Gumbo Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the meat
Take four pounds of lean beef and cut into small pieces, avoiding fat.
Season the meat with pepper and salt.
Make the soup
Put the meat to boil with three quarts and a pint of water (not more).
Boil slowly and skim well.
When no more scum rises, add half a peck of okra, peeled and sliced, and half a peck of tomatoes cut in quarters.
Boil slowly until the okra and tomatoes are entirely dissolved, and the meat all to rags.
Strain the soup through a cullender.
Serve
Serve with slices of dry toast.
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. See the original page.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Lean beef
- Provides the main body and savory flavor of the soup as it breaks down during long simmering.
- Okra (in the method)
- Dissolves during slow boiling, thickening the soup and giving it body.
- Tomatoes (in the method)
- Break down into the broth, adding acidity and a fresher, brighter flavor.
The step that matters
Skim well while the soup first boils. Scum rising at the start is coagulated protein and impurities; removing it keeps the broth clear and clean-tasting. Skimming only after no more scum rises would leave the soup cloudy.
“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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