Name: Peptonised Beef-Tea
Ingredients: 1 pound thinly minced lean beef; 1 pint water; 10 grains bicarbonate of soda; 1 tablespoon liquor pancreaticus

Peptonised Beef-Tea

Ingredients

1 pound thinly minced lean beef
1 pint water
10 grains bicarbonate of soda
1 tablespoon liquor pancreaticus

Directions

Simmer and strain

Mix the minced beef with water and add bicarbonate of soda.
Simmer the mixture in a covered saucepan for 1.5 hours.
Decant the beef tea into a covered jug.

Finish

Beat the undissolved beef residue into a pulp and add it to the jug.
Allow the mixture to cool to about 140°F (60°C).
Stir in the pancreatic liquor and mix well.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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 beef: Supplies the protein and meaty flavour that dissolve into the liquid during simmering.
Bicarbonate of soda: Raises the mixture's alkalinity, which helps the meat break down during simmering.
Liquor pancreaticus: Contains digestive enzymes that break down meat proteins into smaller, more soluble pieces.

The step that matters

Cool to about 140°F before adding the pancreatic liquor. Pancreatic enzymes are damaged by high heat, so adding the liquor to a hot mixture can weaken or destroy its ability to break down the protein. Cooling first keeps the enzymes active while they work on the beef.

“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.