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Beef Tea

A simple broth made by simmering lean beef in cold water, seasoned with coarse sea salt.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
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Beef Tea

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.

Prepare

  1. Cut the beef into small pieces.

  2. Place the beef in a pot with cold water.

  3. Let it sit for 30 minutes to allow the juices to release.

Cook

  1. Heat the mixture gently, ensuring it does not boil.

  2. Simmer for 1 to 2 hours, skimming off any foam.

  3. Season with coarse sea salt before serving.

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

Lean beef
Provides the main flavor and body, releasing juices and gelatin into the broth as it cooks.
Cold water
Extracts flavor and soluble proteins from the beef gradually when heated slowly from cold.

The step that matters

Heating gently without boiling. Boiling makes the broth cloudy and emulsifies fat into it. Gentle heating and simmering keep the liquid clear and let flavor extract slowly from the meat.

“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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