chunks for Concentrated Meat Broth

The most delicious is obtained from meat with connective tissue, which releases gelling substances into the broth, making it rich and thick. Tenderloin from different parts of the carcass of an animal differs in quality and nutritional value, so experienced chefs can determine the "suitability" of meat at a glance. Beef brisket, ham and neck, pork and lamb shoulder, lamb ribs, shank, brisket and neck are ideal for broth. Rabbit and poultry for broth can be boiled whole or in parts, it all depends on your culinary preferences. It is best to use fresh meat, but it is not always possible to buy it, so meat from the freezer is also suitable. The main thing is that it be thawed according to all the rules at room temperature.

How to put meat in water

Ideal if you cook the broth on spring, well, filtered or bottled water, which must be soft. This is one of the secrets of making delicious broth. So, well-washed pieces of meat are poured with cold water and the pan is put on fire. Why do we take cold water and not boiling water? The fact is that with slow heating, the meat releases extractive substances and saturates the broth with them. If you lower the meat into hot water, then the proteins immediately coagulate, and a film instantly forms on the surface of the meat. It turns out that all the nutrients remain in the pulp. In this case, the meat is tender, juicy and aromatic, and the taste of the broth, unfortunately, leaves much to be desired.

For this reason, for an appetizing broth, the meat is poured only with cold water, and at the same time it should not be cut into small pieces. The meat should release its juices slowly to enrich the taste of the broth. The more water, the less concentrated the broth will turn out - usually up to 3 liters of water are taken per 1 kg of meat with bones.

How to cook clear meat broth

For the transparency of the broth, some housewives pre-soak the meat for several hours in cold water, and then boil it, draining the old water. Naturally, the water will evaporate during the boiling process, but you should not add it, otherwise the broth will become cloudy, and its taste will disappoint you.

Do not allow the liquid to boil rapidly and remove the foam in time, which will settle to the bottom in large, ugly flakes, and the broth will lose its appetizing appearance. A good effect is given by an onion or an eggshell - they are added to the water at the beginning of cooking. After readiness, the broth must be strained, otherwise it will be cloudy. And by the way, if you cook the broth only from meat tenderloin without bones, it will turn out much more transparent.

Vegetables, spices and herbs

Carrots, celery root and onions are considered classic additives for making meat broth. For taste, you can add turnips, garlic, cloves, black peppercorns, various roots and related bunches of greens. The French flavor the broth with the famous Bouquet Garni seasoning, which includes thyme, leek, bay leaf and parsley. If the vegetables are first fried in a pan without oil or baked in the oven, the taste and aroma of the broth will be more original and bright. Vegetables are laid half an hour before the dish is ready. Interestingly, if you add onion peel to the water, the broth will turn golden, and a piece of dry cheese will give it an unusual piquancy.

A few subtleties of cooking broth

Before boiling, the pan is tightly closed with a lid, and then it is cooked without a lid so that drops of evaporating moisture do not spoil the taste of the dish. The fat that appears on the surface is usually removed, and not only for dietary purposes. The fact is that a large amount of fat gives the broth an unpleasant oily-soapy taste. But do not rush to part with this valuable product - you can fry vegetables on it for seasoning soups.

It is good if the pan has thick walls and a bottom. So the broth will cook evenly and slowly, which will improve its taste and aroma. It is better to add salt at the very end, because you don’t know how much liquid will boil away during the cooking process, and it will be very annoying if the broth turns out to be too salty.

How long does the broth take to cook? Appetizing smells are already spreading around the apartment, and the stomach begins to growl treacherously, and the household looks impatiently at the clock - when is it time for dinner? Veal and rabbit broth is cooked for up to 1.5 hours, until beef or smoked meat is ready, you will have to wait longer - 2.5-3 hours, pork - up to 2.5 hours, chicken - 1-2 hours, and lamb - up to 2 hours . The main thing is not to overdo it, because the overcooked broth acquires an unpleasant taste.

There is another way to check the readiness of the broth - to pierce the meat with a knife. If the knife enters the flesh easily, then the meat is cooked, and you can separate it from the bones. The bones are usually boiled for some more time, and the meat is either cut into pieces and returned to the pot, or left to prepare the second course. After straining the broth, the bones, vegetables and spices are thrown away - they have done their job and gave the dish vitamins, nutrients, taste and aroma.

