Liebig's Beef Tea
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 120°F (49°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Make the beef tea
In a glass or earthenware vessel, combine the minced beef and water.
Add the muriatic acid and salt, then stir well.
Let the mixture stand for 1 hour.
Strain through a fine sieve and rinse the residue with ¼ pint of water.
Serve
Serve cold or warm, ensuring it does not exceed 120°F (49°C).
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Raw lean beef
- Provides the meat flavour and dissolved protein that give the tea its savoury body.
- Muriatic acid
- Acidifies the water so it draws flavour and minerals out of the minced beef during standing.
The step that matters
Serve cold or warm, ensuring it does not exceed 120°F (49°C). Holding the tea above 120°F (49°C) can cook and toughen the dissolved proteins and dull its delicate flavour, so temperature should be kept controlled when serving.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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