Can anyone imagine a Sunday home-cooked dinner without broth? Certainly not. But do you know how to prepare this soup perfectly so that it tastes just like our grandmothers'? Read our tips for a delicious and substantial broth for the whole family.
Choose your broth ingredients wisely
Everyone probably knows that in order to prepare this unique soup, you need meat bones and plenty of vegetables. The most popular varieties in our country are, of course, poultry broth, although beef or lamb broth tastes just as good, as well as broth made from a combination of meats. The shopping list is therefore as follows:
Ingredients:
- one whole chicken,
- half a kilo of beef entrée or brisket,
- 3 carrots,
- 2 pcs. parsley root,
- half a small celery,
- one leek,
- a quarter of savoy cabbage,
- 2 onions,
- parsley,
- lovage - preferably fresh,
- bay leaves,
- allspice,
- salt and pepper.
Let's start cooking the broth!
Few people realise that the quality of the water we pour over the meat for the broth makes a very big difference to the later taste of the soup itself. If we don't like the taste of our tap water, the broth won't be very good either - the amount of seasoning you add doesn't matter. It is best to use bottled, spring or filtered water. Beware of mineral water - it is not suitable for cooking.
We start our work by preparing the chicken, which needs to be cut into portions. For the broth, the following are best:
- body,
- wings,
- neck,
- some giblets.
Sometimes you may find yourself adding hearts or gizzards, which add a characteristic, interesting aftertaste. To make your work easier, it is worth using special poultry shears.
Poultry shears to make broth preparation easier
Cut the beef into smaller pieces and peel the vegetables. Sear two onions over the fire until you can smell them. Place all the meat and vegetables in a large pot. Add two bay leaves and a few grains of allspice. The amount of allspice in the pot depends on your taste - some people prefer a more pronounced flavour. Pour in enough water to cover all the ingredients. Place the pot on a low heat.
Scum - the bane of every cook.
Scum, or the characteristic foaming that collects on the surface of a cooked dish, is nothing more than the truncated protein of cooked foods. They are not harmful to health, but if you do not remove them, your broth will be cloudy. By following all the tips and using burnt onions, their amount will be minimal, but they can always appear. You can use a skimming spoon, which will certainly make the task of picking out the scum easier.
A skimming spoon will improve the clarity of the broth!
The broth should be left to simmer on a very low heat for about three hours. Importantly, it must not boil - only gently "bubble". This will make the soup clearer. Don't worry about overcooked vegetables. If you watch the process, carrots and parsley will be fine even after such a time in hot water.
Vegetables and meat can be cooked separately
There are two schools of cooking broth - in one, the meat and vegetables are cooked together from the start. In the other, the vegetable stock is added later to the soup and cooked for a shorter time - instead of three hours, only one hour. Both techniques are acceptable, but the shorter heat treatment of some ingredients will make them less noticeable. Thus, the broth will be more 'meaty'. It all depends on the individual cook's preferences. If you have any doubts that the vegetables will not fall apart during cooking, make a separate stock of them and add them to the whole when the chicken and beef are almost ready.
The final stage of cooking the broth
After three hours on low heat, the broth should already have a characteristic strong yellow colour. This is the moment to add the remaining spices - lovage and parsley. We only do this now because these herbs have an exceptionally strong flavour. After a few hours in the water, the soup would be completely saturated with them and the flavour of the meat and vegetables would be undetectable. We have another 30 minutes of waiting with the pot on a low heat. After this time, we turn off the cooker and set about straining the broth.
A straining spoon is your ally
A straining spoon will be indispensable for removing large ingredients - meat, carrots, parsley or cabbage. If you want a very clear soup, you will also need to filter the stock through gauze to get rid of any floating particles and spices. Some people finish preparing the dish at this stage, but it is worth mentioning one more step.
The secret is in the spices
To make the broth clear
Let the broth cool. If you like less oily soups, this is the right time to remove the excess fat from the surface. For this, we only need a simple spoon or a special pipette or separator. However, this is not a required step. For maximum clarity of the broth, two egg whites from a hen's eggs should be pounded into such a broth and slowly heated - not boiling. Again, we need to strain the soup through a gauze. Taste and season to taste with salt and pepper. Heat until the desired temperature is reached. After all these procedures, the soup is now ready to be served.
What to serve the broth with?
Broth can be served with a variety of ingredients. The most popular is, of course, string noodles. Before serving the soup, cook it according to the instructions on the packet and drain. Ladle it into bowls or saucepans. If you also like carrots or a little parsley, add these too. Prepare a dish and tureen spoons. Pour the stock into the tureen and place on the table. The pasta should only be warmed by the heat of the soup when pouring. Do not put it all over the tureen at once or it will overcook. The ladles used should be ceramic or stainless steel.
Tip
And done!