If you don't have time and want to make a quick meat broth, you can make it with minced chicken, beef, lamb, or pork. The cooking technology remains the same, and the time is reduced to half an hour. True, it is advisable to let the broth brew for 20 minutes, and then serve it on the table. In a slow cooker, meat broth is cooked for the same amount of time, but the cooking process is greatly simplified. You still have to remove the foam, since scientific and technological progress has not yet gone so far as to entrust this responsible task to technology, even the smartest.

Fragrant appetizing and transparent broth is ready. In old recipes, it is advised to pour 1 tbsp. of meat broth into each bowl of meat broth. l. Madeira. And you can do it in a simple way - with fresh herbs, homemade pies, ruddy croutons and toasts. You can store the broth in the refrigerator for several days, but it usually disappears from there faster - too tasty!

The broth left after boiling beef contains many useful components and nutrients. For this reason, culinary experts actively use it as a base for making soups. If you do not just put a piece of meat in water and boil for a certain time, but take the process seriously, you can also get an independent dish at the output. It not only restores the strength of people who have undergone illness or surgery, but also strengthens the immunity of adults and children. At the same time, a properly cooked product is very quickly absorbed and does not overload the digestive system.

Important features of cooking beef broth

Before you cook a traditional or unusual beef broth, you should familiarize yourself with a number of points that many housewives simply do not pay attention to.

Despite the fact that when using bones, the liquid turns out to be more rich, it is almost impossible to achieve transparency with this approach.
Regardless of how much you plan to boil the meat, all films, pieces of fat and parts of the tendons must be removed from it. These components also negatively affect the transparency of the product.

Tip: If you want to diversify your diet, then instead of the usual white broth, you need to try boiling red. It is obtained by boiling not raw, but pre-fried meat in a pan. Also, an unusual base for soups can be obtained by boiling the main component with tomatoes or purple onions.

Water is best taken filtered, drinking or settled. Do not give up on natural flavors. Parsley and celery root, carrots, onions and parsley diversify the taste and smell of the liquid and the beef itself.
You need to cook the product for at least an hour. With some approaches, it takes up to 3-4 hours to prepare a delicious broth.
If you cook the product by adding a whole onion to it, it will acquire a pleasant golden hue.
In the process of creating a blank or an independent dish, it is recommended to actively use dried herbs. Its aroma in such products is fully revealed, no matter how much the ingredients are processed.

Simple and original beef broth recipes

After all the rules have been studied, it remains only to choose the appropriate recipe for preparing a fragrant blank. There can be many variations of combining the main component with an additional one, here are just a few of them:

Classic beef broth. It can be consumed in its pure form, used for making soups, boiling dumplings. We need 2 liters of water, 0.5 kg of meat, one onion, salt and a few peas of allspice. We wash the meat, inspect and remove all unnecessary. We put it in clean cold water and put it on fire. While the product is boiling, we clean the onion and lower it into a hot, but not yet boiling liquid, along with pepper and salt. After boiling the liquid, remove the foam, close the container with a lid. You need to cook the composition for at least 1.5-2 hours. No matter how much sediment forms in the composition, it is recommended to strain it through double gauze.

Preparation with the addition of mushrooms. In addition to the components listed in the previous recipe, we take 300 g of your favorite mushrooms. We also wash the meat, clean it from films, put it in cold water and put it on fire. Before boiling the liquid, we introduce the onion, salt, pepper and coarsely chopped or whole mushrooms into it. The mass should be cooked for about 2 hours until the meat is soft. After that, we remove all auxiliary components.

Roasted vegetable option. This is a fatter and more satisfying version of the broth, which is usually consumed in its pure form. To prepare it, we take 2 liters of water, 400 g of meat, 1 onion and carrot, half a bell pepper, salt and butter (as much as you need to fry vegetables). Wash the beef, put it in water, bring to a boil. At this time, we clean the vegetables and cut them into cubes, after which we fry them in butter. As soon as foam appears on the surface of the liquid, remove it, reduce the heat, add vegetables and salt. The mass must be cooked until the meat is fully cooked, at least 1.5 hours.

You can experiment on your own with the ingredients of the dish. All kinds of herbs, various spices and seasonings are perfect for its preparation. The only thing you should not do is boil meat cut into small pieces (with this approach, muscle fibers are destroyed faster). If there is simply no other ingredient at hand, then the processing time should not be reduced, otherwise such a broth will cause indigestion.