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Preserve

To Boil Meat

A method for boiling a joint of beef in salted water.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
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To Boil Meat

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Build a clear, bright fire with small pieces of coal.

  2. Take a large saucepan and fill it almost full of cold water.

  3. Add salt to the water unless the meat is already salted.

  4. Ensure the joint is clean; scrape and wipe it with a clean cloth if necessary.

Boil

  1. Weigh the beef to determine boiling time: 10 minutes per pound, or 15 minutes for pork.

  2. Plunge fresh meat into boiling water to harden the albumen on the outside.

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

Beef
Main protein; heat firms its outer layer while long simmering softens its connective tissue.
Cold water
Cooking medium that carries heat evenly around the joint.

The step that matters

Plunging fresh meat into boiling water. Starting in boiling water sets the surface proteins quickly, which helps the joint hold its juices inside while it cooks.

“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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