Peptonized Beef Tea
Ingredients
Directions
Extract the beef
Combine the beef, bicarbonate of soda, and water in an enamelled saucepan.
Heat slowly while stirring until it reaches 140°F (60°C).
Maintain this temperature for about 30 minutes.
Finish and serve
Allow to cool slightly, then add the liquor pancreaticus.
Cover and keep in a warm place for about 1 hour.
Strain the mixture, reheat, add a pinch of salt, and serve.
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
- Finely shredded lean beef
- Supplies the meat protein and flavour that dissolve into the liquid to make the tea.
- Liquor pancreaticus
- Contains pancreatic enzymes that break down meat proteins into smaller, more soluble pieces.
- Water
- Acts as the solvent that draws flavour and dissolved material out of the beef.
The step that matters
Adding the liquor pancreaticus after cooling slightly. Pancreatic enzymes are denatured and lose activity at high heat, so adding them to a boiling mixture would stop them working. Letting the liquid cool slightly first lets the enzymes break down the meat protein.
“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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