Making Meat Extract
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the extract
Place the beef pieces in a steam pressure tank and fill with water until three-fourths full.
Securely close the manhole.
Gradually turn on the steam until reaching 15-20 pounds of pressure.
Cook for 3-5 hours, avoiding too high pressure or long cooking times to prevent burnt flavor.
Withdraw the liquid extract.
Skim the liquid extract.
Strain the liquid into a vacuum evaporator while hot but not boiling.
Press the solid residue to remove all liquid.
Concentrate and season
Reduce the liquid to 20-30 degrees Baumé in a jacketed finishing kettle.
Add salt and optional spices to taste.
Reduce moisture to 15-20%, yielding 80-85% total solids.
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
- Lean boneless beef
- Provides the protein and flavor compounds that dissolve into the liquid to form the extract.
- Water
- Acts as the solvent that draws soluble flavor and protein from the beef during cooking.
- Salt
- Seasons the concentrate and helps preserve it once the moisture is reduced.
The step that matters
Cooking the beef under steam pressure. Excess pressure or overly long cooking can scorch the proteins and sugars, producing a burnt flavor that carries into the concentrated extract. Gentle, controlled heat keeps the flavor clean.
“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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