Pot Au Feu
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the pot
Prepare a gentle, regular heat fire.
Place bones at the bottom of a soup pot and add the beef on top.
Pour in the water and add the salt, then bring to a boil.
Leave a 1-inch opening when covering the pot.
Skim the broth
When scum rises, add ½ cup cold water and skim off the scum.
Allow the broth to boil three times, skimming each time until clear.
Wipe the edges of the pot and add vegetables to stop boiling.
Once the broth boils again, move the pot so only a third is over the fire.
Simmer and finish
Reduce heat with cinders and maintain a gentle fire for three hours.
Remove the meat and discard the fat.
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
- Beef
- Provides the main meat and flavor that enriches the broth as it simmers slowly.
- Bones
- Release gelatin and savory flavor into the broth during long, gentle simmering.
- Sea salt
- Seasons the broth from the start and helps draw out flavor from the meat and bones.
- Vegetables
- Add sweetness and aromatic flavor to the broth as they cook slowly.
The step that matters
Keeping the broth at a gentle simmer. A hard boil makes the broth cloudy and emulsifies fat into it, while a gentle simmer keeps the broth clear and the meat tender. Skimming scum as it rises removes impurities that would otherwise cloud the liquid.
“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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