A broth is a decoction made from meat, poultry, mushrooms, fish or vegetables with the addition of greens, roots and seasonings. It is a clear, light liquid and is used not only as an independent dish, but also as the basis for soups and borsch. Today’s article will explain how to cook and when to salt the broth.
Basic principles
The taste of the finished broth directly depends on the quality of the raw materials selected as the basis. Therefore, it is important to know which products are best used to obtain it. So, for cooking beef broth, it is advisable to acquire the meat of young animals who are under three years old. It will be more tender and juicier than that obtained from the slaughter of old cows, but much more nutritious than veal. For cooking pork broth, it is recommended to take lean pieces with a thin layer of pink salted pork fat. Such meat is quickly cooked and has a very delicate taste. To create a chicken broth, you should buy a bird grown in ecologically clean areas, not pricked with antibiotics. Perch, ruff, pikeperch and all types of sturgeon are best suited for fish broth.
Having decided on the type of meat, you need to decide which part is best suited for the task. For pork, it is advisable to choose a shoulder blade, for beef - the neck, brisket or ham, and for the bird - wings, legs or fillets. Small fish can be used whole, large - cut into pieces or cut into fillets.
To enrich the taste, add lavrushka, parsnip, turnips, celery, carrots or onions to the pan in which the broth is prepared. And as a liquid base, spring, well or filtered water is taken, the amount of which is determined at the rate of 2-3 liters per kilogram of meat and bone raw materials.
Having dealt with the intricacies of the choice of products, you need to find out when to salt the broth. Some housewives do this immediately before being sent to the stove or after boiling. Both that and other option is incorrect. In the first case, there is a risk of over-salting the broth, in the second - you can get an incomprehensible liquid that did not have time to get enough of the useful substances contained in the meat. Therefore, it is advisable to do this when the broth has already gained a pronounced taste and aroma.
From vegetables
This fragrant and low-calorie decoction will be a good basis for the preparation of various dietary soups. To do it, you will need:
- 3-4 liters of filtered drinking water.
- 500 g of root celery.
- 500 g of parsnip.
- 500 g juicy carrots.
- 100 g onions.
- 6 cloves of garlic.
- 2 leeks.
- 3 bay leaves.
- Salt, herbs and seasonings.
All vegetables are washed under the tap, if necessary, peeled, cut and stacked in a large pan. The vegetable raw materials processed in this way (celery, parsnip, carrots and leeks) are added to a large pan, poured with the required amount of cool water and placed on a working stove. All this is brought to a boil and kept on the smallest fire. After about half an hour, bay leaves, garlic, onions and spices are sent to a common dish. After another ten minutes, the moment will come when the broth should be salted. Whether it is necessary to sprinkle it with chopped greens can be decided taking into account your own taste preferences. If you decide to do this, then adding it is better with salt. After a quarter of an hour, the pan is removed from the burner, and its contents are poured into plates.
From carp
This basic recipe, giving an opportunity for the manifestation of culinary imagination, should be mastered by any novice hostess. To play it you need:
- 1 carp.
- 1 onion.
- 2 cloves of garlic.
- 2 bay leaves.
- 4 peas of black pepper.
- Salt and spices.
- Drinking water.
Having figured out the list of required components, you need to find out in what sequence to cook and when to salt the fish broth. The process should begin with the processing of carp. It is cleaned of scales, gutted, freed from the head, tail and fins. The carcass prepared in this way is cut into pieces and put into a pan. All this is filled with water, placed on a working stove and brought to a boil. After a couple of minutes, the fish is washed, supplemented with clean liquid, onions, peppercorns, garlic and bay leaves, and then returned to the fire. About ten minutes after the second boiling, salt and spices are added to the common pan. All this is cooked a little less than a quarter of an hour and poured on plates.
From dried mushrooms
The best basis for the preparation of such a fragrant broth would be mushrooms, butter or honey mushrooms. They can be bought in the market or collected and dried on their own. Before you figure out when to salt the broth from mushrooms, you need to find out what it takes to cook it. In this situation, at your fingertips should be:
- 2 liters of filtered drinking water.
- 150 g of dried mushrooms.
- 1 root parsley.
- Salt (to taste).
Sorted and washed mushrooms are soaked in cold water and kept in it for at least three hours. After the designated time has elapsed, they are thrown into a colander, rinsed again and placed in a pan filled with the required amount of clean cool liquid. All this is sent to the stove, brought to a boil, supplemented with parsley root and boiled for about an hour. The finished broth is filtered, salted and poured into plates.
From champignons
This recipe will be a good find for those who live very far from places where you can pick forest mushrooms. To recreate it at home, you will need:
- 2.5 filtered drinking water.
- 1 kg of large raw champignons.
- 1 juicy carrot.
- 1 onion.
- 2 bay leaves.
- 5 peas of allspice.
- Salt (to taste).
Sorted, peeled and washed mushrooms are cut into large pieces and transferred to a large pan. Treated champignons in this way are poured with water, sent to the stove and brought to a boil. Immediately after that they add onions, carrots and allspice to them. All this is boiled for about half an hour, trying not to miss the moment when salt broth from mushrooms. This should be done a few minutes before turning off the fire, simultaneously with the addition of lavrushki.
