Home Russian cuisine is unthinkable without a fragrant, tasty meat broth. It is used as an independent dish, as a basis for soups, in the preparation of sauces, vegetable stews, cereals, gravy, jellied meat. With the help of a strong broth, they recover strength after an illness, treat a cough and a cold, warm a frozen person.
The recipe for meat broth is simple and affordable even for a novice cook. However, sometimes ignorance of some of the nuances does not allow you to cook a good broth. It turns out either cloudy, or watery, or insufficiently spicy and saturated. To avoid failures, it is enough to follow a few simple rules, compliance with which guarantees a high-quality result.
Tableware
The meat broth is cooked slowly, it should be evenly heated, so thick-walled pots or cauldrons are ideal dishes. They should be large enough to fit a large piece of meat and several liters of water. Moreover, the liquid should not be poured at the very top, otherwise when boiling it will pour over the edge and slap the stove or flood the fire.
Meat
The broth is cooked from a wide variety of meats: lamb and pork, veal and chicken, rabbit and turkey meat. From the flesh and bones. Moreover, gelling substances that are contained in bones, cartilage and films give richness to the broth, so they do not need to be removed. It is best to take meat from the chest or back, ribs, rumps, rump, shoulder blade or drumstick.
The quality of the meat determines the taste of the broth. The most delicious is obtained from fresh meat. If there is only frozen, then it must be defrosted according to the rules: gradually bringing it to room temperature, without using hot water or a microwave oven. Before cooking, the meat is pre-washed in cold water to remove excess blood from its surface. Some housewives soak meat in water for several hours.
Water
Water quality is no less important for the taste of the broth than the quality of meat. Best choice: well or key. However, in the city it is problematic to find one. Therefore, you can buy pure bottled water or use filtered. Water is taken at the rate of two to three liters per kilogram of meat product. Although this figure is not fixed. It all depends on what result is needed at the output. The more water, the thinner and fresher the meat broth.
Roots, spices and fragrant herbs
The roots give the broth a rich vegetable smell and make its taste richer. A classic set of roots are celery, onions and carrots. They can be slightly baked in the oven or passaged in a pan, then the broth will get smoky notes. In addition to these three vegetables, parsnips, leeks, turnips, and garlic are used.
Spices and herbs are added to the broth a few minutes before cooking. So they do not digest completely, but have time to fully give up their aroma. Almost no broth is complete without black and allspice peas and bay leaves. Other spices are added purely to taste. Each family has its own preferences, which determine the choice of spices. Use fresh and dry fragrant herbs: dill, thyme, parsley and others. Herbs can be bundled and placed in water, making them easier to catch.
How to cook meat broth: general principles
- Wash fresh or properly thawed meat and put it in a pan with clean water. About two to three liters of water per kilogram of meat. But the liquid should not reach the very edge of the dishes, otherwise it will splash out when boiling. Water should be cold. There is a culinary axiom: you need a broth - the meat is put in cold water; you need boiled meat - it is put in boiling water.
- Put the dishes on the fire. When the water begins to boil, a foam will appear, it must be immediately removed with a slotted spoon or spoon. If the foam is not caught on time, it will sink to the bottom and worsen the appearance and taste of the broth. Excess grease and foam on the walls can be easily removed with a paper towel or towel. Below in the photo - meat broth in the boiling stage.
- To reduce heating to a minimum, the water should boil barely noticeably, in this mode, the meat will give more fully the extractives and useful vitamins contained in it. Moreover, leave the lid ajar so that moisture does not condense on it, which, falling back into the broth, spoils its taste.
- About half an hour before the end of cooking, put the roots in the pan and add one teaspoon of salt per liter of liquid to your taste or taste.
- Five minutes before turning off the heat, add bay leaf and other spices.
- After cooking, catch and discard the vegetables. If necessary, strain the meat broth. Then it definitely will not have fragments of bones, spices and the remains of vegetables, such as onions. In addition, it will become more transparent.
How much to cook?
Cooking time depends on the meat chosen and the desired broth richness. The fastest way - one and a half hours - is boiled rabbit, tender veal, poultry meat. A broth of bones, smoked meats and beef is cooked for the longest time - about three hours; pork - two and a half hours; from lamb - two hours. It is advisable not to digest the broth, otherwise its taste is deteriorating. Readiness can be determined by the condition of the meat: the fibers can easily be separated from each other and from the bones.
Strong meat broth with a guy line
Composition:
- meat - 500 grams;
- onions, carrots - one each;
- greens - to taste;
- salt - 1.5 teaspoons or to taste;
- minced meat - 300 grams;
- egg - 1 piece;
- water - 1.5-2 liters.
Wash meat or leave for several hours in cold water. Then put it in a pot of cold water. Bring to a boil and gently catch all the resulting foam. Half an hour before the end of cooking, add salt and roots. Just behind the roots, a guy pulls into the pan. It is made from a mixture of egg white, minced meat and a few tablespoons of water or broth. The guy is quickly curled up in a boiling broth, brightening it and sinking to the bottom.
Add spices and herbs a few minutes before the end of cooking. Then turn off the fire, catch the meat and gently strain the broth. Throw away the vegetables, and you can feed the guy cord to your pet or use it for casseroles or meat sauce.
Dietary or secondary broth
Composition:
- chicken - 1.5 kg;
- onions, carrots - one each;
- celery or parsley - to taste;
- salt - 1.5 teaspoons or to taste;
- water - 3 liters.
This broth is best suited for children, people with digestive problems and anyone who cares about their health. Modern meat, especially birds, can be crammed with antibiotics, hormones, steroids and other substances that feed animals to accelerate their growth and increase their resistance to disease.
Harmful substances enter the broth, threatening the consumer with health problems. Therefore, to reduce risks, it is better to boil the secondary broth. It is prepared in the same way as usual, but with one significant addition. After the water begins to boil, the meat is allowed to boil for several minutes, and then the water must be poured, the dishes and meat washed, and then pour cold water. Next, the broth is cooked according to the classic recipe, but at the same time it turns out easier and more transparent, and most importantly - more useful.
Subtleties
- If you put a little onion peel in the meat broth during the boil, then a pleasant golden hue will appear in its color.
- The defrosted meat broth has a darkish tint to lighten it; you need to put the shell from the chicken egg in the pan.
- Strong boiling does not speed up cooking, but it worsens the taste.
- If the foam has sunk to the bottom, then it can again be raised to the surface by pouring cold water into the broth. But the taste suffers from this, so it is better to be careful when removing the foam on time.
- Today there are many recipes for meat broth with photo and video instructions, which will be a useful addition to theoretical knowledge.
- The broth is easy to freeze, so that you can have several servings on hand for quick soup or other dishes. For this, the container of the required volume must be lined with cling film so that it is outweighed over the edges. Pour in the cooled broth into it. Send the container to the freezer, and when the liquid freezes in it, remove and wrap the frozen broth in a film. Such rectangular briquettes are compact and easy to use.