Stew
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
In a stew kettle, add bones and gristle first, breaking them thoroughly.
Rub fresh meat with coarse sea salt and place it in cold water to extract juices.
Simmer
Bring the water to a boil, skimming off any scum that rises.
Reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer, ensuring the water covers the meat.
Cook until the meat is tender, avoiding hard boiling to prevent spoilage.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Soft water
- Forms the cooking liquid that draws flavour and juices out of the meat and bones.
- Bones and gristle
- Release collagen and gelatin, giving the stock body and a richer mouthfeel.
- Fresh meat
- Contributes savoury meat flavour and tender texture to the finished stew.
The step that matters
Keep the simmer gentle. Hard boiling agitates the liquid and emulsifies fat into it, making the stock cloudy and greasy, and it toughens the meat's proteins. A gentle simmer lets collagen break down slowly while the meat stays tender and the broth stays clear.
“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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