From chicken
This fragrant, easily digestible broth has unique properties. It helps to quickly restore lost strength and recover faster from a cold. Therefore, any woman should know how to cook and when to salt the chicken broth. To get such a decoction, you will need:
- Chilled carcass weighing about 1.5 kg.
- 4 l of filtered drinking water.
- 1 carrot.
- 1 onion.
- 1 stem celery.
- 1 bay leaf.
- 3 sprigs of thyme.
- Salt, parsley and peppercorns.
Those who are interested in when to salt the broth during cooking, will not hurt to find out in what order to lay the products. It is necessary to begin the process with processing the bird carcass. It is gutted, plucked from the remaining feathers, washed, cut into large pieces, put in a large pan and poured with water. All this is complemented by chopped celery, peeled carrots and a whole onion in the husk. The contents of the dishes are brought to a boil, carefully freed from the resulting foam and boiled for about two hours. At the end of the indicated time, a linen bag with herbs, spices and spices is immersed in a slightly boiling liquid. All this is salted and boiled for another thirty minutes. The finished broth is filtered and used for its intended purpose.
From beef
A classic decoction made according to the method described below is equally good in its pure form, with croutons and dumplings. It also makes a very tasty and rich soup. When to salt the beef broth we will tell a little later, but for now we will find out what is included in its composition. You will need:
- 1.8 liters of water.
- 550 g of beef pulp.
- 1 onion.
- Pepper salt and peas.
The washed meat is freed from all that is superfluous, laid out in a pan and poured with water. All this is sent to the stove, supplemented with a whole unpeeled onion and peas of pepper, and then brought to a boil and freed from the resulting foam flakes. The contents of the container are covered with a lid and cooked for at least one and a half hours. It is important not to miss the moment when salting the beef broth. It is advisable to do this soon after boiling the liquid.
From turkey
This delicious and fragrant broth is equally suitable for dietary, therapeutic and baby food. It turns out to be moderately rich and is easily absorbed by the human body. To prepare it, you will need:
- 1 thigh of turkey.
- 1 root celery.
- 1 carrot.
- 1 onion.
- 1.5 liters of filtered drinking water.
- 1 tbsp. l dried parsley.
- Salt, bay leaf, black pepper peas and spices.
The washed thigh is freed from the skin, cut into pieces and put into a pan. All this is supplemented with lavrushka, peppercorns, spices and water, and then placed on a fire and brought to a boil, not forgetting to remove the resulting foam. About ten minutes later, rings of carrots, celery sticks and a whole unpeeled onion are sent to a common dish. All this is brought to full readiness, focusing on the degree of softness of the meat during cooking. When to salt the broth and season it with dried parsley, you need to decide based on the total duration of the heat treatment. Experienced chefs advise doing this a few minutes before turning off the fire.
From turkey with spices
This spicy and extremely fragrant broth is usually used as a complement to rice or fresh noodles. To cook it you will need:
- 2 l of filtered drinking water.
- 600 g boneless turkey.
- 30 g of celery greens.
- 2 buds of cloves.
- 1 root of parsnip.
- 1 tsp turmeric.
- ½ hot pepper pod.
- Salt, nutmeg and fresh ginger.
The washed turkey is chopped into pieces, put in a pan, poured with water, seasoned with cloves and brought to a boil, not forgetting to remove the foamy flakes. When the meat is almost ready, parsnip cubes, rings of hot pepper, ginger, turmeric, greens and nutmeg are poured into it. Around the same time, the time comes to salt the broth. When cooking, the bird becomes very soft, because it is easy to separate from the bone. Serve the broth in beautiful plates, not forgetting to put in each serving a piece of meat.
Pork
This rich broth is suitable for preparing hearty hot meals. To treat them to your relatives, you will need:
- 1.2 liters of filtered water.
- 800 g boneless pork loin.
- 1 onion.
- 1 carrot.
- Salt, chives and peppers.
First you need to do pork, from which the broth will be cooked. It is washed, laid out in a pan, poured with clean water and sent to the stove. About forty minutes after boiling, coarsely chopped and pre-baked vegetables are loaded into a container with a slightly boiling liquid. Immediately after this, the time comes when to salt the meat broth and season it with pepper. After another half hour, it is filtered and sprinkled with chopped onions. Cooked pork can be cut into pieces and served with a liquid component, but most often it is used for making salads.
From the duck
This aromatic and very nutritious broth can be served for a family dinner instead of the usual borsch or soup. To prepare it, you will need:
- 1 kg of duck meat on the bone.
- 3 l of filtered filtered water.
- 2 juicy carrots.
- 2 onions.
- 1 root parsley.
- Salt, parsley and spices.
Washed pieces of duck are poured with water and sent to the stove. After half an hour from the moment of boiling, it is supplemented with chopped carrots, root parsley and onion. After another ten minutes, lavrushka, spices and salt are placed in a common bowl. All this is brought to readiness, and then filtered and poured into plates, not forgetting to put in each serving a piece of meat previously separated from the bone.