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To Boil Meat

A method of cooking large joints of meat by boiling them in cold water until tender.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
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To Boil Meat

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Trim and wash the meat thoroughly.

  2. Skewer or bind the meat into shape if necessary.

Boil and simmer

  1. Place the meat in a pot and cover it with cold water.

  2. Bring the water to a boil over moderate heat.

  3. Skim off any scum that forms on the surface.

  4. Simmer the meat gently until fully cooked.

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

Large joints of meat
Provides the main substance of the dish, becoming tender as its connective tissue slowly breaks down during gentle cooking.
Cold water
Acts as the cooking liquid, heating the meat evenly and gently when started cold.

The step that matters

Simmer the meat gently. Boiling vigorously toughens muscle proteins and can make the outside ragged, while a gentle simmer keeps the meat tender and the broth clear. Skimming scum first keeps the liquid clean.

“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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