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Beef Essence No. 3

A concentrated beef broth made by pounding lean beef, simmering for 12 hours, and seasoning with salt.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 3 ingredients
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Beef Essence No. 3

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the beef

  1. Remove all fat and skin from the beef and pound it with a mallet.

  2. Fold the meat twice and broil it over high heat for 2 minutes.

  3. Mince the beef finely and place it in a wide-mouthed bottle or fruit jar with the cold water.

Extract the essence

  1. Let it soak for 2 hours.

  2. Cover the jar and place it in a kettle of cold water over low heat.

  3. Simmer slowly for 12 hours.

Finish

  1. Stir well, strain, and add the salt.

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
Provides the meat flavour and the soluble proteins and juices that make up the essence.
Cold water
Acts as the solvent that draws flavour and juices out of the minced meat.

The step that matters

Simmer slowly over low heat. Keeping the water at a gentle simmer for the full 12 hours extracts flavour without boiling. A hard boil would toughen the meat and 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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